The Twenty-fifth Republic - circuit breaker before/during/after half term

[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 and you will receive a detention

Just watching GMB and the "discussion" about a possible circuit breaker. They listed all the things that it involved. Not one mention of schools either way!

Sorry to spoil the party!

I'm up and showered and with it thanks to finally replenishing my melatonin supplies. Insomnia was making things way harder.

Last week of term for me. Nearly there!

Last week of term here too. I can just about cope with one more week.

I think I might need some help not to quit my job this week. Spent two years fighting to get on a course and now need to run a project. SLT killed one, Covid killed the second and now my HoD has killed the third which would have provided desperately needed support for students. I want to hide and have a cry and I can’t. I want to hand my notice in and I can’t. No one else has faced such difficulties in getting projects approved and I know the issue is my HoD blocking me. I’ve even offered to run something and her dominant issue is that it’s a lot of work. I know that. I know what I’m doing.

That's shit, Herdy

Can someone teaching your course email yr school and point out the essential nature of yr project, to yr qual/course, CPD and the benefits to yr school and students?

Sounds very familiar, Herdy. I ended up getting a new job as not able to overcome this. I start January - hope the new school appreciate me more!

@Augustbreeze

Can someone teaching your course email yr school and point out the essential nature of yr project, to yr qual/course, CPD and the benefits to yr school and students?

SLT think my HoD is fucking god-like. I don’t think it would matter. I am looking for somewhere but it’s mainly teacher jobs, which would be a step backwards. I’d hate for my HoD to do that to me.

So at our (whole staff in one room) briefing this morning, less than 50% wearing masks. Told we didn’t ‘need’ to as we were 2m apart from each other and not face to face. Lots of emphasis that the guidance is ‘should’ and not ‘must’ and how difficult it will be to enforce for kids.... 🙄

@MrsHerculePoirot so have you just moved into tier2/3 (Sorry don't know when mandatory masks kick in and can't remember yr area!)?

Nice to know that SLT are looking out for your safety there, @MrsHerculePoirot 🤨. Can union reps tell SLT that these meetings shouldn’t be going ahead like this?

I am union rep and have suggested it! It’s being discussed at LA level across all schools this week.

@Augustbreeze yes we are now in a tier 2 (area restrictions) so have moved to tier one (school tiers)

Wales lockdown- Primary and Special schools open. Secondary year 7 and 8 open.

Lockdown?!

Yes monkey. Childcare also open - "to enable parents to work", says the BBC article I've just read. And in the following sentence, that the govt have stated "children are always the priority".

When what they obviously mean is, "keeping younger children occupied so that parents can contribute to the economy" is the priority......

So near and yet so far... we just lost y11

Exactly. On the bbc news just now it said that no two households were to mix anywhere. Oh, except in schools!
Absolutely zero point in making all those businesses go to the wall for a "lockdown" that will be useless when they're leaving one of the biggest drivers of the virus still merrily mixing.
And if they seriously believe you get children aren't spreading it? Test them and let's prove it.

*younger children

I like your challenge Angelina

That's what the north east found laughable when we had that restriction; except our secondaries were open too.

It was quite depressing not to be able to mix anywhere with anyone but merrily mix with hundreds at school.

Wales are clearly saying that secondary do drive it with that move.

I've landed myself with a lot of targets and work to be able to get onto ups next year. I'm going to try to be positive and see it as good career developing stuff

It is though to be fair and I'm still slightly on my "I escaped from science" high which helps.

Thank goodness it’s the last week. Dd has been sent home as a close contact and we have had two positive cases in school in reception and year two.

Callmeangelina I wish they would test them. It’s madness to say schools are staying open.
Every single member of staff in our school has one of their children at home bar one.

I’ve been signed off since the last week of September.

I was coping - it was hard but I felt as if I was coping. Then I got made to feel like the worst person in the world for “shouting” at a Y10 class (I really wasn’t shouting, but anyway) and for teaching a lesson out of sequence on the rigid and poor sow.

I’m not going back after maternity leave so I shouldn’t care but I really didn’t want to leave like this.

Leaving some schools open renders the whole thing utterly pointless.