The Twenty-ninth Republic - lockdown light continues & good news for Welsh students

[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 staffroom password just in case it attracts the wrong sort

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 come with a stick to goad us then that is not allowed in the staffroom and you will receive a detention

Morning all
Our Head has circulated an email from the local authority "encouraging" teachers to socially distance properly suggesting that further school closures are the fault of teachers not doing their bit. He's also threatened to close the staff room if we don't behave. Wondering if we'll all get detentions next. And the deputy has "invited" myself and a colleague to a meeting with an external professional at 12, for an hour, "that'll be fine, we won't need to get cover as it's lunch time". Erm.... and my lunch?

Grrrr.

My position too, MrsDanglingmod.

Oh I'm so angry on the behalf of so many of you. Dangling how horribly stressful for you, and I know there's others in your position. I know what you mean re vaccine. I think if the next one is approved soon that will help, but currently it's a drop in the ocean.

CEV have been working from home since sept, luckily very few.

I'm Cv - no specific risk assessment but the TAs appear to have been given one. Possibly as they do more personal care. But I've had lots of verbal discussions and any suggestion I had was acted swiftly on.

It honestly feels like a tidal wave of cases around here. I know if so many more people, very suddenly. Both my children's places and my own. And I think it's going to get worse. We are going to be limping to Xmas.

That's so frustrating!

If they sent that out at my school, I'd be furious. I'm socially distancing from other adults (unless a TA gets too close): I stay in my room all day. The only time I'm not is when I'm made to go to a whole staff meeting

What a gaslighty twat plastic.

I'd love to see the rates of resignation among teaching staff. I believe it's also appalling in some parts of the nhs.

NeurotrashWarrior* I'm going to be saying "gaslighty twat" in my head all day now, hahahahaha, that will cheer me up. I can think of many tunes the words will fit to as well.

I've made this point on the data thread, (badly, as I can see holes in my arguments.)

Im sure there's going to be a huge rise in sen school transmissions over the next few weeks. There definitely is locally.

It doesn't matter if it's adults or children bringing it in; a part time timetable limits contact and numbers for both and protects the vulnerable, allowing staff to provide better homeschool provision.

External professionals are giving the physical school building a very wide berth where I work. Won’t even come in for a 1:2 meeting in a large, ventilated room. But...but....schools are safe, right?
Actually, I might be doing them a disservice. Our SLT have really stepped up and put in place every mitigating factor they can, including having no visitors wherever possible. So it could be the school’s decision not to allow SALT, OT etc in.
Apart from factors they can’t change, such as full classes in etc I am quite impressed by what they are doing for staff and children. I don’t feel ‘safe’ safe, but I know they are doing what they can and that helps enormously.

No cases of staff to staff transmission I can see. We have separate break areas for the key stages etc. All wear visors and masks to move around the building or have short meetings in well ventilated rooms. Most meetings are Zoom. All training is Zoom (from own classrooms or home).
Main route of transmission seems to be 1:1 close contact, or catching it from own primary age child/children.

The only annoying missive from on high was the one about not visiting local cafes in lunch hour. I never did that anyway. No chance now, as staffing so bad we’ve all had to take off half our lunch for cover.

We're still a "no visitors" school - although we did let both ofsted and the police in!!
Some of SLT are having to teach all their lessons because they can't get meetings booked into those slots. Poor things.

Were still having visitors in our school. Music teachers, sports teachers, SALT etc.

DH took his test yesterday so now waiting. I'm worried even though it's likely a chest infection as he works from home and has been to supermarket very occasionally so it's more than likely I have brought it home. Dont want to bring home covid!

Lol. I’m going to be thinking gaslighty twat every time we get ‘that’ e-Mail from work now. Which is currently once a day.

Honey, I don’t know if it’s the same for you but being CV I think it’s the lack of risk assessment or paying lip service to it that’s making me jumpy. Five weeks into being back at work and I’m definitely less relaxed about things like shopping, getting the bus than I was when I was off.

We have SALT coming in monthly still - but in full PPE - scrubs, aprons, masks and visors, as per their instructions from their bosses. We had OT in yesterday - just a fabric mask. Strange how different outreach teams have such different protocols! (Primary SEN base classroom)

I'm mostly at home or at school or walking the dog. Shopping is delivered and the only other place I've been is my support bubble household for lunch on Sunday rafals. School is my only risky environment really, more specifically the classroom.

Very glad not to be working today. I've got a set of assessments to mark in peace and really really should do some housework but meh.

It's my birthday next week. So single parent in lockdown birthday Friend has said she'll take me out shopping because I really need plates. Rick and roll. Tragically I'm quite excited for somewhere other than work or home

@NeurotrashWarrior

What a gaslighty twat plastic.

I'd love to see the rates of resignation among teaching staff. I believe it's also appalling in some parts of the nhs.

I can't resign. If we could manage financially I would in a heartbeat. They know this.

Some of the posts elsewhere are infuriating. Parents should be allowed to take their children out for the last week of term etc. Imagine the uproar if teachers wanted to do this and therefore miss work. Will schools return to normal with no more isolating once ecv people are vaccinated, er no, not if teachers dont get the vaccine. Is this really how people think ?

I agree flumposie
Those parents had better not be the parents ranting that their children were being thrown under the bus...

I must admit if I had primary age children and didn’t work in a school I would probably take them out if I had older relatives I wanted to see at Christmas. I would not expect any extra work on the part of their teacher as a result of this, however.

Just had a call from dd school saying she needs collecting as she has been near a positive case. Obviously she hadn’t as she is isolating at home. She just broke down. Fourth lot for some of those kids now. Can see this happening again as soon as she goes back. Not sure what will happen to mocks for all those at home.

Bloody hell, starrynight. Does that add on to her current isolation period? Is it even correct if she isn’t in school currently?

I am having quitty thoughts.
My school hasn't had many cases (touch wood) but the workload is overwhelming.
I'm in my third year and have just gone 3 days a week so thought it would be easier.
DS was sent home as a contact earlier this week and I am now really stressed because I need my days off to do my work (planning, logging behaviour issues, writing behaviour plans).
DH is now getting annoyed - he thinks that I should be able to look after my child on my day off - I think he's right!!
I just don't see that it's manageable, and it's not going to get any better any time soon.
Two things are keeping me in right now - I have really supportive fellow teachers, and having just put my family through the hell and expense of PGCE and NQT I dread telling them it was all for nothing.

Crikey. We’re going to be closed to certain year group on a Monday and Friday from now on. Think they’re discussing that’s its unfair that we just closed to KS3 so going to a rota. Will find out later which ones. Been told to take all our resources home in case of emergency closure.

We’re now covering more than one duty area as there are so many staff out.

saucery no it was a mistake apparently they rang everyone on the seating plan. But as she isn’t in she has managed to swerve that one. Poor poor kids.

motherrunner am sure this is how most schools are going to be forced to go over the next few weeks. What a shambles.

@starrynight19

saucery no it was a mistake apparently they rang everyone on the seating plan. But as she isn’t in she has managed to swerve that one. Poor poor kids.

We are doing to them what lots of posters on MN were incensed about when it happened in Spain - confining them to their homes for weeks on end in an endless cycle of “well, you sit near X and X has it” over and over. Even the children/young people like my DS who likes learning at home is feeling down about it now. When you know damn well that some of them won’t be staying in, will still be meeting friends because their parents don’t give a toss or can’t prevent them from leaving the house.

A lottery of inequality of education

Your so right Saucery I go from being absolutely livid to just despondent with it all.