The Fortieth Republic - Schools are safe but they are vectors so go online

[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

@EnemyOfEducationNo1

Oh god. So I've spent all day with the 4yo screaming to have me, or breaking into the room, or me taking a few minutes to calm him down and hug etc. Daddy apparently is NOT acceptable when I'm in the house. DH is working 7am-9 then 3-8.30pm. And then I look on the class WhatsApp and see all the work their reception kids have done on teams....

Sorry you've had such a stressful day... it's hard for little ones to understand really. I still have to say to mine now "you do have a dad you know- he's just there!" with the constant "muuuuuum" that goes on sometimes!

@RosieBdy

Has anyone else read the updated 'Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak' yet? Apparently it doesn't matter how many children of critical workers need to attend school - there should be no limit to numbers/attendance... The aim is to reduce the overall social contact across the country and not in individual schools so we don't need to worry that we're still teaching large groups in many primary schools. Some of the classes in my infant school have over 50% of children in, but it doesn't matter about those staff members, just so long as some schools in the country have less social contact... Our local rate is 994 per 100,000 and yet the school is almost half full! Was this guidance the same in the last lockdown? I'm not sure that I read the guidance that thoroughly then as I wasn't class teaching at that point.

Hang on - that refers to critical workers. Which is a tighter definition than keyworkers, surely?

@EnemyOfEducationNo1
I think they've just changed the name!

The list of Critical Workers is long and vague and open to interpretation.
People have stopped thinking “thank goodness, I can still go to work to keep the country running!” and started thinking “ooh, I work in a call centre and I wasn’t keen on home learning last time, I’ll send them in”

@Saucery

The list of Critical Workers is long and vague and open to interpretation. People have stopped thinking “thank goodness, I can still go to work to keep the country running!” and started thinking “ooh, I work in a call centre and I wasn’t keen on home learning last time, I’ll send them in”

Or, ‘I’m a SAHM/on maternity leave and it’s hard work to have my kids here at home’.

Thanks Rosie.

For whoever asked - my school (state comp) is getting us to teach to timetable. We have to do a register via video and explain the work, but then they can do the work offline and submit it via smh or email. Or we teach online for the whole session.
My DC's primary has set up teams with a few pre recorded bits - but they have been overwhelmed with keyworker places so all staff are on teaching.
So even though I am finding teaching all day via video with a screaming 4yo incredibly hard, I'm not sending him in.

We had classroom limits last time, measured the rooms. It's a joke.

@Mistressiggi

You know the way you can record your voice over a PowerPoint? Is there any way to do the same over a worksheet? Or would I be better changing it to a PowerPoint version of my worksheet? Thanks! (I know some of you geniuses will know)

@Mistressiggi, sorry I'm late to this - unpaid day so spent most of it doing remote learning with dc3 and trying to sort out tomorrow's classes.

I've not used Streams before, but are you using OneNote? I would maybe upload the document you want to a page in the content library. Then you can insert audio at certain points in the document. I know this because I had a child who tried to do some homework by writing on a pdf, but couldn't write down her explanation, so recorded her explanation next to her answer. I was pretty tickled by it!

Then if you are using OneNote, you could distribute the page once you've added all of the audio clips?

We even have to code every vulnerable student as 'absent' in the registers if they're not on site. We have plenty of students who are classed as vulnerable due to EHCPs etc but are in calm stable homes and are already excelling in their online learning. Their parents don't want them in but we're supposed to tell them they should be, it's nuts

I completely fucking hate the government.

If they 'close' schools but force us to have the majority of the children in, I'm off. Emotionally I can't cope with that. Can't see my parents or grandchildren. Dh is 60+. You keep telling me how dangerous this is and how seriously I must take it and how I must limit all my social contacts but then you're going to try to force me to be in an crowded room with no PPE.

Fuck off Boris, Gavlar and the lot of you!

Too right, Squashed

I am also angry on behalf of all the parents who are keeping their children off, not knowing how long this will go on for.

@Cantaloupeisland

We even have to code every vulnerable student as 'absent' in the registers if they're not on site. We have plenty of students who are classed as vulnerable due to EHCPs etc but are in calm stable homes and are already excelling in their online learning. Their parents don't want them in but we're supposed to tell them they should be, it's nuts

It does say though that schools can agree with parents if their children are better at home and mark them as authorised absence instead. I think that's the right balance.

KW care is definitely less safe than normal teaching though.

Normal classroom (including windows and doors) managed by me with kids in rows, one TA max.

KW provision - multiple adults (whom I can't control) and more than a normal class size of children all needing constant help on the computers because they are completely IT illiterate. Windows closed by other people all the time.

Boris is telling us schools are safe again.

But otherwise told the woman she was sure she appreciated other places need to be kept open and then the NHS guy says nurses need to go to work.

@RandomGrammarPun yes we do agree with them and code as authorised, it's more that we have to code them as absent when all other students are being X coded, suggesting they really should be in. The students we have in are just doing the same online learning as the ones at home so are not really benefiting in any way

Anyone just hear Boris' big sigh after the EYFS question?! Answered awfully btw.

Yes!

He is SICK of having to talk about education and kids isn't he?(not surprising given his history...)

I think he’s just sick of being PM at this point. He’s bored of Covid and it’s not as much fun as he thought it would be.

We have to code kids B. No idea why. We already use X for absences.

@Piggywaspushed that's odd - gov guidance says X for everyone at home except vulnerable who should be C, authorised absence. The students actually on site are marked present. They are getting marks in Sims for lessons just as they would on a normal day

Just had an email from a y11 asking for more exam questions from any topic and will I mark them.
Never known anything like it from this child.

I am still annoyed about 100 percent full staff in for 10 percent kids.

I think we should all be pushing back and advocating against anything we feel is unsafe in our schools- and trying to communicate what is happening to the unions.

I do feel union leadership are a bit out of touch with the reality of the situation on the ground in many schools.

Can't believe he once again said schools were safe. Feel like he cared more about the uni student but i guess that involves money!