The Twelfth Republic - push and glide to the summer break

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. It is meant for school staff. Baiters and bashers can jog on somewhere else.

If you are NOT staff and just have a general education query please start your own thread.

You can play here only if you are a member of one the following groups-

-ABBA - anti bashers and baiting association
-SWAB - school workers against bashers
-SWOT - school workers opposing teacherbashers
-STARS - schoolworkers together against ranting + slurs

Other requirements for staff room entry include the ability to find the staff room, the ability to find a clean mug in the staff room, knowledge of the photocopier codes, and the ability to sniff out where the toffee vodka is hidden.

If you are fed up with cakes and biscuits there is now a cheeseboard on offer

If you come with a stick to beat us with then please do so elsewhere and not in the staffroom

Coronavirus: Data shows cases in England falling www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53349888

I'm assuming the above is the info linked upthread including 55 schools; I note that care homes are still very high which is shocking. But wilful avoidance of mentioning schools.

Oh I know they're doing salivary tests on children in Gateshead at the moment. Parents have been asked to do a swab and saliva test as part of some sort of study. Hopefully saliva tests will be available for children quickly and easily?

@ohthegoats, my school sent a child home yesterday for poor behaviour. They're one of the 'behaviourally challenged' anyway.

I know with my own son, if he were told that, he'd try so hard to comply in school that he would explode once home. He's not generally a rule breaker through, more gets frustrated when others break the rules.

I also wonder whether there might be more parental sanctions at the moment compared to normal when children are in school but maybe removed from lessons. One of my charges told me that at the moment if their parents are called to collect, they lose their phone and console for a period, so while they don't want to be in school doing school work right now, they don't want to lose home privileges either.

Is anyone else in primary having to eat with the kids in their bubble? And then supervise them after cleaning the ruddy tables? I'm just not getting a lunch break at all and i'm not being paid extra either. If this carries on in September in my bubble of 30 I shall go mad.

Ugh phleb, yes they are at my school but sen and v small groups. Plus they all go home afterwards so it's not staff doing it. Looking likely for sept too but more children obviously.

At the moment, the staff are getting breaks- much shorter ones. Some staff, who are more vulnerable and not in the classrooms are covering the staff in the classes.

We normally get half an hour break at break time, then 45 minutes for lunch. Day is 8.30 - 3.15. In September there is a 15 minute break in the morning, but we have to be with the children, then a half hour lunch break where we are not with the children. They are eating in the hall on a shift system. Thank god - at one point it looked like we were eating with them in our rooms. Day is now 8.50 - 2.45 so things are staggered.

Re behaviour - I'm talking about primary children with SEN and also those with challenging behaviour. We are a therapeutic school, so there is a softly softly approach to classroom runners and so on. This can't happen in September, so we'll see how it goes.

I'm cross about it because it looks like our unpaid lunch is now expected to be worked. I think we will be expected to do the same in September from this mornings briefing. Plus i am a 9.30 start so finish later which has screwed up my childcare. It's just another teachers right which has been eroded.

Anyway, off to clean the bloody toilets before they come in. I actually hate what my job has become.

And as to behaviour - all the runners, biters, fighters are carrying on as normal. No extra sanctions. I am dreading September.

In September there is a 15 minute break in the morning, but we have to be with the children

That not a break then! Can you get a drink or nip to the loo or does it just mean you don’t have to actively teach?

Phlebas that isn't a right being eroded - not working in an unpaid period isn't a right it's not completely normal! How is it any different to being asked to just do a bit of a shift on a Sunday? What happened to looking after staff well being, an employer's duty of care etc? What arrangements are in place for toilet breaks and hand washing breaks for teachers? I don't think our unions in Scotland are any stronger than yours but I couldn't see them accepting this at all
I'm really sorry this is what they're asking you to do.

(I can't even comment on the toilet cleaning part our schools are paying for extra cleaning staff, that seems the normal way to do it?)

Can you get a drink or nip to the loo or does it just mean you don’t have to actively teach?

It means we have to stand on the playground with children. I don't understand the insurance stuff with schools where they say teachers have to do a break duty, and it can't just be TAs. I'd rather just put TAs outside for those 15 mins, then give them their break before or after. Will talk to school about that.

I'm having one of those 'head completely full' days today. Can't work out what I need to do, and how to do it.

Timetables, intervention type plans (need to be more careful about these to avoid mixing bubbles)... some of it will change in September too, so don't want to spend too much time on it, but also think it would be good to have something to start with.

That’s always puzzled me too, ohthegoats. Compulsory teacher supervision for 15 mins in a morning but a whole hour at lunch (when if things are going to kick off, that’s when they kick off) with just minimum wage LSAs is fine? Nothing against LSAs, there are some excellent ones, but the justification for compulsory teacher supervision vanishes.

Yep, same thoughts here.

What if my LSAs also work as lunchtime supervisors? How come they are allowed out at lunchtime without a teacher, but 2 hours earlier, a teacher must be there too?

They are all happy to do it. They are also MUCH better at dealing with the breaktime scrapes and falls and friendship shit than I am.

Any TAs who do lunchtime supervision are paid on the lower basic rate. Living Wage, but the same skills and training being used. Bit cheeky, really.
Best set up I ever saw was TAs also supervising lunch and paid on their 2 or 3 rate. Very rarely anything that they couldn’t sort out at lunchtime, because the children knew them, they worked in their classes and there was no mileage in trying to moan to the teachers after lunch about playground spats.
You can lose 15-30 mins of your afternoon lesson untangling some drama from lunchtime with separate lunch staff the children know they can manipulate.

Had our guidance through for Sept. We need to be on duty every morning from 8 am (Period 1 still starts at 9am) to supervise pupils coming in. They can usually come in from then but go anywhere. They’ll now need assigned Year group classrooms. We’re doing more break duties and lunch duties too for same reason. Pay back is reduced meeting time. They’re staggering breaks and lunches so not sure what that’ll mean for my break during the day. And obviously no PPE or distancing. Not looking forward to Sept!

Have just seen this on another thread-this is apparently updated WHO information on transmission:-

“There have been reported outbreaks of COVID-19 in some closed settings, such as restaurants, nightclubs, places of worship or places of work where people may be shouting, talking, or singing. In these outbreaks, aerosol transmission, particularly in these indoor locations where there are crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces where infected persons spend long periods of time with others, cannot be ruled out. More studies are urgently needed to investigate such instances and assess their significance for transmission of COVID-19.”

Sounds a bit like schools there...!?

That's in the WHO report posted upthread and, yup, I said exactly the same thing...

@Appuskidu I wouldn't be able to start at 8am unless I abandoned my 10 year old . I'm usually there for 8.30 .She's having to walk alone to her school as it is since her school bus isn't running in September. I don't drive either so cant drop her off before school / at breakfast clubs. I'm dreading what my school comes up with.

Sorry that should have been to @motherrunner

It's all just such a load of shite. We added stuff to our behaviour policy to say that disruptive behaviour would result in the child being sent home.

Well that didn't happen last week when a child ran over to another bubble and punched a child...

And now they’re talking about compulsory mask wearing in enclosed places like shops!?

Does anyone have a link to anything official or know anything about this 11 August guidance? Our Head's now mentioned it too but I've seen nothing about it anywhere, including when I google extensively (and I'm pretty good at tracking stuff down usually).

Is it going to give more detail about certain things (what?) or more about seeing what the infection rate or any new "science" is at that point?

Quite apart from wondering what new joys it might contain, I am wondering if there'll be anything in there which might help me in my bid to change one part of our school's plan which I don't agree with (bursts bubbles) and also don't want to have to do at all!

@flumposie If my children’s school allow wraparound (still don’t know!) I can just about make it. (I can drop off at 7.30 and my school is 4 miles away). It’s not how I want my working day to begin however and I know of other colleagues who this will present a problem for. I’m assuming those of us who can make that time will do the before school duties and those who can’t will do the midday and after school duties.

What frustrates me is that it’s all for nothing. I have a day of stress facing me as I’m raving to school, moving from class to class
Etc but I don’t feel protected.