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.

Yes, WhyNotMe40. I found out today the extent of the shutdown of DS’s school. On the grapevine at work. DS did not see fit to tell me about the multiple year groups sent home yesterday while contact tracing takes place.
It’s not making the news at all, even the usually quite reliable local Fb news round up sites.

This morning ICU workers and care homes workers complaining about covid causing deaths should be desensitised to death and are clearly in the wrong job if they aren’t. being mentally unfit to teach because you are pointing out the obvious fuck up the government have made seems to be par for the course today.

Who are the 11% that think this is going well?

How do I teach phase 2 and 3 phonics to some children in a year 4 class? The rest of the class have a few on phase 5, but I can mop that up in the teaching of year 3 and 4 spelling rules, but phase 2 and 3?

I don't have an LSA who can do it. She's 1-1 for a very tricky child, and already has another one on her radar.

noble is a highly effective moronmagnet. If we ever need to catch us one as a staff pet, we know how to do it.
I've reported a load of posts on that thread. Vile creatures.

How many kids Oh?

Awesome thread Nobel,

I've reported a few idiots too.

What is it they are struggling with? Blending & segmenting or letter recognition.

So many fake posters on that thread it’s laughable

The thing I, even those who are open at all costs types should be pissed off with HM Gov. Even more so, tbh.

And then in another alternate reality this poster wants keyworker care for her children if their bubble is sent home to isolate. Ffs.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4024544-Will-there-be-Keyworker-care?pg=2

Phonics -

Have a class of 24 (lucky!) around half and half years 3 and 4
6 children didn't pass their year 1 phonics assessment, so would have had to take it last June. They struggle with decoding for reading, and encoding for writing.
They don't have to take it in year 3, but we have to keep taking the tests until they pass (or not I guess...).
There are another 5 who were at phase 5 week 18 by March. I've done a phase 5 assessment with them, and their reading is fine, but spelling is shocking.

The rest are mostly year 4s (with some exceptions), and are OK for the normal year 3/4 spelling rule teaching. This covers some phase 5, so I'm going to try and mop them all up together.

6 children for phase 3 - 4 year 3s, 2 year 4s. 4 have significant behaviour and won't work independently at all.

I've set them all up on teachyourmonstertoread, and have them working through that independently on a shift system using their own headphones on one laptop.

My 1-1 TA is not strong enough to take the class/teach. At all.

I have some additional support attached to my bubble (she does my management time cover) on 2 afternoons, but that person is also our sick cover teacher, so it wouldn't be consistent.

Is it enough to give them maybe 2 sessions a week with me, but then make attempts at independent stuff the rest of the time? I feel they need daily lessons. More than they need to do anything else really.

In an ideal world they’d have daily support, but if you can pick your activities you could get it to work. I think the lack of independence is going to be more of an issue.

I’d slow the introduction of sounds right down tbh perhaps to 1 a week. Which would give you those two sessions and then the rest of the time for them to practice.

Oh yes, it'll have to be that slow. They've already done this twice, so I can't imagine it sticking if we do it at any speed.

With the rest I'm going to combine handwriting with phase 5 sounds, so they get some sort of exposure. Then teach spelling rule mid week, and do two independent activities to follow, one linked to handwriting again. Hope to get out with some of my phase 3s at that point. So that's possibly 2 sessions.

Really I just need someone else to teach my outdoor PE so that I can do some proper intervention.

@ohthegoats My Yr 2 colleague has just messaged me to say that y2 have to do the missed y1 phonics screening test in a few weeks! That means covering 4 months of lost teaching in about 3 weeks.
Have you heard this too?

@motherrunner - that parent really is being obtuse about this. Yes, it sucks people will have to take 2 weeks off, potentially juggling isolating but not sick children between both parents so neither one suffers more than the other.

On a side note, my dc asked me why they had 'critical' next to their names on the register. And the answer is because they have parents who are critical-workers. So that's a new one to me. At least it's a lot less worrying than they were thinking as they only knew 'extremely critically vulnerable so were very confused.

[quote CallmeAngelina]**@ohthegoats My Yr 2 colleague has just messaged me to say that y2 have to do the missed y1 phonics screening test in a few weeks! That means covering 4 months of lost teaching in about 3 weeks.
Have you heard this too?[/quote]
That is right. But it would have taken place at the start of June so it is half a term and I don't think its being planned until after half term.

Has anyone else heard the rumour that schools no longer consult local Public health teams when they have a positive case, but to contact DfE???

whynotme40 yes apparently public health inundated so they have to ring a different number , didn’t know that was a dfe number though.

I have just finished inputting the data from my initial maths assessment for my year 6. Ability ranges from year 1 to year 6 with most around the end of year 4 mark on baseline. A quarter of the class between year 2 and 3. I am somewhat depressed. I know my targets will be the usual "everyone must pass". The only glimmer is the year 1 level student finally has mum on board to work towards an ehcp.

In other news, I have 3 off today with temperature and headache. The other two classes in the cohort about the same Of course, they don't need testing.

I feel desperate for my mum. Me and the kids are staying as far away as possible but she really doesn't get it. I wish we were big enough and rich enough for a granny flat.

I wonder if that is resulting in the different advice re who isolates.

Oh Phleb, that sounds hard

At least it's a lot less worrying than they were thinking as they only knew 'extremely critically vulnerable so were very confused

Wasn’t it clinically extremely vulnerable?

Gaahh! We need a new thread!

Oh I suppose my suggestion would have been to set the rest of the class the independent stuff and focus on more input for them. TA not leading as such but keepimg them all going.

However then they don't get what they need.

Have you discussed with anyone in school? Could ta take the one who don't need it to do the pe? Or even just for the time being outdoor games and daily miles? Rounders practically runs itself.

I agree teach your monster would be good; reading eggs would be marvellous if not least for the more able lot as it goes up to age 14 and includes spelling and really tough comprehension etc.