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 was thinking last night that there must be many families out there who have lost loved ones who feel the same about how they were expected to work in dangerous conditions. After watching the Ch4 News piece on Rachel Makombe-Chikanda, asked to come out of retirement and who resigned due to lack of PPE but too late as she had already caught it. Just heartbreaking and she won’t be the only one.

The same Local Authorities who aren’t opening all libraries are the same ones saying schools are safe. Breathtaking cognitive dissonance. I don’t know how their decision makers are sleeping at night.

And you don’t even get people out clapping for you.

At least if I die in my ‘covid secure’ office that isn’t because they don’t want people working from home I’ll have had people out clapping every Thursday for a few weeks.

I wouldn’t be surprised if some Heads get staff to sign something that absolves the school of all blame if there is a problem.

Window opening limitators will make ventilation tricky. Any air con will be switched off.

Some posters are genuinely in cloud cuckoo land still blaming unions or saying teachers are being scared to death by comments. Jheez!

And as for the numbers now claiming to be science experts having read this paper or that paper. Bugger me! (excuse my language) I thought the U.K. had a shortage of STEM but clearly that’s something else I am mistaken about.

I think the penny is starting to drop.

I tried to point this out to a friend with 3 kids who had actually had key worker access due to her husband being a Gp.

She really didn't get it. Their school and area was fine from May onwards. Very few kids in.

She'll have to be actually in it to get it.

They're getting a taster at the mo as went to Spain the day before quarantine rules were announced.

What being listened to regarding a non opening window in my room did for my mental health was immeasurable.

Imo ventilation is going to be a massive factor in sept.

I really hope all those battling that get the support we need.

We have a system that pumps in outside air and removed other air and apparently it is safe....

It's crap at temperature controlling the rooms so I'm not exactly convinced.

We all know nothing beats an open window.

Ffs, they wanted us teaching in tents, so they all know this.

Sadly we're too close to a major road to have windows that open. The noise would be too much. Great building design there

Interesting that they’ve increased the SI time to 10 days-will they amend that in the schools‘ guidance?!

I can see them getting to October and saying it doesn’t apply to kids as they cough all the time anyway so they can just come in regardless!

I wouldn’t be surprised if some Heads get staff to sign something that absolves the school of all blame if there is a problem

I am an overweight woman of a certain age. I am waiting patiently for my head to ask for a meeting/discussion. Or even the H&S person. Nothing yet. I expect I will be asked to sign something but I shall be taking it away and running it past the union first. Private school so that will go down like the proverbial lead balloon.

I have been thinking about it - other than telling me to keep my little window open and the door open, there will be nothing to be done. I will be asking for outdoor duties rather than my usual place at the end of a crowded corridor as a small measure they could help me with. I am fortunate in that my room is bigger than some people's and I will be able to maintain a distance of about 1 metre (but not more) if I am careful. But I won't be signing some kind of 'you're fat and 50 so tough' disclaimer because of the wider issue of the school needing to do everything it can for all of us, not just the vulnerable amongst us. I won't absolve them of that general responsibility just because I have an increased vulnerability.

However, I suspect nothing will happen. Anyone else looking at life insurance and a funeral plan?

Oh that's rubbish herc

There's a fan thing in my room but it's really noisy and doesn't push the air enough. Really noisy: I teach children with autism. Even the TAs get annoyed by it!

Enough, I don't know if this guidance was updated but there was a clear paragraph in the latest guidance that talked about support/ risk assessments for anyone else who was potentially at higher risk.

It doesn't say BAME, or overweight, but it clearly means staff who might fall under these or other categories,not listed as CV or ECV.

(Hate the term BAME but it is pertinent in this context.)

I do think you should highlight this and speak to a union rep.

Thanks, Neurotrash. Will have another read.

Well our announcement has happened - all back from 11th August, no SD in primary, "where possible" in secondary as long as the full amount of students in (which means no SD), and SD between staff everywhere.
I have colleagues only a few years older than my senior students.

I started teaching at 21. I still would have been anxious. Young doesn't have to mean gung ho.

@Mistressiggi I'm stil no further forward in terms of what to plan! I currently have a timetable for what was Plan A (blended learning) and Plan B (as normal). I need to wait and see what SLT will put together in terms of minimising mixing groups in the BGE and senior phase 'where possible'. I still have no idea if I can do practical work either. One positve is guidance for first aiders that I have been trying to get for months!

I don't think they'll change anything weasel, it's all "where possible" "if it doesn't affect anything" type speak. Glad to see face masks are not banned anyway.
Piggy I wasn't implying young staff are ok, more that it would be strange to distinguish between my seniors and probationers in terms of ability to catch or transmit the virus.

(Plan nothing Fuckweasel, you're on holiday. These last minute changes are not our fault).

I know mistress. I feel really old.

@Piggywaspushed I started teaching at 21 too, am 41 now. I too am old 😆

I'm 50. Started teaching at 28. I am the oldest in the school apart from the head and office manager, partly due to them.employing only nqt or scitt for the past 6 years. I genuinely don't think there has been a "new" initiative for the past decade that I haven't already heard. Apart from the "Open windows stop teachers getting Covid" idea of course.

Lol put like that Piggy, it's sounds ridiculous!

But sadly that's the barrel scraping we are at. There's fuck all else we have the ability to control or request in this with our mammoth class sizes and zero budgets, and denial of ppe or masks.

Sorry phleb.

That's my dodgy old age eyes playing up at 42 or 43, I actually can't remember.

So your guidance is essentially the same as ours Mis?

I'm not sure what yours is! We don't have bubbles or anything. Staff - stay 2m apart from everyone. Unless you can't. Primary students - stay apart from staff, not eachother. Secondary students - stay apart from each other. Unless you can't, in which case do what you want.
Basically no SD among pupils, staff meant to distance from staff and pupils.
Lots and lots of "suggested" mitigations that don't have to actually happen.