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

[SantaAssociationRepresentitve]

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 did quite a bit of planning yesterday, got a fair few good ideas down I'm quite pleased with myself. Went to poundland with my eldest for some bits and bobs and found 5 princess tiaras for £1 which is going to go in my sensory tray for fairy tales so I'm pleased with that. I wanted some wands though they didn't have any but tiaras will do. I suppose princesses don't actually have wands but do have tiaras so ....

My joints are terrible today, Im beginning to wonder if I'll even be able to go back in January. Even if stuff goes online sen isn't likely to so I'll have to physically be there

Am I alone in treating the holiday as a holiday? Pretty well succeeding in it feeling guilty. I need to unwiiiind!

Not feeling guilty

Me too. Apart from some light film watching and maybe some Google Classroom marking.

I still feel stressed, though. We have no INSET day so it's straight into remote teaching.

Flu jab in half an hour. Never had one before.

Piggy why no inset?

We've got an inset day to prepare for remote teaching thanks to our decent head.

I'm doing one job involving a trainee. That is all this holiday. The rest can wait.

I'm also leaving anything on teams I haven't marked from last term. Back marking is a waste of time in exercise books, online it's even worse!

I have done zero work. And refuse to feel guilty. Apart from anything else I'm sure that the guidance will change about 3 times before 4th Jan so planning would be pointless!
@SansaSnark I wonder if it's partly a Cornwall thing - I think we permanently lost some of ours too 😔

Flu jab in half an hour. Never had one before.

School organised flu jab for us as usual in October. For me, the flu jab always knocks me out for at least the weekend, my arm remains very sore and I feel rotten (fluey, funnily enough ). Hope yours goes OK!

Quick scroll through MN and the lazy teachers comments have started again. Actually upsetting.

@SaltyAF

Am I alone in treating the holiday as a holiday? Pretty well succeeding in it feeling guilty. I need to unwiiiind!

Not at all. Our head said don't even check your emails until the third.

This is what I keep saying about the DfE saying we can all have an Inset Day 'if we need it' on 4 Jan. It makes no sense , unless like DS's school you are back teaching on 4th (surely that is very few schools?) and decide to change it to an Inset. They aren't.

My school disaggregated all its Inset Days -because SLT wanted more holidays--. We are back in teaching on 5th Jan. Most of us want our Inset Days back.

I worry about this brie but DH has always been fine.

Not like I am going anywhere....

@msawesomereindeer the main leader had done some really good nights. Got a lot on today but will post more about them tonight. Give me a nudge if I forget.

We should be teaching on the 4th but it's now inset. About to go and swab myself... must remember throat not fanjo.

Not just a Cornwall thing. Definitely completely lost some here as well.

We were due back teaching on the 4th. How our head has seemingly chosen to use the could have an inset flexibility is to say 11, 13 and kw and vulnerable will be in on the 4th but remote provision won't start till Tuesday 5th.

We were back on 4th (along with the MAT) and we've all been given the extra day.
Ds school has inset originally so no idea if they'll change the focus of the day and add another one at some point.

My flu jab this year was totally fine - no pain, nothing at all. DH had slightly sore, hot patch for shout 24 hours but generally fine.

I also preferred remote teaching from home in terms of stress - maybe because it meant we all just focused on teaching and nothing else? I’m not sure how successful teaching remotely, all at the same time in school will be? We’ve spent a lot of time sorting out internet, devices etc for our students. We had a private school up the road collect old devices and sort them out for students in local schools - we’ve fairly high PP so ended up with a large proportion from them, the LA share and another local charity. I think from second week back (when other years return) we will increase how many students we have in this time around too.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has told LBC there is 'no doubt' pupils will return to schools in January, after the Christmas break

@NickFerrariLBC

She implied different on sky.

We were always Inset on the 4th so that's staying, though I imagine the focus will now shift .

Speaking of children wanting to be in school rather than home (which is obviously awful), anyone ever had the funnier thing of students turning up on inset days (accidentally on purpose, probably because parents didn't have childcare and they thought they'd get away with us keeping them)? In one school, this happened regularly and we never sent them home but kept them. They had to help the admin team or the librarian or something. Parents were always doctors who did this .

We always had an inset day due for the 4th so we’ve been told it will be about the ‘new testing’ but they can’t tell us yet for obvious reasons. Govt really hasn’t got a clue what goes into these INSET days!

I'm back. Sat like a lemon after she had already done it because I didn't realise she had finished!

I am not rising to TBs. I see it as coming out of : anxiety, lack of control, a feeling for some successful women of being reduced in status and, of course, a lack of understanding of what learning looks like. The constant mention of Twinkl is interesting, as if they think it is an invalid resource. They just want busy work.

Someone commented that everything was fine in Australia and then rattled off things that are happening in the UK . Clearly from MN she has gleaned a very different story from the reality for most!

I'd suggest we stay off those threads : they'll wear themselves out. If teachers appear, it becomes a pile on.

I found 100% online learning WAY less stressful. That was because we had longer breaks and lunches, slightly fewer teaching hours, no meetings and BEHAVIOUR!

I am not one bit looking forward to a mixed economy, five full lessons and a 20 minute lunchbreak.

The Government needs to do something about exams really urgently.

Also, our remote teaching this time will be at schools, so presumably with duties, meetings etc still happening. And shit wifi.

I was just reading another thread which mentioned a member of the group we know and love wanting schools open and suggesting they are in with the Tories. Why would BJ or GW care what the group think-I don’t really get that? Are they all mates? Wouldn’t their mates have nannies so don’t give a shit if schools are open or not?! Why are they a group with such sway?!

Please do Pm me if anyone can explain??

@Piggyinblankets yup going to stay off those threads now. I'm already super anxious and upset because of DS.

Also, our remote teaching this time will be at schools, so presumably with duties, meetings etc still happening. And shit wifi

I don’t think our school has taken into account just how shot our Wi-fi is at school. Hopefully I’ll return in Jan to find it has vastly improved.

@Achristmaspudsskidu

I was just reading another thread which mentioned a member of the group we know and love wanting schools open and suggesting they are in with the Tories. Why would BJ or GW care what the group think-I don’t really get that? Are they all mates? Wouldn’t their mates have nannies so don’t give a shit if schools are open or not?! Why are they a group with such sway?!

Please do Pm me if anyone can explain??

I've also been thinking this. Possibly because it's a populist view...