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

*Honey. I’m the non-teaching equivalent! Which is shit, but tbf they needed a break, they don’t know themselves how things will be and they most likely think I am fine with the uncertainty (I’m not, but that’s my stress to manage I guess).

I can barely make my own teenager do anything that drags him away from his video games at the moment without bringing on a full-on strop, how I will cope with 30 of them in the same situation I don't know

And to add to your thoughts noble, Mrs Gove has been manically tweeting about how schools must open and also how others must accept risk.

Wonder if that direction comes from her bosses at the Daily Mail or her husband who attends the government COVID operations meetings. I bet she’s in Us4Them.

What’s surprised me is that I assumed that the government would carry on gung-ho with its great summer re-open everything because they had just seemed to go ‘fuck it, bored of lockdown now, forget the figures and go to the beach’. The pause on re-opening casinos etc and the increased mask restrictions shows that they are actually still interested in keeping a lid on things. It must piss off the libertarians that the scientists are still there.

@Saucery

*Honey. I’m the non-teaching equivalent! Which is shit, but tbf they needed a break, they don’t know themselves how things will be and they most likely think I am fine with the uncertainty (I’m not, but that’s my stress to manage I guess).

Hey spare part buddy! Uncertainty is hard but yeah I can’t do anything about it so just have to keep putting the stressing back in it’s box when it pokes it’s head out.

I think slt are out until mid August so it’s possible I’ll find out more then but I doubt it because the timetable guy never even replies to emails let alone voluntarily let me know anything. I’m nursing quite a grudge built up over the last couple of years

We usually have a skills review in May, with an overview of new support needed for Sept, informal chat to see if we would like to take on those responsibilities, all fine if not. Openings for higher grade work discussed if our qualifications suit. New timetable with us by beginning of July at the latest.
I realise I have been spoilt by such reasonable and courteous planning

Interesting points Noble. I think you maybe right.

Another person with today as their anniversary ( except we are separated but on good terms )

Ofqual consultation about next year's exams etc is back. Ploughing on as before. certainly in my subject, they are still sticking to their original proposed changes (those will be the ones that created MORE work) .

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/906173/Consultation_decisions_-_proposed_changes_to_the_assessment_of_GCSEs__AS_and_A_levels_in_2021.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3x1vme8nUn9rklzH7wqQbGaOhXMI1ww9ZSnnI45Vq50L__3APS3SiJeck

Big change in Eng Lit!

I just love the way that google shows nothing about this yet but you bring it already to us piggy, thank you!

Just scanned through and can see no suggestion of any future closures (and what effect they might have), which I thought was interesting.

And they haven't decided on the dates issue yet!

It's a;; bollocks. A quick look at Twitter suggest big EBacc subjects are happier than option subjects outside EBacc.

Funny that....

I aim to please with my rapid news delivery july!

Thanks Piggy

No change to Science then. We can demo the practicals. Ooo yes may save 20 mins pack up time. Beneficial stuff!

Ofqual consultation is good for English lit and History. Crap for everyone else. In fairness I don't know what they could really do for Maths, perhaps include a formula sheet.

The date thing needs sorting. Less gain time will have an impact. Trying to get papers marked in time will be interesting, will they condense the exam weeks so kids have more clashes? Or could a deal with markers being allowed to mark in gain time be struck?

Our school doesn't get gained time so they can't assume.

Interesting isn't it that history gets such good treatment...?

Apparently the only reason for any change in film was to do with social distancing . Whereas Eng Lit gets consideration for time and difficulty of teaching the subject teaching remotely. I teach it and still think WTAF.

It is, but the content in history is absolutely ridiculous anyway. Our history department maintain that the kids deserve two GCSEs out of it.

Maths would have been difficult to, say, reduce down to two papers as it would be unfair on those who were better at calculator vs non-calc as it changes the balance of their worth.

Can only assume they think maths' fairness will be in lowered grade boundaries and that's it (and sod the kids who were borderline to understanding much of either tier paper who'll sit there able to do even less).

This is really interesting as it reveal responses per subject. Look at how happy the history respondents already were and yet Ofqual had no desire to make other subjects as happy as them!

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/906102/SUBJECT_ANNEX_to_the_Summer_2021_Consultation_Analysis_310720.pdf

The comments on my subjects were COMPLETELY ignored.

History isn't the only subject with ridiculous content though. When Film A Level was reformed a university professor called it a 'film undergraduate degree in less than two years'...

Yes, that may have coincided with a colleague who taught it deciding to retire early

I am actually really cross with FS teachers. Whining away on FB but the response number is tiny.

Maths would have been difficult to, say, reduce down to two papers as it would be unfair on those who were better at calculator vs non-calc as it changes the balance of their worth.

Maths doesn't work like that though. There is very little guaranteed to be on either paper. I agree that maths content cannot be changed and I don't think cutting it down is fair. However providing formulae would at least cut the time to learn those and instead test how well they are applied. It would cut a few teaching hours with very little change to the exam.