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

Bloody hell but I'm in a bad mood. Think I need to try to sleep before I get a ban for something.

@Piggywaspushed

NASUWT email is o different from prior stance. Wimps. All about risk assessments.

If you ask me Patrick Roach and NASUWT are being craven bastards about this. I wish they’d join the NEU in advising members to invoke section 44.

Can't sleep with worry about what lies ahead and just ventured out to the main site . I'm coming back in to drink tea, eat biscuits and doze on the comfy staff room chairs.

Brighton and Hove (only about 20 miles from me) have told all primaries to remain closed till the 18th. I bet Greenwich are sending them socially distanced thumbs up.

Morning.

I've had a genius idea. Given we've failed at hot housing our own children maybe we'd be better at hot housing each other's children!

My intention is to have a go at dry January but I don't see January as having begun whilst we're still in this weird limbo of not knowing what the fuck is happening.

Oh and leaving a link to a breakdown of the vaccine priority list that I found useful. Looks like even if we can only get to everyone over 70 it is a total game changer so long as they don't end up totally fucking it up by ignoring the producers scheduling advice or mix and matching vaccines (you couldn't make this stuff up)

https://mobile.twitter.com/factcovid/status/1345316288860663808/photo/1?reffsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1345316288860663808%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1&reffurl=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.sky.com%2Fstory%2Fcovid-news-live-latest-updates-doctors-expect-big-impact-on-infections-from-next-week-after-christmas-mixing-12174643

Good morning.

Very sorry to hear about your colleague Mums.

God the lying in the cv board.

And apologies for going on and on yesterday. I'm on a mission to empty the house of alcohol ready for when I have deemed January has begun

You didn’t go on and on.

If I tried to drink all the booze in my house I’d be dead. I’ll join in doing dry January (in my head January starts today). I normally do it, but I have a feeling this year is going to be more of a struggle than normal.

Honey, a Gp mate seems to think we will get through the vaccine lists quite quickly and also that there's extra lists not currently published. He seemed fairly sure that my non cev asthma would be one as the general flu jab group not on the list would be included higher up. I expect teachers to be bumped up too, certainly over 40's.

He's been pretty accurate with predictions so far, and is quite high up in his authority in other things. (I'm holding on to that!)

Which is why I don't think closing the schools briefly, even for a month, is a major issue in the grand scheme of things. Exam years should get priority obviously.

I don't know why 'they' can't see that bubbles or classes will be disrupted a lot anyway with absent staff or ill and SI kids and then ill families.

Agree totally.

I think I've got the booze down to a little bit of red wine and a little bit of jd.

Think January will start on Monday for me.

January starts tomorrow here. I don't drink loads anyway but I need to stop eating rubbish!

Full of dread, anxiety, rage and general despondency here. I do have plans which will help to focus on something else today.

BBC article this morning has Amanda Ofsted saying schools need to be open as children forget basic skills like holding a knife and fork. Oh FFS Amanda! It is parents who are supposed to teach children how to eat properly not schools!

Oh bless you herc. There's a bit of breathing space for us secondary folk so do try to breathe x

My quiet and mild mannered doctor DH has just gone off on a very sweary rant about Amanda’s ‘crass and wildly inappropriate turn of phrase while people are fucking dying’.
My own child decided to eat out of the sodding dog bowl during first lockdown. I was too busy making welfare calls and recording lessons to notice. It wasn’t his teacher’s fault though! And it must have boosted his immune system as he hasn’t been ill since last Feb (still can’t use a knife and fork but if we can’t teach him in 8 years I don’t expect his teacher to!)

If we get through the vaccine lists whilst mixing vaccines, is it even worthwhile, though?

I'm not sure I want a vaccine whilst they are proposing mixing different versions!

@SquashedFlyBiscuitsForSanta

BBC article this morning has Amanda Ofsted saying schools need to be open as children forget basic skills like holding a knife and fork. Oh FFS Amanda! It is parents who are supposed to teach children how to eat properly not schools!

I do think this is sort of part of the problem - everything has been made the responsibility of teachers, from basic parenting to social work, never mind education.

My son couldn't tie shoelaces till he was 10 and his use of cutlery is still dubious. It never occurred to me to blame a teacher

I'm hoping he's just still developing his fine motor skills. I have hyper mobility and weak fine motor skills can come with that 🤷‍♀️

Morning everyone.

and all round I think. It's so awful that the situation is making people so very anxious

I have always said, and still say, my head is absolutely fab. We have some sensible plans in place. I still feel nervous about it all so can't imagine how primary/SEND colleagues are feeling this morning.

For me, in secondary, at the moment it's the uncertainty of everything. Week 2, exam years are supposed to return but I feel that I can't plan for that being definite and who know about the other kids.

Lots to do today - need to take the Christmas decorations down and tidy up, iron, plus top up a couple of things from the shops and make sure everything is sorted for tomorrow. Hopefully all of this will help to distract me.

reminds me that I was going to tackle shoe laces with my 8 yr old

Dh was telling ds off yesterday for how he uses a fork. (Like a spoon.) I don't think he can physically do it at a high table yet.

[quote MrsHerculePoirot]@StanfordPines I don’t think that is true? The NEU were actively encouraging people to join them because of this I thought?[/quote]
I’d like to think that isn’t true. It’s what was said by a NASUWT rep but I don’t know if I believe it.

They're all different.

Toddler is spookily good on a balance bike and mastered that before ds 1 learnt to ride a bike (literally only last lockdown, when he was self isolating.) ds1 couldn't balance bike till a special bike class at school in y1! Toddler just worked it out.

No Honey it’s definitely his teachers fault.

I’m hoping when Covid is over primary kids can keep going to school in PE kit if they have PE that day. It probably won’t happen because otherwise some kids won’t learn how to dress themselves.

Exactly my thoughts

It was probably Cummings's last memo.

@MrsHerculePoirot

From NEU website “ With the exception of issues relating to coronavirus, we are unable to offer representation or assistance including legal advice with problems that arose before you joined the National Education Union.”

Can you link to where you found that please @MrsHerculePoirot? Thanks.