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.

I’m ok break wise but I think that’s because I’ve spread my part time hours over an extra day. My duties are higher than as per fte but I don’t have a form. I’ll more than pay that back though. Did inset on an unpaid day already and will do way more after school meetings than paid for.

I think they think I’m mean having tried to stick to what I’m paid to do of directed time in the past but I was doing so much extra work just to teach and was exhausted and miserable in my last department.

I don’t mind being a team player and going over and above in an actual team environment but in one where you’re being taken the piss out of constantly you have to have some semblance of boundaries.

How's it going @WhyNotMe40? Is she any better?

Lunch is 12.15 - 12.45 - 15 min to eat, 15 min to play. Lots miss out on the play bit.

And yet this mass return to school is supposed to be the panacea for children's ailing mental health.

Exactly! We're a big school of 500 kids, and have a playground the size of one normal tennis court. No field, no extra space. It has to be staggered. Even then, the playground is split into 3 sections because 3 classes are having break at the same time.

Actually, it's a bit bigger than that - one and a half tennis courts + a 'trim trail' of 4 balancing type things, that can't be used at the moment.

Our breaks aren't bad, because nothings changed from normal. No staggering of anything, although the kids now have to go outside for break and lunch rather than our previous open door policy. Each yeargroup has an outside break zone, but if the weather's bad they are allowed to go and sit in their form room (in their allocated seat, supervised by their form tutor). So on wet days I'll be losing my break and lunchtime supervising my form in my classroom, but if the weather's ok they'll all be outside (supposedly) and I'll get my proper breaks.

Hoping you're somewhere on the east side of the country with less rain, then, AwesomeDragon?

We've allocated outside zones to year groups so they eat in their classrooms except the ones where that's banned and can then get some fresh air. Staff have been asked to supervise their forms and those without (like me) have been asked told to roam. So if I do a Lunch duty one day a week, I get lunch all week, but roamed get nothing. Afternoon lessons are going to be full of wet and steamy teenagers who don't wear coats because they're Cumbrian.

Have we had this story yet?

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/eight-schools-england-hit-coronavirus-22625080.amp?__twitter_impression=true

I’d guess almost all of those were infected outside of school given it’s likely too soon to see in school transmission in England.

Roamers. Bloody autocorrect.

@WhyNotMe40

Hang on - people don't cook for their kids in the evening just because they've had school lunch?! Seriously?!

Some people genuinely don't, either they don't have the money, the skill or the general capacity for whatever reason.

@NeurotrashWarrior

How's it going *@WhyNotMe40*? Is she any better?

Seems absolutely fine now, thanks for asking had an "ahem" blow out this morning. Been running around since!

Back in the days of old fashioned school dinners (hot meal followed by some dessert involving custard) we needed a "high tea" meal in the evening as would be too full. I don't think school lunches are as substantial now.

dangling I'm in Cumbria, somewhere which is rather known for it's wet weather and a lack of coats (because it's not cool to wear a coat, it's far better to just be wet all the time). So I'll probably have more days supervising my form than not.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/05/mark-sedwill-urges-more-civil-servants-to-return-to-offices-in-england

Ha! Ha ha ha!
Civil servants threaten to strike over returning to the office one day per week!!
Lightweights pfft

I’m more skeptical about ‘unions blocking x’ stories these days.

I do quite want the DfE back in the office full time, no mitigation though.

I haven’t eaten at lunchtime for years bar a banana/cereal bar/similar because I just can’t eat that fast. I don’t enjoy it and it makes me feel uncomfortable. I have a small breakfast and a proper meal in the early evening. This has the advantage of keeping me reasonably slim, because I don’t snack before dinner and don’t top up afterwards.
Successive cohorts of school kids have been forced to rush their midday meals and I don’t think it’s conducive to healthy eating. I saw lunch time at the school I taught in reduced progressively from 1 hour to 50 min to 45 min to 40 min. The knock on effect on behaviour in afternoon lessons was noticeable. Kids need time to eat properly, relax and let off steam in the middle of the day.

Interesting born
Our lunch has just been reduced from 1 hr to 45 mins. I find it a rush.
It helps Covid rotas/ bubbles and is hoped to reduce playground incidents.

Ah good. Hope that's it why!

We still get cake and custard some how...

Oh no, AwesomeDragon, it dies rain a lot in Cumbria! I'm in the dry East and our kids DO wear coats! Not allowed in classrooms to eat here. It's canteen, Hall and one covered outdoor area.

I try not to eat before 1 because if I start before then, I'm hungry all day!!! Lunch at my desk, then dinner about seven. I'm a terrible grazer though.

So, I wonder if it's the same posters complaining about kids eating outside in the cold who championed gazebos and marquees for lessons back in early summer and ridiculed us when we pointed out the snags?

And we now also have posters complaining about our insistence on hand-washing being unnecessary and that we (yes, our fault again) will be creating a generation of children with OCD. The government have repeatedly stressed that all we've ever really needed to do to limit Covid is to wash our hands, yet that one thing left to us (in Primary, at least) is now a subject for complaint.

I don't think it's been a huge secret that children are to be outside in the fresh air as much as possible, yet loads of ours arrived at school on Thursday, when it was raining at drop-off with no coats.
We still went outside each break time.
They got wet.

I've just had a giggle at "was I unreasonable to rig the school council"

Have been trying to avoid the temptation to click on that one, @NeurotrashWarrior , blow now look what you're making me go and do (shirks responsibility for self)