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.

Everything’s dystopian. School felt dystopian. It’s deeply unsettling.

Katherine feeling rough doesn't help.

The don't say cob on up here. Nice to read it in Ohgoats and other's posts!

Sounds an excellent plan Oh.

It’s clear that the tests are running out because so many people are having them unnecessarily. You are only meant to have a test if you’re symptomatic. I noticed a pp saying they were going to get one because she’d come into contact with a child who wasn’t well, and, by the sounds of it, people are getting regular tests because they want to go and visit vulnerable relatives. We had a family in school who went as a family twice to try and get out of quarters time (unsuccessfully). I think the government need to remind people when they should get a test and when they shouldn’t, then they’ll be enough for those that really need one.

It's very dystopian.

A friend said he was reading loads of science fiction, as a response to how weird it is.

I feel like we are standing on the edge of a dark hole.

All the things you do to get through winter are going to be limited.

Good point pud; locally there's a spike but apparently 50% asymptomatic. How / why the test then?

We (teachers in Scotland) are allowed tests when we think we have been exposed, we do not need to be symptomatic. I had a symptomatic dc and added myself to his test (bit for adding family members) and recorded that I had no symptoms (I didn't feel well, but I didn't have one of the three Covid symptoms).

I also don't think the fact that a child got a negative test means they were tested unnecessarily, because there is a lot of crossover between normal illnesses every child gets and the symptoms of Covid. Lots of negative tests can mean lots of coughing, hot children with other viruses.

Are people still forging ahead with meetings at their schools?

Ours were halved, to keep numbers under 50 and then in the largest hall.
Smaller department ones, yes, but we still must be 2m apart or it can't happen.

I meant like regular department meetings?

Oh I get 20 mins on the 2 days I do duties and probably not much more the other days.

I wouldn't mind for two days but it's every day, each teacher and TA do duty for their own class every day.

@Piggywaspushed

Are people still forging ahead with meetings at their schools?

We had a T.Teach TED on the first day back.

We are still having full staff and departmental meetings - just SD at 2m ish separation.

Can I ask what your schools have said if your child has to self isolate due to contact with a confirmed case? So no symptoms, but 14 days, needs childcare??
My head implied he would expect staff to sort childcare out and we would need to be in, but I don't see how? Keyworker childcare or childminders etc wouldn't want an isolating child, surely?!

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/18701121.coronavirus-parents-reassured-case-hartlepool-primary-school/?fbclid=IwAR38HZWzheKOim24nlD6jvV959jhSkM4ZIWLO7PhSTkuNaV2dJAvLwmMrNo

Wonder how no child came into contact?

@Piggywaspushed

I meant like regular department meetings?

No briefings at all. Possibly a night meeting but maybe on teams. Not confirmed yet.

I think these meetings are really naive tbh. People gather before to make drinks. They generally aren't well ventilated.

It is surely in management's interest to keep staff apart as much as possible!

At our last one, someone even brought in cake. Lots of crowding around....

I think this is the shape of things to come ... PHE (or equivalent) are pretty much working under instructions to avoid closing schools even partly down so will apply the tracking really pedantically until it becomes obvious there is spread.

It may well be that that child didn't get far beyond the school gate?

It may well be that that child didn't get far beyond the school gate?

Maybe, only thing that makes sense.

We are having phase meetings, but that's only 4 of us in one classroom. We are also having SLT meetings, but again it's only 7 - we are doing those in the hall so we can sit miles apart. No whole staff meetings in person, they will be via Teams.

Primary but we will only meet in teams for now. Distanced. 4 staff in one classroom max.

I'm lucky enough to have access to a fridge so I take 4 salads in that last the week. Sandwich deal from the shop as a treat on a friday.

We debated online reading records but I can't see many parents logging in to something to record the reading. So we are writing our.comments on stickers and giving it to the child to stick in themselves so we aren't handling that.

@Mistressiggi

We (teachers in Scotland) are allowed tests when we think we have been exposed, we do not need to be symptomatic. I had a symptomatic dc and added myself to his test (bit for adding family members) and recorded that I had no symptoms (I didn't feel well, but I didn't have one of the three Covid symptoms).

There was an option when booking to choose why I was asking for a test. I put because I have symptoms but one of the options was being an essential worker. So perhaps a teacher could book a test without symptoms here in England too. I don't know.

@bettsbattenburg - You get 20 minutes break only every day? That is tough. I know 20 minutes for 6 hours work is the minimum, but quite often teachers are teaching longer than that and being with the kids is hard, because you can't ever take a couple of minutes. I imagine someone working elsewhere with 20 minutes break could just switch off for a bit, sit down, relax, chat to a colleague, have a cigarette or whatever, although not an official 'break'. It's just not possible for teachers to do that and unsustainable to work a full week like that.

Although if you said that to the public on MN you'd be castigated and called work-shy. Even though I doubt many of them work 6 hours with just 20 minutes break.

I've worked in retail on a six hour shift with only a twenty minute break. You could have a drink on the shop floor but couldn't go to the loo, thus negating the drink thing. It was nowhere near as tiring as teaching, with the possible exception of the last Saturday before Christmas.

I worked in retail too. You'd have a 9 1/4 hour shift with one hour unpaid lunch break and TWO 20-minute breaks! Oh, the luxury!!