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 still have another week of school left... kids finish Wednesday and then two Inset days at school. So many adults in school not adhering to social distancing or the guidance in the Risk Assessment.
Have my timetable for Sept and as well as class teacher, I appear to be covering PPA and interventions - so crossing every bubble going.

I finished on Tuesday though we had an “end of term” meeting on Friday (that’s when classes ended) so have just, out of habit more than anything, fiddled around planning bits and pieces in the morning while DC do their work. They break up today but we’re going OUT! So nothing happening from now on.

My DP has a work thing that has to be in person in a nearby city and I’ve booked us a table for lunch at a pub by the waterside that I know has good outdoor space and great food. The kids haven’t been anywhere much that isn’t a field since March so they’re really ridiculously excited about the prospect of a city. I feel slightly daunted but not about the lunch as I looked the place up on Facebook and I really like how they’ve set it all up. We won’t be shopping though. Will walk in the park and go down to the marina probably. Might risk a cup of coffee outside a cafe. Sun’s shining. Life is beginning again!

I finished yesterday, but there’s a meeting this morning that I’m hoping to be FaceTimed into. DH is in this afternoon and is then he’s done. This would be the year we have seven weeks off instead of six 🙁
We’d planned to spend a month in France this year but I don’t feel ready for that yet, no idea what we’ll end up occupying ourselves with.

I'm still self isolating as my results haven't arrived yet. It's so frustrating! I don't feel ill but I'm not allowed to go to work until I get the all clear. I should be in this afternoon for year 12, so I really hope I'm cleared in time for them. It would be awful if they didn't have a teacher for their very last lesson of the school year ☹️

Last day in today for us. Got my classroom ready for September.
Had our year 6 leavers day yesterday about half of them turned up to a socially distanced picnic.
Feels nothing like the end of term but glad it’s over.
Switching off for a bit will be lovely. Holiday cancelled though.

That sucks, MsAwesome, especially as you should have been cleared by now!

But I’m pretty sure that Y12 will be fine with missing a lesson, they’re all itching to be finished!

How much preparation are people doing for Sep?

I normally do a week or so work over the summer, but spread out so I don't mind that much. Just tinkering with SOW / incorporating next years new focus etc.

As it stands, we're not allowed to do practicals at all next year, so I should really replan at least the first few weeks lessons otherwise it's going to be like being an NQT again. But I'm so nervous the guidance will change again and then it will have been for nothing / will need to be replanned again.

I am teaching a new subject so will have to plan a lot of stuff. Everything else as little as possible.

My school have had a statement from the union rep and we have all signed a petition to be able to weat masks. I don't think it will go down well.

Another unclear result, which is utterly, utterly crap!!! I'm STILL not allowed to go to school! Both tests were self administered, but I don't know if there is a test centre near me that has staff doing it. If happily drive somewhere so someone can do it for me, because obviously I can mess up a test that has pretty simple instructions!! I'm so frustrated!!! But actually, I feel crap today anyway, with cough, headache, sore throat, and mild nausea. So maybe I wouldn't get a negative result anyway 🤷. But I just want a definitive answer!

Have to say, MsAwesome that your experience isn’t boring well for schools in September. Being down a maths teacher for an uncertain period because the testing is shit now is one thing, when everyone is back it’s going to be a nightmare to cover.

Boding! I think September will be anything but boring!

Exactly, it doesn't bode well at all!
I don't quite know what to do now. I want another test, but I don't want to do another self test because I obviously can't do them properly. I can continue self isolating, but that means I'm allowed out on Wednesday but dh can't go to work till the following Wednesday, which his boss doesn't like.

By the way if anyone is after face masks I just got some from Boden that are in a kind of silky material and say put better for talking than the heavy cotton ones. Quite good value, relatively speaking, too.

Steam the glasses up mind, which the Muddy Boots one don't.

Don't buy White Stuff unless your face is huge!

I ordered some quirky ones from Kew Gardens which should arrive tomorrow. I will have a look at muddy boots.

I’m not sure what to plan for but will familiarise myself with the schemes in my new subject area and particularly the first units for year 7 and 8 as that’s what I was meant to be teaching but who knows.

Thought it might be good to get stuck into learning about metacognition and it’s classroom applications but everything I’ve come across so far is pretty shallow and old hat and seems to use a lot of words whilst saying very little

Maybe I’ll focus on teaching young people with attachment disorders instead. Seeing a lot of these sadly and they can be really bloody challenging to work with in a class of thirty.

We have been told not to plan incase things change. We are not allowed to photocopy anyway.

Much worse than hust being down a teacher.
If you presume positive then thats a bubble that could pop. (Or could be the 2nd one needed.)
How many parents or anyone are going to bother driving so many times to get tested.
This is why a saliva test handed out at school would be much better.
If that is secondary then hundreds of people carrying on as normal.

How fast are the footballer ones turned around

But with an unclear result, they don't presume positive do they? My school certainly don't seem to be, nobody that I taught last week is being contacted, etc. So currently, there are 17 pupils that I taught last week who are unaware that I have symptoms (mild symptoms certainly, but they're symptoms all the same). So they are all going about their business, no self isolating, etc. They could be infecting a lot of people.
If this happened in September, I will be teaching 150 pupils each week. If I were to have unclear tests then, that's 150 pupils who I could have infected who could then infect others. One teacher who has it but doesn't get a clear positive result could end up infecting the whole school!!! And all the families.

Do they have a working saliva test? I could get a load of saliva going, but I'm apparently useless at this swab the back of my throat and nose thing. A spit test would be so much easier for people to self administer.

Is there anything that says you have to keep testing till you get a clear result either way? Surely this is a massive issue.

I think the saliva test was being validated, but it’s slightly less sensitive. I don’t think they’ve rolled it out yet.

Have you got a test centre nearby? When I did one I managed to book for someone to do it for me. If you're Midlands based I'll PM you which one.

I'm in Cumbria. There's a bigger test centre about half an hour's drive away, but I'm not sure if they have people doing the tests for you there or not. I've asked around but don't know anyone who's been to that one. Anyone I know who's had a test has been to the mobile centre I went to already.

Ahh that's frustrating. The big ones here have people who can do them so it might be worth a shot? There should be a phone number or something you can call, why am I not surprised the government didn't organise that.