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

Can I just dance a little parental jig here?

My children are both top set for English and both have had the same English teacher for two years running. Both hated her. I might have heard whispers in school that her sickness record was 'notable'. I didn't really know her and had only seen her in action once.

She's suddenly gone, for the rest of the year apparently, and the replacement teacher my isolating daughter's friends had today was described as "actually good.... we didn't come out with headaches like we used to"

This delights me. English should be interesting, lively and creative, especially for children who (at least before blasted screens took over) were/can still be voracious readers.

Of course if she does have health problems then I hope she's able to get better/do whatever she needs to.

@Augustbreeze

Of course if she does have health problems then I hope she's able to get better/do whatever she needs to.

Don't apologise. I was so pleased when ds maths teacher last year, whose English was incomprehensible even one on one in a quiet room and who had zero classroom management skills, quit. Even supply was preferable.

This year he has another efl teacher but the kids like him and listen to him and he always seems happy and positive.

We also finally got rid of the super aggressive, shocked that we're not allowed to hit them teacher that he got landed with for different areas of d&t in years 7 and 8 thankfully.

It's bloody hard work backing up teachers as a parent when you know they're beyond shit.

Yup!

We have a lovely d&t lady whose joined us that I've chatted to after teaching in the same block last lesson regularly. She tells me her husband and adult kids are constantly telling her to just quit teaching but she's a proper one of us iyswim so she keeps going and I'm so glad we have her.

Parents are blissfully unaware how hard it is to recruit and retain staff that colleagues would actually want their own children taught by. They have zero awareness of the implications of telling us to just quit.

Weve got the same yr group out for a 2nd time (primary) but no other years have had cases or bubbles popped which is strange!

I've got a banging headache now after dealing with incredibly rude pupils today. I only taught three lessons! Today is supposed to be my lovely easy day. No more PPA until Friday!

Hope you are ok Starry
Can i ask a totally uncovid related question. I have an appointment for a hysteroscopy next week ( just told on phone today as it’s an urgent referral)
It is at a hospital an hour from work at 11am, do i expect to go in and teach p1 ( and panic the whole lesson fretting about being late etc) or is it reasonable to say I won’t be in at all that day ( hospital have said home to rest afterwards)

Absolutely you need the whole day off @Loshad !! Hope all is well.

Whole day off of course.

Parents are blissfully unaware how hard it is to recruit and retain staff that colleagues would actually want their own children taught by. They have zero awareness of the implications of telling us to just quit.
I fully agree with this. We've been very, very lucky in that we've been able to recruit decent maths teachers every time someone has left recently, but we did have an absolute shocker of a maths teacher a few years ago. He wasn't really a maths teacher, but had done a conversion course to teach maths. Omg, he wouldn't listen to any advice, was teaching the wrong things because he only read the headlines on the sow, and parents were complaining constantly about his behaviour management. He was "desperately needed" back in his own department the following year and we breathed a sigh of relief.

How do these people get to be teachers and stay in their jobs? It must be very stressful for them at work? Or do they have zero self awareness, which in itself is a problem for a teacher?

I mean I was briefly a failing infant teacher, but I left!

Thanks chaps, will ask for that.

And in the news tonight, a TA has died. So that’s 2 deaths and 2 in intensive care in the last 3 weeks local to me. But schools really aren’t a problem, are they?!

@Augustbreeze

How do these people get to be teachers and stay in their jobs? It must be very stressful for them at work? Or do they have zero self awareness, which in itself is a problem for a teacher?

I mean I was briefly a failing infant teacher, but I left!

I don't know. I keep worrying that I'm one of those teachers - I know my behaviour management isn't as tight as it could be for example, and don't spend hours creating card sorts and cloze activities like I used to.. hopefully someone tells you if you're that crap?!

@Isthatitnow

And in the news tonight, a TA has died. So that’s 2 deaths and 2 in intensive care in the last 3 weeks local to me. But schools really aren’t a problem, are they?!

Oh no, how sad, her poor family

Isthatitnow that is heartbreaking to hear

A quarter of the kids in my school are currently out. It was none a week ago.

Had a student I teach test positive today. He was sent into school with cold symptoms at the end of last week so we have had to send quite a lot of kids home- but we are sticking rigidly to the 2m rule, despite longer than average lessons.

Have to wait and see what happens next, but I do feel quite nervous.

I taught him twice on Friday, because of cover- although luckily on both occasions he was right at the back of the room.

I’ve been logging in to school remotely today and noticed these SIMs codes for Covid related illnesses.
My school has never used them. Is this what the government and devolved governments are using to say children aren’t catching Covid in schools and are safe? And because so few schools are using the codes 7, 8 and 9, the data is artificially low?
What do you all think?

We use an X code for covid related absence. I've got no idea how it counts towards our absence figures, though!

We're using X code too. I thought DfE expected daily figures? (probably stopped counting when it got too scary).

Is that on SIMs? I had no idea those other codes existed! We just use X

@Augustbreeze

How do these people get to be teachers and stay in their jobs? It must be very stressful for them at work? Or do they have zero self awareness, which in itself is a problem for a teacher?

I mean I was briefly a failing infant teacher, but I left!

I have a horrible feeling I might be one of those teachers.

The classes I have are so bloody noisy. I’m trying to get them working quietly but I have no idea how to get them to stop chatting other than verbally telling them.

Then the instant I get them started on independent work. Hands go up for help (typically 3/4 and the rest are working). They get told to read for the answer in the blurb I’ve given them (this is after they’ve been taught 30 seconds previously).

I try not to help but some of them really are struggling (we have mixed ability classes and they are very mixed). So I go and help and the noise levels go through the roof.

@Loshad

Hope you are ok Starry Can i ask a totally uncovid related question. I have an appointment for a hysteroscopy next week ( just told on phone today as it’s an urgent referral) It is at a hospital an hour from work at 11am, do i expect to go in and teach p1 ( and panic the whole lesson fretting about being late etc) or is it reasonable to say I won’t be in at all that day ( hospital have said home to rest afterwards)

Definitely whole day off, you don't need the added stress before the procedure.