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

Local primary shut reception bubble, one parent "I don't know why, there's no evidence of children spreading it". I'm having to sit on my hands.

Our cover sheet was literally tiny today. It is so weird.

100% attendance in 1/2 of my classes. Other half has tow students with anxiety missing from one, and a shielding girls who has not retuned since September in the other.

It's like we literally do have magic walls..

BBC report re exams, says there will be "contingency measures":

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-54508851

Head teachers accused ministers of an "inadequate response" to the scale of disruption facing pupils and teachers.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said further back-up plans would be decided later for "all scenarios".

@DreamingofBrie Michael Palin is getting us through. I have the DVDs of all his shows, I refuse to chuck them. If the internet goes down for yonks, Palin will see us through.

During lockdown real, we watched loads of Michael Portillo's railway journeys. Weird choice, but gentle.

I actually can't believe the level of disruption in my class right now. Took 2 and a half hours to do a 1 hour lesson today. Aaagh.

Lesson 4 I had year nine. I checked earlier in the day and I should have had 11/30 in (rest X or had not turned up and were N or I)

I totally forgot about the register and did a headcount 45 mins in.

12 of them.

One of the Xs was a kid who had been off on Friday when the rest got sent home, felt better, came back (told me he'd had a negative test and 'thinks' mum sent it in). He'd been wondering why no-one had called his name on the register all day.

We haven't seen a negative, so he got sent home, after being in for 4 lessons and break. FFS.

twitter.com/Dr2NisreenAlwan/status/1315710617794342912

quick meeting with head earlier in day basically saying don't bother applying for threshold as you won't get it

That’s shit theHoneyBadger did she/he give a reason? Gutted for you.

Frlrl oh dear! We've had that happen as well now so we are supposed to check that kids marked off are not actually present.
I had a year 10 p3 who had been marked I up to then who had actually been in all morning. Apparently they felt better so came in after mum had left For work but noon had noticed enough to amend the register.

WhyNot - us too, we're meant to make sure we call ALL names when taking the register to check!

I love trains - I grew up around steam engines and could drive one before I could drive a car. But Portillo irks me (although not as much as Chris Tarrant). I'd love to do one of the big rail journeys like the Trans Siberian... That's a long way off now :(

@WhenSheWasBad

quick meeting with head earlier in day basically saying don't bother applying for threshold as you won't get it

That’s shit theHoneyBadger did she/he give a reason? Gutted for you.

Change of subject area and allegedly wouldn't be able to meet the Ps. My teaching is relatively great and I've proved I can teach well and achieve the same results as others even in non specialist subject and I'm an active presence around the school with behaviour outside of lessons etc but it doesn't tick the boxes I guess. Plus I'm part time and I'm wondering if it's really possible to get it on part time given to do all the extra curriculum development and god knows what else they're after just wouldn't fit into the time I'm there.

I am feeling a little bit of a mug for supporting a trainee after hours and having to hold her hand and provide feedback etc. Occurred to me that the professional tutor probably just assumed I was Upper Scale because of my age and classroom competence.

The advice was to ask my line manager to set me targets/tasks etc that would mean I could qualify for it next year. I thought about and frankly for 40% minus tax, NI and pension contributions of the couple of grand difference between the maximum M6 (where I'm at) and UPS 1 I don't think I want to break my back taking on even more work for a year with no guarantee anyway. Think I'll settle for my mental health and stopping doing too much work.

It's ok I'm not upset and know it's not a reflection on me. I suspect you're expected to do take on responsibility without being paid a responsibility point to 'qualify'. Bit shite.

That was full of errors sorry. Back from gym after day at work. That's my excuse

The bit that does get to me a bit is I''m actually very good at my job and I do go out of my way to help and support new staff, nqts etc but I'm quite jokey and self deprecating in my style of making other people feel comfortable. I can't do the big I AM and wear a suit and I wonder if people just don't take me seriously and recognise what I do.

I suspect that's the ceiling for me. I've never wanted to be a head of department really, would prefer some kind of whole school responsibility eg. something pastoral or with parents but all of those roles now go to cheap non teachers now it seems.

We have about 10 deputy heads and assistant heads but everything below that level is non qualified and low paid and you can tell! It's a shame and I often miss proper 'heads of year' who know the classroom, know the kids and know how to deal with parents and sort behaviour. Instead we have people who simply forward problems to all of us in a 'all teaching staff' email rather than deal with anything.

Hmm perhaps it has bothered me a bit

One of my lockdown vices was watching people's travel vlogs on Youtube

It's the mum and the head. Apparently we are all so smashingly socially distanced it CANNOT have come from school! So she got it last Friday after her brother was sent home from secondary (and she moaned about tummy ache all Weds/Thurs) but because she was at home all weekend and I have a table spray that means the rest of the class are just dandy, thanks!

Total insanity.

I am suspicious that one of the students I support is off self isolating, either because they're ill or someone in their family is. Both they and their siblings haven't been in for the whole of last week and remain off this week. Now, they could be in holiday but I know the family and this is unlikely. They're also not the sort of family to have time off for no decent reason so... but school nurse allegedly doesn't know of any students SI or ill with it themselves. Worrying.

quick meeting with head earlier in day basically saying don't bother applying for threshold as you won't get it

Oh my gosh honey that's terrible! Speak to the union. Twatish behaviour.

I can't do the big I AM and wear a suit and I wonder if people just don't take me seriously and recognise what I do.

I so feel this.

I'm on UPS (before I got too sassy) and I do so so much. People assume I have a massive TLR and when they find out my actual pay they're always

We have a school full of young teachers with enthusiasm but no experience. It shows.

Sorry to hear about your threshold application too @TheHoneyBadger. Went off on a very indulgent rant instead!

You're right it's no reflection on you, probably linked to you being PT and general lack of money in school.

What standards would you not be meeting? That sounds like BS.

@TheHoneyBadger my head had the same conversation with me. The fact I had the best progress data in the key stage seems to be irrelevant. Hey ho. Really knocks my confidence to feel I don't have the support of SLT.

@phlebasconsidered

It's the mum and the head. Apparently we are all so smashingly socially distanced it CANNOT have come from school! So she got it last Friday after her brother was sent home from secondary (and she moaned about tummy ache all Weds/Thurs) but because she was at home all weekend and I have a table spray that means the rest of the class are just dandy, thanks! Total insanity.

I don't understand how they can say that. The children aren't distanced from each other so to send no children home or shut the bubble is incredibly irresponsible. This is the problem with taking PHE out of the equation: you've now got the DfE and heads making decisions that, quite frankly, they aren't qualified to make.

I'm UPS and my main UPSness is that I'm a mentor. As it happens, I have a TLR for that too - but there are plenty of my colleagues who do nothing above and beyond their own teaching who get UPS. Which is at it's meant to be.

honey your head sounds like a twat. I'm sure you're a great teacher and should be going through threshold as long as you meet the standards. So they should be telling you which standards you need to work on (if any). I suspect you're right that is to do with being part time.

I'm ups too. I don't do anything above and beyond my own classroom teaching. I do get extra tasks to do during gained time in the summer, but everyone does in my department whatever their pay grade. I don't really want to go into hod or anything, so I'm glad I was encouraged to apply to go through the threshold. (I wasn't just encouraged, my then hod filled in the forms for me and all I had to do was sign them, as I was having a really tough year)

I'm UPS3 because I was on L scales for 7 years. I have a TLR for phase leadership though. Other teachers are just UPS3.

Well, now this is interesting!!

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/925856/S0770_NPIs_table__pivot_.pdf

SAGE documents.