The Twenty Fourth Republic - conditions not great and are teachers becoming modern day lepers?

[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 yo

Wonder if we will folllow suit.

That is one shit pie chart!

Practical coursework assignments have also been removed from the sciences for Higher and Advanced Higher which makes sense (I haven’t really looked at other subject modifications). Exams will start a couple of weeks later than usual too.

Scotland say the idea is to make room - in every sense - for the higher level exams which decide university places etc.

Logical.

Do we think Boris/Gave will make lots of statements about how there's no way we would do such a thing, then do it at some really difficult stage for teachers?

Scotland have also said schools will remain open, but there's going to be disruption.....

Just watching bbc news about Scottish exams... secondary classroom looked very light on pupils! Grr.

The difference is England's almost total abandoning of teacher assessed coursework, do nothing physical to use as evidence. We are obsessed with assessments and the terminal exam.

Do national 5s have coursework? I can't see how continuous assessment works unless they do, and without external verification.

@MrsHerculePoirot

Just Fuck My Actual Life. That is all.

Our computers have practically stopped working across the school (network issues). I have never worked so many ducking hours in my life and I’m only part time.

So few students in some classes - although only one confirmed case as present.

Those at the top feeling the stress and stroppy emails being sent.

Everyone so, so tired.

And then someone in the team I work with just being really fucking annoying and trying to take over everything in the world despite the rest of us all in agreement about doing it differently.

I’m just done in today. Want to crawl in bed and sleep forever but brain won’t let me 😱😱😱

Apologies for self indulgent rant!

It is what we are here for! In the absence of my own actual staff room, this one is invaluable to me!

So sorry about your network issues. Completely understand! Was faffing around trying to get MS Teams to work so we could have a meeting. Wasted most of my free period trying to get all those involved connected as it just kept cutting out!

I wonder if England will follow Scotland? It seems distinctly possible. Selfishly, I wanted exam marking money this summer.

Yes, Nat 5s have externally marked coursework

@MrsHamlet

First confirmed student case today. And Ofsted tomorrow!

Fuuuuuuuuck!

Those swines. Absolutely terrible to inflict in the current situation.

Phone was ringing off the hook with panicking parents this afternoon. Child hadn't been in contact with anyone so we think we're okay. Advice was "as you were but tell the parents"

Ofsted?! Fuckers

We've had a staff member case and a student case so far. I suspect many more have it but people just don't want the hassle of testing positive.

For National 5, SQA will provide at least some of the assessments I believe (how much leeway we will have with our own produced assessments remains to be seen) and they will be sampled and verified externally. For the sciences at least, the normal coursework component (a practical assignment) has been taken out this year.

Ofsted in shocking!
We have had 3 in y7 now. The bubble hasn't burst!

These bubbles are certainly robust!!!

They are like that special bubble mixture circus performers have that is extra tough.

How can three cases not burst a bubble?!

Because clearly tnhere can be no link between them as kids don’t spread it... they were sat in rows facing the front... 🙄

@noblegiraffe

How can three cases not burst a bubble?!

They reckon they are spread out, not linked and are following PHE advice.

Miles behind. I've been stroppy today. Sick to death of being micro-managed during form time (I suspect I'm being targeted because I refused to attend meetings at 8:20am or in a classroom with ten other people not wearing masks). I'm not having it and I'm not letting those doing it deny it, because I'm making a point of asking other tutors if it's happening to them.

@MrsHamlet

First confirmed student case today. And Ofsted tomorrow!

We had them last week - just COVID check, no report to come back just a letter apparently. Only talked to slt and governors.

Wonder if we will follow suit re Scotland exams , obvs after Gav has come and told us all the reasons why we can’t.
So unbelievably stressed. Case at our school that has caused a few bubbles to burst.
Have one poorly dc at home who was with a positive case in her year last Wed but they only isolated those who were with them on Thurs / Fri. Then she spent yesterday with a child coughing all morning before they were sent home.
Not showing the three symptoms that require a test as of yet so stuck between a rock and a hard place waiting.
Ds is the only person in his whole tutor group who can attend uni lectures due to positive cases or those self isolating.
It feels like it’s ravaging schools cases in basically every school round here at the minute.
Another case in the school with the ‘heads letter’ they had only been back four days.

3 cases that’s crazy how can that not be an outbreak in that year group ? Feels like that’s what’s happening in my dd school and all the kids are going off ‘ill’ anyway.