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

All the best to those back tomorrow.

Avoid school sex porn thread - check

Double-underlined that one

@phlebasconsidered

I am now buying Taurine! I get fuck all sleep most nights through a combo of perimenopause, anxiety, snoring husband and restless legs.

Am now looking into this as well. My sleep is very poor, usually awake for a few hours during the night and wake up exhausted. I can't go on like that so will give Taurine a go.

I still seem to be in denial that I need to go to work tomorrow. I still haven't found my lanyard, and TBF I haven't actually looked for it, or my keys. I am quite hopeful that they're in my school bag, but if not I'll buy a new lanyard/id (we are charged £1 the first time we lose one, then it increases after that I think). The keys would be a bigger issue, as I have a master key for all classrooms (not external doors) so I would NOT be popular if I can't find them. I haven't packed my bag or even checked that my water bottle is clean. I have my head well and truly in the sand 😂

@StaffAssociationRepresentative

Got clothes I can wear - check Got shoes near door - check Found lanyard - check Found makeup - check Read INSET stuff - check and giggle Charged laptop - check Packed pencil case - check Packed mask - check Packed hand gel - check Found flask - check Looked at timetable - check and giggle giggle Large glass of Malbec - check check Avoid school sex porn thread - check Alarm set - check

I am as ready as I can be

Thanks for the list, must go and sort stuff out! Good luck everyone for tomorrow.

@MsAwesomeDragon

I still seem to be in denial that I need to go to work tomorrow. I still haven't found my lanyard, and TBF I haven't actually looked for it, or my keys. I am quite hopeful that they're in my school bag, but if not I'll buy a new lanyard/id (we are charged £1 the first time we lose one, then it increases after that I think). The keys would be a bigger issue, as I have a master key for all classrooms (not external doors) so I would NOT be popular if I can't find them. I haven't packed my bag or even checked that my water bottle is clean. I have my head well and truly in the sand 😂

To be fair, I am the same. Went for a lovely walk, picked blackberries and then stopped for an impromptu pub lunch. Lovely bath and now having serious case of the shudas. Shit should have done that and that and that but sure it will be grand

Phleb look at anything by Lara Briden on magnesium and taurine. I started with solgar's capsules. When I've googled it there's hardly anything it doesn't help, it's in breast milk etc . It's in red bull to counteract the effect of the caffeine.

There was a thread in menopause here where a few had sworn by it. I do think the magnesium is also really helpful too.( don't take mag near your thyroxine though.)

I think I'm in denial too tbh.

Setting an alarm for the first time in months (as toddler would definitely choose tomorrow morning to do a rare lie in!)

Magnesium spray on the pillow is good.

Enjoy seeing everyone tomorrow folks!

Thanks for the list @Staff very helpful. Think I'm all ready for tomorrow, I'm glad it is inset as I'm not clear on the plans for the students - hopefully it will all become clear tomorrow. I also need to have a walk round school to check I can find all my classrooms, don't want to get lost!

Map of the school site!!

No way am I going to find my rooms otherwise.

Good luck for tomorrow everyone. (Return next week up here ). Hope all goes well.

Thinking of you all back in school tomorrow. I'm not back till 3rd so will keep my head in sand till wed. Hope you all get some sleep.

From the Guardian today:

The development comes as schools also face calls by the co-founder of one large parents’ campaign group to ensure that their other policies protect children who won’t be wearing masks.

Is this children who CAN'T wear masks? Or children who WON'T wear masks? Because it's it's UsForThem, then raaaaah, complete morons.

I have located my lanyard and my water bottle which may or may not have been mouldy in the bottom of my school bag from July so just the keys to find now. I don't think I'll need them on inset day, will I?

I've had a lovely day out with dd1 and one of her friends, at a castle with a brilliant adventure playground. Looking at the agenda for tomorrow we don't start anything formal til 9:30, so I can frantically look at school for my keys before we start 😁

Right, Stairway has proved her real identity by posting a again. How I missed those.
And Jupp's direct quotes are being dismissed by Flax as lies unless there are names, dates and time-stamps on them.
As if we didn't all read the toxic bile first-hand.

@Piggywaspushed it goes through phases, all belt skirts for a while, then see through leggings and then you'll get a new head and blazers appear
I love how that article's headline made it sound like they'd asked loads of teachers and we aren't concerned anymore, when it was in fact one HT who thinks staff aren't worried. My HT hasn't asked me if I'm worried, so not sure how they would know.

I've been out all day and made the mistake of checking work email to find a flurry of people who can't possibly now do the thing they were asked and agreed to do in June and think that emailing me the day before inset when they're meant to do the thing is okay. It's not okay
Inset tomorrow and weds. Then 2 days oh just year 7, then all hell breaks loose on Monday. So no teaching for me this week.
Discussion with a friend about ppa today - is anyone here routinely allowed offsite for PPA?

Things I have:
My lanyard.

Hand sanitiser that attaches to said lanyard.

The makings for my salad for my lunch and healthy fruit for snacks.
New lunchbox/handbag thing to keep my salad cool as we can't access the staffroom.
New Primary teacher diary.
An understanding of the eleventy-billion pages of back to school advice and risk assessments.

Things I hope I have:
Work trousers that fit tomorrow!
The patience to cope with my extremely health-anxious colleague.
The ability to sleep tonight.
The ability to wake up with my alarm!

Things I don't have:
Enough gloss paint to finally finish the last coat I was going to put on my new shelves that DH has made, as part of my mammoth 4 week redecorating of the living and dining room over the hols. I wanted to finish that tonight and know that I'd finished it before school but the paint was solid at the bottom of the tin and I'd finished the rest of the newer tin. Grrrr.... B&Q tomorrow after work was not on my list!

@ohthegoats

From the Guardian today:

The development comes as schools also face calls by the co-founder of one large parents’ campaign group to ensure that their other policies protect children who won’t be wearing masks.

Is this children who CAN'T wear masks? Or children who WON'T wear masks? Because it's it's UsForThem, then raaaaah, complete morons.

Sheesh. Can't U4T or T4U or 24T just let schools fucking go back without making constant fucking demands? We have a million and one things to worry about and get done anyway at the start of the year, nevermind having a bunch of non-teachers try to tell us how to do our jobs in the national press.

God, that's pissed me off.

@DrMadelineMaxwell

Things I have: My lanyard. Hand sanitiser that attaches to said lanyard. The makings for my salad for my lunch and healthy fruit for snacks. New lunchbox/handbag thing to keep my salad cool as we can't access the staffroom. New Primary teacher diary. An understanding of the eleventy-billion pages of back to school advice and risk assessments.

Things I hope I have:
Work trousers that fit tomorrow!
The patience to cope with my extremely health-anxious colleague.
The ability to sleep tonight.
The ability to wake up with my alarm!

Things I don't have:
Enough gloss paint to finally finish the last coat I was going to put on my new shelves that DH has made, as part of my mammoth 4 week redecorating of the living and dining room over the hols. I wanted to finish that tonight and know that I'd finished it before school but the paint was solid at the bottom of the tin and I'd finished the rest of the newer tin. Grrrr.... B&Q tomorrow after work was not on my list!

I've been doing a tonne of DIY, too. Got loads done but so many things not finished. The joys of having a toddler to look after and trying to fit bits into naps or the few times when he's happy to play in his play pen 🙄

PPA is taken onsite here by default.

First job tomorrow - phone my DD's school to chase up her still AWOL y10 GCSE results.

@MrsHamlet
Discussion with a friend about ppa today - is anyone here routinely allowed offsite for PPA?

Yes, but I'm primary so it might be a little different as my PPA is a couple of hours on one specific afternoon.

I feel your pain, Katherine. Mine are happily now teens and self sufficient, yet usually take up a lot of my holiday time as we go out and about and usually away for at least a week abroad.
Lockdown cancelled our abroad holiday and we had a week in Devon instead. And most places (esp here in Wales that opened up later) were shut so it seemed like good timing.

Kudos for getting it done (even if not 100% finished - I'm still adding jobs to my list for when DD1 is back at uni and her room is empty) with a little one in tow!

We were allowed to take PPA off-site last term. No way I was crowding around 4 to a table in a heatwave with no windows open.
HT's view was we should spend as little time on the premises as possible.
Good luck to all those back tomorrow. It will be quiet on here. (Inset for me on Weds, kids in on Thurs, but I shall go in and potter tomorrow -on my own in my room).
@MrsHamlet, That is appalling. Why are some people so flaky?!