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

We don’t have departmental detentions. For our misdemeanours the pupils are awarded marks and so many marks triggers a pastoral detention. I teach in a grammar though so behaviour is generally good.

It’s one reason why SLT get away with things. They know we’ve all done our time in comps and the exhaustion of behaviour management.

I am in FE and all the breaks are now taken supervised with the students. So if you have a full teaching day 0 time to yourself at all in an entire day as in not 1 minute when you are not supervising a class. Unions are currently involved. I have raised the discrimination against women angle as there are many menopausal and I know of at least 1 other member of staff who has issues with heavy periods like me

Anyway just had my last Yr 10 lesson of the year. Just double Yr 12 tomorrow and then I’m done for 2019/2020. Anyone else not feeling the usual buzz?!

@IgnoranceIsStrength That sounds tough. This is my concern too. I’ll have to go from 8-12.40 without a break and I worry about when I’ll need to change myself. I think I may have to be sneaky and try and get into a toilet as I’m racing between lessons!

I think staff need to be absolutely blatant about this though not sneaky. Or there'll be a sense that it can be managed and isn't an issue. They need to make some kind of emergency arrangement for staff that is official - "oh staff can always call the office in an emergency for cover" type thing, and then we do it every single day. If you change a policy it should be impact assessed for the impact it will have for staff with different protected characteristics - disabled staff, pg staff, older staff, women. Total Minefield.

I’m union rep and raised the lunchtime issue with regional rep who basically said it depends on terms and conditions at your school. Even though we are definitely STPCD/burgundy book covered. It was just a really wishy washy response. Same response when mask wearing at secondary was raised. Basically they are washing their hands if actually fighting for our safety it feels. I’m actually fuming.

Mine isn't pandemic related if that makes a difference!

Our lunch and break times are usually wasted with "repair conversations" that rarely make an impact

My child goes into year 6 in September. We are still undecided on schools. Wonder what secondaries will be doing next year for that. Can't imagine open evenings will be happening

@hedgehogger1

My child goes into year 6 in September. We are still undecided on schools. Wonder what secondaries will be doing next year for that. Can't imagine open evenings will be happening

In September we host the 11+, not sure of the logistics for tnat! We have HUNDREDS of pupils sitting.

We have got Open Evenings scheduled on the calendar.

I’ve just had an email from the NEU suggesting I do a 6- week course on mental health awareness throughout July and August!

I don’t think that will be good for my mental health!

We’ve just been told the pupils will just have one break a day! ‘Lunch’ could be as early as 10:40 for some year groups.

Wow fossie only one break a day for the kids?! That's ridiculous!! They need time to blow off a bit of steam and have some fun (as well as the mechanics of needing to eat and use the toilet). How intense will it be for them?! And particularly so for the kids with sen, who just about manage to get through the day as it is. Poor kids, and poor you having to manage that.

Appu you are correct, that would NOT be good for your mental health. I don't think I'd bother with that!

I wondered about detentions too for those of you with such short lunchtimes. We manage to have 25 min detentions and still have half an hour to eat lunch. Or eat lunch then run a club, or go to choir, supervise a house competition, have a meeting ☹️, help a sixth former with their homework, etc. When will those things happen? Or will they just fall by the wayside?

As for open evenings, we're doing ours virtually. They've had our IT technicians filming heads of year going on tours of the school, and years 10 and 12 have been filmed going into and out of lessons, etc for the video that will be sent out to parents. They are also allowed to book tours of the school in September, which will be taken by SMT and they will need to wear masks.

My dd is going into year 6 too, so we need to make choices about where she's going. Probably the local comp, which is where dd1 went. But I'll be putting my school down as our second choice. It would be my first choice, but dd has selective mutism and would find it incredibly difficult to speak to anyone without at least one of her friends in the same class. Plus, we're out of catchment so she might not even get in.

Have spoken to my union rep who is on it. She seems to think they can't get away with no saying either of the breaks are lunch, in order to enforce lunch duties on us... we'll see!

51% on Teacher Tapp yesterday agreed that the benefits of masks for staff and students outweigh the downsides.

Just home from school which is now closed for the summer.

Yesterday I thought I had a timetable for next year and it actually resembled what had been agreed upon in my back to work accommodations. Today I open a slippery email that basically says the timetable is hypothetical and going to change and mentions things that are specifically outside of what was agreed.

I’m a bit fucking sick of it always being a wrestling match and always having things agreed only for them to completely go against it. Swearing because I feel sweary. Thought things were sorted but now it’s seeming like the same old shit of doing whatever they want with me.

I sent an email asking for clarification and expressing concerns this morning but have since had an email saying slt are not to be contacted till mid August now. Assume I’ll just be left not having a clue what’s happening.

I wish people could be trusted to do what they say and to not always feel like you’re having to battle for the most basic things.

That's really shit honey. I'm so sorry your SMT are so crap to you. 💐

@TheHoneyBadger I’m so sorry ☹️ Swear away!

Do you have grievances in England? I think that's what I'd be doing Honey, or the threat of one anyway.

All these shortened lunches and extra duties will eventually take its toll. More staff will be off sick - not just covid.

There are some members of staff at my school who have 'regular' sick days and I bet they will be taking more ... grrrr

Ha, I was told (in the last seconds at the end of a meeting last night), that on the days I'm out of class (PPA and a management day), I'll be expected to act up to deputy as our head is on secondment for the term. No pay for this, obv. Super.

the timetable is hypothetical and going to change and mentions things that are specifically outside of what was agreed

Union. I’ve had to get my union involved over shitty last-minute timetable alterations too and it was an extremely stressful time. They just think they can take the piss.

Thank you. It’s utterly taking the piss and the same guy who kept sticking ks4 science on my timetable despite having taken a job on the condition of ks3 only.

It was all agreed as part of return to work arrangements and then he’s just ridden roughshod over that.

I can’t find our grievance procedure and am not supposed to contact anyone in slt. Fed up. It’s just the same old shit.

Sorry to hear @TheHoneyBadger. It’s totally shit.

At my school things seem fine then out of the blue someone will email, rudely IMO, demanding something of you but with no discussion beforehand. I think many staff just do it because they don’t want to be seen as the troublemaker...