The Thirtieth Republic ( 30! who would have thought) - Is it too soon to book a staff Xmas party?

[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

That will be the proposed daily testing for contacts of self isolating people, won’t it?
Would be fantastic if it works but I just can’t see it being put into place competently. I really hope I’m wrong and it does happen.

Yes I think we might need to study the tense of that verb "being done" rather closely....

The new tier system has all schools/childcare/organised children's activities/childcare bubbles staying open/permitted. And crowds of up to 4000 allowed at sports events in tier 1...... Great.

Oh and BRTUS has now become PUUS, can't remember it all but something about Parents --- Unsafe Schools

Ugh. Loads of kids at our place feeling poorly with headaches and sore throats. I’m still feeling awful and now I have a funny taste in my mouth, but I think I’m just paranoid

@Appuskidu

What is this testing that is being done to allow schools to stay open?!

Lies. It's up to local authorities how they use the tests.

From the covid winter plan

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/937529/COVID-19_Winter_Plan.pdf

Regarding schools and education:

Nurseries, schools and colleges should not change their Christmas holidays or close early this term. Parents should continue to send their children to school during term time and students should continue to attend college right up until the end of term –
our senior clinicians continue to advise that the best place for children and young people is in education. A time-limited change to social restrictions over Christmas does not require any children to be taken out of school prematurely. The leaders and staff of education settings have been doing an extraordinary job to remain open,
keep settings safe and provide education.

Thanks Boris. How many of us will be self isolating over Christmas I wonder?

Dh (who is the ying to my yang when it comes to my tendency to exaggerate and dramatise things) has told me today that his colleague, who oversees student teacher placements (hundreds throughout the county's schools), says she is inundated with calls/emails saying their schools/year groups are closing. Schools are going down like ninepins each day.
This is one of the home counties, Tier One before lockdown, with not many cases up until now.

I wonder if some local authorities will try and rebel (ie continue with their plans to close schools early) and how that will play out.....

INSET today.

Apparently secondary heads in our local authority are clamouring to break up a week early, backed by PHE, but DfE say no. Our head is all for it.

They just don't want to have to phone someone to tell them to isolate over Xmas! Purposing blended learning for that week. 50% independent online and 50% teach on teams.

I think they might also be worried that attendance will drop off a cliff that week.

General consensus was 'no thanks' as
a) our primary kids would either still be in and therefore an infection risk or not in and therefore we would struggle to work from home
b) we've got assessments to do that week, and
c) the kids won't do the work, so we'll be further behind.

I'm not fussed either way tbh. DD will be in nursery anyway, and I've got quite a lot of dead time in KS4 where I can't get ahead because we might do group changes soon, so it would work ok for me. I can see both sides.

Oh lord
*proposing (and probably many other errors)

Frlrl

I am hoping secondary schools don't close early - I need my Y11/13s in so that I can finish the spec

Today was a good day. I have caught up with quite a lot of admin the last few days and had some good lessons today.

Need to write the assessment form for my NQT tonight so I can go through it with him tomorrow I'm actually looking forward to it because he's made lots of progress.

Im predicting big hikes in "that chart" on Thursday.

Well the year 12 isolators have only just noticed today that there is work for them online. They've been off over a week!! And I've been telling them on an almost daily basis in class since September that I'll put each lesson on Moodle if ever they have to isolate. If that's year 12, who are supposedly bright and motivated, what chance do I have of getting other years to do any work if they're isolating?

@MsAwesomeDragon

Well the year 12 isolators have only just noticed today that there is work for them online. They've been off over a week!! And I've been telling them on an almost daily basis in class since September that I'll put each lesson on Moodle if ever they have to isolate. If that's year 12, who are supposedly bright and motivated, what chance do I have of getting other years to do any work if they're isolating?

It’s like banging your head against a brick wall sometimes!

Over the weekend, we have had a year 11 test positive and we are mid way through our mocks so that’s been difficult. We’ve had a year 8 test positive and and another Year 9 test positive (one class already isolating-this is another so....coincidence or not!?) and we’ve had more than 4 calls to say parents or family members of pupils have tested positive.

It’s really ramping up isn’t it!?

Oh and I was looking out of my classroom window watching our 7s and 8s leave school and nearly took a photo to show them all crowded together down the drive - completely shoulder to shoulders spanning the full width!

And I was somewhat amused to read in our KS3 Working from Home booklet (provides a 24 hr stop gap until online lessons organised) that students are supposed to get up in time to check their emails at 830 and see what TEAMS lessons they have that day.

Try telling that to the Y9 gamers.....

Am assuming they'll have been given more than 30 mins notice of live lessons anyway.

Seen this?

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-schools-urgent-warning-over-misleading-teacher-covid-data

67% of those who answered an EIS survey said they'd be willing to strike. Very, very surprised. Only 18000 responders though.

50% wanted to see schools closed and full remote learning in Tier 4, which 11 councils already are in.

Shittiest day ever. Can't share too much info as it would be outing.
But sleepovers? Now? FFS.

I know I can't believe it about sleepovers. .... personal care allowed even in tier 3.

Just to be clear, sleepovers and personal care are separate activities!

We had a member of the public complain about students walking home who weren't socially distanced. They even sent a photo to the school!

I know it is technically illegal, but I don't know what said member of the public thinks they are doing in school all day!

I reckon loads of parents will pull their kids out of school in the last week of term, regardless. And of course, some schools will be shut anyway due to lack of staff.

I am getting more and more convinced they are trying for herd immunity in children as they know they will be the last to get the vaccine, or something.

The problem is it's essentially an experiment on kids- we have no idea what the long term effect of Covid will be on children and teenagers.

Gave seems to have spent today tweeting platitudes.

Gav, even.