1st July return to work...anybody else?

[GinWithRosie]

Hi, I've been told I'm returning to work full time from 1st July, as there has been new guidance from the DfE with regards to staff who have been working from home on the 'vulnerable but not critically vulnerable' list.

I'm in that category and honestly, I am SO looking forward to going back! I've hated working from home!! I've been doing all the planning for two year groups who are in school and the key worker bubbles, plus my own year group home learning packs (I've literally worked my arse off at home 12 hours a day or more and most weekends!). I'm shattered.

I've had to deal with all of the parents who are in the groups that I've been planning for (over 100 families...there's been so many queries every day I've been so stressed by it all (but obviously happy to support the parents, they've been understandably anxious).

I was told on Tuesday that I'm going back to work on the 1st and I've now got until then to plan ALL the in school AND the home learning for these groups until the end of term and send it into school. This includes full teaching slides and all the worksheets/resources for every lesson...as they need to be printed off ahead of time by a team that is in charge of doing this in advance. 4 weeks worth! I was already working flat out to meet the weekly deadline each week as it was. I'm now panicking to think how in God's name am I going to get this done? And why can't it be shared out?

I get that at the moment other staff are in school and I'm not...but they are leaving school by 3.30 (they have to) with no marking or planning to do. They are not allowed on site until 8am. It's a very short (but very intense) day for them and once they are home there is literally nothing for them to do. I understand it must be emotionally draining. I'm not there, so can only imagine how it must be for them...they probably need time to decompress once they get home, and I certainly am not knocking that at all...and I am NOT having a pop at my colleagues. I am, however, wondering why workload hasn't been shared equally by management and how I can address this without sounding like a whinging cow 🤦‍♀️ I know I need to do it, probably, but...how?

Help? 🤦‍♀️👍😱 Any 'super planners' out there who can give me tips? Or great negotiators who can help me negotiate without a) crying and b) getting cross 😱

Thanks for reading, if you've got this far x

💐 for you as this sounds so unfair. Surely the teachers in school should be planning for their bubbles? I’m in a key worker bubble. They have to have proper lessons and attend full time. Everyone plans for their bubbles in teams. Normal length day (wraparound care for KW children from 8-5), weekly zoom staff meetings, expected to best readers and send reading books home, evidence out annotated planning on the system. I thought this was fairly full on considering all the health rules and regulations with the virus never mind what you have to do. Definitely delegate. How can you be expected to know where the kids are at in their learning weeks in advance?

*hear readers

Thanks @Cookie it's been hard I have to say. I don't even know the children I'm planning for...or even have any real knowledge of the year groups to be fair 🤦‍♀️ And despite me firing off long emails with lots of detail of what I'm planning (or thinking about planning) and asking questions about what resources are available in school right now, as I don't know (and I don't know the classrooms that these year groups are in either as I'm not even in that key stage 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️) I barely get one line response back so I'm a little overwhelmed right now 😢

I'm a bit sad ☹️

Send a link to oak academy for the subject where they'll work

@hedgehogger1 nice idea...I'll check that out now 👍

This sounds very unfair, and you should speak to your HT about it.

However, is there any reason why the Home Learning planning is different from that for those kids in school? We're supplying the same for both.

Hi @CallmeAngelina, thanks for replying. Yes it does feel a little unbalanced.

We did raise it...and the answer given was that the planning for teachers in school has to be 'full', ie full smart board slides, complete with all the worksheets and any linked PowerPoints or websites etc that they need for the lessons (they are teaching a full on curriculum...it's not being reduced at all!).

For home, this obviously isn't appropriate for parents...they are not expected to recreate school at home, so we have to send home learning packs more suited to that...and to take into account that some won't have printers, some won't have access to Internet all the time if other family members are using it, limited resources etc...we've been told to 'be creative within constraints'. It's been very limiting and really hard work. Hence hardly able to use the great online stuff that's been available.

🤦‍♀️ my head hurts 😢

Yep, I'm back on 29th June. Can't wait, hate being at home.

Has anyone got a link to this guidance?

I’ve not seen it @reefedsail 🤷‍♀️

@ohthegoats yes I’m looking forward to going back too...I think I need to get back to some sort of ‘normal’ (although I know it will be a very different kind of ‘normal’). It has to be better than this though 🤦‍♀️

Can you not just raise it with your head? Professional conversation? They may not realise just how time consuming it is?

I would like a link too if possible - I haven’t seen the update and haven’t yet been told I need to be in school.