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 think we're somehow meant to teach from 1m away for less than 15 minutes. Then we'll be fine.

I’m thinking I should just hover in the corridor and shout into the class 🤔

We've been open to maximum capacity at all the key dates so far (Key Workers/Easter holidays/1st June), and on a 2 week block rota basis since 22nd June for Yrs 2-5, for instance, for any parent who wanted it. We have plenty of staff and a very large site for outdoor play, so we could afford to do so (no medals for that). The Head has been the epitome of the "can-do" attitude much vaunted on here.
However, her parting shot on Friday as we left for the holidays was that she will email us about September "when she's worked out what the hell we're going to do."
It's going to be a nightmare.

@motherrunner

I’m thinking I should just hover in the corridor and shout into the class 🤔

I am absolutely loving this idea. They also might not notice if I nip to the loo. Or, I get a cardboard cut out of me and just put that in the room?

Could I also theoretically shut down 2 other schools - the ones my children go to and the one where DH teaches?

It’s two positive cases to close a bubble isn’t it? If you tested positive, and your DH tested positive, that wouldn’t close either school bubble because it would only be one case in each bubble.

I think they don’t want to count teachers in bubbles because they’re telling them to stay 2m away - who is going to have the argument that of course they couldn’t stay 2m away and need to isolate? The diagrams of spread in buses and restaurants don’t seem to show the virus dropping dead after 2m in an enclosed space either.

@Mistressiggi Yes! With alternate heads like in ‘Return to Oz’. There’ll be the ‘LOOK’, the ‘encouraging smile’, the ‘I’m trying to be patient but I’ve said the same 10 times!’, and the year it’s Friday, you are all my favourites today’.

We are quite lucky I suppose in that our HT has given us the first draft of what returning to school will look like in September.

But even that was under written with a statement of we will see what happens on Aug 12th.

The Head has been the epitome of the "can-do" attitude much vaunted on here.

Our head has given the impression to staff that they think the DfE are a pile of useless wankers, but communication with parents has been gushingly positive. I certainly think about that when people post ‘I don’t know why MN teachers are soooo negative, my DC’s school has said that they are delighted to be opening fully in September and keen to get everyone back in’. Well, duh.

@noblegiraffe

The Head has been the epitome of the "can-do" attitude much vaunted on here.

Our head has given the impression to staff that they think the DfE are a pile of useless wankers, but communication with parents has been gushingly positive. I certainly think about that when people post ‘I don’t know why MN teachers are soooo negative, my DC’s school has said that they are delighted to be opening fully in September and keen to get everyone back in’. Well, duh.

I completely agree with this-our newsletters home are completely different to what SLT say!

Does anyone know if the rule of ‘2 positive cases within 14 days in a bubble and it closes’ changed or is that the most current advice?

Exactly. At no point in March were parents picking up kids aware of the fact that we were all shitting ourselves. We put on a performance on the Wednesday night of the last week - hall rammed with parents.

Aaaanyway. It's good to see there is a teacher on Health who should have been shielding but didn't because children need to be educated. Fucking martyrs. It's JUST A JOB.

Our head often ends meetings with 'well, what did we expect from the Tories... bye all'. Obviously she's not going to put that on a newsletter.

2 cases is current guidance. It's a bit confusing as to who has to isolate and when, whether families are affected or not.. I'm sure that by September it will be nothing other than children who have positive tests stay home, everyone else in as normal.

I actually think many would view going to any workplace while shielded as irresponsible. Or negligent or bullying employers.

Apologies if I have missed it and it's been mentioned. Is anyone reading the thread on the Korea research?

Just read it. That's where you will find the martyr teacher referenced previously.

Ridiculous we all have them they make the job so much harder for all.

@RigaBalsam

Apologies if I have missed it and it's been mentioned. Is anyone reading the thread on the Korea research?

I haven’t seen it. I’m guessing it’s going quite predictably.

Agreed think if you read what we put out to parents, and in fact what I said to my classes when the kids voiced concerns in my last online lesson it doesn’t reflect behind the scenes discussion and worries.

@ohthegoats

Exactly. At no point in March were parents picking up kids aware of the fact that we were all shitting ourselves. We put on a performance on the Wednesday night of the last week - hall rammed with parents.

Aaaanyway. It's good to see there is a teacher on Health who should have been shielding but didn't because children need to be educated. Fucking martyrs. It's JUST A JOB.

Oh gosh yes, that last week! Smiles all round, lots of calming Yr 11 and 13 all whilst we were sobbing in our offices!

I’m on that thread too @ohthegoats, people like that imply the rest of us don’t care. We do! But just because I teach doesn’t mean I should be less protected than anyone else.

Inbox concerned as to how much we as parents or teachers will be told. Will we know if someone has tested positive and given they’re not allowed to reveal the identity of children who’ve tested positive how will we know if we’ve been in close contact with them?

On my last afternoon this week in school a boy was coughing and unwell and according to other staff had been like that for days. I was looked at like I was very naive when I asked shouldn’t he have been sent home? Apparently that hasn’t happened once during the keyworker and vulnerable provision.

I’m really not believing that people will be sent home with symptoms or after breaking covid rules and any teacher requesting that is going to be seen as hysterical or causing trouble.

Pre covid the rule was unless they had literally thrown up or were bleeding significantly pupils shouldn’t be sent to student services. I can’t imagine that culture fades easily

Rafals there are some sensible suggestions but also some of the predictable responses.

‘Enough of this nonsense, kids need an education’ is so fucking stupid. Like schools are closed because of, I dunno, a prolonged national holiday.

On my last afternoon this week in school a boy was coughing and unwell and according to other staff had been like that for days

Why the hell hadn’t the staff done anything about it? Lack of clear protocol about whose responsibility it is, I expect. Like a kid turning up with no tie to lesson 4 and the teacher thinking that the tutor must have cleared it so don’t say anything.

Yep noble but also meaning those of us who do try and do something about it will stand out as difficult.

I do ask about the tie and often turns out I’m the first one to say anything all day and to record it

Yes, that last week in school I was sending coughing kids to the first aider and the kids were baffled given that they’d coughed their way through previous lessons and their parents had said it was fine.

Can anyone else seeing kids developing sudden and persistent coughs or losing their sense of smell/taste and it being very difficult to disprove! Especially when they have a test or a lesson they think is boring coming up!