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

I’m very conscious of being the trouble maker and worried about it but I’ve just been through return to work discussions and had things agreed only to immediately have that changed. I feel like I have to do something but aware they’re probably going to hate me for it. Feel stuck

One more day to go (with an early finish at 2pm)!!
There's talk of Prosecco and Scones in the garden for the staff (gifts from a posse of lovely parents) but I'm just not in the mood. It's been a shit year (since March anyway) so I might just give it up as a bad job and jump in the car and come home.

Honey I am really sorry to read about the issues you have been having and hope you can sort it.

Saw this posted today at least some people appreciate us.

www.cddft.nhs.uk/news-and-media/latest-news/nhs-director-of-nursing-expresses-gratitude-in-open-letter-to-local-schools.aspx

Did anyone hear Matt Hancock say that schools in Leicester can open as of 24th July?

Does he mean schools will be opening in the holidays or does he not know that schools have summer holidays?!

God knows. I did read that....

In other news ASCL have protested vigorously against Ofqual's non plans for exams next year so let's hope they have some clout and they have also raised huge concerns about improving schools and the grading, quite rightly.

Here's the full article : it's miserable read, I'm afraid :

www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jul/16/judged-on-how-we-used-to-be-improving-schools-cry-foul-over-gcse-and-a-level-grading

Oh that open letter is lovely riga !

He said restrictions would lift on schools and childcare facilities from that date. Relevant for nurseries and child minders but yeah bit late for schools handjob.

Does he mean schools will be opening in the holidays or does he not know that schools have summer holidays?!

The second one. Oh and he also wants to be able to say schools could have opened and the fact that they didn’t is nothing to do with him and much more likely to be those work shy teachers!

Are Leicester holds different? I think they still have factory shutdown in June ?

Could be different. Seems they still do slave labour after all

Just looked them up : in fact they broke up on the 13th!

Teacher on Panorama

I finished (in school) today and said goodbye to my year 6. All a bit muted and most of them had already mentally left anyway- just spent the last few weeks arsing about.

More importantly, my end of term gift booze quota is seriously down - clearly parents think i've been doing enough drinking in my garden already. Usually i get enough to keep me going for weeks! No parent "last assembly " so no parents picking up on the last day. So they all just sloped off down the park together. Ffs.

I did get a lovely letter and book from one girl who i've had 2 years on the trot. It's all just been a bit shit though. I got an email from one parent by the time I got home moaning about the leavers video I spliced together saying it didn't show much of her child. No. He joined in year 6. Sorry. Ffs.

Anyway - I am doing the bare minimum of online schooling (for year 4 and 5) tomorrow before sitting through 2 days of inset. Then Dobby is free! Although i cannot find a campsite for love or money. Might just have to get pissed in a tent in my garden.

Cling on people, cling on. It's sooooo close.... There better not be a shock revelation that i'm expected in over Summer on the inset days. I'm going to spend a bit of time arming myself with directed time knowledge before them.

Last day for me tomorrow, and I'm still not sure if I'm going to be in or not. My hod taught my year 12 today, and very helpfully filmed his explanations and sent them to the kids who are still working at home. I hope I am allowed into school tomorrow, we've got a leaving her together in my department for my friend who is retiring after 23 years in the same job. It's an anticlimactic end for her as it is, so I don't want to miss what we CAN do to celebrate.

I'm in school for half a day tomorrow to tidy up the massive mess I made in my classroom today! We've got our new classes in 5 at a time over next Monday and Tuesday, then cake and fizz in the hall at 3.15 on Tuesday. I'm going out with colleagues from my old school tomorrow night - well, a socially distanced garden chat.

But I feel like I've been hit by a bus. Suddenly exhausted. I've put together a box of wine for my child's school staff. They've been ace, but I've run out of clues as to who has been running the bubbles, just had to go general. They finish tomorrow.

The win is that child and partner are going up north tomorrow for a week. Woohoo... freedom! Well, work, but then freedom...

My dd's school was going to have the year 6s in tomorrow for a last goodbye. They haven't managed to open for them yet because of having so many KW children. They sent an email to all parents earlier saying that one bubble had been closed due to a positive test so unfortunately they needed to postpone the year 6 day. They've now had another positive test result in a different bubble, and all parents are asked to be extra vigilant about checking for symptoms. Even if your child has not been in school, because they know children have been playing together outside of school. What a crap end of year for them!!! And poor year 6, with no finish to primary school ☹️

Oh no! 2 weeks of isolating for them is it? I really must read the guidance. But right at the beginning of the summer holidays.

So the kids have either spread to each other or asymptomatic parent/teacher.
I guess some are nearly 12?
Or i guess twins. The fact both ill at same time suggests both infected by same other person although it can be i think incubation of as little as 1 day.
Such apity testing is so useless. Good testing would be able to identify who was incubating it. Though could they wait till day 5 as the average and then test as that might pick up some asymptomatic people. But is that then 5 days from most contagious which is 2 days before symptoms? So actually more like 3 from symptoms. Not to avoid the SI but to catch people who dont get symptoms.
If they have 2 does them calling in testing apply or was that only from sept.

I can’t find our grievance procedure and am not supposed to contact anyone in slt.

Honestly, union. Regional rep if your school one is on holiday. They’ve dropped this on you at the last minute against what was agreed then told you you have no comeback. Get it all written down and sent off.

Grievance procedure is more formal. I wouldn’t go down that route if you could get a stern letter from your union telling them to back off.

‘Happy’ last day to us all

Usually we would teach P1 as normal, have an extended break for a staff meeting/goodbyes/gifts, P3 would be whole school assembly and finish at 12.40. And it is out the gate at 12.40 and my dept go for champagne.

Today I am teaching double Year 12 live bus Teams and come 11 I’ll log out and that’s it til the madness of results weeks and Sept. All seems so miserable.

My children don’t feel it’s the hols either although they are looking forward to not having me scream at them to shut up whilst I’m teaching - DD’s words. I have booked a trip to the farm tomorrow to try and mark the occasion. We should have been camping in the Peak District but the camp site cancelled as they can’t promise the regular cleaning of facilities. We do have camping trip end of August but that seems so far away.

Have a good day everyone!

We finished yesterday. Weirdest end of term ever, I sat at home and worked on resources all day except for one short online meeting. Doesn't really feel like it's the holiday as haven't had all the normal end of term activities. And I've still woken up early.

Department Teams meeting at 11 ' year summary' then we are free.
We usually finish with a dancer festival for the kids and a goodbye at the end of the day.

My oh is in school and has been for a few days. No kids though so it was a bit pointless.

End to the strangest term.

Yeah I had a look at grievances and that’s definitely not a road I want to go down.

Keeping everything logged and will see what comes next. Going to try to put it out of mind till mid August when slt are back and see if I get a response if not will get in touch. I am cc’ing the lady who did the back to work and accommodations etc stuff. They likely hate me but all I need is a clear and fair outcome and timetable and I’ll very happily leave them alone and get on with my job.

Happy last day. Ours was yesterday and very strange.

Back to masks. I'd like the secondary pupils to wear them really. Unless they have proper reason not too. I've already had a few family and friends bring more cautious about seeing me than they are about seeing others, with distancing, because I go into a school. Mask wearing might help them feel more comfortable around me.