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

@SaltyAndFresh

Or, theatres are shut - we could borrow some harnesses and do some wire-flying. We could even use binoculars to check work. Still can't think of a solution to live-marking, but we're halfway there!

I've always wanted a job where I'd be suspended from the ceiling. This is obviously the answer to live marking where I can't fit between desks.

Nc for this as it's a bit outing, but I've been on these republic convos from the start.

I can already feel my stress levels rising (as evidenced by my TN kicking off big time in the first time since March) as my partner teacher couldn't face returning to school today very last minute and now they are looking for a supply who I will have to look after as well as my own class for the foreseeable. Last time they were off with anxiety it was a full term.

Not the return to school I wanted!

For my maths teacher colleagues so they can share my pain:

Foundation kid. Algorithm 6. A-level Maths.

Blimey noble. We upped our requirements to a 7 and have been hoisted by the HODs petard as he CAGed two questionable 7s who now want to do A level.

as my partner teacher couldn't face returning to school today very last minute

All those people telling us to resign....

Sorry to hear that, 2kids, last thing we need right now is extra stuff dumped on us

Questionable 7s. How I dream of a questionable 7!

We tend to go in hard on the algebra so hopefully Algorithm 6 will either prove that they’ve done a bunch of work in lockdown or gracefully retire.

Presumably the bunch of work will have had to have been done between the surprising algorithm grade and the start of school. 🤦‍♀️

Love that video staff. Saw Fascinating Aida about a week before lockdown, which feels like about 5 years ago. I now have the dogging song stuck in my head though.

monkey that’s awful. How good are your union reps? Any chance they’ll be able to get on top of this. I know the requirement to provide a safe workspace is going to be a bit of a joke in schools, but they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that little.

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay

Presumably the bunch of work will have had to have been done between the surprising algorithm grade and the start of school. 🤦‍♀️

Love that video staff. Saw Fascinating Aida about a week before lockdown, which feels like about 5 years ago. I now have the dogging song stuck in my head though.

monkey that’s awful. How good are your union reps? Any chance they’ll be able to get on top of this. I know the requirement to provide a safe workspace is going to be a bit of a joke in schools, but they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that little.

Have contacted the union rep. Don't really know the rep though..

Anyone else ill already? First day back yesterday (no inset for us, all kids in) and started to feel crap with a sore throat and headache in the afternoon which got progressively worse throughout the evening. Couldn't face dinner. Now my whole body aches and my throat is so sore I can't swallow paracetamol. But according to Government advice I should be going to work today as normal and don't qualify for a covid test.

If I were you @Washimal I’d not be able to taste my breakfast and get a test before returning. Maybe a lie and cause a headache for cover but surely better than potentially spreading CV?! I come from the angle of dh having it with none of the typical symptoms and only got a test as he felt shit (he did loose his smell a few days later).

Inset here today 👍 I’m under the impression SLT think it’ll be achievable to stay 2m from 5yo at all times 😬 will it be my fault if I can’t? I wonder if plans will change within a week when they realise?

Good luck to everyone who is in today.

I keep writing a soapgate reply and deleting it.

It's ridiculously tedious.

I have a very sore throat too and was zonked for no good reason on Monday. I think this is also going round (although God knows how I got this as I am a hermit).

I am also tight chested. I am putting this down to stress unless I start feeling worse.

I think (bastard government withdrawing testing) I had the coronavirus in late March and it went through stages : loss of appetite, upset stomach, lack of sleep, panic attacks, fever (afaik : no one could get a thermometer then either!), shortness of breath, shakes and chills and then proper full on rigors. I'd err on side of caution but I think testing capacity s not up to everyone doing that.

If Scotland is anything to go by lots of bugs are going to go round because people have been pretty much locked away.

I was running through my seating plans as I was dropping off last night and realised that they've taken a desk out of my room so I only have seating for 32. I need some of those bouldering things for my 34 year 11.

Good morning. 2 early starts in a row!

Just more inset today. We’re going to make up resource boxes for year groups and distribute them to the relevant zones to try and minimise lugging. That’ll be the department time. Lots of lectures on screen too but I find I can semi listen whilst sorting out my class lists etc.

Good morning all.

Washimal I do think if you feel that crap, go for a test even if you need to say you've got a symptom you haven't really got. Feel better soon 💐

2 kids I can feel your stress from here. This is going to be a tough term. You may need to reduce your expectations of yourself so you can get through it 💐

MrsH that's terrible that they've stolen one of your desks!! I've mysteriously lost 2 chairs since July, but at least I've got relatively smaller classes this year, my biggest class has 30 kids and I have 30 chairs, so not a problem.

34! Yikes.

We have one group of 31 in the new cohort due to an appeal win. Tons of new housing has been built around here so I guess this will become more common.

It's the first day for dd as well today. She's going into year 6 and keeps telling me she doesn't want to go back to school. Yet she was still up before the alarm and dressed pretty quickly this morning.

First day for my year 7 form. They're with me all day, I'm a bit nervous about trying to take them on a tour of the school when I don't really know the one way system (some parts of the school are a maze without adding in the one way nonsense).

Same for me MrsAD. First Y7 form in 19 years which will give me a little insight before DD goes to secondary next year.

@Piggywaspushed

I keep writing a soapgate reply and deleting it.

It's ridiculously tedious.

I felt silly reporting it last night.

But its just an attempt to get a rise from people.

Are we really supposed to believe that there are schools who have been able to do this in classrooms !

INSET for me today after delivering Induction for new staff yesterday. Today will be HT standing at the front of the socially distanced hall pretending that it can be that way once we have 100 SEN pupils in tomorrow.
I refuse to join in with the lies so will just be restating the actual realities regularly and annoyingly.
I am the annoying one.

BBC mentions screens to keep pupils apart this morning.

Such a load of crap-I’m sick of the papers.

@bettsbattenburg

Are we really supposed to believe that there are schools who have been able to do this in classrooms !

Where's that from? It looks like a school hall. Surely no one would believe a classroom wouldn't be set up like that, half the children would have their back to the teacher / board. Also I thought we should be keeping children side by side, and trying to avoid face to face seating.

Would, not wouldn't

Can we please have an edit button MNHQ