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

I was interrogated about being off for almost a month and the HR officer wanted to know what steps I would take to avoid a recurrence of the problem. I explained that the surgeon had very kindly removed my burst appendix so I thought it probably wouldn't happen again.
Our cover manager is great, on the other hand.

I just don't understand why the government are being so utterly inflexible - why does it have to be all or nothing? For secondary it seems to make far more sense to have a blended approach, say two year groups in on any given day, the rest home learning, at least to start off with. The vast majority of secondary students don't need constant supervision at home. I really don't think people have grasped the realities of cramming them all back in.

Long time lurker and terrified (older) teacher

Having read this recent SAGE report it seems that visors are useless and masks may only be of limited benefit.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/907587/s0643-nervtag-emg-role-aerosol-transmission-covid-19-sage-48.pdf

$Then, the school nurse/spare admin person will quickly and easily administer the test to the amenable child (whose parents are happy for them to do so in their absence) and they can then skip off back to class if it’s negative. I’m not sure they’ve actually been in many state schools.*

Well, precisely. The man who told me this works in a secondary. Not sen primary like us.

Our school nurse was requisitioned by the NHS and won't be replaced. I can already predict which member of SLT will be designated swabber!

NeurotrashWarrior re schools being given testing kits: the July guidance says that each school will have "a small number of kits" available to give to families who'd find it otherwise hard to access testing. So unless they've rethought that I don't see that that's going to help most families or staff.

I'm increasingly thinking it's just our area. It's still very local authority managed and we know someone who is an nhs manager there who has told us snippets.

They seem to be self organising at that level a lot (eg took over a local factory and had all their own ppe sewn for nhs workers when it was clear nothing was coming their way, ordered a ton of tests early on which the government then took off them.)

That said, I don't believe it till i see it.

I'm envisaging my pay packet to be very much reduced as I'm sure I'll have to take a number of leaves of absence for the kids testing wise.

Most of our kids won't comply with a test.

Not sure what's going to happen there.

As we’re not even allowed to remove a splinter that is ready to slide out I’m not sure how we’d move to sticking cotton buds up kids’ noses

I think many will have no choice but to say they’re having symptoms too if their children are isolating. It may be dishonest but who can afford repeated unpaid absences of 10 days.

I already find some childless colleagues are deeply resentful when parents have to take parental leave. Guess they’ll be getting even crosser.

That's going to wear thin with every new cough that comes along. I get a cough with every cold.

The more I think about how I'm worrying about getting my own kids to take a test (not to mention my sen pupils) the more I think it's not going to be much good unless in secondary, but then teens will refuse etc.

It's also pointless if people are self isolating at home.

Also, which member of staff will do it? Were supposed to be medical staff now too?

I can't see the spit tests materialising till next year.

I’ve ordered a set of masks for school now. I wasn’t keen on them originally but every little helps. I’m going to keep them separate from my ‘personal’ masks.

I'm thinking of doing the same.

Zalando do a good set of 5 Cloth masks reasonably well priced.

I got some from Gap for the kids and they're nice.

I lnow it's the Daily Fail. It just makes me so angry. Inflammatory headline about schools shutting at lunch time.

It comes as papers from the Government’s advisory group Sage revealed that only one teacher has died from the virus in the UK – and they did not pick it up while at school. And the average number of confirmed cases among children is close to zero, and no child has needed hospital care with coronavirus since the start of June.
Just three teachers have needed hospital care in the same period.
Several schools say they will have to send children home at least one afternoon a week so that their teachers can be allowed their statutory time for lesson-planning and marking.

lloyds pharmacy have 10 washable ones for £14. Can't comment on how good they are yet mind, as they haven't arrived yet. Thought I'd better buy a weeks worth just in case guidance changes at the last minute.

Omg-frothing on one of the DM articles my mum has just sent me about head teachers saying they’ll only be doing half days to cope with cleaning (article clarifies often only one day a week-which I think some schools in Scotland have been doing for years!).

The comments are dreadful!

Snap Appu! Just ridiculous

Wow that's a good price!

Can get one liberty print one on Etsy for that!

I bloody well need to sew one but I'd rather sew something relaxing off Pinterest.

I was dreaming of a career dream
I had as 15 year old to be a milliner yesterday. I'm on the point of saying fuck it and jumping ship. Get a load of stuff together during the winter lockdown and launch a new business post COVID...

What's the article?

The thing is that in Germany the kids all go home at 1. Loads of time
For cleaning.

My school is sending staff home earlier to deal with cleaning. We've had to have good cleaning though as we've had outbreaks of various things including worms and scabies often in the past.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8606099/Schools-defy-plans-restart-schools-time-reopening-lunch-heads-warn.html

Shame on me for sharing such a filthy rag.

Oh the fucking headline!!!

I don't know any schools doing that?!

ODFO DM.

We were doing that in order to get as many kids in as possible and allow a daily thorough clean. Sen schools had different guidance. But it's not the plan for self.

Tbh, if they really want to keep schools open if it gets bad, that will be a viable option so staff can manage home learning for any pupils / classes self isolating. And better than what they had in June, so they can stfu with their whinging.

Though deep cleaning doesn't help air transmission so it's pointless.

There was a thread from someone whose kids’ school was doing it and they were fucked for childcare.

What is interesting about the article is that ‘heads say it’s necessary to meet cleaning requirements’ and ‘school will make up the time with shorter breaks’. So the kids aren’t missing out on any education, it’s purely a childcare issue.

That article claims that only one teacher died of Covid and they didn’t even catch it from school. I’m sure I read of at least three teachers (including a head) that died in that week before lockdown?!

@Appuskidu a local head to me definitely died of Covid