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

I have to call all our 'disadvantaged' students who are isolating to check that they are 'safe and well' and engaging with online learning. Of all the calls I made yesterday every single one was either "out" or still in bed in the middle of the day. Parents generally very put out by suggestion that they might wake their sleeping teenager at 2pm so I can speak to them to confirm they're still alive and encourage them to do some work. "Oh, she won't like being woken up, she'll be really upset with me if I do that" or "He didn't go to bed til 3am so I think he needs the sleep". Right, probably no point in me asking how remote learning is going then!

So since I can't confirm that most of them are safe and well I will now need to do doorstep visits. Can someone tell me when I'm supposed to do my actual job??

Well, the slightly good news here is that my Covid test has come back negative. I'm really relieved, and now a bit worried about going back into school, even though our cases are low.

Even though I'm young and healthy, the thought I might have it was actually really scary.

@Washimal

I have to call all our 'disadvantaged' students who are isolating to check that they are 'safe and well' and engaging with online learning. Of all the calls I made yesterday every single one was either "out" or still in bed in the middle of the day. Parents generally very put out by suggestion that they might wake their sleeping teenager at 2pm so I can speak to them to confirm they're still alive and encourage them to do some work. "Oh, she won't like being woken up, she'll be really upset with me if I do that" or "He didn't go to bed til 3am so I think he needs the sleep". Right, probably no point in me asking how remote learning is going then!

So since I can't confirm that most of them are safe and well I will now need to do doorstep visits. Can someone tell me when I'm supposed to do my actual job??

What an absolute fucking joke. This is outrageous. So sorry you are having to put up with this shit.

That's the kind of thing MPs need emailing about , many of them (certainly in the Cabinet?) seem to have no idea how many families function.

My office buddy is currently teaching her isolating class online. It's hilarious! They're outraged that they're being set homework

I've already had a member of staff cry on me today because they feel overwhelmed quite a few pastoral staff self isolating so the pastoral team are super stretched.

On the plus side, I managed to model quite a few things to my NQT when he observed my P1 lesson so at least that's something.

www.theguardian.com/education/2020/nov/18/exodus-of-exhausted-headteachers-predicted-in-england-after-pandemic

Article in the Guardian about stress for Headteachers and numbers wanting to leave profession. Response from DfE : "we support headteachers in the early stage of their careers by offering them a qualification to study for in all those spare hours they have at the moment..."

Heads have been so badly treated. When we get annoyed about guidance issued at the last minute at least we don’t generally have to go through it with a fine tooth comb and implement it.

And the demonisation of schools for whatever action they take. Masks, no masks, sending kids home, not sending kids home - straight away shitty emails.

My Head is well liked by the staff.

We are all so upset by the way Heads have been treated.

Yes, to not being able to win with parents. Too much work/not enough. Too much contact/not enough. Masks/no masks. Sent home with symptoms/ever mentioning attendance. Relentless.

I have an occasional dry cough and a very slightly dicky tummy......

Ridiculous that those things should be worrying me so much. Debating whether to go in, I don't start til lunchtime. I know if I ring for advice I'll just get the rules parroted at me. Am more worried as we had first bubble pop yesterday.

I don't (yet) have a continuous cough or 3 episodes in 24 hrs, nor the other two symptoms, so in I go.

@noblegiraffe

Heads have been so badly treated. When we get annoyed about guidance issued at the last minute at least we don’t generally have to go through it with a fine tooth comb and implement it.

And the demonisation of schools for whatever action they take. Masks, no masks, sending kids home, not sending kids home - straight away shitty emails.

Yes, it's so tough for heads.

Possibly slightly outing but our head is off right now following an operation, so it's the acting head + SLT who have to implement new guidance. They are very obviously erring on the side of caution (which I think is a good thing) but then getting parental complaints that X school is still doing Y.

And, of course, sorting cover, which is a nightmare right now!

The lack of headteachers is a huge issue in my area. 3 tier is not a pull, recruitment (or pay in the first two tiers)) wise .

I feel sorry for lovely, anxious, moral, protective heads.

My own - not so much.

1st case in dc school today. Crap! Yr 5. Contacts only ffs!
I was going to say a few days ago i expected one this week the numbers here have shot up. Whst the hell are people doing. Are they really annoyed about lockdown so actually meeting up in homes more.?

@keepdistance you don't have to break the rules to catch covid. You've probably just been very lucky to not have had a case so far. We've had loads, lots of our children have parents who work in jobs where they see lots of people (care, schools, NHS, shops, etc) so it's not really surprising it got into school.

Yeah no sorry i dont mean it like that! As in doing something wrong. More how are so many getting it since lockdown. But yes it probably is nhs staff ( getting from work our area has a lot) or other open workplaces. Etc
Our msoa is now at the far right on maximum. So our la and msoa is definitely doing something That they could be doing better. Whether that is better track and trace or something. Or its spreading at the secondary schools. And i think we probably have had cases but just asymptomatic ones.

I'm starting to think that the fact that so many areas are going from few cases to masses is proof that schools are spreading it. Bear with me - children are most likely to be asymptomatic. They are all still going about their daily business as normal (school) with NO social distancing, crowded indoors. Spread, spread, spread around schools and suddenly... BAM local infection rates are massive. This is now happening in places like Cornwall and Kent and Norfolk, from zero to high, not just places like East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, etc which were medium ish and now a big issue.

@Danglingmod

I'm starting to think that the fact that so many areas are going from few cases to masses is proof that schools are spreading it. Bear with me - children are most likely to be asymptomatic. They are all still going about their daily business as normal (school) with NO social distancing, crowded indoors. Spread, spread, spread around schools and suddenly... BAM local infection rates are massive. This is now happening in places like Cornwall and Kent and Norfolk, from zero to high, not just places like East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, etc which were medium ish and now a big issue.

I agree. Tests in a whole class with 1 or 2 cases would be very eye-opening I think. We saw that in our school when 2 cases with symptoms led to 5 more children being tested. I assume their parents said they had symptoms and I don’t blame them one bit. All 5 were asymptomatic and Positive. It is circulating round schools via asymptomatic cases, I am sure.

We've just lost another whole year group

www.edp24.co.uk/news/health/louise-smith-norfolk-covid-school-outbreaks-staff-coffee-breaks-1-6934933?fbclid=IwAR1THK7LpHISfqgowOvj0Rxy2ypLeHS7XFCDQ1dJoUy5cFC1nuMKiUmw9KQ

Urgh!

And she's in charge of stuff 🤦🏼‍♀️

Yup🤦‍♀️😢

I think so. If anything is like a barbed wire fence to covid it's England's school procedures.
87 cases in a week in a village. Increase of over 170%. It has to be a primary or a food shop/post office or park. Or takeaway etc. If it were the secondary there would be an increase in cases where the secondaries are. Though that increased maybe a month ago and dropped back.

Though something i read said supermarket deliveries were higher risk as was having a dog based on Spain i think.

My friend was saying about a relative having covid and friend instead of isolating they have got tested (sigh) though actually it doesnt increase my dc risk because the mum didnt need to get tested or isolate so actually testing decreases the risk. But obviously husband going back to work could still have asymptomatically spread it.
I think a lot of people do this and especially were after holidays.

So, I ahve new reading glasses and I can't fucking see.

I had to be room changed today as my room was being used for an exam. And now I fully believe the kids when they say my room is the coldest in the school. In the English room I was in for registration, they didn't open the windows, claiming it's too cold for open windows and just an open door would be fine (I opened the windows, they will have closed them as soon as I left). Then I was in an RE room, where the windows were all open, but they don't open very far, and the radiators were blasting out, so that room was pretty warm as well. Then I came back to my room and the heating was off (no idea why, we complained, site team reluctantly switched it on for us) and 6 windows plus the door open.

So I was boiling hot for the morning as I'd layered up for my classroom, then freezing cold in the afternoon because I hadn't layered up enough for my room. Year 11 and I all sat with coats on, including having our hoods up. My room is like a wind tunnel due to the placement of the windows. ❄️🌬️

Just catching up. Was only joking about no one saying happy birthday! Why was my post deleted?? Did some one report me for calling you buggers?