The Thirty-eight republic - Covid Carnage - Schools still waiting for test kits

[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 used to do online English lessons for some children of Russian friends in Moscow. They loved appearances from the animals or child.

I'm not neu. Could someone ask whether work from home if you can applies to us?

I reported the girl who snuck into the staffroom and fiddled with our pigeon holes. But not before I had soundly mocked her in her own thread, obviously.

Ok now we have to spend the weekend explaining that a section 44 walkout isn’t a strike.

Naht have launched legal action.

I’ve not read the Plague Dogs, just the bunnies book. Always cry at the end of that too.

A walkout would be great. How can this not meet the criteria? It is clearly unsafe in a tier 4 area when so many other places are closed down. Might make them bring out their "evidence" that schools are safe at the very least.

We are all NAS at my school. Ugh

@RigaBalsam

We are all NAS at my school. Ugh

Hopefully they will get on board too.

I'm both.

What a week to leave Unison! I might be the only one in at this rate. I was which case, everybody out onto the playground, yes, you will need your coat, no you can’t bring some colouring as you’ll need to keep moving.

The Plague Dogs is brutal.

NAHT:

We will be continuing to argue throughout the weekend that government needs to change its approach if we have any chance of success at keeping schools open to all pupils and not just for the most vulnerable and those of key workers.

The government’s current approach is too simplistic and is damaging education. It is time to properly respond to what professional educators need rather than how attractive a headline may read.

The government is alienating the profession, failing children and being reckless with the safety of the whole school community.

We believe that the government should take the following steps:

Move all schools to home learning for a brief and determined period for most children.
During this time, proper support to make the home learning experience as good as it can be should be provided. That includes technology and learning resources but also flexibility for school leaders to respond to their circumstances. A centralised, prescriptive approach is too constrained.
The government should then establish a properly organised, resourced and funded mass testing regime for schools in place of the botched DIY system currently being imposed.
Work should be undertaken with school leaders and PHE to establish and agree new covid-related safety measures in schools during the temporary restriction.
Urgently review its approach to special schools, APs and Maintained Nursery Schools to protect all staff and pupils in those communities.

Immediately prioritise vaccinations in education.
Then agree an orderly return.

I think it's really important to also qualify the endless, schools are safe or teachers have worked hard to make schools safe.

Teachers cannot magic covid out of the air nor micromanage each child's behaviour.

Schools do what they can within constraints to make schools safe ER.

No site is covid safe.
I've just seen someone on sm Moaning that their dc English lesson was talking about covid safety and they didn't think that was fair..
Also strange posts seeming to twist parents wanting to keep dc at home as some how rude to poor teachers who have worked hard to make schools safe.

Noble, they also need to mention hospital capacity in local areas!

All the talk of the crucible brings us back to "I saw Goody noblegiraffe with the Devil"

Seems like there has been an NEU leak to the observer before the official announcement: www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/02/government-faces-major-revolt-on-schools-reopening-in-england-over-covid-fears?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

The suggestion is that members (all members?) will be advised to refuse to return to work on Monday on safety grounds- there will be a template letter available.

I want to support my union, obviously and I do think they are in the right, but I am really nervous about doing this unless I know others at my school will do the same, and I'm quite worried they won't.

I only have a contract to the end of the year, which I am 100% sure won't be renewed if I do this.

I agree with Rule, targeted area closure, especially where there's low rates plus lower levels of the new variant as well as low hospital bed capacity.

Given what my own area has lived through since sept (twice we had weekly rates of over or near 1000) I cannot see the justification for local leaders to not allow us return on Monday. (This is balanced against the highest child poverty rates and domestic violence in the country. Unfortunately schools do play a part in keeping on top of this; we also run operation encompass.)

Obviously I say that feeling the fear and anxiety of having to immerse myself weekly in the germ pit, and that fear for my colleagues.

They're clearly preparing for anticipated closure though. And I think it should be very quickly done when there's a sniff of it rising sharply.

What remains to be seen is how many areas that can maintain it.

Though then my mind niggles at the rising cases during lockdown in some areas.

Gah.

Who knows.

@SaltyAF

I've just switched to NEU but too late for the Zoom invitation.

Salty use my link above to register for tomorrow. Deffo not too late. They’ve had massive surge...

NAHT sound v sensible.

And again I don't know why we can't do some part time and rota-Ed stuff, simply to cut numbers on classes. Touching base is better than nothing if rates allow. (Obviously not in some areas.)

@SansaSnark I know that some of my colleagues would absolutely not strike even if they thought it was right, and it is a very difficult position for you to be in. Do you know anyone in your union at school you could get in touch with?

@SansaSnark I have no rep at school and only one member of my team apart from me is unionized. It's a pretty good bet that if we strike we'll be targeted for capability/ discipline once this is over, if it is.

I'm weighing my chances - it's at the stage any trouble will be worth it, I think.

Neuro I understand what you are saying but if this new strain is that infectious surely even a sniff is too much. The government are not preventative and they need to be.

North East town here so understand the poverty. We do a lot if community work in the holidays with meal schemes.

I also worry that the isolation and the longer it goes on damages the vulnerable even more. A lot of our vulnerable children rely on elderly Grandparents and by extension the health service. I don't want it to be like the South up here.

[quote MrsHamlet]@SansaSnark I know that some of my colleagues would absolutely not strike even if they thought it was right, and it is a very difficult position for you to be in. Do you know anyone in your union at school you could get in touch with?[/quote]
I know one of my more experienced colleagues in the department is in the NEU, so I could email him for advice. If he's not doing it, I can't think anyone will (he was organising us to say no to carrying out testing at the end of last term).

I obviously also have our rep's email as well, but she has been fairly quiet all term.

[quote phlebasconsidered]@SansaSnark I have no rep at school and only one member of my team apart from me is unionized. It's a pretty good bet that if we strike we'll be targeted for capability/ discipline once this is over, if it is.

I'm weighing my chances - it's at the stage any trouble will be worth it, I think.[/quote]
I sort of feel the same- but I am at the start of my career, and I'm worried about the reference I would get and so on as well.

I know I'm being pretty cowardly, and I would definitely participate if I knew I wasn't the only one.

It's not cowardly at all in your position.