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.

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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

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Piggy - it's not part of directed time (so is unpaid).

So how can it be an arbitrary amount? And does that mean it can be at any time of the day?

@Piggywaspushed

So how can it be an arbitrary amount? And does that mean it can be at any time of the day?

Any time between 12-2 by the looks of it

As an NQT I will be doing lots of planning over the summer to try to ease my worries. I have quite a nice timetable. Most worried about the possibility of not being based in one room and having to move around the school. Not confirmed yet but hinted at by the head of the year I'm tutor for

hedy
I’m a science NQT too. My departments resources look fabulous for 7, 8 & 9 but really poor for 10s & 11s.
It’s just occurred to me I’m at real risk of getting lost in my new school. The kids stay in one classroom and the teachers move to them.

@MsAwesomeDragon I kind of messed up the two tests the Zoe app told me to take. The first one when I sealed it there was too much air in the bag so it wouldn't fit in the box. The second one I was so focussed on making sure there was no air in the bag that I missed out the first bag I was meant to put it in. Once you've put that seal down there's no getting it open again. Luckily both negative! The person that had to deal with them was probably not pleased with my ineptness

It will have a huge knock on effect for me. Iusually get in at 7.45 to prep the morning and a bit of the pm but I know I can use a bit of my lunch to prep the pm. Do photocopies, get all the equipment out etc. This can be a big job in primary - particularly if you are sorting out individual paint palettes etc. Now I will have to get in even earlier to do it. And stay later to mark too. This will have a significant impact on my famy life. My kids already resent my working so long. In a usual year I often hear from my teen dd how the job means more than she does.

I hate this.

We've had details of training days for sept. mainly in the theatre leaving one empty seat between each other. So all within 1m of our neighbours then. One of the admin staff has told me SLT expect the social distancing requirement to be gone by sept

We are losing half an hour during the day to mark and prep, but gaining half an hour at the end of the day (with LSAs still being paid for that half an hour too). They can do all clear up in that time.

I'm going to reduce the marking expectations in my phase. Haven't cleared this with the head, but it's not reasonable to get to 3pm with 90 books to mark.

Looking good... NOT.

I'm turning down all period 6s and intervention sessions. Ime they're a false economy anyway and perpetuate a culture of 'no need to work in school because I'll come to catch up'.

One thing I really hope goes is marking. Pointless in most cases, whole class feedback is much more effective.

That bit about between 12 and 2 is interesting though because we are being told our proper break can either be the early one (before noon ) or the later one (which finishes after 2!) so they have definitely not stuck to that.

Herc - yep, we're going to whole class feedback.

Happy holidays for those finishing today. Such a weird way to end the term!
In a parallel universe without covid I feel as if we would only be in early June.

@Piggywaspushed

That bit about between 12 and 2 is interesting though because we are being told our proper break can either be the early one (before noon ) or the later one (which finishes after 2!) so they have definitely not stuck to that.

Don’t think they’ll be able to get away with that!

Union!

Our timetable for next year is scary. I mean, hats off to the timetabled but.....

I'm part time. I got my timetable at 12pm today. I'm teaching 50% out my subject next year and they've changed my days. Nobody else has this in the faculty.

I came home and cried. It's partly exhaustion and dealing with loads of stuff at home and school but it feels like a real slap in the face.

I'm all for union but realistically not much will happen now. Humbug.

Oh GuyFawkes :(

We're not getting ours until August. I can't decide if that's good or bad. Means I can't do anything firm so probably good.

11 in sw so im in the highest area. Despite them worrying about up north. So it isnt coming in from the community here.
Havent even seen any news about it

whenshewas I am making use of the orientation videos the school have made for Y7s!

Don't worry hedyprism there's going to be a lovely "community" of teachers with shopping trolleys on all the corridors, you'll be able to ask people! And not get knocked down by rampaging Y11 boys hopefully - well depending on how much they'll be moving rooms in your new school.

ohthegoats That chart isn’t very reassuring is it I found out today that the county I live in has only a tiny number of cases but the neighbouring county where I work, the R has shot up to 1.7.

I’m trying to be really positive for ds who’s starting year 7 in September, and to my parents that “of course schools will be safe!” as I don’t want them to worry that I could pass something onto them. My optimism may be slightly waning though.

I worry about my parents and inlaws. They'll have my little one when I go back so I can't avoid contact with them. Trying to be reassuring yet realistic. Planning for short doorstep pick ups as I'll be more likely to have it on my clothes etc at the end of the day. Feels crazy to even have to think like this.

So those sw cases. Just looked on the uk chart which shows a colour for over 3. Only 1 area -with 3 in sw. The numbers under 3 suppressed. But that means there arent as i say really outbreaks here to be fuelling 11 in schools. But also it must mean even the schools ones are 1-2 people. Or the data is inaccurate...
So 10 educational settings with 1-2 cases.. Well they have to be at least 2 to be an outbreak. So yes literally no other local cases.
And in fact there could be 100000 schools with just 1 positive as that isnt on the chart and is suppressed on the uk diagram.

@TaxTheRatFarms

ohthegoats That chart isn’t very reassuring is it I found out today that the county I live in has only a tiny number of cases but the neighbouring county where I work, the R has shot up to 1.7.

I’m trying to be really positive for ds who’s starting year 7 in September, and to my parents that “of course schools will be safe!” as I don’t want them to worry that I could pass something onto them. My optimism may be slightly waning though.

If the number of cases is small, R isn’t a particularly reliable indicator. It might not be as bad as you think.

There were 10 out breaks in schools in the SW last week. I wonder whether those are evenly spread or whether there’s a couple of areas with a cluster.

X posted. Sounds like they might be evenly spread then.