The Thirty-ninth Republic - Covid Carnage continues and spring term is just about to start

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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

Whereas our head asked for teaching staff to volunteer for testing, admin and behaviour management. I assume that's for next week only, as we can't possibly do that as well as teaching full classes when they are all supposed to be back in person. I didn't volunteer, and feel vaguely guilty about that, then I remember that the tests are shit and we shouldn't be facilitating this farce.

BTW, we have about 30 KW/vulnerable children in, who have been split up between 3 rooms.

Our head literally said "we can't have all 30 in one room" (I think partly because they are all in different year groups but still).

So if we do go back to teaching full classes next week/in two years time I'll definitely be asking why I'm expected to teach 33 kids in one room in one of my Y8 classes.

Tests have arrived. Not sure if we had to pay for them but the Head has said that there is no funding for us for test administration etc. Not that state schools would get a huge amount anyway.

I sincerely hope no school is having to pay for a single lateral flow test? Surely they couldn’t say it was mandatory, but then charge you!

I want heads to refuse to any anything to do with this Lf testing -that’s something their union should be right on top of.

Head just emailed to tell us we can WFH this week. What was the phrase? More flipflops than Brighton Beach?

Been sorting out lessons all morning and messaging kids making sure they have our subject specific programme on their devices. Taught DH a couple of Teams based things as well!😂

Them4themselves making twats of themselves in Scotland, by the sounds of things!

T4T/U4T - as if we didn't know - idiotic and extremely dangerous

Hi I am new here after being a lurker for a long time.

Myself and 4 colleagues gave the Head a chance to address our concerns during inset day - but he hasn't.

With the upmost regret I will be sending in the NEU letter tonight - I never wanted it to come to this but I feel I am left with no choice.

Good luck kathy.

Kids have to SI on Sat and Sun if they're a close contact but not on a weekday if they've had a negative LFT in school, AFAIK.

U4T are now trying to get together small groups to home educate in private homes. When will they see that this is exactly the sort of thing which puts us in the situation we are now all in.

Jeremy Hunt has said we need to close schools, borders and ban household mixing NOW. Jeremy Hunt who used to be his own rhyming slang.

twitter.com/jeremy_hunt/status/1346063563450888192?s=21

One wonders what Boris is waiting for? Whose approval?

I guess U4T's offer of a parent army to stand in for teachers in schools was sadly rejected? Better than zoom, they said.

Rumour mill saying that we’ll be closed until the 1st Feb up here.

Testing already going swimmingly I see www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4125395-Anyone-else-struggling-booking-tests-for-Year-11-13

Have any other councils asked for pupils to book tests at normal test centres instead of expecting schools to do it?

@noblegiraffe

Jeremy Hunt has said we need to close schools, borders and ban household mixing NOW. Jeremy Hunt who used to be his own rhyming slang.

twitter.com/jeremy_hunt/status/1346063563450888192?s=21

One wonders what Boris is waiting for? Whose approval?

Hunt has actually spoken a lot of sense throughout this.

He was an awful Health Secretary but in this crisis he would have been alot better than Hancock.

Just found out a colleague has died from Covid over xmas.

Shit.

@Evvyjb I'm so sorry that is truly shit.

Oh god that's terrible news, Evvyjb. I'm so sorry

Oh no ! Oh how awful...

Oh Evvy, I'm so sorry

@KathyHop

Hi I am new here after being a lurker for a long time.

Myself and 4 colleagues gave the Head a chance to address our concerns during inset day - but he hasn't.

With the upmost regret I will be sending in the NEU letter tonight - I never wanted it to come to this but I feel I am left with no choice.

I'm sorry you have been put in this position Kathy, but well done for standing up for yourself!

www.tes.com/news/pm-has-misgivings-about-closing-primaries-1st-wave?amp&__twitter_impression=true

Really?

Scotland going into strict lockdown from midnight, apparently. Essential shops and travel only. twitter.com/kieranpandrews/status/1346084305450242051?s=21