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-

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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.

mobile.twitter.com/DrZoeHyde/status/1305820230870949889

Don’t know if this is factual enough for the numbers thread, but Swedish parents have started tracking outbreaks in schools.

I’m really not clear on that neuro. Even though ours are in zones the older ones are moving around in all different rooms and subject groups. And even though year 7 and 8 stay mostly in the same room they are moving for different subjects seating plans and everyone is sharing space with their whole year group at lunch and break.

I can’t see how they could pick out ‘close contacts’.

I honestly don't know honey. The letter on the website said they'd had seating plans and teachers going to them.

I think the child was in one day and then off so perhaps they could manage it? Likely to be a different story this and next week.

In our school a bubble closed with one child case yesterday.

I suspect that might be the reason whole year group bubbles are closing honey even though the DfE guidance says they shouldn’t. It might be possible to isolate close contacts only in places that are actually covid secure but I’d imagine it’s a PH nightmare trying to work out exactly who had contact with who. And if you miss a contact, that same reason would lead to 1 missed case possibly leading to significant spread.

God knows. Slightly annoyed because at inset I asked if I could set up google classrooms for all my classes and ensure all kids were prepped on how to access it. I was told no because that department didn’t really use google classroom during lockdown so no need.

Two weeks on and I just got an email saying I have to set up google classroom for every class by the end of the week It’s so bloody hard to get ahead of yourself or plan your time in schools. Always seems to be last minute demands on tight deadlines.

Moan moan.

🤦‍♀️

Tbh I’ve taken to just doing stuff like that anyway. It saves the stress when the inevitable thing you saw happening does happen and now you have a much tighter deadline to sort it.

Yeah but what's likely to happen is you get all your classes set up on google classroom and they announce they are using Teams!

True but I guess I believed the hod rather than go with knowing that the whole school way was google classroom.

I’ve already spent three hours of my day off doing work stuff and have a full on day tomorrow and Friday with work stuff already planned for my unpaid Thursday.

I’m not going to use the rest of the day doing that. I have 3 year 8 groups for whom there should be existing classrooms from lockdown that can just be switched over to me by the previous teacher. I’m going to ask them to do that and then I think there’s only a couple of year 7s classes I am lead teacher on. I’m on the smaller topic side of my ks4 groups so I think the lead teacher will sort those.

Think I’m going to end up responsible for the year 7 remote learning including a ‘live’ lesson every other week that everyone else will use. Need to get my head around recording voice over PowerPoints as that’s the way the department seems to be leaning.

The three nearest secondary schools to ours have all got year groups out and I guess our luck could run out any day now.

Sorry. Just dumping the contents of my head on you guys. My mental desktop is overloaded

Well yes. Which is how I ended up dumping a huge work project I was halfway through. But I’d already had to scrap it once when I got near the end of how I’d been told they wanted it done and then changed their requirements 9 months down the line.

At least this time it was 3rd fine lucky and by the time they’d decided they just wanted it done by the end of next month I’d already just done 90% of the work -again-

An endless piss take basically lol. Having a fml moment and tempted to have a hot bath and a glass of wine

Perhaps leave the wine until wine o’clock. We’re not there yet.

In other news, I've just taken a big swig of tea from my flask (Made at 6am and still hot). The milk is off.

@MrsHamlet

In other news, I've just taken a big swig of tea from my flask (Made at 6am and still hot). The milk is off.

🤮🤮 Yuck!

Yuk!

I’m afraid I didn’t make it to wine o clock. I poured a drink and dutifully got online and set up the google classrooms I wasn’t going to do today and put a message on for each class about ‘just in case preparedness’

This is our trouble we moan and huff and puff but for the most part we crack on and do it anyway. Not the militant lefty strikers we’re made out to be lol

Much like all the assumptions we’d strike or all sign off sick etc on here just because we were concerned about safety and wanted some basic mitigation. We’re all back in school cracking on for the sake of the kids and our colleagues. We’re just not even allowed to complain according to some.

Oh good, the university students are back and seem to be not socially distancing and having large parties. I’m sure that will go well. I might join you on the wine.

I point blank refuse to work on days off now. Nope. Not happening.

I put in 10hr days 4 days a week. That's already a normal persons working week, completed in 4 days.

This year is a marathon, and I have a horrible feeling we've dashed out way too fast and it's going to hit staff hard very soon.

I'm already sleeping badly, and feel mentally overwhelmed.

We're never allowed to complain, don't you know that. Teachers must be patient and saintly, loving every moment of our jobs as it allows us the opportunity to meet and cherish such wonderful angels.

My wonderful angels were actually lovely today, and I did enjoy the time in the classroom. The bit I'm not going to enjoy is writing UCAS references (just the maths part, and the teacher I share the class with is a proper wordsmith so nobody's going to use anything I write!!), and I have 4 of those to do by Friday. I should have done them over lockdown/summer, but I say that every year and every year I'm still writing them in September 🤦

Ah see I can’t do 10hr days. My brain melts.

My brain can’t operate past 4pm. Definitely a morning person.

My moan of the day is that I think you could grate cheese on the backs of my hands, they’re so sore.

However, tomorrow is my PPA from HOME day!

Have AQA done yet ANOTHER u turn, English peeps?

@Piggywaspushed We’re OCR and their website still says Shakespeare mandatory and 2 of the other 3 texts. No update since August.

Just got home to read that my city has imposed a voluntary lockdown which looks to be made mandatory Friday.

www.aqa.org.uk/news/update-to-changes-to-2021-exams-for-gcse-english-literature

Unseen compulsory, poetry anthology optional

Does anyone know any of the rules about overseas teachers and qualifications and paperwork? This is before I go on the attack at DS school.

He is in year 12 and Spanish teacher is now 'in the country' ( was in USA) but now they are awaiting some official stuff. I am so cross because I specifically asked in June if they had recruited and if they were a fully qualified teacher of MFL having had previous negative experiences. They had what sounds like a trainee today....

Possibly. But given talk in the office, I think they've found this group of students more challenging than normal so have decided not to, and dropped everyone else in it. Plus there are extra covers required due to covid planning and keeping bubbles separate.