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

@TaxTheRatFarms join the Covid app. I've been told to test every time I've had a headache. Mind you still no sign of my test from Tuesday

@WhenSheWasBad

No way will I live stream lessons. Just not going to happen. I don’t think my school would allow it actually... thank goodness. We will teach via teams if whole class/year group off from school but not part of a class I don’t think

Who gets to sort out these teams meetings. There’s no slack in the timetable.

Has anyone had any information about marking policy in their school. I have a friend who has been told - pupils had in their books, which are quarantined for 72 hours. Teacher marks them, back into quarantine for 72 hours and then handed back to the kids.
So basically they can’t really mark books.

We will teach them? Eg if Y8 aren’t in school then when I am timetabled to teach Y8 I’ll teach them via Teams from a classroom in school.

@TheHoneyBadger I didn’t even think about the gas - another worry to add to my long list of worries. My Yr 10 and 11 classes are timetabled into labs as we’re teaching in zones so I am assuming they have prioritised those year groups so they have access to the science facilities. KS3 are in ‘normal’ classrooms and KS5 is in their block.

I think I’m going to be spending a lot of time moving round the school. There is one lift so I’m going to have to walk from one end of the school to the other where the life is, to walk back to the other end just to avoid the stairs with my trolley 😆

*lift

We’re marking although think our policy is being amended somehow. We have access to disposable gloves to handle books and Mark with....

We will teach them? Eg if Y8 aren’t in school then when I am timetabled to teach Y8 I’ll teach them via Teams from a classroom in school

I was more meaning, if 25 kids are in school being taught normally. Who will deliver the teams lesson to the 5 kids at home shielding?
I can’t do two things at once.

I'm not sure screens will help if you are staying in a small enclosed room with an infectious person for a length of time. Sure they are good for brief face to face chat. I've here's your coffee, but if you've got several hours o accumulated aerosols in the air anyway, I'm not sure they'll do anything.

Not just the ones at home shielding , also any who need to self isolate...

@WhyNotMe40

But as you can only get a test if symptomatic, and kids are largely asymptomatic - we actually have bugger all data about how many kids actually caught it in school!

Perfect thread!

Plan so far ...

• Spend time on inset days logging in to the computer in every room I will teach in - slow as he'll the first time but seem to 'remember' previous users .
• Travel spray bottle of disinfectant for keyboards etc. School should provide but would rather have my own.
• Hand San obv.
• Books in rooms clearly labelled with class / Crackle. Haven't seen rooms yet but they are trying to keep classes in the same rooms wherever possible.
• Kids already used to standard lesson start across all subjects so arrange for previous teacher to open a PPT before they leave. Have suggested this school wide so kids can get books and start work before next teacher arrives. Works surprisingly well.
• Homework on line to start with alternative for kids without home access.
• Self marking as much as possible with random sample of books taken in (not sure of logistics of this yet).
• Thermos for lunch.
• Double sided tape on back on any sheets I want to hand out.
• Shares in wine and vodka.

Some of that may be useful if not apologies for my very badly structured essay (though bullet points are acceptable in science ).

I think the last bullet point should also be first.

@MrsHamlet

I think the last bullet point should also be first.

Already sorted

Have to dash but did anyone else hear the Milton Keynes Head on R4 this morning, 70% of their parents weren't happy to send their kids back and 5 staff resigned...

So now they're having masks at pickup and drop off and visors for all in lessons, purchased by school!

Literally this thread stresses me out(sorry!) because of all your discussions about plans (albeit barking!) at your schools. We . KNOW. NOTHING.

@MrsHerculePoirot refillable hand sanitiser bottles with carabiners are all over Amazon & Ebay. If you go onto Etsy, you can even personalise them

I've also ordered myself several visors and the HT can like it or lump it, but I'm wearing one.

And then Nick Gibb (again)

Is that the one who wrote the letter august?

I don't actually think social distancing from other staff is possible in a SEN school. In my limited experience the care needs of the students may need 2 members of staff to be in close contact. Just another thing that was not thought through properly in the guidance.

No it's not.

We don't have desks beyond the table that the computer sits on because it would be at risk of being moved / thrown by a pupil in distress, plus all the papers on and in it. We often have very low stimulation environments, so as little on tops and out as possible.

I've worked with pupils on their work in all manner of situations, whatever it takes sometimes, including under a table. Some therapies are physical. The pupils are used to being able to have hugs from us, even at y6, though obviously a 5 foot child is discouraged from sitting on our knee. Inside they can feel like a pre schooler. It's going to be very hard.

I'm CV and there's not a great deal beyond low class numbers and lots of cleaning and spray to keep me and them safe from each other. Plus we have more members of staff per class, sometimes in some sen schools it can can 2:1 pupils to staff. I will be able to maintain some distance though as I'm not class based.

I feel confident simply as my slt are very aware of the risks and how the parents are trusting us and staff are risking a lot. They're doing their best, but as I've mentioned before, our Lea and cluster of schools seem quite on it all.

Clav already busy doing the government’s work pre-blaming teachers for any outbreaks.

That’s definitely the next battle.

hedgehogger1 That’s a good idea! I signed up to it ages ago but haven’t used it for a while. I‘ll get back into the habit.

So from looking at our risk assessment (our head is great, and equally protective of staff and students), it says we need to stay off if we have coronavirus symptoms or feel unwell - does anyone else have that “or feel unwell” part? I have an underlying condition that makes me feel unwell quite often (including bad shortness of breath...)

What worries me is that I won’t know if it’s my regular shortness of breath or covid related unless I test every week. I can’t stay off every time I feel unwell, but I really would rather not be my school’s Typhoid Mary!

Oh that's been going on fro ages noble. There is an irritating poster who says 'stay out of the staffroom' all the time.

At the start of all this I steeled myself for having to adapt to rules to keep everyone safe, inside and outside of work.
I never expected to be gaslighted by the NHS and lied to by the CMO/CSO

DS has started saying he thinks he had it in March. He flatly denied it was, back in March! ( we behaved as if he had it though wrt cleaning, staying off school, staying out of our way in the house as much as possible). I know he’s saying it now to try and make me feel better about the risk I’ll be bringing back into the house
It’s more than possible he did have it then, as his friends and 6th form peers are very much into skiing in Italy etc and a lot had been away for half term.

Stay out of the staffroom was aimed at teachers who were worried they might catch it.

This new thing is about teachers spreading it with irresponsible behaviour. Much worse.

I never go in the staffroom because we don't have one!!

We never have tome to go to the staff room. Eat on the hop in class.