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

Here's a highlight :

Many classroom environments are poorly ventilated and space makes it hard to maintain social distancing. Action would reduce occupancy density enabling better social distancing and partially mitigating ventilation issues

Yeah good find by that poster piggy

They bloody know schools are a mess.

I couldn't have my windows open today - the kids were freezing, so I shut them. It's only 10 degrees.

I liked this line:

although trust in government communication, perceived risk and levels of worry have declined since early April

No shit Sherlock.

Pretty sure SAGE want blended learning. They do acknowledge the issues for teachers. Which makes a change.

The nutters seem to have left that thread now the graphs have come out.

Or maybe they have clocked off for the day.

I’m not shutting mine @ohthegoats
I have repeatedly warned all the kids I teach ( all 375 of them) that it will get cold and they need to a) buy the school jumper ( usually decried as too naff) and b) wear their sports skins under their school shirts ( and potentially their trousers too later on)
I reckon it is one of our few defences.

The SAGE document is very interesting isn't it, and pretty sensible? They do understand the issues both in the community and in schools. Yes looks like blended learning might be a goer. And masks.

If only we could guarantee that the govt would read, understand and accept.

The discussion on the previous Numbers thread (iirc) of German ventilation measures - pre-Covid - left me thinking that we don't need the windows constantly open, just a few times a day for ten mins or something. And that we should all buy CO2 monitors!

Today was the first proper chilly day with us. I did talk to them about more clothes.

@Kashtan

I’m not shutting mine *@ohthegoats* I have repeatedly warned all the kids I teach ( all 375 of them) that it will get cold and they need to a) buy the school jumper ( usually decried as too naff) and b) wear their sports skins under their school shirts ( and potentially their trousers too later on) I reckon it is one of our few defences.

Absolutely agree. I even have a Year 11 who brings in a blanket. Fine by me as the windows and classroom door are staying firmly open!

Don’t know if you remember my earlier posts about a positive case in Year 13. Well, not only has the girlfriend tested positive but another boyfriend/girlfriend couple has too. Two of them are just turned 18.
So, it’s all well and good having tight SD, ventilation and cleaning but we can’t control relationships with ‘adults’!

Interestingly, DofEd told is to just send those seated near these pupils home but that evening, PHE called to say the whole of Year 13 has to go home for 14 days. Very different approaches/advice there which is making me not trust the move to contacting DofEd and not PHE...

Interesting ChloeDecker. I know of a local school with multiple cases in Yr 13, very few contacts sent home. I wonder if this might change there, too.

" the criteria for progressing clearly state that you must have made a substantial and sustained contribution to your current school" I found this in union guidelines about threshold. This could be the basis of saying I wouldn't qualify. I have had long term absence due to illness yet as far as I can see that shouldn't get in the way. Allegedly if you apply you are meant to get feedback on each of the criteria and why you failed which almost makes it worth applying to find out what it is that means I won't get it. Or I could just let it go which is probably saner. It may also be that I don't teach exam groups at the moment.

Sorry woke up thinking about this!

Absence has no impact on threshold (legally!).

Of course you woke up thinking about it. Your HT is a shitbag.

Would you feel able to have the conversation with them again and clarify exactly which standards you aren't meeting and why?

Here we go. We have multiple cases in KS4. I'm waking at 3am and this week have two sets of mocks to mark, a learning walk, then a parents evening and an after school intervention session next week. Yesterday I had to cover as well as set work for my SI class I don't know how much longer I'll last; my family is suffering for it.

Salty mine too. I barely see my own kids. My husband had a little rant about it yesterday.

Assessment weeks are looming with bubbles bursting all the time. SLT hellbent on accurate data. How can I assess kids accurately via teams?!

@TheHoneyBadger

It really is about identifying what it is that you do do that contributes to the whole school rather than picking out barriers like absences, etc.

For me, it was subject leadership, several whole school initiatives I've led on and my mentorship of NQTs and RQTs. It helped that I was already SLT so had the chance to get involved in a lot of whole school stuff. However, one of the criteria for mine was that you must have been on M6 for a specific period of time first before you could apply.

Herc I only managed to grab her for two seconds before she raced off to a parent. I would rather do it by email because I'm realising she wasn't comfortable putting that in an email hence wanting to see me and tell me.

I'll think about it today. I also suspect she has no idea of my qualifications (counselling as well as teaching) or my work history which includes a major pastoral role across three sites of an FE college and contributing to staff training there.

It would be a long boring email which I may have a name for but?

But those are all things that should be paid for in their own right Iam. Subject leadership, professional tutor etc. UPS is a way of progression for teachers without needing TLR to my understanding. It's a way of keeping and recognising the worth of good, experienced teachers who haven't gone the way of leadership progression. Maybe I am misunderstanding. We're useful because we can help those nqts and trainees and can be a useful presence around the school in terms of behaviour and student relationships and have honed our craft well I thought. Not that we're doing tlr work without pay.

I shall mull on it.

I agree with those saying going through threshold is about what you do already. You surely can't be penalised for being part time or not having exam classes (the latter especially since that's not in your control)
Because I'm an arse, I'd do the form and force them to tell me why I wasn't getting it. I'd also be talking to my union about it.

Being a mentor where I am is "enough" for ups. I also have a couple of small subject leadership roles that probably should come with a TLR but don't.

You're not an arse. You're sticking up for yourself.

We have a guy who has been on ups1 forever. Head won't put him up, or start capability so he's literally stuck.

My school also quite arsey @TheHoneyBadger. You have to have done something ‘whole-school’ for six consecutive terms.

Then when you have it they further want your pound of flesh 🙄

@TheHoneyBadger

But those are all things that should be paid for in their own right Iam. Subject leadership, professional tutor etc. UPS is a way of progression for teachers without needing TLR to my understanding. It's a way of keeping and recognising the worth of good, experienced teachers who haven't gone the way of leadership progression. Maybe I am misunderstanding. We're useful because we can help those nqts and trainees and can be a useful presence around the school in terms of behaviour and student relationships and have honed our craft well I thought. Not that we're doing tlr work without pay.

I shall mull on it.

In fairness, things might be different in secondary as there is more access to TLRs for things like this. In primary, subject leadership, mentoring, etc. is all expected of all staff without any TLRs. In fact, I'm the only person at my school with one.

Hang in there @SaltyAndFresh , it's nearly half term!
We have a book look today - Book look ??!!!