The Thirty-First Republic - oh the joy of on-line parents evenings

[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

Take care starry hope it passes soon. X

Another bubble gone here. One in each phase so far.

But of course, there’s no “evidence” that Covid is spreading in schools, eh Rule!?

This situation is quickly spiralling out of control.

Yeah, Rule! Prove it!

Am quite literally in tears of frustration here.

Does anyone else struggle to get an appointment at their GP now? I have been trying for a week for my DD and by the time I get through, all appointments are gone. I don’t know what else to go-today was my day off so I had time to sit and repeatedly try the number but tomorrow I’m back at work and all phones go in the locker.

It’s not an ‘emergency’ but it’s hormonal and making her utterly miserable.

Monday mornings are particularly bad for getting through to the surgery, for sure.
So frustrating though.
Perhaps you could phone back later on, when things calm down and explain your situation and ask what they suggest for you to secure an appointment. And if you get no satisfactory response, email the Practice Manager.

To add to the fun at our school a whole family - staff member plus DDs in 2 separate year groups, both groups that are actually in school this week - have now tested positive.

@CallmeAngelina

Monday mornings are particularly bad for getting through to the surgery, for sure. So frustrating though. Perhaps you could phone back later on, when things calm down and explain your situation and ask what they suggest for you to secure an appointment. And if you get no satisfactory response, email the Practice Manager.

I explained the situation on the phone and asked what I should do, she said phoning at 8am was the only option and she wasn’t going to break the rules for me. She then hung up on me!

I emailed the practice manager as soon I got off the phone.

The thought of me ringing to get an appointment was the only thing that got DD through the weekend, the thought of telling her I haven’t managed it AGAIN is just crap :(

And lo and behold, the 'cases and R number have fallen loads whilst schools have been open so clearly they're not spreading it' has begun just as I thought it would! This lockdown was always going to 'work' just enough in other areas. Meanwhile we've got cases left right and centre!

From that thread, thanks to a poster called sirzy:

Taken from the latest react study

“ While previously all age groups were experiencing a rise in infections, now most are seeing a fall, with the exception of children between the ages of 5 and 17 where positive tests are increasing. This trend could be linked to schools remaining open during the current lockdown, in contrast with the first national lockdown, the researchers suggest. In those aged 13-17, the prevalence is now over 2% or 1 in 50 testing positive.”

So that would suggest that schools are playing a role in transmission. That’s not to say schools should close (although I can see an argument for more blended learning in secondary if funded to do it well) but I don’t think the fact schools probably play a role can be denied

Sorry missed end quotation mark, all of it below the first quotation mark is hers.

Very interesting august - and terrifying for Christmas, frankly. People need to drop that on a few threads...

Yes piggy the proceeding poster made exactly that point.

The trouble is many of them don't understand data and will totally (wilfully or otherwise) miss the point that 2% positivity is high.

Yes although 1 in 50 is easier to get your head around? So about 4 in every averagely-sized secondary school year group?

Purely for comprehension purposes, 1 in 30 would be better as immediately visualisable for parents! Although might lead to prejudices being shown "Oo I bet it'd be that Evie in our class - (insert prejudiced comment about her or her parents' behaviour)"

@Appuskidu

Am quite literally in tears of frustration here.

Does anyone else struggle to get an appointment at their GP now? I have been trying for a week for my DD and by the time I get through, all appointments are gone. I don’t know what else to go-today was my day off so I had time to sit and repeatedly try the number but tomorrow I’m back at work and all phones go in the locker.

It’s not an ‘emergency’ but it’s hormonal and making her utterly miserable.

Does your surgery support the Livi app? I was able to get a same day video appointment with a doctor for my DD. Same as yours not urgent but it was affecting her, which reminds me I need to chase a dentist appointment!

Frustrating, Appu.

Our surgery has an online portal and they save some of the pre-bookable (ie not same day) appts for the portal users only so you can always get one of those. 8am phone calls only are do frustrating and suit no-one except retired people. Everyone else would be halfway to work/school even if they could get through! Your poor dd.

@Piggywaspushed

The trouble is many of them don't understand data and will totally (wilfully or otherwise) miss the point that 2% positivity is high.

Piggy If you can get iplayer later (when it's been uploaded) and watch the First Minister of Wales presser, there was a good question about schools I didn't catch all of it it was pointing out that "patient zero" in a family setting is often a child and the roll-out of lateral flow testing in schools.

oops, posted too soon
meant to add, I know it's Wales and not UK wide - but - if it's recognised in Wales it should filter to Westminster 🤞🏻

Yes, I read the patient zero thing in one of those studies. Who woulda thunk it, hey??!

Hope you're ok starry.

We now have 4 year groups out. 4! So basically only open to year 7 and 6th form. Years 8, 9 and 11 are due back as normal next Monday but we'll see. Year 10 have 2 weeks out from now so can be dragged back in for last week just in time to spread it about before Christmas break.

Have set all my remote learning for the week including another live lesson for my year 9 who I'm told I don't need to do another live lesson for but to be honest it's as easy to record a loom video and run through the content and tasks there as it is to try and adapt it to a meaningful bridging lesson and just hope the students will 'get' what they're meant to.

Feeling irrationally irritated that conjunctions/conjunctives are somehow being wrongly called a form of adverb?! How did we survive and manage to get degrees without knowing all of this meaningless shit? Yet somehow all of us were capable of turning to page 12 reading the text and answering the questions by the time we got to secondary which would flaw a lot of my students now.

I am working from home as no in school lessons to teach and have some google meet meetings to attend in a bit. In true shit parent of the year fashion I have not managed to wake my 13yo up yet and he has tonnes of work to do. Honestly as a parent this 5 lessons a day of same length and depth as would be expected in schools is a fucking nightmare - I have no idea why the loons were demanding it unless they all have very surrendered teens who will happily engage independently and produce wonderful work.

Piggy I was thinking equally about the lateral flow testing - if they could test a whole school...

@TheHoneyBadger I know what you mean, and it's v difficult to enforce bedtimes when there's "nothing" to get up for! I don't work Mondays so it's been nice not to have to do morning and afternoon journeys to drop/collect anyway.

We had 4 year groups out last week, then a slightly different 4 this week plus about a form's worth in 2 other year groups.

Keep seeing news articles about schools or LAs who say they're going to close early despite what the government says, wonder how that will play out.

A whole year group out in my primary as of today.

Just had online meetings all about kids who are working 2 key stages behind their peers - important obviously but slightly bizarre when we're dealing with 4 year groups out and all of the more immediate in your face issues.

I asked questions about how special schools and mainstream could share resources and techniques given we now have students that would never have presented in mainstream before but seemingly there's nothing and no central resources for mainstream secondary students working at eg. ks1 literacy but being dragged through the whole of secondary curriculum. Feel really sad for some of my students where with the best will in the world their needs are way beyond the scope of differentiation.

Anyway must remember focus is on surviving till Christmas not solving massive and insurmountable problems of education as a whole.