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

@Lidlfix are you at home in the meantime?

Just reading NI guidance. much clearer than ours, more emphasis on different ages , and on SD and much more helpful (and also clearer about must/should/ coulds) :

www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/education/NorthernIrelandReOpeningSchoolsGuidnaceNewSchoolDayVersion213August2020.pdf

Amused that they managed a typo in their web address though!

At m school all classrooms have single persons desks this is because we have weird shapes rooms and therefore can manipulate them into groups, diamonds, rows, Ls etc. It would be easy on a photo shoot to take out some to show distance.

@Piggywaspushed

Amused that they managed a typo in their web address though!

Damn, no wonder we're all struggling to understand what we should be doing, we've not been following the Guidnace.

Education settings should seek to maximise the ability of their existing space to accommodate pupils by: • Rearranging teaching spaces to minimise the risk of transmission and infection by: o Spacing seating as widely as possible within a teaching space; o Facing children to the front of the classroom as much as possible; o Assigning pupils to particular desks; and o Giving consideration to maximising space for individual pupils by removing non-essential furniture from teaching spaces. • Considering flexible use of existing non-teaching space (where it is appropriate to do so). o examples may be repurposing resource areas, halls or sports halls. Where schools wish to maximise the use of existing space or reduce the number of surfaces to be cleaned within the classroom, consideration may be given to removing surplus free-standing furniture. If there is not considered to be sufficient suitable storage space within the premises, consideration may also be given to gaining access to additional spaces on a short term basis. This could include use of conveniently located public, private or third sector estate. If additional facilities are required by schools for the conduct of examinations, these need to be approved by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) Centre Inspection Service. Consideration of the use of outdoor spaces may also be appropriate at certain times in the school year where weather permits. Schools should contact their managing authority for advice and guidance before entering into any such arrangements It is acknowledged that in many settings it will not be possible to fully implement the social distancing protocols in place at a given time, however, schools should work to rearrange, repurpose or expand their existing space as best possible in order to accommodate pupils in as safe a manner as possible within the constraints of their buildings

Bit different, eh!

The image changed on BBC - did I do that? 😆

Which one?

I still find the pic halfway down this article irritating:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-53893638

I think in NI only 3 years have gone back this week (7, 12 and 14 which I think are equivalent to 6, 11 and 13 in England), so it is possible they have split up the classes for the week to give small group lessons using all available staff. Rest of the years aren't back until next Monday. This would allow social distancing and give exam year students better support to catch up, so I'm sure many schools will have done this even if not in the guidance.

[quote Piggywaspushed]Which one?

I still find the pic halfway down this article irritating:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-53893638[/quote]
@Piggywaspushed The original picture to that article showed a man who was masked, helping a younger boy out his mask on as they headed into school. I complained about it being misleading.

‘put’, not ‘out’

Shorts man must be a before summer photo.

It is : it's from when the year 10s and 6s returned in small groups.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-53900825

As predicted. Now, we’ll just have to wait two weeks for England to follow suit 🙄

Yeah... 'we will not be following Scotland'

Now, where have we heard that before?

MN will go wild!

Rent a Gob Russell Viner on BBC claiming teenagers only spread it outside of school. WTAF does he think teenagers do in school??

They're so busy breathing in knowledge that they don't have time to breathe out virus. Or he believes in the magic walls.

@MrsHamlet

They're so busy breathing in knowledge that they don't have time to breathe out virus. Or he believes in the magic walls.

@MrsHamlet ‘breathing in knowledge’ 😂

U4T types on BBC. Ugh.

And some very worried parents, too.

Well played everyone - great thread Noble.

Clav fought till the end

MN feels different about the conversations around schools this week.

Like they’ve woken up to the fact that this government are a bit shit and hate teachers.

Maybe it’s because they haven’t had to do any homeschooling for a few weeks so are feeling less bitter at us.

Actually, no U4T. Justine Greening and two worried mums.

All female. Men don't care about children is the message but are in charge of education

@StaffAssociationRepresentative

Well played everyone - great thread Noble.

Clav fought till the end

Agreed-that was a good one. Attacking teachers seems to be a one-woman crusade by that poster. I really don’t get it. There must be some really deep-seated stuff going on there to make you want to dedicate that much of you life to a cause.