The Twenty-Eight Republic - Lockdown Light

[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 booze is stashed - Thirsty Tuesdays, Fizz Fridays now in operation.

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

We've just had to send more than half of year 11 home again. Some are on their third SI. The head has been fielding complaints all day. What worries me is that there will come a time when only those who test positive are sent home, to appease the critics.

What worries me is that there will come a time when only those who test positive are sent home, to appease the critics

Can they do that? I thought our school wad lax. If we get a positive kid only pupils who sit within a 2 metre radius get sent home.

We've started back with an infant bubble popped, plus 2 teachers and the head SI after being contacted by T&T over half term. Y4 bubble waiting on result that could send them home. Fun and games!

Longtime lurker, have a dilemma and want to ask for some opinions. I work in a school but not my kids. It's been a crap crap term I am very aware of this. My daughter has a EHCP and her learning support team have been amazing. Group of parents wants to send some pencils, glue sticks etc. This is nice but I want to send them a box of wine. Is this weird? I would love this tbh. Would you find it weird if your department got a box of wine in the post from a parent?

Sorry this would be a case of 6 wines, not a box!

Definitely send the wine rather than glue sticks 😀

That's lovely, assuming it divides up ok? As they wouldn't be able to use them for a night in together! If there were too many members of staff you could go for more of those fancy tins of alcohol places like M&S do. Though I'd like boxes of pencils, never ever have enough pens or pencils

Hell yes to the wine!

@Loshad thanks! I will.

@MistressIggi good point, my daughter has a piece of paper with pics and names of everyone that helps her so I'm working off that. It's mainstream but their department is huge, 18 TAs and 8 HLTAs.
The other parents are getting glue sticks and pencils.
I just couldn't care less about pencils at this point tbh.

HoD still sick with COVID (more than 2 weeks) so my part-time is going to be less part-time as I take on 2 of his classes. We have to assume this could be long-term. There are real consequences for staff put in harms way. Another member of staff now back after 5 weeks off. He isn’t well though and still can’t taste properly. It really isn’t on.

Two front row kids in one of my classes tested positive in quick succession. Others in the class have been off or are off ‘unwell’. Other cases in the year group too. They spend most of their time asking why the year group haven’t all been sent home given it’s obviously spreading. I have no answers.

They should all be tested. Them isolating in dribs and drabs as kids go down with it is so disruptive.

Have you noticed how all the "Covid isn't in schools" shite has dropped off?

@Nellodee

Did anyone else's school get a letter saying ECV teachers can work from home? Or is it my SLT being incredibly amazing off their own backs?

Has happened in my school.

@starrynight19 thinking of you and your family

Friday! 2 more days of isolation! Have not been out of the house since I left the school building for half term (due to DS’ isolation) which is quite depressing. Isolation ends 23.59 Sunday but am considering going for a run Sunday afternoon. Most likely won’t though as I’m a stickler for rules 😆

Sorry to hear of everyone having a rough time. Spoke to my HoD and Second yesterday via Teams and they said the atmosphere in schools isn’t great. Lots of staff off, 2 year groups are out at the moments, lots of individual absences in other years and obviously with what happened to me, staff are being religious about always maintaining distance so behaviour has got worse.

Why oh why are we in? On one hand I’m glad, it’s bloody tough teaching from home and I know my own children love being back. On the other hand in order for us to maintain any semblance of “safety” we (teachers) are being driven into the ground. We are in the middle of a bloody pandemic yet we’re still having appraisals and learning walks and observations. Ffs, give us a break before we do!

Rant over - not sure where that came from!

Upper primary here. What a week. Very glad it's Friday. We've stepped up the social distancing but the classrooms haven't got any bigger. I am lucky that everyone helpful and pulling together but very stressed trying to avoid going near other bubbles and supervising runs to the toilet at scheduled times. Running out of ideas for outdoor PE on a small bit of playground with minimal equipment and no touching. Ideas very welcome! Thank you for all being here.

Have you noticed how all the "Covid isn't in schools" shite has dropped off?

Even the data thread seem to now be acknowledging that the surveillance data suggest parents are avoiding testing and this is not longer banned anecdata!

The latest data has a rising positivity rate for older secondary students . they have overtaken uni students by a large margin on this measure. A positivity rate of 20% is heavily suggesting more testing is needed, not less!

Nobel one case results in the whole year group isolating in my school. We can't be sure of contact during lunch etc. Only kids who were absent on the relevant days are in. We even chase up additional contacts out of school.

Have you noticed how all the "Covid isn't in schools" shite has dropped off?

Caught up on thread now; I noticed the educational setting thing when booking a test just now too starry, that wasn't there two weeks ago. I wonder if that being there has helped. How are you all today? I hope your dp is ok?

I also noticed 500 less tests available than two weeks ago, which was just before half term. So I do think there could be an uptick in school cases in the next week or so.

Chest not too bad if I'm on top of inhalers, I think it's productive (I can never really tell till really bad with asthma!).

Ds delighted to be at home.

Glad you're ok neuro. I'm finding it very noticeable if I miss my brown inhaler and even when I'm good with that I'm still having to use the blue one in the day at work sometimes. Weirdly mostly ok at the gym so it might be the dust at school or something? Confused. I thought I'd mostly grown out of asthma but it has returned since I had 'something' in January that was really hard on my chest.

Year 10 and whole of sixth form block are out today for deep clean of their zones then all but "close contacts" will be back on Monday without testing. I think "close contacts" and "bubbles" will always go in quote marks for me now which hopefully expresses my cynicism

Should be "zones" also.

SLT wanted only to send close contacts home but have had to send all classes of confirmed cases, perhaps because they are not staying in the same rooms all day - I don't know. This never seems to include staff even though, while I'm lucky to have quite a bit of space, when I cover in other classrooms I know teachers can't be 2m away.

I've been sent a link showing cases are levelling off, and how hospitals aren't even close to full in most areas, so we shouldn't have locked down.
I've checked the data and it is correct, but I personally think the levelling off of cases is partly a half term thing. But it might be that tiers were working.
Any thoughts?