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

The ironic thing is that the posters accusing others of being hysterical seem to be the ones that are most hysterical bout masks or schools not going back or lockdown. Everyone else just seems to get on with it.

I could not be bothered to argue with that stat of "more likely to fall over and die than GET CV..." hmmmm, the irony of accusing others of not understanding statistics? I think it would be on the news if 240,000 people tripped over and died per year in the UK (3 mths CV deaths multiplied up to annual figure)...

Then we’d hear how they were all old or had preexisting conditions anyway so it probably wasn’t falling over that killed them

That they’d have died of something else in the next month or so. Falling anvil or something........

This comment on Health, why do we bother trying to ‘fight’ with these martyrs?

Schools need to open in September. And I'm speaking as a secondary school teacher.
My school is operating as year group 'bubbles' (big old bubbles!). We have four separate buildings and 5 year groups; two years will be housed on the top and bottom floors of the largest building, the other 3 in the other 3 buildings.
No social distancing or masks withing year groups. Staggered breaks & lunches to keep groups separate. Teachers to move to classrooms after kids have moved & to maintain 2m distance from children & other staff, but no masks.
Staff are definitely the most vulnerable in this situation, and if I get it I'll probably pop my clogs, as a middle aged, fat smoker. But I don't really see an alternative to opening.

Do they not have kids? If I pop my clog in the name of martyrdom ds is left without a parent. Dickheads.

My HoD and second are childless by choice and in their late 50s. They are very much of this thinking too.

The martyr post is also on the Korean research thread

@WhyNotMe40 My mistake, where I copied it from. Too many thread to keep on top of! Not sure what that says about my MN time!

Can someone on here explain how a staggered break and lunch can work with timetabling in secondary? I can't get my head around it.

Here’s our school day. It’ll mean teachers will have 20 minutes for dinner due to teaching across the key stages and having a lunchtime duty.

Every part of the day is a period, so instead of being 5 there are 6. Kids get either p3,4,5 for lunch.

Teachers.... will be lucky.

Break times- no idea.

Bloody £80 to reserve seats on the bloody flight too!

@Piggywaspushed I feel for you ☹️ We were supposed to be going to Ibiza next week but was able to move it to next year.

Keeping our fingers crossed we can still go camping at the end of next month!

This is what drives me mad mother : that some holiday companies are being so much more accommodating and understanding. My lot (shall name them :Villa Plus! more like minus) have shown their colours and will lose 1000s of loyal customers.

@Piggywaspushed We had booked with TUI and they had (and still do in regards to refunds!) some bad press. Tbh I don’t know if our holiday would’ve have been cancelled but when they offered the option to move without a fee I took it.

Is there anyway to claim on insurance if FO advise against travel?

They aren't advising against travel any more, though and we hadn't bought insurance at time of booking.

Never understood til this year why that was such a Big Deal.

Villa Plus are now selling 2021 holidays having not allowed any customers to move their holiday.

Customer care is non existent, it’s all about ‘the business’.

Is it the travelling that you’re uneasy about? Tbh if it was just DH and I we would have still travelled but the thought of booking a time slot for the pool and queuing for restaurants would not be fun with two young ones and that’s why we were glad we could move the date.

Thanks motherrunner - so there are some restrictions on which teachers can teach eg KS3 followed by ks4 in certain periods, but some are ok.
I'd hate to be the timetabler!

@WhyNotMe40 I teach all years apart from Yr 12. I have no clashes! It sucks having a 20 minute lunch but I’m amazed at how it’s been timetabled! A Maths teacher does it though!

It's not the travelling really. It's more the idea that someone could develop symptoms whilst away. No one has yet satisfactorily explained what happens then and how the hell you get home... so does this lead to people lying at the airport?

DH is clinically vulnerable and has barely left the house. Objectively it is mad for his first big outing to be to Spain, rather than the local pub garden . That said, I am sure his return to work in September is even more risky.

The travel companies ( some) are not being fair at all.
My cost to change flughts with Ryanair is ridiculous and I don't want to throw anymore money at them for it to happen again!

On a positive note, I had a positive note from a parent. In fact, now I've seen all my class parents, they were ALL positive about lessons and feedback we've given.

thank you for all the brilliant lessons and other videos you've produced over the last ten weeks. All your hard work has made a huge difference to me as a parent and it’s given B a really reassuring sense of continuity

An example. Nice.

Thats a lovely message. Makes it worth it.

Honestly we’ve had fantastic feedback across the board. Why do we subject ourselves to the bile of posters like the kitchen format?

They shout so loudly and repeatedly that you forget they’re just one, and one vet attention seeking, person.