The Nineteenth Republic - DfE guidance issued August Bank Holiday Weekend!

[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

KID IS IN ROOM WITH NO WINDOWS

KID JUMPED OUT OF OPEN WINDOW

KID CAN’T UNDERSTAND TEACHER IN MASK

KID DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO EAT LUNCH

LUNCH IS AT 2PM KID IS HUNGRY

TEACHER GOING OVER LOCKDOWN WORK MY KID IS BORED

KID IS BEHIND WHERE IS GREAT SUMMER CATCH-UP?

SCHOOL IS CLOSED WHAT IS OAK ACADEMY?

TEACHER WON'T GIVE MY CHILD EQUIPMENT TO USE.

@SaltyAndFresh

Uhoh20 or whatever has just said I'm behaving as if I'm being sent to the gas chambers in Auschwitz on the SD thread. There's a new low.

I reported that, too-it’s been deleted.

Lunch at 11am is too early. My child is hungry by 3.

At wet break my child had to stay in her period 1 class and not socialise with friends

TEACHER WOULDN'T LET MY CHILD GO TO THE TOILET EXCEPT AT AN ALLOCATED TIME
TEACHER WOULDN'T LET MY CHILD USE THEIR PREFERRED TOILET
TEACHER ENFORCED ONE WAY SYSTEM
TEACHER DIDN'T MARK BOOKS QUICKLY ENOUGH
TEACHER MARKED BOOKS TOO QUICKLY
TEACHER DID NOT BORROW MY CHILD A PEN ( I didn't like writing that)

TEACHER DID NOT BORROW MY CHILD A PEN ( I didn't like writing that)🤮🤮🤮🤮

I know. I judge myself.
At least if I don't borrow them a pen, they can't say "I writ it down" 🤢

Thanks iam that makes sense now!

Have had to explain to our timetabler what ‘trapped time’ means with regards to part time teachers. Really fucking fed up of people in power not even knowing teachers pay and conditions let alone following them.

He seemed to be under the delusion that me spreading my hours over an extra day meant I’m full time available on each of those days. Everything is such a battle with this school.

@Piggywaspushed

eitak I rarely hear from my head. Maybe once or twice since May.

I noted that our RA doesn't mention TAs.

I dont think I've seen our risk assessment. I've seen a letter to parents and a rota for the playground but thats it.

Sorry for swearing but I’m really cross. I am 0.4fte. That’s what I get paid as. Due to health issues my doctor recommended and I agreed it would be better if I spread my work over 3 days and didn’t start first thing (there are meds I can take if I wake up with symptoms but they require time). School agreed. Time table guy has taken that to mean I’m available from period 2 3 days a week and he can give me a day where I teach period 2 and 5 but give me my ppa as a lesson 2 on a day where I don’t teach till period 4. That’s called trapped time whereby a person is trapped for unpaid time.

I honestly feel like I went on a career break and when I came back everyone had decided that teachers have no rights or rules that have to be followed.

He must hate me and I hate being seen as awkward but I need to be allocated specific ppa so I and the cover manager know when I’m at work and being paid and when I’m not.

Does that make sense or am I on another planet?

Shit shit shit shit.

I'm getting worried now. DD has had a cold (with cough) for a little while, we got her tested and it came back negative, she's been back to nursery and they seem fine with that.

I ordered myself a home test 'just in case', because I was starting to get a bit snotty/headachy and did it on Friday. I would have done a drive through on Thursday but it was being silly and only showing sites that were miles and miles away. No results yet but I now have the sore throat from hell, a banging headache, and what I'd call an 'occasional cough' (I'm asthmatic so this will probably go on all winter).

Gah. Now, I know none of my symptoms are the three main ones, and I know my test will probably come back negative, but I'm panicking it's got lost in the post or something.

I'm thinking if I don't have results by tomorrow morning I should try to book a drive through and let the HT/Office know and see what they say about coming in/staying off for inset on Tuesday with cold symptoms? Do they even do testing on bank hols?

Does that sound reasonable?

I'm also not looking forward to (assuming it is just a cold) teaching with a sore throat the first week back. FFS what excellent timing!

Honey

Makes perfect sense, especially with regards to cover availability - that's going to be a nightmare this year anyway so there's no point making people's jobs more difficult than they need to be.

Time table guy has taken that to mean I’m available from period 2 3 days a week and he can give me a day where I teach period 2 and 5 but give me my ppa as a lesson 2 on a day where I don’t teach till period 4.

Ask him to switch your PPA to P3 on the day you are teaching 2 and 5 so at least you are paid for one trapped period. He has no possible reason to disagree!

I am a long veteran of part timetable battles, they treat us like shit.

@TheHoneyBadger that doesn’t sound right. On a 5 period day someone who is on 0.4 should typically expected to be available in school for 10 periods. So that could be 2 full days of 5 periods or 2 days of 3 periods and one of 4. I suppose they may count 30 mins of briefing/form time in the equation for each day which would add an extra hour but that should equate to p2-5 on two days and p3-to 5 on the third. It sounds like by putting you on p2-5 for three days they are short changing you by at least an hour. Ask them how they calculated the hours and then, as a minimum, insist they move the lesson of PPA so that you don’t need to be in until p3 that day. You could try to push them to take off two hours but they will probably say missing form time each day should be taken into consideration too.

It’s a nightmare noble. He hadn’t specified ppa at all so I emailed saying I take it period x and y will be my ppa lessons to avoid trapped time. I’ll assume so if I don’t hear back from you (he never usually replies). Got an email saying my understanding is you’re available from period 2 each day so you could take any of those as ppa. Had to reply explaining what trapped time is and quoting the guidance on it.

You just fucking know in his head I’m available for cover at any time on those 3 days despite being on a 0.4 contract.

I know Madame. Think he wants to avoid specifying ppa so any lesson I’m not teaching on those 3 days is up for grabs for cover or extra duties. He has been the bane of my life since I worked there.

Honey PPA has to be timetabled, you can’t be taken for cover in it and you can’t be taken for cover in unpaid time. Basically, you can’t be taken for cover.

If I do cover in unpaid trapped time I get paid supply rates to do it.

TheHoneyBadger

We had a major battle with our timetabler and cover person just taking a teacher for cover all the time, so we argued that the times when they weren't teaching had to be blocked in as it was getting unfair the amount of cover that they were doing.

Has he never timetabled a part timer before?

He’s arrogant as fuck. I no longer care what he thinks of me. Does ppa definitely have to be timetabled?

I’m about ready to give him a break down of exactly what 0.4 equates to in terms of teaching, ppa, duties, after school meetings etc. I’ll acknowledge I owe them 40mins form time and show how they get that back and them some via meetings, parents evenings and open evenings. I’m sick of battling over basic stuff

PPA definitely needs to be timetabled. Our timetabler admitted to me that he always gives himself PPA last thing on Friday to avoid on call. Nice.

I have a very, very intermittently coughing child and an absolutely panic about how I tell whether it is a "symptom" or not. If it was a fit of coughing I'd have no doubt. It would mean four of us being off school and getting tests

Right so I am going to have to insist that ppa is marked on my timetable and the rest is blanked out. I hate these battles

Honeybadger when you're part time you really do need to battle for fair treatment, I'm afraid. Lots of (real or feigned) ignorance about working conditions.