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

If a child was off ill last Thursday, developed a cough later, then got a test, we assume the original illness was linked , right?

Apparently, no need to pick up contacts from last Weds.

Unless the original illness was a broken bone then yes, it’s a reasonable assumption. We count the 2 previous days as contact-worthy in case symptoms hadn’t developed.

That's what I think. I think our attendance ladies are making their own decisions! You cna see this on the BRTUS Facebook page sometimes.

Wow today sucks. 3 IT issues in 3 different classrooms, a no show TA leading to what should have been a fab lesson falling apart, duty day and full contact day. And I've still got a lesson and a half to go! (Split lesson - I'm not on MN while teaching 😂)

I agree with a few others about the vax. Im happy. But very concerned as there doesnt sound like there will be enough. But vaxxing the elderly it isnt going to slow the spread. So yes im concerned for the working age group. And obviously the economy will mean all the lockdowns will stop. Obviously my parents and pil are 60-80yo. And it's certainly true you cannot shield esily etc (my dad had had to go to dentist and for hand thing to hospital, mil needs a filling)

I do hope it's available privately at some point. I was very ill apr and took many months to feel better.

Re asthma i finally did my peak flow and its 400-420 (164cm) im pretty sure it used to be higher.

Hmmm interesting data...

Half term?
What were year 13 doing?? Theirs didnt go down

Not staying at home and revising for mocks, obviously.

Half-term piss up??

Interesting. It shows primary case growth was slowed by half term, then stable for the first week back. Why the dotted line ? Is the data provisional or modelled?

They always acknowledge with these that data may need updating. If you go back and look a week later, it is nearly always underestimated.

That DEFINITELY shows half term impact! No one could quibble surely??

Thanks piggy

I think we can watch those uni ones shooting up again in the weeks of 3-9 December when all the uni parents realise mass testing their beloveds means many of them can't come home, rather than they can ...

Note no change in nursery and preschool which is likely to have been open during the half term (mostly private provision for child care.)

They need the tigures for areas with 2w half term.
But it's clear even one weeo off reduces infections. Though our la seem to have had several new school ones.
Yeovil too being said ro be country lowest i think a few weeks ago now has school cases

Meh. Spent a couple of hours on the phone with my sister who's waiting Covid out in Saudi. She suggested the only way all of us could spend Christmas together is if ds and I go off sick for the last week of term.

Update from the madhouse.
Hoy: If child x is late, they are to work in the study zone for the rest of the day to catch up, rather than go to lessons.
Teachers: but that just means child x misses more stuff and creates work for us
Hoy: what can you do?!
Aaarrrrggghhhh!

Neuro please do you have a link for those graphs? I would like to send them to teacher mates.

Today was ok.

Excitement in the last 10 mins when they started pulling year 10s out of lessons. My class clocked that two either side of an empty seat had gone - the empty seat of a child isolating due to parental COVID. Four out of my lesson and the rest declared 'Bob must have COVID', as all the ones pulled out sit next to Bob in one lesson or another.

Obviously other classes had made their own conclusions and there were at least four names being postulated as they made their way out of school.

Turns out my lot were correct, I've just had the email to say Bob was in my lesson before he went off. He sits at the back though, so I'm alright.

I love a bit of drama and gossip 😂. Do SLT at other schools just pull kids out of lessons without any warning and leave the rest of you to find out what's going on through the grapevine?

I'm just glad it was only 10 mins to the end of the day. No learning ever happens after a batch of secretive COVID removals.

Thanks re info about RA. Have diabetic review tomorrow - will report back what they say!

@RobertsUncle DS class at home - so ok my days off I’m having to work with him and have got fairly fuck all done. It does make me realise how much I work on those two days 😱

Is it my imagination or are we getting MORE cases in schools now than a few weeks ago?
My area's nos were quite high a month ago, they have fallen significantly.
But the schools had been completely quiet (just 2 cases between the 3 our family is involved in) until half term. Now it's non stop! My heart sinks every time my email pings.

Yeah @MrsHerculePoirot - it really brings it home.

I feel like I've got more self isolating than before - though we haven't closed any bubbles this side of half therm. It seems like quite a few have parents who have it at the moment.

I only know what's happening from guessing about the comments on the register though - I'm taking 'not to return until x without neg test' to mean symptoms or household symptoms, and 'not to return until x date' on its own to mean positive or positive household member, but that depends on the attendance lady being consistent. Sometimes we get a transcribed parental message instead!

We're never actually TOLD anything.

Aha, new infection figs just out - much more reflective of my recent experience. I wonder what the reason for the sudden jump is . Another excel error?

Another day of a full team of staff for me - yay

Although, my NQT told me this morning that his flatmate has gone for a test because he has symptoms so, if he tests positive, NQT will have to isolate for two weeks

Otherwise a relatively good day and managed to go for a run after school! Very happy with that.

Friday tomorrow