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 do feel we'd be better, at secondary, planning to be part time with things in place to prevent transmission. Than just opening full time and having to keep closing or sending kids home. I do wonder what's going to happen behaviour management wise. Our main sanction is being able to send kids out to another class but we've been told we can't do that

I hadn't seen the Korean study stuff.

That's going to be shit.

I can't access the ny times in but found this
www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/19/asia-pacific/coronavirus-teens-tweens-south-korea/

And it has become increasingly clear that PHE work under government jurisdiction. If we think they haven't been told to have very high thresholds for school closures , then we are very naïve...

That is very true.

The problem is that if they don't keep a tight hold on this appropriately, it will unravel and schools will close due to lack of staff.

It's going to be a shit show.
I am actually furious about the level of apparent censorship in the press about school outbreaks.

Anyone fancy working at the school in Leicester that's doing 5 hour lessons? I can't decide whether this is a good idea, or an awful one! Awful, if any child hates your subject so decides always to be ill on your day. Awful if you have an awful class. And impossible for homework setting. Not sure how PPA would work.

They have got rid of tutor time, which I would definitely be doing. Pointless mixing imo.

What’s annoying me is that teaching is going to be exhausting and shit (different classrooms, staggered breaks, longer day) when it won’t make the slightest bit of difference. The pretence of bubbles massively increasing workload for no good reason.

It seems that some parents are fooled though.

Just the tip of the iceberg that is to come in September. I had one student absent Friday - mum said she (mum) had c19 symptoms and was waiting for test results. Child in school today, mum says results were negative. No way to check this. Head won’t send child home as we have to take parents’ word...
This is going to be endlessly repeated - either just the random days off or the lying about testing one way or anther.
With a more robust approach from SLT I’d feel happier.

It'll all implode by half term. Especially secondary. And that's optimistic. 4 weeks is realistic.

I went I to school on Friday for the first time and discussed what would be happening. I do feel happier though there are going to be some extra risks simply due to my role crossing more bubbles (specialist ppa teacher, with a room but accessed by many.)

I'm very thankful that I'm being given more ppa accidentally than I should have, which will be needed as I have to coordinate regularly used materials across the school.

I'm going to have to set up termly bubble/ class boxes to minimise contact but there will be some equipment that we can't buy extra of.

I'm also being given a small number of hours of ta support which I've never had.

The majority of my anxiety was simply how on earth to accomplish what we'd been set within guidance and to teach as normal under fewer hours (we close earlier for cleaning.)

Unfortunately my children's wrap around care is also shorter and also not in the morning. Poor Dh is going to have to go in an hour later on those days.

However, all this feels futile. It will be like dominoes. As soon as some schools or bubbles close, the knock on impact for teachers who are parents will be huge. That will impact their schools.

Child in school today, mum says results were negative.

That's why the local authority MUST have names.

Ridiculous.

I’ve read and posted and been completely ignored on that Korea thread.

The worst is the people who want to pretend the risk is vanishingly small and call hysteria or panic at wanting any mitigation at all. Some are close to denying the virus really exists or is in anyway dangerous and clearly spend too much time on American right wing YouTube channels

Agreed. So fed up of the hysteria narrative. It's so demeaning.

@noblegiraffe

What’s annoying me is that teaching is going to be exhausting and shit (different classrooms, staggered breaks, longer day) when it won’t make the slightest bit of difference. The pretence of bubbles massively increasing workload for no good reason.

It seems that some parents are fooled though.

Exactly what the kitchen poster keeps talking about on that other thread, arguing against teachers who are saying things are pretty much going back as normal.

People believe that just because there are three pages worth of plans for September, doesn’t mean that the risk is any less!

The risk is just as high because teachers will be teaching all year groups, it will just be really complicated and hard!

Is there a word for when someone does that annoying thing of accusing you of believing something at the opposite end of the spectrum to what you were trying to say? As in, you're trying to say that schools aren't currently safe and more needs to be done to make them so, and then someone piles in with "so you're saying schools should stay closed forever, then?"

Gaslighting?

We have certainly just been blamed for no music lessons and no swimming.

Exactly @Appuskidu - a 3 page reopening plan and 30 page risk assessment mean nothing when faced with the day to day realities of actually being in the classroom with the kids. I'm very scared for DH and myself and our family.

@CallmeAngelina

Is there a word for when someone does that annoying thing of accusing you of believing something at the opposite end of the spectrum to what you were trying to say? As in, you're trying to say that schools aren't currently safe and more needs to be done to make them so, and then someone piles in with "so you're saying schools should stay closed forever, then?"

Bullshitting

Straw man

Piggy did you decide to go on your holiday or not? Mine is not fco approved but is flying anyway so looks like I am £900 down.

we still argue about discuss this daily.

Have juts learnt that Ryanair is still charging people to sit together, too, even thought they are supposed to do this anyway.

DH says he is now resigned to losing £3000. Flights running. Villa allegedly booked but I have noticed they have left the company now and we seem to be the only booking fro August. I also keep reading about rammed roads in Spain from people trying to access beaches.

The company literally would not even discuss us moving our booking to 2021.

Have to decide soon as need to cancel cattery...

It's a nightmare piggy. It really is. Feel sick at £900 let alone 3k.

I feel like lots of people don't understand risk, but don't want to get into an argument on the other threads. 1% of death is high risk, but people keep saying it's only 1% - and comparing it to the risk of driving to school - rtc risk of death is 0.005% per year (0.4% lifetime). Apparently base jumping is only a 1.67% risk of death, but I can't imagine that getting agreed as a school trip...

I am going to store that stat about RTAs. It is constantly trotted out, you're right.

The suicide one also annoys me. I think it's crass and cynical as they now we can't accuse them back of hysteria with something so sensitive.

One name on there is literally a suicide note for many sea creatures bizarrely. Guessing the irony is totally lost on them.

I’m not sure if anyone will get what I’m talking about