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

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55487641
oops forgot link!

Oh and thank you Brie for posting the Times article in screenshots and good job on the song Kat

Is that screenshot very very recent ? It doesn't match the ones on Twitter...

That must be it, Saucery
You've also reminded me that when Tim Bowler came to do a workshop at school, he ended up going to my friend's for cocktails and we had to get him a taxi to his hotel. He was very grey the following morning.
Those were the days 🤣

@Piggyinblankets emailed to me at 8.24pm

I think it has been updated after that monkey...

It’s more realistic than many I’ve seen, cornercupboard. Apart from the fact there are only 2 girls in it and one is allowed to wear a face mask.

What do they think happens to families with primary and secondary pupils? Leaving that transmission route wide open to affect the whole family, aren’t they? . Several of our positive cases had older siblings who caught it first. And of course the younger ones were still sent in while waiting for test results 🤦‍♀️

Interesting. I subscribed to get their emails and that's the latest one I've had. Will check my spam.

sorry Saucery, it was the second photo I was laughing at. Agree the one girl in a mask is a Good Idea.
Feeling a bit crazy now after Gavlar and the other muppets have trotted out the same old lies.

@KatherineOfGaunt

Well, *@SansaSnark* , I'll see how I am, but I would find it very hard to be off. My colleagues would be really under pressure to cover me.

I think we really need to stop martyring ourselves though, for the sake of colleagues and children.

I think our collective willingness to do this as a profession is part of what has led us to this point.

@Piggyinblankets nothing there. What's changed?

Primary TA here. Feeling low today. I am one of the more gung ho let's go back to school ones, but the numbers today are sobering. Even I am now saying, let's delay. Because even in tier 4 I am positive our families will have seen others at Christmas. On Monday I'll get a full face of Christmas bubble germs won't I?

I'm 30 and not vulnerable but I still don't want to get it...and it is hard to imagine how the rate will go down from here with a strain that spreads more among children and schools staying open no matter what.

Sorry, cornercupboard I hadn’t scrolled that far down. Lol, yes, and with the teacher/TA tucked safely out of the way at the back facing in the other direction.

Yes, I know it's a failing of many teachers, @SansaSnark but my relationship with my two direct colleagues is already shaky, I can only imagine what it would be like if I went off.

I'm sure I'll feel a bit better by next week. I think I just need to step away from social media for a bit and calm down!

www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-and-childcare-settings-return-in-january-2021/schools-and-childcare-settings-return-in-january-2021

Further down it now says

"prioritise resource for remote education for exam year groups - remote education should be provided to other years as resources permit"

Got to love the wankers in power.

The updated Full Return to School advice has nothing different about close contacts being asked to isolate!

@DecemberStar

The updated Full Return to School advice has nothing different about close contacts being asked to isolate!

That's because they haven't included any information about the in-school testing system at all.

Instead, it's here:
www.gov.uk/guidance/asymptomatic-testing-in-schools-and-colleges

@DecemberStar

The updated Full Return to School advice has nothing different about close contacts being asked to isolate!

That’s interesting!

Is there anything now about testing for secondaries?

Instead, it's here:www.gov.uk/guidance/asymptomatic-testing-in-schools-and-colleges

This says consent is needed from parents/pupils if over 16 but parents ONLY if under 16.

What if the child cries and refuses to have it done but the parent won’t let them self isolate?!

Very understandable Beachhuts90 it’s a blow with those numbers isn’t it?

@Achristmaspudsskidu

*Instead, it's here:www.gov.uk/guidance/asymptomatic-testing-in-schools-and-colleges*

This says consent is needed from parents/pupils if over 16 but parents ONLY if under 16.

What if the child cries and refuses to have it done but the parent won’t let them self isolate?!

The cold-hearted bitch in me says that the parent has to come deal with the child. If they can't get the test done then take them home.

But, to be honest, I think every parent should refuse. The cynic in me is pretty sure that the 'mass testing' on return is really just about getting round the consent issues for close contact testing afterwards.

It's the first time I've properly looked at that, there's no way in hell most of our year 7s will be able to do that themselves.

Or did they decide it was just nose and the guidance was incorrect?

But, to be honest, I think every parent should refuse. The cynic in me is pretty sure that the 'mass testing' on return is really just about getting round the consent issues for close contact testing afterwards.

Do you mean we tick a box saying, ‘I consent to the mass testing’ but they’ll shove the ‘serial testing instead of isolating’ in the small print?

Wouldn’t put that past them.

I won’t be consenting for my DC and have pointed out how shit the plan is to anyone I know with kids-think we should all do the same.

Heard nothing about consent for testing at either of my dd school. Other than one asking for volunteers.

Noble I am the headteacher

🤣