The Sixteenth Republic - waiting on the GCSE results show!

[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'm sick to the back teeth of being told that no one else cares whether they can apostrophe or not. That doesn't compute with the number of emails I get from staff complaining about students' literacy.

@MrsHamlet

But do they address their perceived lack of literacy or do they expect you to do it?

KS3 also tends to get the non-specialists because they prioritise the exam years for the qualified teachers.

Hence me teaching KS3 Computing, for example.

I think as well that we’ve become so sensitive to Sen etc that we don’t want to criticise work.

Plus it’s all tick and flick then follow whatever the departments policy for setting a learning question, giving an effort grade etc.

My marking used to include underlining spellings, using the same word repeatedly or punctuation issues. At some point that became discouraged. I had a big break from the classroom and I still feel a bit disoriented at having clearly missed some huge shifts.

@TheHoneyBadger

Our marking is really detailed. Sometimes I feel it's too much given the length of time it takes but I also don't feel like we'd get the results we do if I did any less.

They expect me to do it. Because obviously the literacy lead who doesn't teach everyone in the school can fix it when class teachers don't apply the literacy policy because "we don't need that in (insert subject)"

@MrsHamlet

That's a shame. Your job would be so much easier if everyone picked up on these things. But then I suppose that would leave them with less time for focusing on their subjects.

I think lots of students think subjects at secondary should have no overlap. When trying to refresh maths skills in science I get lots of I can't do that or that's maths not science. Having taught some maths I do know some of what they should be able to do (or where to look to check). My middle ability y9s complaining that no one had ever taught them how to calculate the area of a triangle and it was too difficult to learn in science were given short shrift.

@ohthegoats

Question.

What have you been told by your school about remote provision?

Child is off because they have covid symptoms. Test result is negative, but they have to stay off for 2 weeks anyway - is that right? Or is that only for some schools depending on risk assessment? Anyway. That child is at home 'ill', but it turns out definitely doesn't have covid, just a cold. And they feel OK within a week. Do we have to give those children remote learning activities? Or are they just off like 'normal'?

Do we only have to provide remote learning if we are officially isolating due to a closed bubble?

We’ve only been informed what they expect in case of total lockdown and closure of a bubble.

Lockdown - at least 2 live lessons per subject per week, staff work from home, online content to cover new material

Closure of bubble - all staff in school, teachers of classes whose bubble is closed to conduct live online lessons for 50% of timetable (not sure how we’ll do live online lessons in between normal lessons as our PCs don’t have webcams or mics)

ah! No trying to teach year 7s how to plot graphs anymore or year 9s magnitude of numbers.

I’m going to miss some things in science but definitely not predator prey graphs.

My middle ability y9s complaining that no one had ever taught them how to calculate the area of a triangle

Yeah, they tell their maths teachers stuff like that too, even when you’re the one that taught it to them the previous year. Swear down we’ve never seen that before.

Yeah, they tell their maths teachers stuff like that too, even when you’re the one that taught it to them the previous year. Swear down we’ve never seen that before.

I was that pupil. I would tell the teacher who had taught me for the past 3 years that I hadn't been taught that yet, rather than admit I didn't know it.

It would be nice if everyone would pick up capital letter and there/their/they're at least!
Kids hate it when I appear in their other lessons and make them use capital letters. They always ask me why I'm there, and when I say "I'm thinking of switching to whatever" they always look horrified.

I just bit on a FB thread of another campaign group who are nearly as annoying as U4T, who are campaigning to give students not just their CAGs but their UCAS grades!

Apparently, they have been misled.

@TheHoneyBadger

Hmm even my hypothetical might be different timetable has now disappeared from sims and school has blocked or is blocked from access to Go

So no timetable, no risk assessment, no clue what the inset days are going to be on. It’s quite stressful not knowing anything!

Apparently the bm has raised a query about my missing reckonable years for pension.

I’m hating not knowing what I’m even doing in September

I just checked and I'm getting 'account temporarily suspended' on Go as well. Could be that they are doing some sort of update or something?

I have a great idea. Why don't we just let them all decide what they want.

Most likely school has locked you out until tomorrow so they can transfer grades and print certs. Only SLT and exams officer will have access.

So I’ve finally got my timetable.

I’m not best pleased. Most regular teachers have 22 lessons (school has 25 1 hour lessons). Due to my NQT status I have 21 lessons.

I’m sure that’s not right. Not sure if I should bring it up with my mentor or not.

Page 12: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/851336/Statutory_Induction_Guidance_2019.pdf

You definitely need to speak to your mentor

honeybadger and frlrl

So stressful waiting for your timetable. It’s not good for my control freakery

The Every twat for Themselves mob have landed with venom on a woman keeping her kids at home because if a vulnerable family member. Including suggesting said family member goes to live somewhere else with the woman's partner!

What planet do they live on?! Am guessing everyone is slim, in the peak of good health and eats Waitrose quinoa (ducks for cover ).

watch out for this:

*These are the documents I have asked for. Address the email/letter to the Centre Head and the Exams Officer, and head it Subject Access Request.:

1. Centre Assessed Grades;
2. Rank Order Placement;
3. Teacher’s assessments;
4. Any written comments on the above, including any written instructions issued to teachers in respect of determining grades;
5. A record of my past academic performance, including, but not limited to records which records all forms of assessments, including homework marks;
6. The results of any progress assessment, whether computerised or written.

If you have retained mock scripts for Years 12 and 13, please disclose these so that they can be checked against the exam boards marking scheme to ensure the correct grades were awarded as per the exam boards marking criteria. If there is an issue with this, please confirm you will retain these scripts until advised they are no longer required. If you no longer have exam scripts, please confirm and state why these are no longer retained.*

I have all that stuff - but I'm buggered if any of it would make sense to anyone other than me!
I'd love to know if the parents concerned are able to apply the exam board mark scheme accurately, or how they are applying the correct grade boundaries.

I actually think rank order is not to be disclosed!

Just read something that suggest schools will never get the algorithm grades in their full glory.

How many teachers keep mock papers? I certainly don't - gave them back to the students and did feedback so that they could make progress.