The Thirty-seventh Republic - Mass testing rolls on - school staff remain expendable

[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

@SansaSnark

schoolsweek.co.uk/mass-testing-in-schools-everything-you-need-to-know/

www.gov.uk/guidance/asymptomatic-testing-in-schools-and-colleges

From the Beeb's article on schools:

He added that the government expects to deliver 50,000 devices to schools across the country on 4 January to support remote learning, with 100,000 devices to be delivered during the first week of term.

Wonder how these are being allocated or is it just fulfilling the Oct allocation?

The department wants schools to “encourage” testing by “ensuring pupils and parents are aware of the benefits…Schools should use existing relationships to drive take-up wherever possible”
However, testing “may not be feasible for some children, particularly some vulnerable children, for reasons of feasibility or consent”

So if they don’t consent, they just pitch up anyway!

My sisters group chat has in her words ' heart broken parents' they can't believe the government will not close schools and is actively encouraging them to attend.

It is ridiculous that heads are being told to be part of a propaganda drive.

I am not consenting for my DS and will tell his school why.

Just had some info from school - remote provision for all years if not in school - from 4th. May just be our school though

@Achristmaspudsskidu

*The department wants schools to “encourage” testing by “ensuring pupils and parents are aware of the benefits…Schools should use existing relationships to drive take-up wherever possible” However, testing “may not be feasible for some children, particularly some vulnerable children, for reasons of feasibility or consent”*

So if they don’t consent, they just pitch up anyway!

Yes, they do.

Again, 'Mass Testing' is a bullshit term.

@Piggyinblankets
Not just heads. There is an expectation that schools will positively and actively promote their testing systems on their social media platforms using approved messaging. They are also instructed to challenge negative comments from parents. Fucking propoganda campaign because they know parents trust local heads more than national MPs.

@Saucery

I was forced to have coffee with Simon Armitage once. Is he as boring as he appears to be? I love everything about the Pendle Witches and the history of the area, but his documentary sent me to sleep. DS does an impression of his voice that is duller than Father Stone’s . Can’t be doing with his Professional Northerner schtick.

God yes. And as arrogant. He turned up to a professional gig for which we were paying a lot of money in his bloody anorak. My students know I loathe him and thought it was hilarious.

I'm bubbled, closely with 10 adults per week, on a fortnightly rota. And then the classes on top (although not classes of 30 like primary.) Sen school are apparently never going to close.

What safety measures will we get?

I feel for other ppa staff of primary schools too who cross many bubbles.

I hope my school goes with remote from all from the 4th. I've set it all up already and don't want to miss yet another week of lessons.

I've drafted an email to slt registering my concern that we (staff and students) would not be safe if we followed these new guidelines and no longer sent close contacts home etc. I have pasted it into a word document and decided to sleep on it before deciding if I really want to send it.

May do a namechange and post it on staff room board for opinions about how much they'd hate me if I sent it.

This says it all.

@Cracklefraggle

Just had some info from school - remote provision for all years if not in school - from 4th. May just be our school though

I bet loads of schools crack on with remote learning from 4th Jan. they won’t want pupils to miss out on learning.

This means 25% of my classes will work their arses off and get ahead. 25% will try a bit but not much and the remaining 50% will do nothing at all.

It’s already a nightmare trying to teach mixed ability. This is going to exacerbate the problem.

mobile.twitter.com/NHSMillion/status/1344341357570224131

A message to you all from the NHSmillion twitter feed. Don’t look at the photo in the linked BBC article.

“In his anorak” Oh, you have made my evening with that! At least he turned up though, unlike Horowitz. We were all sat there waiting for him and the event organiser had to announce he was ‘indisposed’. As many of us had just listened to him do a live interview on the radio from London we were a little sceptical. Alan Gibbons was a star, so we didn’t miss Mr H one bit.

I saw a member of my slt state on Facebook that we will provide work for all years from next week. I'm still waiting for a staff email...

Oh FFS. they can't have some schools teaching all years online and some not.

Why can't all these over eager heads keep it buttoned for once and let us have a bit of gained time for the shitshow ahead. This changes my workload massively.

Nobel: I am the head teacher

@noblegiraffe

This says it all.

New user name

Iamtheheadteacher

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay

mobile.twitter.com/NHSMillion/status/1344341357570224131

A message to you all from the NHSmillion twitter feed. Don’t look at the photo in the linked BBC article.

Straight away there's someone in the comments warning about a 'lost generation'. It's the hyperbole that gets me. Children have missed three months of face to face schooling. Yes, some have missed more due to the poorly planned systems put in place by the DfE. However, we aren't talking about years of lost learning. We aren't talking about loads of children being illiterate or innumerate. It's like... get a fucking grip.

Just updated

I seem to remember Horowitz being really tiny...

@MrsHamlet

I seem to remember Horowitz being really tiny...

Perhaps he was there and we just mislaid him, then.

Has anyone posted this yet? Never mind the text, just look at the photos. Does YOUR classroom look like that?!?!?!?!?!

Thanks for the screenshot Monkey. My ks3 classes and year 9 group are getting remote learning whether they like it or not!

Trouble is with the way government have announced this some parents might be, 'well Gavlar said they don't have to do any work till the 11th so why are you expecting me to get them to do it?'.