Thirteenth Republic - School’s out for summer, no more pencils no more books!

[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've just been looking up masks that would actually help prevent you catching Covid as well as not transmitting it - now they do look scary. Wondering if I could wear one in school..

Rafals.

It's not just the virus itself. It's the extra stress of everything we have to do to keep the children and us safe. Plus less childcare. We are paying for an extra day in nursery as the in-laws can't take the youngest (tbh also as it's just too much to do a whole day) but ds has no breakfast club.

The school environment and they way we teach now is not set up for SD.

Ect that sounds tough. Did all schools go back at some point, I can't remember?

Good grief Ect, isn't that a second wave??

Though I notice you had much fewer daily cases than here at the height.

Just woken up to news that positive numbers have increased in my area (now blue on the postcode map) and a message encouraging our city’s residents to adhere to social distancing/wear masks etc to avoid a local lockdown.

If this is now? What will it be like in September?

Do not know what happened to the grammar in that last sentence!

Piggy- that report is vaguely encouraging for primary schools.

It suggests children may present with just d&v symtoms though. As 1 of the 3 presentations.
And 61% of parents had it with an infected child, but im not sure maybe it is saying the parents gave it to them. Because otherwise that's not good for shielding parents.

We're two weeks away from return now, starting to get very anxious - I will be wearing a mask but unless I wear a giant plastic thing it won't protect me. But I'm hoping other staff at least will wear them.

Are you allowed to wear a mask, @Mistressiggi? We have been told we can’t (in England).

The report worries me because it does mention ventilation so many times!

We are going to be very cold in winter (am definitely keeping the blower switched off in my room).

My school is absolutely freezing in winter with all the windows closed and the heating on-having any windows open is going to be a nightmare.

I can't remember the words used - the education minister up here was asked and basically said it was up to us - mind you he has form for changing his mind! The day we find out what the plans are is Thursday coming. He does seem to be realising that teenagers are different. Currently staff to stay 2m away from everyone basically but children no SD.

Japan is showing a similar peak to April. Still lower numbers but a significant rise nonetheless.

I've been to the big supermarket today. I did not like it. It's like wearing face coverings has encouraged everyone out as normal and social distancing is a distant memory. Although more stores are supplying sanitiser and spray for trolleys and baskets.

My classroom is freezing in winter too. I will wear a coat!

But I thought the optimum temperature for the virus to thrive was around 6 degrees. Surely we want warmer classrooms then, so windows closed. But then, no ventilation! And the only way to heat my room is via a blower heater (that is so noisy it requires you to shout above it, thereby risking spitting virus particles everywhere).
FFS!! We're doomed!!

I've got some good thermals. Kids arriving from India (if they carry on arriving from India I guess), which is a high % of our child turnover, are freezing in normal circs, they see going to be in a right state.

That SAGE report is quite encouraging, in terms of children not spreading it so much. And just it's measured very realistic tone. Please let the government take note of it!

Oops *.... its measured, very realistic, tone.

They need to stop being referred to as bubbles because they are not bloody bubbles!

Just been reading piggy's link. Liked this bit: Measures should seek to avoid joining up social networks within an educational institution, such as contact between teachers and pupils from different classes, and especially different schools
In my own household we attend or work in four different schools. That's won't be unusual

They don't seem to have done their most basic research on this! And what about people who work across schools in Mats?

Similar here. I teach at a secondary school. Daughter in primary. Her dad works in a sixth form college.

To be fair though, any household of more than one person is going to have people in different bubbles - study, work or whatever....

I'm actually feeling a bit less worried after reading that report.