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

They just have these red lines that they will not cross. Some Eng teachers had suggested allowing open text for GCSE and they Would Not Have It.

Piggy
Interesting about English Lit changes - I wonder if everyone will drop poetry?

(It’s not a popular subject in my school at least!)

They should definitely provide formulae, as well as for sciences.

Pleased with my subject- cut down the NEA. Phew.

Well, they haven't done that in my subject. they've made it worse!!!

tax the feeling is that Unseen will remain which will be a bit hard if they haven't done at least some poetry, plus the anthology is free of charge.

I think my school will drop the 20th century text because we haven't taught it yet.

It's actually a clear move to free up more Eng Lang teaching and I , for one, will find year 11 very dull now. Lots of time built in now for Eng Lang and revision. Yawn.

Whereas in my other subject , I will be having a nervous breakdown.

@Piggywaspushed oh no! What is your subject?

Film Studies....

It ahs two options : make a film, or write a film. The schools that make films can submit just some planning etc (although that's a faff as that is not usually marked or submitted) but the schools that write films have to do the whole thing regardless.

Every skill is assessed via two films. They could easily have cut this to one per unit and chose not to.

It also can't be taught remotely because of copyright law.

Otherwise, it's all fantastic and I feel very reassured!

My DS plays a very large brass instrument!

Apparently the only considerations for NEAs were health and safety.

Food has done very well out of that! Virtually noting to do now!!

I love poetry but when I was supply and covering English a lot it was all war poetry which was mostly very dry.

Saucery I did get asked what days I’d prefer to work last year but not even that this time. He’s just decided for me. Good job I don’t have another job or a life or anything

I’m so amazed they’ve released me from science that I daren't really complain much. I wasted lots of energy imploring him to at least not give me ks4 as a non specialist as had been agreed when I took the job. It’s only because the business manager and new head got involved that I got things changed. I don’t altogether trust him to not find out in September I’m teaching a level bloody physics

I made the mistake of having a good lesson including a practical when he observed my lesson once. Either he’s delusional about my ability or he just doesn’t give a shiny shit about quality of provision so long as he manages to fit all the pieces into his Mensa level jigsaw puzzle that is the timetable.

I’m supposed to be teaching history but really anything could happen.

I've been camping for a week. In the middle of nowhere which has been lovely. I turned everything off. And now i'm back and it's horrible! I am astonished that we will be expected to continue as normal now i've watched the local infection rate tick up.

I have sorted my pension, will and checked my life insurance will cover me. Interestingly they are getting back to me. I am 50. It might be a case of unless I am told by the government not to go in I won't be covered. If I go in, as school are demanding, as a 50 year old vulnerable woman with asthma and an autoimmune condition I would be deemed to have placed myself at risk and thus nullified the terms. Despite my only other option being unpaid leave. The weaselwords in the dfe guidance are having an impact.

Ehct - my background is the Millenium Falcon cockpit! So unprofessional but i'm keeping it till I can find a Firefly cockpit.

I remember a lady posting on here, who does timetabling, that she always starts with the part timers. I presume he does all the full timers then just uses part timers to try and plug gaps.

Feeling paranoid that I’m being too outing now but I don’t think I’m being unprofessional if anonymous and not naming school or even area?

That’s shit phleb! And surely it says something about the legality of them making at risk work?

I think an email with quotes from your insurance company should be sent to your union and ask them for a) guidance and b) whether they were aware of this as an issue. They might not be and they should be.

I don’t think it would be possible to identify you, Honey. There must be loads of PT teachers in your position.

That's a good idea Honey. I will ask them. There must be so many teachers with life insurance in the same position. I wonder if we will get death payouts like the nhs? It does sound macabre but I am my family's breadwinner and I want to know if my kids will be ok if I am not. That's the whole reason I pay insurance! I'm insured for enough to pay my mortgage off and give my sister an annuity to help look after my kids as he would have them plus a lump sum that they would get later. It has always been an extra cost that I chose over extra pension payment because of my family status.

I'm going to get fighty about it. Particularly as my head is not atall risk averse, keeps saying itwill all be normal by xmas and happily sends staff off to weeny crowded rooms while she has a massive office.

There is a 'death-in-service' payout. Or do you mean something different?

Ah you missed our discussion about all this when you were in your field.

I had a panic and then was told about and looked into the in service death grant. Short term they get 3 x your fte annual salary and a couple of months of your usual pay as a lump sum. Then some form of pension ongoing.

We’re all on the same page it seems of not wanting to panic but needing to know our ducks are in a row.

Bloody awful really.

Short term they get 3 x your fte annual salary and a couple of months of your usual pay as a lump sum

I’m being slow-it must be the sun . Does that mean if I worked 3 days a week and died, DH would get 3x my full time salary as a pay out?

Yes, my death in service in the tps is still there. But NHS staff who died in service from the virus (nurses, doctors, paramedics) have government payouts offered. I think teachers should get them too. If we go back as normal we will be exposed more than most given that it's now acknowledged as airbourne and passed via children. I can't remember how much it was but it was a sizeable sum.

Its horrible to think about but I feel I must! I still have so much mortgage to go due to separation and rebuying.

@Appuskidu

Short term they get 3 x your fte annual salary and a couple of months of your usual pay as a lump sum

I’m being slow-it must be the sun . Does that mean if I worked 3 days a week and died, DH would get 3x my full time salary as a pay out?

Yes appu. I triple checked because it seemed to be too good to be true.

Phleb I agree but that would mean admitting we’re being put at risk. Could have caught it anywhere will be the line continuing to be trotted out I think.

Is exponential growth in the maths or science curriculum somewhere? Is there a big chunk of something we can take out so we can add it.

Although it would probably give U4T something else to lose their minds over. Teachers trying to infiltrate developing minds by educating them on relevant topical concepts.

Rafals - I think we should attempt to weave it into all curriculum areas. It definitely fits into geography and history as well!

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay

Is exponential growth in the maths or science curriculum somewhere? Is there a big chunk of something we can take out so we can add it.

Although it would probably give U4T something else to lose their minds over. Teachers trying to infiltrate developing minds by educating them on relevant topical concepts.

There is exponential decay in half life of radioactive isotopes in Physics.