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.

@MsJuniper avoid caffeine and spicy food. Drink plenty of water. Don't shout or whisper. Learn to breathe properly. Don't use numbing sprays or lozenges. Pineapple juice has good enzymes.
All advice from my speech therapist after a mini stroke broke one of my vocal cords.

We've been told to 'keep in mind' the next five lessons for each class in case we have to set remote work. We're using the same format as lockdown. I've created a shared folder for the department and stuck everything we've already done in there and asked people to add to it as they go in case we can share and save time.

We've at least one isolating already (not mine). I don't think we're doing it for 'been to Spain' kids, because I have at least one and it's not been mentioned for them. I'd better check though! It's going to be a lot of work.

@phlebasconsidered

I've just had an email asking me to prepare online work for all the kids in my class isolating as a result of jaunts to destinations abroad. I knew this would happen. So now I have to mark actual AND virtual work. So cross. Anyone else?

That's so shit. Our head said that no way we are doing that as it was their choice to go. At most, we can send a ppt we used in class if we have or a sheet of questions we gave the kids- but only if the parents ask and we can.

What a week. So three staff off over this week getting tests. Quite a few of our local bars closed this week due to positive cases. Just catching up now how everyone else first week has gone.

Have we seen this?

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

the Public and Commercial Services union said its members had “kept the country running during the pandemic while working from home” and it did not believe it was safe to return to workplaces while infection rates remained high and there was a risk of a second wave.

The general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: “If the government or any employer starts forcing people back to work and we believe that it is not safe to do so, we will firstly consider our legal options, secondly give individual legal advice, and thirdly consider whether a collective response is required.

“As a last resort, if you have no other option and people’s health and safety is at risk, of course we would be prepared to consider industrial action.”

@Frlrlrubert

Have we seen this?

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

the Public and Commercial Services union said its members had “kept the country running during the pandemic while working from home” and it did not believe it was safe to return to workplaces while infection rates remained high and there was a risk of a second wave.

The general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: “If the government or any employer starts forcing people back to work and we believe that it is not safe to do so, we will firstly consider our legal options, secondly give individual legal advice, and thirdly consider whether a collective response is required.

“As a last resort, if you have no other option and people’s health and safety is at risk, of course we would be prepared to consider industrial action.”

I know there are much finer minds on here than mine. But why the hell are we not doing this? Some schools are doing brilliantly, other not so. We should all be striking to get some non-chocolate-teapot guidance from the DfE that actually follows the HSE laws, and make it enforceable for ALL staff in ALL schools!

We don't have a Mark Serwotka figure really. He is considered proper old fashioned union activist type.

WhyNot

I think the unions are hoping the government will u-turn on their own when the shit hits the fan.

If we strike we'll be the 'evil work-shy teachers throwing away kids futures because they'd prefer to sit on the sofa'. Just to much teacher-hatred already in the press and general public.

Yeah yeah I know really.

I'm with them here. They are right that their jobs can be done efficiently from home and know they are being plied with the 'moral duty' line to prop up our ridiculously fragile service economy.

And don't forget they aren't all bigwigs in Whitehall.

And one of them sent the world's best tweet.

Absolutely. There is no reason other than Boris being a big tosser and using people like pawns yet again.
But schools could be made much safer. Some schools are being made safer.

@Piggywaspushed

And one of them sent the world's best tweet.

Can you link?

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-dominic-cummings-tweet-civil-service-arrogant-offensive-a9530706.html

Oh yeah I remember that one!

I'm with them here. They are right that their jobs can be done efficiently from home and know they are being plied with the 'moral duty' line to prop up our ridiculously fragile service economy

I agree piggy world of work has changed. It would be far better to embrace the shift to more home working rather than swim against the tide.

Civil servants need to be mindful of walking into a hard rain trap of reminding the public that they are generally thought of as useless bureaucrats.

Bunch of wankers currently going round threads saying how pleased they are there’s no social distancing to parents of worried kids.

Extremely worrying to read the number of people who can't access a test without driving 100s of miles, if at all at the moment.

This alone could close schools, if 4 staff in a primary are isolating while trying to access a test or waiting days for test results, never mind if any test positive or someone in their household does.

And goodness knows what the leadership of a school are doing giving one of the ten kits provided for probably vulnerable students for a teacher to use! (Think that was on the "New cough in a hotel room" thread)

@noblegiraffe

Bunch of wankers currently going round threads saying how pleased they are there’s no social distancing to parents of worried kids.

Fuckwits.

Ah it turns out the teacher who was given one of the ten kits provided for students was told by 119 to do this. Interesting.

Extremely worrying to read the number of people who can't access a test without driving 100s of miles, if at all at the moment.

It's being so badly managed. As I mentioned upthread, there is a temporary pod in my area this weekend. Today there were 30+ staff twiddling their thumbs with barely anyone to test.

@Piggywaspushed

I'm with them here. They are right that their jobs can be done efficiently from home and know they are being plied with the 'moral duty' line to prop up our ridiculously fragile service economy.

And don't forget they aren't all bigwigs in Whitehall.

Oh I totally agree.

I absolutely think anyone that can work from home should be. I think we probably need to realise that, as unfortunate as it is for people with jobs in the service industry, we're going to realise that we don't actually need four Starbucks in every small town.

It was more the shock of realising that people do think that offices are still unsafe.

It must take some serious cognitive dissonance to believe that offices are unsafe and schools are safe at the same time, if anyone actually does.

No test slots in my area according to the website and local reporting. But I know for a fact that the test centre is dead.

They seem to upload local test slots at about 9:00 am each day so I would try again then!