The fourteenth republic - watching Scotland and ever changing DfE guidelines

[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

Exactly what I thought!

The plan is strict seating plans retained so that we can work out who sat next to whom in each lesson.

I don't think they have seating plans for the canteen as yet, though

@Danglingmod

The plan is strict seating plans retained so that we can work out who sat next to whom in each lesson.

I don't think they have seating plans for the canteen as yet, though

And the bus and train!

It looks from some reports posted today like Israel went back full time as normal and things went tits up-they ended their term soon after and haven’t gone back yet. That link about Georgia didn’t look good. Does anyone know which other countries are due back and when and what their plans are?

Germany : detailed on another thread and in the news today.

But their schools are just so different . they run 8 til 1 for a start and are properly funded!

This is interesting :

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/05/covid-19-may-spread-more-easily-schools-than-thought-report-warns

Definitely one in the eye for the deniers . the detail in here is interesting on assumptions about index cases.

@Piggywaspushed

This is interesting :

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/05/covid-19-may-spread-more-easily-schools-than-thought-report-warns

Definitely one in the eye for the deniers . the detail in here is interesting on assumptions about index cases.

Very interesting. The media, government and large swathes of MN have been frothing since March that childen don’t get Covid and don’t transmit Covid.

It’s going to be utterly impossible for them to continue claiming this from September if things end up like Israel/Georgia. I’m sure they’ll still try, though! They’ll try to blame it all on cinemas opening or something

I went on a school exchange to Germany for a month.

Their school hours were 7am-12 noon and then they spent all afternoon in pool halls. We English were truly astonished at this level of independence given to 13 year olds. If they had PE first lesson, they just met at the sports field (a little away from the main school) and just got on with the lesson. No registration/form time. Everyone turned up - at 7am. We were proper

As a teenager we had a trip to France which included visiting a school - we were amazed to see the pupils were allowed to smoke in the school grounds (many did at my school, but they certainly weren't allowed to!) It all seemed very cool.
I'm going to do something in real life now as I'm getting too sweary on various TB threads (wine may have been consumed)

Was just coming to post that.

We haven't truly been able to analyse conditions with all kids in as we weren't testing anywhere near as much in March. Only the ones who made it to hospital. Which wasn't very many children. School settings since haven't been normal.

Stay here, Mistress. I need to follow my own advice!

Yes, I had two weeks in a French school, too. Lots of smoking 12 year olds and lots of snogging. Much less healthy than the 7am PE lessons, pool playing and ice hockey of the German students. French school was also very different hours: 8-5pm but with 2 hours for lunch where most went home.

I know a few families where they were all unwell with Covid symptoms in March. Either one of the mother or father was still unwell several weeks later and was able to (by then) get a test: positive. The kids were negative but, of course, they assume the kids had had it, too, but were recovered by then.

www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/anger-child-goes-gloucester-nursery-4397248

Recent example of a child sent to nursery with suspected Covid pending test results which turns out to be positive....

Yes the whole point is : what if the kids are actually the silent superspreaders like we all first said?? What if they are the index cases?

That story is shocking!!

But this is what we are up against. And it doesn't stop at nursery

I’m not sure everybody’s convinced about going back to school/work. I’m trying to buy a new laptop. Half the stuff online is sold out or unavailable for delivery/in store in this area. The guy in John Lewis reckoned he’d sold at least half of his stock today.

RafaIsTheKingOfClay

It was the same when all of this started.

WhyNotMe40

It is sad but its is a known fact that a lot of parents dose up their children and send them in in the hope that no-one will notice.

Its especially annoying when the child has been throwing up all night and the parents still think that its ok to send them in to school.

I once had a parent send a child who’d been vomiting all night in because ‘he was really looking forward to making bread this afternoon’. - that isn’t envy.

From that article about the nursery:

"Public Health have advised us to tell parents that if your child is poorly with other flu like symptoms (i.e., achy bones, headache, generally feeling “under the weather/ not 100 per cent”) as a precautionary measure they should get their child tested and isolate that child until they receive a negative result."

How interesting that health officials said that - ie any feeling unwell or remotely fluey, not just the three main symptoms!! I hope all educational settings will be instructed to tell parents the same. And the public really needs to be told very clearly that you should get a test for any of the more minor symptoms, including upset stomach etc. Not that some of the public have even gathered that you should get a test for eg any raised temperature, going on some of the posts on Mumsnet.

achy bones, headache, generally feeling “under the weather/ not 100 per cent

I think that’s good advice and I hope people are aware of it.

My own personal worry is that I have a chronic pain condition which can feel very much like the achy bones you get with flu when it starts to kick in. It then gets much worse, and I know then that it’s my usual chronic pain, but that first day it could be either. I also have permanent shortness of breath so I’m like a waking pseudo-covid symptom factory

I’m worried that I’ll assume it’s just my pain cycle kicking in and go to work, only for it to turn out to be covid. Because if I stay home every day that I’m in pain, I would never go to work. I don’t think they’d be too impressed!

Yes the whole point is : what if the kids are actually the silent superspreaders like we all first said?? What if they are the index cases?

I've just watched that Irish guy at the WHO saying effectively this!

It's Facebook but should work:

www.facebook.com/154163327962392/posts/3396292727082753/?vh=e&d=n

Hmmm... yes but another one who doesn't mention the staff in schools. It seems to be either concerns about the kids (easily dealt with ; they will nearly all be fine) or them taking the virus back home (might be a worry for those grandparents). Do we just not exist??

The only thing I hadn't realised about testing and numbers is that there's been an increase in testing and the including of private / commercial tests in figures.

When I saw the numbers in terms of percentage of positive tests there's not a huge amount of difference over the last couple of months. Iirc from the 14th July tests inclusion has been consistent.

Saying this to myself still only makes me feel ok when I see very low community numbers though, which currently in my area it is. I definitely wouldn't feel any better if numbers were higher and indeed if they now increase, I will definitely feel more concerned as it's a true reflection.

And that's all irrelevant when I think about the winter plus school environments.