The Thirty-Fourth Republic - Time to recharge our batteries and make the best of our festive break

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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

SEN class in mainstream primary for me - my class on the whole benefit from the routine of being in school and we did get pretty much all of them back in June, just a couple whose parents chose to keep them home. I sort of hope it’s all open or all closed tho as my own kids will struggle if I am in and they are not - one will qualify for keyworker place but will find it tough if just in a mixed year group babysat class like last time and my 17 year old is fine at home, but has had a tricky year MH wise so I don’t really like the idea of him home alone all week. Can this all just bugger off now - balancing the needs of my school kids and my own kids is tricky and that’s before I even consider my own safety 😂

So many of you with so much to carry with you

In terms of primary cases, my experience of mine and ds's school is that cases were spread randomly across the different year groups and not concentrated on the older ones. Not sure of the national data on this though.

I saw some photos on twitter of Boris with U4T which explains a lot

And Gavin? Was Gavin there?

And distance learning is super tough for some of mine - we managed a mix of delivered to home sensory learning and Velcro books last time, combined with videos of bucket time and sensory stories - but it’s hard for them to access all the interventions they need when not physically in school. Am going to eat all the chocolate and try not to worry about it until Xmas is out of the way!

So sorry to hear of your losses, Ophelia, Chloe and Honey.

Nothing really here. We finished on Thursday and on Friday, whilst I was working through my rage at the parental complaint about me, I managed to get all resources for Year 7 up to Easter sorted. Mission for today is Year 8, but it's not going well. We always have a family calendar hanging up, one of those from Snapfish with personal photos on it. I haven't managed it so we won't get it before the end of the year, but making a start on it now. The relief at not being in school is so noticeable. My kids are happily chatting with friends, dossing about in their pyjamas and it makes me happy to see them doing that.

Received a surprise delivery from my sisters - a hamper full of cheese, chutneys and a bottle of port. Was very touched!

Oh nice Dreaming!

RuleWithAWoodenFoot Mon 21-Dec-20 12:06:27
We're going to have a fire with marshmallows and mulled stuff tonight to celebrate the solstice. More important to me than Xmas.

^Us too. We'll put up the tree and all the lights today and at dusk will turn all the lights on and light every candle in the house and have a little ceremony. Let's hope today really is the darkest day with increasing light going forth on more than just the sun and season level!

We are having a Christmas Market. This means frankfurters and waffles.

Sounds nice, doesn't it? Everything in my family involves DS1 glowering at everyone, sharing the odd conspiracy theory and then stomping upstairs. He has never been a ray of sunshine but has reached all new levels of miserable bastard today...

Recent ire is aimed at his (self) broken laptop and his fear that the shop may not be open to collect it when repaired and that the barber is closed even though I told him to go last week

He did not inherit this miserable sod outlook from me!

Grr. Humbug.

dreaming a teacher on Twitter put up a post about reading Middlemarch and used the word 'bloody'. I think she may have said something like 'bloody good'.

Some people complained to her school and governors about her !!

Meanwhile Tom Sherrington can call Gav 'shit' on Twitter... I do think women's behaviour is still excessively policed and scrutinised.

So sorry to hear of your losses, Ophelia, Chloe and Honey.

Many condolences from me too

Rule, lovely idea. It's v damp here but I have marshmallows...

Took eldest for a test. He woke up with a Stonking cold and a few coughs (asthma) but I don't want to risk it.

So feck all work here. Going to tidy, play with kids and see if we can see the star.

Re SEN, as long as rates are stable I think we would be ok to remain open, however if it gets to a point where so many staff are off it's unsustainable (some classes cannot use supply) that a pupil and staff rota might actually work better in order to ensure certain kids are full time and others who can cope, part time. Then if staff are SI or ill it keeps thing ticking over.

In terms or staff safety though I'm not sure. Again a rota would be sensible.

Can someone sum up for me what’s currently in place for January??

Am I right in thinking in England, primary are back as normal on the 4th, secondary staff are in from the 4th but only with KW/vulnerable/exam years? All others learning from home but all will somehow have to be tested twice before starting f2f back on the 11th. Undecided if the testing is in school or not? Is that right?

What about primary/secondary in Wales/Scotland/Ireland?

I was reading that schools in NI are back in January as normal and it’s all kicking off because the 11+ is due to be sat (NI is a grammar school system) and they’ve decided last minute that it should be primary schools doing it not secondary.

So primary schools need to arrange to be exam centres with very little notice.

Maybe they could covid test the kids at the same time.

No year 11 and 13 are in on the 4th as well Apud. Otherwise yes.

Everything in my family involves DS1 glowering at everyone, sharing the odd conspiracy theory and then stomping upstairs. He has never been a ray of sunshine but has reached all new levels of miserable bastard today - he sounds just like my nephew piggy! Hope he cheers up at some point.

Ds has been dictating what we need to eat every day till Christmas whilst I was filling my basket online. This evening we are having muscles and prawns in a wine sauce with spaghetti apparently. Which has reminded me I need to take prawns out of the freezer.

I'm about to force myself to drag the hoover about and clear the way for putting the tree up. That has to merit a glass of wine surely?

@TheHoneyBadger Thank you-y11/13 are exam years though, aren’t they?

Would be interested to know what everyone else is doing

The National Education Union, the UK’s largest teaching union, is calling for schools in England to close and teach remotely for the first two weeks of term in the new year.
The union has written to the prime minister Boris Johnson and the secretary of state for education calling for new measures to be put in place to ensure the safest possible return of schools and colleges on the 4th of January.
With increasing infection rates and a new more easily transmitted strain of the virus, the teaching union is calling for:
Online learning for the first two weeks of the Spring term except for key workers and vulnerable children to reduce cases amongst students and get testing set up.
Directors of Public Health to set up a testing system to be in place that would enable all children to be tested prior to a return to person-to-person teaching.
The 2-week period from the 4th of January to be used to begin vaccinating education staff alongside NHS and Care staff.

Your ds sounds like me aged 14, piggy .

Been working through our calendar and chanced upon a video I took of the Lightning Seeds, whom I went to see with a friend last November. We had a stupendous meal in a local noodle bar beforehand. Feeling wistful for those days gone by....

Year 8 work hasn't had a look in yet

I think in Scotland they don't even begin teaching til 11th and then one week online? Not sure how that fits in with normal return though.

Brie impressive re year 7. I'm always amazed by anyone planning beyond the next couple of days. I think it must be a subject thing perhaps.

NEU statement is good. Not sure I'm on board with education staff being vaccinated before ECV/elderly people.

Your DS has most refined tasteshoney!

I couldn't figure out my one's issue was with the fridge earlier when he enquired' haven't you been shopping recently?' whilst looking in a heaving fridge.

On quizzing DS2 later, he had figured out it was because I had not bought him his weekly bottle of Pepsi Max. Bless.

Your summary of England makes one appreciate how chaotic it is pud!

Not sure I'm on board with education staff being vaccinated before ECV/elderly people. Me neither really. I mean, I'd like to get the vaccine at some point, but I'd still like my dad to have it first. He's only left the house 4 times since March as he's so vulnerable to this illness.

@Piggyinblankets

Your summary of England makes one appreciate how chaotic it is pud!

Frightening, isn’t it!?

Gavlar’s latest twattery. When it all goes tits up in schools, it’ll be because you didn’t work hard enough...!

What does he even mean the whole of 2021 ??

Wow, Tom Sherrington has gone from 'shit' to telling Gav to f*ck off. Bit worried about Tom...

@Piggyinblankets

Your DS has most refined tasteshoney!

I couldn't figure out my one's issue was with the fridge earlier when he enquired' haven't you been shopping recently?' whilst looking in a heaving fridge.

On quizzing DS2 later, he had figured out it was because I had not bought him his weekly bottle of Pepsi Max. Bless.

Ha. Mine does that. Tesco didn't have pain au chocolate last week and ds noticed straight away and was very accusatory about it. I think he does an instant scan to check I haven't forgotten any of 'his' stuff. He's always disgruntled when I earmark anything as 'for me' yet half the bloody shop is stuff that is just for him. He checks his waffles, his pain au chocolate, his doritos, his disgusting curry noodles etc are all there. Not so refined you see?

I am very neglectful when in the thick of it in term time and then pretty much comatose or alcoholic for the first couple of days of holidays so keep palming him off with I'll make it at the weekend/on Christmas Eve etc. Apparently I've sworn on my life I will make him both pancakes and home baked pain au chocolate on Christmas Eve morning for breakfast.