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

Please please can someone please ask Boris what Covid secure means in the context of schools as a workplace!!

yep, basically no hands, face or space in schools...goodo.

Interesting discussion on the thread about today's briefing: Whitty implied that we can't safely reopen any more > therefore if schools open fully some other things will have to close > stakeholders in affected groups will be angry about them being affected to benefit the other group (either parents or pub goers) > who is more likely to riot?.....

Although if you ask "Who is more likely to vote Tory and / or be a government minister"??

There was a LOT of nudging going on in that briefing.

Surely a school is a public indoor space ??

Strongly implies that things will need to shut down to open things up.

Yep, they should go for pubs or schools. Wonder which would win. Ha.

I cannot get my head round the idea that at some point soon everyone else will be told they can, in fact , continue to WFH but not teachers, even if they are shielded.

The favourite theory is that gatherings will be stopped.

School is one of the biggest gatherings!

The government is running scared...

And no one talks about universities.

My fairly politically aware DS1 has differing views on this from me and so I am annoyed. He tends towards irritating Toby Youngism on the Covid issue. He is 19 and bored. the irony being he is a total hermit.

the irony being he is a total hermit

The 'friend' I have who is most insistent on schools going back (she hasn't got children, is single, and lives in the rural south west that has seen very little in the way of virus impact), is proud of the fact she hasn't left the house since 17th March.

Someone on my estate has proudly announced a loud party til late on FB and apologises in advance for the noise. She will try to keep the young people under control (think it's a 21st).

My fingers were itching to type 'good luck also controlling the spread of the potentially deadly viral disease' but I didn't. I noticed her DD works in healthcare.

My are is way below Leicester now but still well above the average of 5 cases in 100000 . We are at 17.

@mumsneedwine

Surely a school is a public indoor space ??

I believe the guidance states its for people "who do not meet regularly". So they have their little weasel way out for schools by saying we're in bubbles and meet every day, therefore fine.

@Piggywaspushed - on another thread you said you have your HANDS FACE SPACE also done in the medium of mime. Jazz hands was the first thing that came to mind!

I cannot see how they can say they are at open capacity and yet continue to expect schools to reopen fully in September. They haven't even considered the possibility of any more flexible way of opening and their guidance is a joke. I really hate this government, more than any other I've lived through. And I lived through Thatcher!

I will be in regular contact with 6 bubbles of over 300 each. Every day. In badly ventilated small rooms. Bonkers.

I just watched the briefing on YouTube whilst simultaneously doing my legs with an ancient and very noisy epilator.

Tellingly as soon as Boris would start speaking I would turn it on and carry on with my legs but keep an eye out so I could turn it off and not miss anything Chris Witty had to say.

What a patronising embarrassment with his hands face space bollocks.

No one ever expresses anxiety about dentist, doctors, osteopaths, opticians working in entirely different ways. It comes up a an issue from time to time on MN but no one questions their judgement. A kind not getting proper dental care could cause lifelong problems. My SH has to have dental appts because of risk of heart infection but can't get one. no orthodontic treatment for lots of children. Arguably, the need for facial and dental correction impacts physical and mental health, too.

Just a rant!

DS2 has already instructed me to stop with my weird mime!

I would actually like to se it in the medium of BSL.

As an attendance officer who also deals with first aid I'm already having major stress panics about the logistics of September. We're staggering arrival times which will make morning attendance an utter nightmare. The whole year group bubble thing is ludicrous - the minute a kid has a sibling or even arrives at the wrong start time and thus mingles with another year group then the bubble is essentially broken. And of course they'll be using the same classrooms with bugger all cleaning inbetween

@Piggywaspushed

People with no dependent children will be getting increasingly pissed off at the notion that they need to make sacrifices.

I think that is already happening. It is really tough on working mums but a sizeable chunk of the working population do not have caring commitments.

Said this on another thread : the word bubble will disappear from the next guidance. Cassandra hath spoken.

Lots calling for everything to be locked down except schools. I am a lone parent and am not going to be allowed to see my colleagues at work whilst dealing with the stress and mayhem of full classes who’ve been at home for months and worrying about health and then wouldn’t be allowed to see a friend or do anything outside of work.

Ds might be getting my death grant even without me catching covid. I battle to stay well every winter (depression wise) let alone if I’m meant to work like a robot without any adult support or company. Dramaticising obviously but only to a degree

I think people will soon move to 'if all the children are back at school, why can't I go bowling/to soft play'. They just want normal childhoods back. It is understandable. But they render themselves tone deaf as a result.

Lots of Us For Them phrasing. I was right : look out for the 'our children need' openings. They have been sent out unto MN.

I just found this in a Guardian article . Not said in the USA. Said here, in the UK , by a shopper!

I’ve seen a lot of animosity for people like me who aren’t wearing masks,” she said. “But as long as we respect each other’s space I think it is OK not to wear a mask. I have a strong belief in God and I believe that the virus won’t touch me or if it does I won’t be badly affected

We got visualisers in our dept. 4 between 12 rooms. I'm a bit of technology dinosaur now and was planning to have a go with them in my gained time and work it all out

@Piggywaspushed I'm sure I was reading an article showing that people (inc kids) were happier and less stressed in lockdown

Hedgehog I’ve been assured and am hoping that they are really basic pieces of kit eg plug into laptop and focus on page and it appears on your screen and therefore on the whiteboard.

Better be as trying to absorb google classroom has taxed my dinosaur brain enough

Oracle at Delphi here. I reckon the government will choose the hospitality industry over schools.

They’ve just pumped all that money into ‘eat out to help out’ so won’t be keen on seeing that down the drain.

I foresee schools being told to do blended learning with no investment. Zero. Not a sausage.