The Twenty-Sixth Republic -Half Term Horror?

[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

I know of staff who've had to have "a quiet word" with the head because parents have rung in to say "Mrs thing sat with bobby to help him today". The world has gone mad.

I've Ben writing on stickers and sticking them in... Seems to help a bit.

@Augustbreeze yes, I definitely feel that my 10s and 11s would be disadvantaged online but are also disadvantaged by the set up.

Obviously, I am doing what I can for them and they are lovely kids -just very weak across the board.

I've Ben writing on stickers and sticking them in... Seems to help a bit

Can you explain a bit more?

I feel like I'm the worst I've been as a teacher since my NQT year. And I really don't like it.

Herc I use post its - with very specific instructions , I also got those little slim stickies to stick over SPAG errors. I am just looking for transparent post its as they would be amazing for editing. I have gone back to highlighting (circa 2006) to show them where to look.

Germany to enter 4 week lockdown : everything to shut. Except schools.

What are these countries going to do if illness and deaths rise in the teaching profession while everyone else is tucked away? Closing everything else may be enough to keep schools safe. But it is a huge gamble.

Sorry that was v rushed.

In lessons (maths secondary for context) I write on a sticker what I would normally write in their book. Students then stick it in. Means they have a permanent record of whatever I have said. Works better for some things than others. Mainly good for modelling parts of a Q one to one.

Just to play devil's advocate but teachers (certainly at secondary) didn't used to have to move around, approach students, live mark. The kids are just used to it and we have been trained to do this and so we all exhibit learned behaviour!

Time for a return to the old days?

I never used to live mark per se but I certainly used to move around the class and vary my teaching position to manage behaviour. I always did group work - particularly at gcse and A level.

My "Barry" was my nqt mentor and mentor on my pgce placement and a 30 year vet. I remember one lesson he told me just to map where he went not what he said and it was a masterclass in behaviour management.

phlebas would these work: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07FZS6P3S?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

@MrsHamlet - your TA's aren't in the classroom with you and the students?

Our classrooms are often cramped but as an LSA, the guidance we were given was no more than 15 minutes within 1 metre of a student.

It's difficult when you are working with a student who needs you to be on top of them to do the work but it does mean other students get a little help as we wander the class to open the windows.

They have however restricted us to one per class due to staffing levels - at the beginning of term there were 2 lsa's plus teacher in one class of 5 supported students (3 ehcps) or 4 with a 50/50 ehcp spilt, whereas now it's just one of us and teacher. Needless to say in those classes we've had to move students around and do new seating plans.

You see I am well known for my behaviour management and when I mentor I tell my trainees to plant themselves and stand still!

Germany’s number of cases/100,000 is much lower than ours though and the number of deaths yesterday was 42, I think.

They are locking down earlier so closing places except schools might be enough to lower community transmission so not much is getting into schools.

We seem to be going for not learning lessons from March & dither & delay again. I think I’m coming to the conclusion that far from relaxing restrictions over Xmas if we don’t do something soon we’re going to be tightening them.

I'm a stand still when I want you focused on me, but I move when kids are working. However trainees I pin to a spot until the class behaves well enough for them to move.

I think in the days pre live marking, many maths errors weren't spotted until the end of the lesson when everything was marked wrong. I remember this happening when I was at school. There are ways round this though.

tell my trainees to plant themselves and stand still!

I think that works with some classes. Others not so much - depends on the reason for “misbehaviour”

Live marking is, I think, the absolute most effective way of delivering feedback. It’s definitely the thing I miss doing most.

I’ve kept a desk/seat near the front empty for some classes - low ability Y11. They can request to come and sit there and get my help for two minutes. I stand a bit to the side or away but I can see their books and answer their questions. Sometimes I’ll nip forward write something then nip back - 30 secs max with my mask on (and I encourage them to wear theirs when they come up). It’s not ideal but I don’t know how else to give them all the individual support they sometimes need otherwise. Frankly they’re fucked from all of this anyway (high PP, low access to tech and low motivation/encouragement outside of school) but I can’t write them off. I’d say one of them a lesson cries on average about the stress of it all. It’s such an unfair horrific situation.

Lower school classes I don’t do it for but my Y11 are all have totally different knowledge gaps I don’t know what else to do.

I think what I have found is that a lot of movement and fussing from the teacher just gets the kids over simulated : I like stillness. Ime.

I don't do feedback so that's one problem out of the way! All about the feedforward

The numbers last few days are really giving me the fear. Is it just me? Worst thing is my reaction is to eat shit and not take my diabetic medication properly but somehow I can’t behave rationally.

Nope, minisocks. In the doorway or the corridor. It's actually worse than useless.
I'm lucky in one class that my windows are onto a corridor so my TA can sit out there and bod up and down as required. It's pure luck really.

All about the feedforward

Can you expand on this?

The numbers last few days are really giving me the fear. Is it just me?

Not just you - France and Germany locking down is worrying.

"Germany to enter 4 week lockdown : everything to shut. Except schools."

So, not a lockdown then? And it won't make a blind bit of difference to the infection rates and it will all have been for nothing.
Bit like here, really.

Macron is just announcing in France....

Hamlet those look wonderful! Thankyou!

I stay stock still in input and EVERYONE watches but I do roam the rest of the time. And sometimes I will move my temp board or draw on the window to purposely move between two places .
I always underestimated the power of moving my body nearer a chatty kid until I felt couldn't!