The Eighteenth Republic - More U Turns On The Horizon? - INSET Days and travel problems

[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.

No DfE muppets allowed

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

Our planners arrived this morning. Thank goodness for that... I was a month late sending them to print and I was getting worried.

The kids are moving at my school. Teachers are staying put in our own classrooms, where we have to stay all day, as much as possible. I think I'm allowed out to go to the loo and to get a drink, but other than that I have to stay in my safe zone at my desk. But I'm also responsible for cleaning all desks between classes.

Permanent Private Secretary at DfE now going, as foretold.

But not Gav. Oh no.

MrsH I can understand printers delays, but Reprographics do ours. We then have to punch our own holes (and provide our own binders).

@Piggywaspushed

Permanent Private Secretary at DfE now going, as foretold.

But not Gav. Oh no.

It'll happen, it's just a case of waiting for the right moment.

@Frlrlrubert

MrsH I can understand printers delays, but Reprographics do ours. We then have to punch our own holes (and provide our own binders).

That's a trifle shitty then! When my colleagues complain about them next week, I may be tempted to point this out 😂

@TheHoneyBadger

If kids are staying put and teachers moving presumably whoever has them first puts them in a seating plan and that’s where they stay for all of their non sets lessons?

Too logical probably

We've been told that the head of year is doing the seating plans. One major benefit of the new system, any child that complains about their seat is not my problem :)

I've just remembered I usually have to take pupils (different classes each day) out to taxis at the end of the day, often holding hands. It's pointless me staying 2 m from them during the lesson if I then do that.

Hopefully it’ll be the same for us Flags.

Finally getting info through on behaviour systems and where different year groups will be zoned. I ‘think’ I’m teaching mostly year 7 and 8 who are of course zoned as far away from each other as could be. One are on the top floor of the main block the others are in a small block at the furthest end of the site. I’m going to be so sweaty faced and flustered.

Glad I’ve invested in a new shopping trolley type thing with tri wheels that can allegedly handle stairs. We’re to avoid staff rooms and don’t have our own rooms so I don’t know where I’m meant to place myself when not teaching

@NeurotrashWarrior - you need a walkodile, or make one yourself out of washing line or something.

@Piggywaspushed

Permanent Private Secretary at DfE now going, as foretold.

But not Gav. Oh no.

Everyone else’s fault but Gav

@neuro I'm assuming the same children need walking to taxis every day, so wouldn't it be more sensible if you always had the same children? Preferably ones in the class you are with during the day...

Bus and taxi duty is on my list of things that need sorting too. Along with our marking policy ( no, I'm not happy to be marking 96 books every night), handling policy for my spitty biter (ie- i'm NOT handling him, so deal with it), behaviour management for my out of seat hitter and runner, who should be excluded but whose parents have appealed so he is ominously still on my register, the heating dry air system that spreads air around the entire school, the staff loo that is the opposite end to the school from me that will take 5 mins out of my 20 min break to reach, our old loo being given over to year 6 ( but I can still clean it), and the thorny problem of what happens to my directed time now i'm doing every break duty and every sodding lunch? What happens when I have my very heavy periods? I can't leave my class. What happens if one of my own kids gets it? Or a sibling of one of my class in secondary? Will i get full pay while i'm isolating or waiting for test results? Why is it all such a bloody farce?

And on and on and on. Our trust letter to parents went out today and it is all smoke and mirrors.

[quote StaffAssociationRepresentative]This is a giggle but given he is our ‘top’ muppet it makes me want to cry in places

[/quote] Shame she starts out by pointing the government isn't following WHO guidance, then completely undermines her point by making it sound like only complete neurotic parents support mask wearing

“Mutant algorithm”, is that political speak for ‘compete fuck up”?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53923279

Ah yes, those pesky algorithms. Always diving into vats of radioactive material and emerging as twisted mutants hellbent on destruction

Thanks for advice, It's probably not too bad but it's different bubbles each day. I'm ppa, but also was wfh due to cv throughout. I'm unclear as to how to navigate a couple of things in what's normally a very hands on job across many classes.

Obviously the risks are both ways. I could infect different groups of children and also then different teams of staff.

Phleb

I was told very clearly to keep the door to my room open today as part of the ventilation risk assessment.

Not sure how we deal with the wanderers and runners!

Might bring a stair gate in.... though half the y5/6 could hop over it!

We’ve now had a definite ‘should not’ to masks in classrooms.

So sorry Medra, how are they backing that with the recent announcements re masks?

I've just seen a CLEAPS assessment that states that alcohol based hand gel should not be used in science labs as it is a significant fire risk.

That'll be a fun discussion in the departmental time. They've already placed giant dispensers in all classrooms.

You can get extra tall stair gates designed for dogs

@Medra

We’ve now had a definite ‘should not’ to masks in classrooms.

I've been wondering where we stand with this - does Covid secure H&S trump the special school advice?

I’m not looking forward to open door teaching. The noise will be awful.

Have put my new trolley together and it seems good and sturdy and has a thermal? section. Basically silver lined like those shopping bags for chilled items. Will keep the gin cool

Still no timetable but allegedly I’m getting one at the end of the week. Dreading the possibility of staggered breaks meaning ending up with long hours without access to the toilet.