The Seventeenth Republic - The Pick Your Grade Show continues as we edge towards INSET days.

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. It is meant for school staff only – a sort of room of requirement. Baiters, haters, goaders 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 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
Do not give ‘The Every twat for Themselves mob’ the staffroom password as a number of them are operating in an alternative reality.

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 goad us then that is not allowed in the staffroom. Close the door quietly on your way out

The signed letter says teachers are not at increased risk compared to other professions based on ONS data from England. Where schools have been barely open.

Well if teachers spread the virus more than the pupils maybe it is not safe for teachers to be in school

The signed letter says teachers are not at increased risk compared to other professions based on ONS data from England. Where schools have been barely open

They are technically correct.

I’ve given up on the idea schools are going to be made safer. Just going to go in and hope for the best.

If I’m asked to teach lessons in class and provide online lessons for kids shielding at home I may lose my mind.

My partner has just told me to leave. And until I can leave, to get weekly tests. Can we do that?

I think they should do regular testing in schools, like they said they were going to do in care homes, but I bet they won't as they probably won't like the results.

@noblegiraffe - that's exactly it. So many people keep saying the data shows schools don't spread it. But they are wilfully ignoring the fact that schools haven't been open with full pupil numbers. Until that happens, I guess we will have to put up with this.

I'm reading this and Mumsnet decides to deliver me pre-paid funeral plan ads. Black humour or worryingly apt?!

Very helpful post from the Daily numbers thread - selective quoting of the PHE report on how very safe schools were in June:

Daily numbers, graphs, analysis thread 15 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3994890-Daily-numbers-graphs-analysis-thread-15#99410990

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53884401

Interesting

Can’t sleep thinking about going back 😞

If students aren’t the transmitters but staff are why are teachers being made to move and share rooms and equipment? Surely if we are the biggest risk we need to be kept the most contained?!?

I’m really struggling at the thought of teaching from the front of the room, in a small taped our area, in rooms I don’t know, unable to use any of my usual equipment. Our computers take so long to log in it will be at least 20 minutes into an hour long lesson before I can do anything. Feel like I have spent the last few years really improving teaching in my department and and it feels like a big waste of time. I know it isn’t really, but am just feeling really down about it all tonight. I just want to sleep.

OMG has anyone seen the front page of the Times? I just woke up from a school dream. I wish I hadn't seen it (I looked on bbc website). Disgusted. Absolutely setting it up to blame us.

Just come on to say exactly that

MrsH

I've had to set up a way of creating sets of equipment for my subject as some can't be washed and might be used before quarantine is up.

I do think if staff were the biggest issue they'd make us wear masks.

From the other bbc report:

Anxiety levels among young teenagers dropped during the coronavirus pandemic, a study has suggested.
Thirteen to 14-year-olds were less anxious during lockdown than they had been last October, according to the University of Bristol survey.
Researchers surveyed 1,000 secondary school children in south west England.
They said the results were a "big surprise" and it raised questions about the impact of the school environment on teenagers' mental health.

It really isn't a surprise at all.

That doesn't surprise me either. My son is like a different child not being at school - 100% happier. School makes him feel like shit - it's just tons of stuff he's not good at and social situations he finds difficult. I wish I could think of a way to not send him back!

GP on BBC news this morning saying masks are something that should be considered, she quoted WHO for use by over 12s

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53881118

Masks, masks and more masks ...

And that Times article ... 😡

The masks thread has strayed into being recorded. Am I the only one not comfortable with a recording of my classroom going out to isolating pupils?

Omfg the stuff on bbc radio 4 today prog is infuriating today.

The teacher is making some good points though.

How many teachers have screens on their desks?

I've not had a teacher desk since 2005!

It’s not surprising at all that anxiety is down in teens. And don’t schools get blamed for rates of depression & anxiety in teens every time a study comes out anyway?

Hope you managed to get some more sleep MrsH.

Very unfortunate wording just then on the BBC

Kids and teachers are dying to go back

And then the headline on the today programme was around "risk to well being;" when it's reporting on better mh in secondary schools!

I would say that my primary age pupil is better mentally at school. There are some who aren't. There are some who must be in school to stay safe. When are they going to start recognising their differences between primary and secondary????

I do feel for secondary teachers so much.

@NeurotrashWarrior how do you project? We have a desktop but not much other space.

@Hercwasonaroll

The masks thread has strayed into being recorded. Am I the only one not comfortable with a recording of my classroom going out to isolating pupils?

I wouldn't be happy with this either. Plus there are some children who shouldn't appear on camera for safeguard reasons. I don't think I could cope with teaching under new rules and running the technology, making sure I can be seen and heard, remembering which children I shouldn't get to speak as they can't be recorded. Anyway it isn't going to happen as school simply don't have the internet bandwidth to broadcast multiple lessons at once.

Secondary school teacher asks a question about safety in school due to crossing bubbles, Jenny Harris goes on to say the risk from young children is very low

So fucking frustrating!!