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

Oh, and I have avoided KOs specifically so far-I don’t teach in an Academy so I don’t know if that’s why.

@NeurotrashWarrior

They work best for us in English when they support concept and terminology development.

I.e- I am just fiddling with Term One of Yr7 to add some bits. I’ve replaced some of the vocabulary on the knowledge organiser because I’ve removed some texts.

So, says for example the scheme has a text with words like ‘felicity’ or ‘hubris’ in them. The students are set those words the week before for homework and then they are discussed in class when we go over the homework. We also provide support sheets for SEN students. But the key thing is that because the homework is set centrally and is scheduled at the start of term on Show My Homework then all the learning mentors have access to the homework and the support sheets in advance.

We have found it incredibly useful for supporting the development of understanding of key terms.

I've mainly used KOs as a revision tool. Occasionally used as a "look how much we've done, how much more to do". I prefer my students to make their own vocabulary list in the backs of their books as we go!

This new report Viner again! It wasn't done with full schools though so not sure why its taken as gospel ( well I do) but yes guess we will find out soon enough. Dreading it.

Christ-Clav wants teachers banned from pubs on the journalism thread. I despair.

I am actually genuinely worried about the messaging going out to young people about their safety : I know they think all young people are self absorbed and so messages about their own safety reassure them. But the message the over 10s are getting is inaccurate and - actually - lots of young people do worry about how they might affect parents, grandparents, teachers etc. They are being conditioned to think that their lives can go ahead as normal. The government have also basically admitted they are going to cynically play up to parents'' fears about MH, as this is more 'persuasive' to anxious parents.

Geoff Barton was just good on BBC1.

I work with a borderline EduCeleb (well, a hanger on) who tweets regularly and host a podcast with actual EduCelebs. The reality does not match the persona, which makes me doubt all of them tbh! For people so big on research, very few of them seem to have done much beyond, 'this is what I do so it must be great'.

I agree with so many points here. Especially, can you teach a lesson with only a board pen. I think this should be a requirement for all teaching courses!
Also agree that the quality of trainees is much more variable than in the past, or maybe we were previously lucky but most used to be hardworking and know their subject. These days one of those seems a bonus!

@NeurotrashWarrior yes I run a specialist autism setting, but mainly very cognitively able chn. KOs are good for them TBH.

I don't have a problem with Oak. I don't even have a problem with the idea of an imposed nation-wide curriculum sequence (QCA units, anyone?). I would just like that to be a deliberate, thought-through choice rather than something that arises because a bunch of 26 year olds with time on their hands push themselves to the front on Twitter.

I just read that! She's just being obnoxious. That thread was interesting when it was about media bias. Unfortunately, it is sometimes teachers who turn the emphasis of the threads, plus the usual voices.

Agree, I've had some awful students over last few years. Uni passed one with distinction, he was awful. Really bad.

Though we had school direct one last year and we've employed her as she's amazing!!!

Don't read the papers today. Just don't go there!!!

Already have. Primary and secondary schools do need to start being seen as entirely different institutions.

Yes, I thought Geoff Barton was good. Succinctly pointed out that the Welsh govt had worked with the Unions and so all pupils had had some time back in the classroom.

We have an Edutwitter person in my MAT. I struggle when I come across him at a training day. So young, but really thinks he knows more than all the collected experience in the room.

Absolutely vocab Belle. And I can see the benefit for revision and especially aide memoirs for harder grammar concepts or science stuff in higher primary.

But thats my point; in primary Sen we are all about the vocabulary.

A good percentage of my pupils in upper ks2 are emergent or non readers.

Some of the planning I do is akin to eyfs. Would you use a KO in a nursery? Good visual Vocab, lots of hands on handling and very clear images, diagrams linked to the task immediately in front of them, yes.

@ChloeDecker the trouble is finding them! We have 3 specialists - but with two groups at a level and two at GCSE, plus everything else, they can't teach everyone. So in come the timetable fillers. It's sad.

I love Geoff Barton

Ah yes reef. Yes with my very cognitively able pupils I can see KO being effective.

@NeurotrashWarrior

Didn’t realise you were taking about primary. Absolutely not for younger children. I like the concept but it was specifically developed for secondary.

This is the problem with often useful educational tools. They become wildly popular with people who haven’t bothered to understand them properly them applied badly to everything, whether appropriate or not!

I work with an edutwitter person. He actually used to be a genuinely good inspiring charismatic teacher, but now it's all status and flashy stuff. I don't understand it - he gets good results but actually not many of his students go on to do the subject at A level. I think his aim is to get a paid resources or consultant job now really. Such a shame.

I love PowerPoint and use it for a lot (including booklet and worksheets) but I try to keep all lessons to under 10 slides. Ideally under 5.

That said, I'm reliant on them this year. I'm teaching 50% of timetable out of my subject area, and a subject I don't even have a GCSE in. I bloody need the scaffolding the PowerPoint provides as frankly, I don't have the knowledge needed to teach this subject.

And no, I'm not reading up all summer. I'm livid after everything my and colleagues did last year that they've dropped me right in it. Teaching subjects, yr13 for first time, PHSE and core RE in 10 different rooms across my 4 days a week.

I'm really anxious about it. I can't relax this holiday at all.

it was specifically developed for secondary.

Exactly, this is what my own setting and many others don't seem to understand.

I've seen some that are essentially another form of the planning, Very wordy, including a formal assessment at the end. Completely missing the point...

@GuyFawkesDay that's shit. I bet it isn't English or maths they're dumping on you either.

Sorry, I'm just cross I've been told to make some for groups of pupils who struggle to communicate basic needs!

English is dumped on loads of people in my school! KS3 English can be taught by anyone ... apparently!

Is the viner study actually new or the same old one trotted out? Does anyone know?

@NeurotrashWarrior

I think the issue isn’t EduTwitter. It is badly trained and managed middle leaders and SLT who seem to think forcing new initiatives on staff justifies their salary.

It doesn’t.

I was all prepared to hate the Michaela book. But it made a lot of sense and I actually love the way they have a clear vision for the school that they all sat down and planned together. And that new staff have a week training at school before the kids come in to make them part of the ethos. I wish more schools had such clear rationales.

That said the head still annoys me on Twitter.