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

@NeurotreeWenceslas Aveeno is bloody brilliant. If that doesn’t work then you might need to just consider it a late birthmark 😂

Kier hasn't but others have.
Open letter to the Labour leadership and Shadow Education team on schools re-opening:

Dear Kate Green, Wes Streeting, Keir Starmer & Angela Rayner,

The Labour Party was founded and exists to represent working people. Millions of people are now living under Tier 3 or 4 restrictions, in areas where coronavirus cases are either high or very high. We understand that the new strain which has been discovered may be more easily transmissible, but we still do not understand enough about the health impact on different age groups.

From the start of this crisis, the Government have failed to provide schools with the adequate resources to enable proper physical distancing, so to say they are safe environments is simply not true. It is now widely accepted that the virus is readily transmitted from children to adults. In the absence of mass testing it is impossible to know those children who are healthy from those who are asymptomatic carriers. Parents, children, teaching assistants, teachers, caretakers, lunchtime assistants, and office staff are looking to us, the Labour Party, to speak up for them, and to hold this Government to account and to press them to do the right thing. We support the position of the National Education Union. We want you to do the same.

Schools should not re-open on the 4th January save for the children of key workers and vulnerable children. This is about the lives and safety of working people, children and the safety of our communities. Nothing should ever come before that. Do the right thing.

Yours Sincerely,

Laura Pidcock (Labour NEC)
Nadia Jama (Labour NEC)
Mish Rahman (Labour NEC)
Gemma Bolton (Labour NEC)
Yasmine Dar (Labour NEC)
Ellen Morrison (Labour NEC)
Howard Beckett (Labour NEC)
Ian Murray (Labour NEC)
Andi Fox (Labour NEC)
Len McCluskey (General Secretary, Unite the Union)
Dave Ward (General Secretary, CWU)
Matt Wrack (General Secretary, FBU)
Manuel Cortes (General Secretary, TSSA)
Sarah Woolley (General Secretary, BFAWU)
Andy Kerr (Deputy General Secretary, CWU)
Mick Whelan (General Secretary, ASLEF)
Ronan Burtenshaw (Editor, Tribune)
Jamie Driscoll (Mayor, North of Tyne)
Ian Byrne (MP for West Derby)
Jon Trickett (MP for Hemsworth)
Ian Mearns (MP for Gateshead)
Ian Lavery (MP for Wansbeck)
Richard Burgon (MP for Leeds East)
Kate Osborne (MP for Jarrow)
Claudia Webbe (MP for Leicester East)
Bell Ribeiro Addy (MP for Streatham)
Grahame Morris (MP for Easington)
John McDonnell (MP for Hayes & Harlington)
Dawn Butler (MP for Brent Central)
Zarah Sultana (MP for Coventry South)
Jeremy Corbyn (MP for Islington North)
Rebecca Long Bailey (MP for Salford & Eccles)
Apsana Begum (MP for Poplar and Limehouse)
Nadia Whittome (MP for Nottingham East)
Mary Kelly Foy (MP for City of Durham)
Lloyd Russell Moyle (MP for Brighton Kemptown)
Tahir Ali (MP for Birmingham Hall Green)
Paula Barker (MP for Wavertree)
Rachel Hopkins (MP for Luton South)
Olivia Blake (MP for Sheffield Hallam)
Kim Johnson (MP for Liverpool Riverside)
Nav Mishra (MP for Stockport)
John Hendy (House of Lords)
Christine Blower (House of Lords)
Katy Clark (House of Lords)
Councillor Laura Smith
Councillor Liam Lavery
Red Labour
Don’t Leave, Organise (DLO)
Labour Representation Committee (LRC)
Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL)
Momentum
Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD)
Socialist Campaign Group of Labour Councillors
Labour Assembly Against Austerity

His skin isn't great anyway poor thing. He's got my Kp really badly (chicken skin)

My labour councillor sent me it. We are friends. She's the only one in a sea of blue!

@TheHoneyBadger

Keir has disgusted me personally. He's quiet presumably because he doesn't want to be seen as a unionist in his bid for a Blair esque chance of electability.

He's going to end up more the option for defecting tories than the working class but maybe that's the right tack if you're being pragmatic about getting into power 🤷‍♀️

I just feel betrayed personally.

Agree with this. We actually left the labour party in disgust.

Interesting mp omission for my area. (I think she's hoping for higher things though.) Rest are there.

Wow, I am impressed by that letter. That’s what Labour should be doing.

Our Monday inset is via Teams delivered in department bases - so 10 adults per room. Not happy.

@RigaBalsam

Has Keir made any comments on this? I can't find anything.

He normally pops up to demand schools back-‘no ifs and no buts’.

I had such high hopes for him, but he has been a real disappointment so far.

Isn't it? The clues in the name of the party really

I quite like bothering him on fb though, along with lots of other teachers.

In answer to an earlier question we don't have inset on Monday and aren't starting remote learning till Tuesday and have only about 60 max kw kids in yet we're expected in school on Monday.

I'm only contracted to be in from 11.30 to 2.30 max (I'm adding half an hour to either side of my timetabled lessons generously). I'll literally be going in to sit on my own for nothing.

@TheHoneyBadger which tier are you? I am 4 and that would count as an unecessary journey surely? Which you are not meant to be doing even in tier 3?

@RigaBalsam

Nearly 58k cases today.

74,500 cases with a specimen date of the 29/12. I'm not sure if that's a mistake or it really did jump from 45,000 the day before.

Although it's 4 days after the big Christmas free for all. So I'd guess not a mistake. Fuck.

Rafals more will probably be added for 30th too.

Apologies for over posting today. I'm single and have no one to talk to about work stuff and am having my emails ignored (eg you've put me down for cover when I'm not at work and have an appointment).

I've done online cpd and planning and I kind of just want to get on with things now because there's no real relaxation with all this hanging overhead. Normally I'd hate emails in holidays but I'm finding the lack of clarity and information stressful.

Retreating from the CV board for a bit. Hers my daft lab:

Don't worry honey post away. I feel a bit stressed today so have been over posting too.
It helps.

Tier 4 phleb. I'm a 10 minute slow walk from school though so the travel isn't the issue.

@Ulelia

Retreating from the CV board for a bit. Hers my daft lab:

❤️❤️

@TheHoneyBadger

Apologies for over posting today. I'm single and have no one to talk to about work stuff and am having my emails ignored (eg you've put me down for cover when I'm not at work and have an appointment).

I've done online cpd and planning and I kind of just want to get on with things now because there's no real relaxation with all this hanging overhead. Normally I'd hate emails in holidays but I'm finding the lack of clarity and information stressful.

I feel the same (as in having no-one to talk to about work stuff).

It's rubbish your emails are being ignored too.

I agree, having more clarity would be good- it's one of the reasons why the tories announcing stuff just before the holidays annoyed me!

It helps so long as you fuckers don't get as sick of me as slt seems to be lol

@Ulelia I lufs her!!!! I bet you let her sleep on the bed. I would.

I've just seen emails from the head at the school at which I work: face masks in communal areas now but, in the same email, they're having a face-to-face INSET...