The Thirty-Second Republic - Christmas count down - end of term in sight

[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

Sugar I don't know whether to test, he is dying and actually that's probably the best outcome for him, the last couple of years have been rubbish for him and it's getting worse. Although he sounds quite peaceful in some ways.

The plan and the route in means I wouldn't have to have any contact with staff or other residents, as far as I know at the moment. Tbh he's as much a risk to me as I am to him, with the different staff he has coming

I think madame it is because their particular Regional Schools Commissioner is very enthusiastically applying DfE directives. It's quite chilling actually.

But I don't know, will discuss it with the manager further. As far as I can see they're going against national guidance though!

Sorry that's my derail done.

If you had a panic attack only do housework if it helps you feel better.

Flowerblue sending you some strength to get through.

I know, I know. The head doesn't give the teeniest, tiniest shit about staff safety and welfare. I've spent this term holed up in my classroom & office as I can at least control ventilation & sanitising in there. VI form openly flouting mask wearing rules & no sanctions dished out

Piggy that explains it then. I’m curious to see what happens with London schools.

The move to 10 days rather than 14 days isolation at such short notice is also another fucking disaster. When your caterers cancelled orders of food because 540 kids were due to be out next week until the end of term, it’s just not good enough on Friday evening for the government to announce that actually they will all be back in on Tuesday and need feeding. Worse, the DfE haven’t actually updated their guidance to schools yet on this... so headteachers are in limbo waiting for guidance that will probably come out on Monday evening giving zero working hours to put arrangements in place, contact parents, work out staffing etc. It’s a farce!

StationView Why not a virtual one?!

Herc is that due to the reduction to 10 days? That would shorten my DD’s SI but so far been told PHE and DforE guidelines still apply.

Yup. already a thread running on this issue...

I’ll wander over and look for that thread.

Madness, StationView !

Chloe yes, apparently guidelines were issued late last night so say the nursery. It's because 10 day isolation is retrospective which I didn't realise. Tough decision as he could have to isolate over Christmas but there's just as much chance of me bringing it home. A week at nursery would do him so much good too.

It gets worse.

Just looked on the school FB feed and there are pupils singing in the hall!! Am weighing up whether to report them to Environmental Health. Would they do anything?

What sort of singing? Or rather, how many children at once, and how close together?

Could only see two, but from different year groups. Not two metres apart. Honestly, I'm just furious that people are being so selfish and careless.

What, 2 children?!

Report, as anyone who sees the Fb feed could, so not identifying.

Dc seems to have done their xmas singing performance in the hall to (which is also canteen).
So thats probably 7x60 kids in there at various times.
Guess i should just be glad parents (and siblings) werent in.
Makes you wonder how much xmas shows in t2 areas have to do with the increases.

Outside xmas school fair might but
Cash payments
Often kids on stalls

Managed to get fitted in by my overly busy hairdresser and have had a cut and highlights and ds had a cut. First haircut in months. She's well kitted out in ppe and I wore a mask. So nice to have something normal.

Honestly don't think we encourage enough kids to be hairdressers or plumbers etc. She will never be short of work and is loved by many. My parents have started using her too since Covid and my dad is a tipper as am I. I'm going to guesstimate between my parents house and here she made £150 in 3 hours this afternoon and she's fully booked till the 23rd.

Sorry that's probably a bit of a derailment but the constant uni is everything message of education does annoy me. It's a hugely expensive piece of paper these days and it's not for everyone.

I'm wobbling over whether to do some marking or not.

We did our Christmas singing filming this week. Groups of 15, even though we'd been practising in whole classes of 30. Did it in the classroom, in front of the tree and advent display. Was nice, actually.

Saw this on Facebook.

I’m strangely devastated I missed our Christmas jumper day yesterday!

Hardly any kids wore Christmas jumpers, it was a bit sad really.

@TheHoneyBadger

Sorry that's probably a bit of a derailment but the constant uni is everything message of education does annoy me. It's a hugely expensive piece of paper these days and it's not for everyone.

I'm wobbling over whether to do some marking or not.

I find the push towards Uni worrying, too. Far too much emphasis on academia v vocational qualifications and the state of apprenticeships is woeful.

My school having whole year group assemblies next week in big hall. Staff that usually teach those year groups then covering the form tutors of that year group. So we are basically taking out 12-16 lessons x 5 fir each assembly. half will be the year group in the assemblies missing out on their lessons and the other half will be the tutors having to not to each their lessons (some of which are Y11 for example). I mean also, why are we creating extra contacts in the last week of term?!?