The Twenty-first Republic - All back but for how long? Why is Big Gav still in post?

[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.

Our SLT are doing lunchtimes, and doing a lot of 'runner policing' for want of a better term. I have to step up on my management days - I have spent chunks of both of those policing gates, parent gaggles in the playground and steering children back to their bubbles.

Saw my child's head teacher yesterday - she was doing the afterschool club graveyard shift at 5.30 on a Friday. She looked all a bit wide eyed and shocked - said that no member of staff there gets a lunch break, they have to eat with children etc. At least I've been able to give my TAs a lunch break of sorts, and also got them leaving 'early' because they miss so much break time during the day.

Ours likes to join in. Which would be fine if he didn't tend to completely undermine what you've told them. It's not malicious but bumbling incompetence...

Oh dear! I've just had a friend ring me in a panic. Their step-dad has tested positive and their siblings are at my school. Have forwarded the schools advice of 'tell them immediately' - immediately being highlighted although no advice on how to do that on a weekend. And also given them the current 14/10 days quarantine guidance from the gov as they weren't too sure what it meant for the family. I shall be checking on Monday that the kids are not in school!

Im not optimistic of us lowly support staff being told officially if someone in the class where we provide support goes off with a positive result. I'm sure the response will be that we shouldn't be spending too long with our students in one go. But I do think we should be allowed within reason to risk assess ourselves on that score. For example, my colleague who has gone sick - has to test but unlikely covid - was sat at the opposite of our staff room to me when she complained of feeling ill, and I was wearing my face covering. More than 2m distance so I don't feel concerned. But in a class, I spent lots of small chunks of time in a 1 metre distance from a student. While I wasn't 15 minutes in 1 go, I was back and forth constantly for the whole hour, definitely with them for 75% of the lesson, while the teacher taught from the front. if the student next to them goes off, I'd like to know so I at least knew to watch for symptoms over the next couple of weeks even if not self-isolating. If my student goes off, I'd like to think I would be told. But likely another student in the class would let me know!

Just driven DS back to uni and my buggering exhaust is falling off....

Currently in a Kwik fit....

@Augustbreeze

Why oh why is no one in the media, or elsewhere recalling what (?)Whitty said a few weeks ago about pubs maybe having to close to keep schools open?

Pubs pay lots of nice tax. Schools don’t.

You're having a good weekend, then, Piggy?

That's a nice thread Rafals.

We are going to be getting out an about in the countryside every Sunday.

We often do that in autumn. We've also maxed out the credit card and got a holiday cottage booked at half term in a very remote location. (With wifi!!) that was specifically for our MH.

My main sleep issue is ds2, his snot and my boobs.

Re ensuring we all get enough sleep:
Um would anyone on here be interested in pledging to not post on here later than a certain time? That would help me a little, no "update checking"!

And we could all say "Night night, sleep tight!" and have metaphorical cocoa

I’ve just read about school recorders being shared across bubbles somewhere else.

Apart from the whole concept of school recorders creeping me out anyway, I think it’s fair to say there isn’t much point in bubbles if you are going to do that.

@NeurotrashWarrior - we're booked for our autumn half term in Cornwall. I love this time of year - the cusp between seasons.

We also do a lot of geocaching, which involves long walks. Love getting out in the fresh air.

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay - that is disgusting. I'd like to think they're sterilising them between use but I do agree there's no point in bubbles if they're using something like that. I'd have thought they would be banned completely right now as a precaution.

Presumably they sanitise the recorders in between users?

I thought something similar when I found out that at our school children are kept in their year group bubble and not allowed to mix or share play equipment, but come the end of the day a lot of them go to one room for after school care and all the children from different year groups are mixed up together. I thought what's the point of the bubbles then?

I’d like to think they are sterilising them. Can you imagine trying to explain that to public health officials if a child tests positive?

Tbh, I’d have thought covid would be the perfect excuse not to have to listen to 30 kids learning to play the recorder.

I love an autumn walk. Have dusted off the walking boots this week, so will try to put them to good use.

@Augustbreeze

Why oh why is no one in the media, or elsewhere recalling what (?)Whitty said a few weeks ago about pubs maybe having to close to keep schools open?

To be fair that is what now seems to be happening in Bolton. So maybe that is actually going to happen...

I think that's probably a good idea august. I am the same. (Shouldn't you be September breeze now? )

Trying not to become a victim of the modern vogue for "seasons", @tadjennyp.....

@Ellle unfortunately wraparound care is acknowledged in the DfE guidance as being an instance where a school might have to combine bubbles.... as long as it's small groups and consistent. I doubt many after school "clubs" form an entirely consistent bubble, but hey ho!

We have started some after school clubs but definitely not mixing bubbles. Clubs have to decide which bubble and that its.

Exhaust fixed! Free of charge.

But he appears to have nicked my hand gel...

By after school clubs I meant wraparound care, which IME changes about 50% of its clientele every day (ie maybe 50% go every day). So not consistent.

We haven't got any clubs running yet. The head wanted to see how normal daily running of the school works first. The after school "homework/childcare" in the library is running now, with different yeargroups kept in different sections of the library and 2m between yeargroup spaces. We don't have a lot of kids using that tbf, usually about a dozen year 7s and a sprinkling of older kids waiting for lifts home.

I'm about to take dd1 back to uni. She suggested leaving at 3 and it's not me we're waiting for. It's a good job she's at a reasonably local uni!!

Hand gel is probably a reasonable price for fixing the exhaust.

Don’t get a covid test is going to be the new MN ‘don’t go to A&E unless all your limbs have fallen off,’ isn’t it?

@Augustbreeze

By after school clubs I meant wraparound care, which IME changes about 50% of its clientele every day (ie maybe 50% go every day). So not consistent.

It a nonsense that it is offered as it then makes bubbles pointless. All of our classrooms are ‘bubble allocated’ all day everyday including before school, afterschool

We host wraparound care for other schools too. 🤦‍♀️

DH and I can't manage without breakfast club and were also having to use a separate childminder for pick ups. Mixing is unavoidable.

We're