The Twentieth Republic - all back and its time to bubble bubble ...

[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, especially if you have not used the hand gel. Close the door quietly on your way out and put your mask on.

This is why proper leadership from the DfE was needed, not leaving things up to heads who are going to have their own personal opinions on the epidemic.

for those of you with U4T heads.

My head has a Swedish wife.

Doomed.

Throat - assume it's over talking.

Listen to latest More or Less podcast - Sweden not doing so well compared with similar countries of population density. GDP and death rate not good.

I cried today and my slt are pretty reasonable. It was our first day back with kids, and they’re lovely. But getting used to all the changes (and having to enforce them) is absolutely exhausting.

Tomorrow night will need to be wine and chocolate for teachers all over the country, especially those with TINPan slt.

You see, the problem with the threads now complaining that there isn't/can't be SD in school etc is thus..
We were blamed for not being open and complained at when we were pointing out how we knew it was not safe. And now schools and teachers will be blamed for not following impossible to follow risk assessments and covid safety rules that cannot be implemented in the context of schools and classrooms.

Our bubbles don’t have to social distance, but the teachers do. I’m a ta and I actually don’t see how I can do my job two metres away from the specific children I need to help.

At least all the whingers about how school isn't safe will be keeping Ofsted busy with complaints

Our head has written one thing in the RA that I have to sign to say I will follow and then is telling us verbally to do another. So who do I listen to? The head or the head? My brain aches.

I just popped over to U4T twitter to see that they are complaining about the lack of wraparound care meaning they can't return to work normally.

I thought it was all about the kids and their urgent need for school, hmm?

My school is a taxi school, about a hundred of them as most of our kids can't wear masks. (Special school). It took an hour this morning to get everyone into class!

Best moment of the day yesterday was when one of my y11s uttered " this bubble thing is bollocks isn't it' and listed all the reasons why.

Great to see the kids though 😀

I just popped over to U4T twitter to see that they are complaining about the lack of wraparound care meaning they can't return to work normally

They really need to change their name to Them for Us.

I do have sympathy. I need my kids wrap around care or I can’t work, my parents are in the sheilding group and there’s no way I’m meeting them in person for at least a few months.
So if there’s not after school club I’m a bit screwed.

Morning all. Friday! Starting the day with double Yr 13 and have found out I’ve lost 2 of my brightest students. They do subjects at another school and because of the new timetabling we can’t match up so they’ve had to change blocks 😭

My own kids had a good first day yesterday. I asked my son if he had his TA with him, he didn’t. I asked where he was sitting in class, he is front row and at the end with no one next to him so that looks like how they’re going to deal with his ASD this year. I do worry for him. Wraparound care is in his classroom too so he sits in that room from 7.30-5. I wonder how many days til a meltdown is on the cards 😣

First day back was a whirlwind. Lots of children needing hugs and my 1:1 as predicted was in full-on licking, raspberry blowing mode. So lovely to see the children - wow, they've grown! - but eating with them and supervising all day with only five minutes away was exhausting. Hoping that isn't going to be the new normal. Also, bubbles being popped already as not enough outdoor covered seating for them to eat separately, deputy head's view was "it's fine". DH not a happy bunny so I had to play down just exactly how close I'd been to other staff and teachers. Think he had ideas about SD happening, but how do you back a board and put up borders with a colleague without practically being in their armpit?
Hope things improve for you all today. Shocking to hear how much variety there is.

@raspberryrippleicecream

My school is a taxi school, about a hundred of them as most of our kids can't wear masks. (Special school). It took an hour this morning to get everyone into class!

Raspberry, same here. It's been a nightmare.

I've also been calculating that actual teaching time reduced a lot.

And being the start of term, so many staff have been needing to see each other to ask for various resources or where things are. We keep finding ourselves in small spaces but in a stupid rush to complete a job because everyone is on the back foot. So many things weren't done at the end of last term.

Office staff are fed up as there's something going on with the computers.

I feel that next week and the week after when more proper teaching resumes that, will settle down, hopefully.

After 6 months of hardly seeing anyone I've become a bit allergic to people! I felt it was adult overload at points today!

madeline exactly.

It doesn't make any difference whether adults or kids spread it more; we are all effectively in this huge busy building with many external community contacts.

I'm grateful at least that at the mo local rates are very low.

DD has told me about her primary set up yesterday. I am so angry at the difference in standards for us (secondary). They have taped zones and visors, and the children all have their own individual resource packs. Its actually made cry right before school.

Don't get me wrong, o don't think primary teachers should have to take the same risks as us. I just don't think anyone outside a secondary school understands just how frighteningly risky this is.

@Purpleice

Our bubbles don’t have to social distance, but the teachers do. I’m a ta and I actually don’t see how I can do my job two metres away from the specific children I need to help.

This is exactly the problem I have when thinking of face to face tutoring.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/out-hours-school-club-centre-18870725.amp?__twitter_impression=true
Wondered if anyone had clocked this?

Salty

I found it hard reading that my son's primary school will have some staff with visors. Not that I think they do much good tbh. We do have individual packs but it feels pointless when they're sharing other stuff.

@EducatingArti

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/out-hours-school-club-centre-18870725.amp?__twitter_impression=true Wondered if anyone had clocked this?

That's worrying, especially as a club like that could have had children attending from several different schools.

Ed, is that children? There can't be that many staff for cases to jump that high?

Wow

I've been sending ds to a camp for the last two weeks; mostly outdoors but it had to go inside a few times due to torrential rain. I wasn't convinced it was the best circumstances.

Ds's school's out of school club bursts all the bubbles.

Because of where it is.

My own school uses our building and can space our age groups well.