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

Anyone else finding home learning 100 times more time consuming than regular teaching? I'm on maternity leave but DH is teaching from home and honest to god it's like I've been widowed. He's still upstairs on that blasted computer. Thankfully I haven't been in through all of this as ds born in march, but it's getting ridiculous now.

We had a similar email @Medra also outlining exclusions for behaviour for those in school which were completely ignored last time round

Skipped to end. Anyone in primary where all staff are expected to go in?

Union stance is that we should only have minimum staff needed for pupil safety, chair of governors say all in and head says his hands are tied.

Could be another rebellion on the way.

Yep. Significantly harder and more time consuming per lesson and associated admin. On plus, we're not teaching a full tt (so, say, 2 lessons per week for core, instead of 4) and can crash classes together in non - core (so geog teacher has two/three classes on same online lesson, not just one).

DH school they are all expected to be in at some point and tas in every day.
My school were doing some god awful rota to squeeze as much out of staff as possible including online staff meetings every bloody week.

Ugh DH primary so full timetable and stressy parents.

@Lancrelady80

Skipped to end. Anyone in primary where all staff are expected to go in?

Union stance is that we should only have minimum staff needed for pupil safety, chair of governors say all in and head says his hands are tied.

Could be another rebellion on the way.

Yes, that’s the case with us. Even staff with children at other schools are being told that those schools ‘legally’ have to take their dc even if their partner is not a kw. Which is bollocks.

Classes nearly full due to combining 2 form entry. All staff have to be in, unlike rota last March-June. There seems to have been a sea change in the background somewhere and presenteeism rules once again.

Hey.

Feeling the strain here too. I hate recording myself. I'd singlehandedly take a full class over it.

We've got around 20% in and all staff (apart from shielders) will be on the rota.

*expectations for beh, though it does include being removed from school

Ah, reading back I see that is a theme! NEU and NAS seem to be on same page about that then.

@Lancrelady80 Yes - all staff in every day. One class had 12 children in today

I've just had a snippy mail from the slt about "our children" and having the right attitude. I fucking hate her. In her office, telling us all to be jolly "for the children" when she has none and I do and she's not facing any risk.

They may as well have not shut our school. I am seriously investigating going off sick. The head sent an email asking all staff with anxiety around opening to meet them. Sent it whole school in a shaming way. Stressing those staff who are getting on with it with a smile on their face.

It's not the fucking second world war! Sod off!!!!

If we didn't rely on my wage I would just not go in tomorrow.

@EnemyOfEducationNo1

Can someone summarise the NEU zoom please? I was sorting the kids tea out at the time. My kids' school has been overwhelmed with requests for keyworker places apparently, so they've had to go down the lone parent or 2 KW only line. So no KW place for me - which means my smallest child will continue to try to get in on every video lesson... The only door in the house with a lock is the downstairs loo, and I can't really teach from there!

They talked a bit about exams, and also what they have been pushing the government for since June.

They talked about special schools, and early years. They said Early Years ought to be open on the same basis as primary/secondary, and special schools should consider each child, but try to reduce numbers.

They were very clear schools shouldn't be dragging all staff in to work in school when they could be at home, and children in school should be able to social distance from each other and staff etc.

It was very much "watch this space" though- I think a lot of guidance will come out online over the next few days.

Place marking - thanks for the new thread.

Haven't caught up with everyone yet - hope your days have been ok. Awful day here. 50% of our children are classed as KW or vulnerable, so all staff in for face to face teaching, and all staff to set a full timetable of remote learning, including at least three hours' of teachers' own recorded lessons daily. Class teachers to phone non-attenders every other day. It's just not sustainable.

Harriet- you must be at my school! Fucking madness!

They were very clear schools shouldn't be dragging all staff in to work in school when they could be at home, and children in school should be able to social distance from each other and staff etc.

It was very much "watch this space" though- I think a lot of guidance will come out online over the next few days.

Hope this filters through with my head as we are all in no matter what with ten percent of the school. Doubt it though.

@HarrietDVane

Place marking - thanks for the new thread.

Haven't caught up with everyone yet - hope your days have been ok. Awful day here. 50% of our children are classed as KW or vulnerable, so all staff in for face to face teaching, and all staff to set a full timetable of remote learning, including at least three hours' of teachers' own recorded lessons daily. Class teachers to phone non-attenders every other day. It's just not sustainable.

That sounds completely unsustainable.

I think heads are putting no thought into how much time it takes to make recorded lessons, or teach live via zoom/teams. If they want that, I don't think they can ask for anything else from teachers.

@RigaBalsam

They were very clear schools shouldn't be dragging all staff in to work in school when they could be at home, and children in school should be able to social distance from each other and staff etc.

It was very much "watch this space" though- I think a lot of guidance will come out online over the next few days.

Hope this filters through with my head as we are all in no matter what with ten percent of the school. Doubt it though.

The NEU said they would support industrial action on a school by school basis on this issue.

They said a first step was collective negotiation with your head. I know that's really hard to actually do, though!

@HercwasanEnemyofEducation @noblegiraffe or anyone else good with Desmos I'm making it to try in my lesson tomorrow. I want to have an example in a box across the top (full width) and then add two questions in two columns below. Is this possible to do?

I'm using your excellent Y7 lesson Herc as my inspiration.... and wanted to ask, would you be ok if I used it as an example to share with my department if any of them are interested. We use WR stuff and how you have linked it to the small step is awesome!

Thanks Sansa we are all NAS anyway and apparently there's only a few of us that mind. The rest just put up with it scared to upset SLT.

I took DS to nursery. His first full day! I think he had fun though, judging by the pictures. Only about 5 of them there, which I'm relieved about. I was stressing during my morning meetings about having to send him in still, but the nursery seemed to have it well under control.

Do heads talk to unions? I know ours did over lunch duties.

Btw, I have a friend who is a TA in a mainstream primary (albeit in a deprived area). The head has put ALL children on the vulnerable list, and is giving parents the choice about whether to send them in.

That feels insane to me on so many levels.

I feel like for a lot of heads, the seriousness of the situation just hasn't sunk in yet, and they want to carry on like it's business as usual.

@RigaBalsam

Do heads talk to unions? I know ours did over lunch duties.

Our does- he's mostly pretty reasonable. He moved our inset online following a request from union reps.

The last head was apparently really anti union, to the point where he wouldn't let union meetings happen on site!

I mean, I can't even...

WTF?