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

Will the kids get loo breaks?

Yes, their timetable is as normal with their usual mid morning break and lunch break (neither reduced for them). It’s just staff as we are required to supervise their ‘base’ rooms.

That is dreadful-I’m prone to cystitis and would end up with repeated infections.

Is nobody else objecting?

This is the sort of thing the unions should be on. And a problem with male-dominated SLT.

We only had the timetable yesterday so I’m not sure how colleagues feel. The only person who I’ve spoken to is my friend in my department and she said she feels sick too. Unfortunately, speaking on past experience, objections are ‘noted’ but ignored.

@noblegiraffe So true 😡

I'm in the same situation re breks and loos come September. In my rom from 8.30 till 12 and have to supervise my bubble break. Then eat lunch with the kids and wait till the TA comes over to supervise my bubble for a 30 min loo and lunch break. Except it wont be. Then finish later at 3.45. So pissing my pants or menopausally flooding them is a lovely possibility. We were told that as we had not worked full directed hours at the start of lockdown this was our payback. I have contacted my union but my trust has form for forcing out "troublemakers" and ignoring unions and the burgundy book. Plus we have to start booster sessions after school in October.

Fuck that. I am giving it till December then resigning I think.

We were told that as we had not worked full directed hours at the start of lockdown this was our payback

Ask to see the directed time breakdown for the forthcoming year, which they must be able to provide. It resets in September so they are talking bollocks.

How can we be treated so appallingly? I’m at the horrible stage of life where I’m not old enough to take early retirement but too old to retrain for any other career. I’m nearly 42, I’ve been teaching since I was 22!

I'm 49, been doing this almost my whole life. But I don't have enough to retire on by a long shot thanks to years of part time working when my kids were small.

I would get treated better at Aldi though.

I gave never been given a directed time breakdown. I don't think they even have one! I'll ask though!

My school gives us the directed time allocation, and if requested will give a personalised one too according to TLR. That’s why I know objecting to the extra duties will be futile, slt are hot on directed time allocation and ensuring they get when 1265 hours worth from us!

Yep, we're 8.30 til 12.15 with no break, but the staff toilet is opposite my classroom.

Surely there is a way to have toilet breaks? Email the head directly, giving far too much personal information. Usually scares them into action.

I too however will leave at Xmas if I need to

And to think until yesterday my fear was going back to school being labelled as the teacher with the ‘crazy kid’ as my son has had a sensory meltdown whilst I have been teaching.

I can now look forward to being the teacher that ‘flooded’ in front of a class.

On a happier note, as it’s been so obvious to my children how sad I’ve been today, they ‘sent’ me a present. I heard a knock at the door and they had for an Amazon box, put it on the doorstep and filled it with ‘treats’ ie a book from my bookshelf, a handful of Lego, a packet of crisps and some pens. Still, it’s the thought!

*put

I can't believe how badly some of you are being treated by your schools. Is this an issue with MATs I wonder, that the leadership and admin making decisions are just too remote from most of the staff, probably not even on the same site? I do admin stuff in a stand-alone school, and if I was (for instance) timetabling people without breaks they'd be calling into my office, or bending my ear in passing in the corridor... I wouldn't be able to just ignore their unhappiness. I guess if you work for a MAT there's none of that random passing contact? So too easy for head office to not see the effect of their decisions?
I don't have any personal experience of MATs so just pondering aloud! And I'm sure there's some stand-alone schools that treat staff badly too, just seems so much easier to make bad decisions if you hardly ever see those affected...

Oh, bless them. That's so sweet.

I'm worried about toilet breaks, too.

I do think this is an equalities issue. Whatever happened to those menopause policies workplaces were meant to have?? Not for schools, with their female workforces ,eh?

Mother you definitely need to speak to the union.
How many free periods do you have?

We have been told no photocopies, no glue sticks, no calculators.

Back to old skool teaching

Well our secondary originally just said planning as normal. So we’ve got our timetables. We’ve been asked what clubs we want to run.

No thought has been given to catch up/intervention for Y11 at all.

We’ve however also been told they’ve read the guidance, are waiting for 11th August and have apologised for having to email us risk assessments etc in the holidays. So no idea what sept will be like.

I have 5 PPAs over 2 weeks which is my 10%. We work on a 2 week timetable so I can go a ‘week’ without a free if you know what I mean. That is not unusual at secondary, I’ve been used to that my whole career, but now I have to do daily before, mid day lunch duties (plus walking pupils off site), I’m concerned for my health. I worry I may flood in front of students. I worry I may faint from not eating properly. I worry for own children who I’ll drop off at 7.30 anxious for the day ahead, and pick them up at 5 frazzled.

I certainly wouldn't be giving them a second more and would be leaving the second you could.

That made no sense, sorry. I wouldn't be arriving early and would be leaving the second you are entitled to. That would be the end of good will for me.

Argh we've been told that after school club won't run.... What are the chances that my own school will let me leave 30 minutes early to pick up my own kids

Mothet is that a 50 lesson a fortnight? You only get 5 frees?

The amount of duties you have to do is ridiculous!