The Forty First Republic - Gav encourages parents to report schools to OFSTED

[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

It is bizarre priorities with the vaccine.

I'm happy that my mum had her first dose yesterday but confused that she, healthy but 74, has had it whereas my dad, same age and cev hasn't heard anything about his yet

Just had a call from Egypt. The flat is still standing so we're still on for our Sinai leg of our meet up once we're not the lepers of the world anymore. Love how my friend said but schools are off you can come now err no. I'm crossing everything that come summer we can fly and I can go sort my electricity supply out and get it rented and taken care of.

I need to get my head around being in school tomorrow. I didn't go in on Friday and have gotten rather attached to my bed and my pjs. Tomorrow is 2 lessons of kwv provision and contacting parents of kids who didn't engage in my lessons at all last week. I know my hod would say just email them but I don't think the kids I'm particularly concerned about have parents who are checking their emails. I might start with form tutors to see what they know but form tutors are pretty pissed off from what I've seen because they've had their responsibilities upped since September.

I just read in the paper that people who work in testing centres are not a priority for vaccines!

@KatherineOfGaunt totally understand xx

Talking of papers, two right wing press so far have reported that the exam replacements are-wait for it- exams.

To be sat in schools, possibly set by exam boards. marked by us (workload!?!) and sampled . Because 'things will be better by then'...

How the hell are we supposed to keep year 11s in particular going until LATE SUMMER so they can sit lighter exams than they would have done on so far pretty unspecified content. I feel like we are being punished for this pandemic.

It does explain why the interim guy at Ofqual says he is worried about teacher workload. My God, all that extra marking. All that moderation!

Is this government SO unimaginative that all they can think of to replace exams is exams??

Our year 11s and 13s have already done mocks... what if those are better?

Some subjects (history notably in my school and English) have finished the course now (because Ofqual trimmed content). And apparently exams in June/July are the solution...

That's awful piggy

I'm so confused re primary and secondary.

Are secondary now going to be opening in two weeks with testing in place ?

With primary partially shut? Sorry if I've missed something there.

@13luckyblackcats don't tell people I was kind. I have a reputation to uphold 🤣 so glad things are going well
Piggy y11 mocks are meant to be next week so I've been working towards that. Losing a whole text means I'm done. I'm planning to just move on to revision - but for what?!
I wish they'd made the sodding plan before announcing... if wishes were horses...

Seriously Piggy! Outrageous!
There is no way I can finish the content unless they cut it. Exams though. That's no difference. So a CAG is an exam. No it isn't!

Don’t think so Trash? We are expecting to be home till at least half term.

We need to remember that Ofqual have only just started discussing and consulting on exam arrangements and no announcements are expected till end Feb earliest. Newspaper reports are the usual flag flying.

Replacing exams with exams marked by teachers would get Union pushback surely.

We are just testing all of the staff and the students that are in.

The lab tech is doing them.

So far we've told 11s and 13s that everything they do can be used as evidence. Engagement has gone up if anthing - not from all of them.

I am rather irked to see vocal teacher bashers now starting threads about how terribly dangerous everything is out there.

@Cracklefraggle

So far we've told 11s and 13s that everything they do can be used as evidence. Engagement has gone up if anthing - not from all of them.

I have had the same. I have said on here before one even sent chocolate in for us. 🤣. Others emailimg for exam questions to be assessed on.

@13luckyblackcats aww thank you. So glad this placement is better. I've stayed at the same school but moved to KS1. Again, I'm seeing the difference a mentor can make. I don't feel I'm a pain, my questions aren't stupid, I'm going to get the support I need with planning. I'm hopeful it will be ok

Thank you, @RigaBalsam and @Monkeytennis97 I know it's pretty much the same for everyone but feeling especially morose this morning.

Glad to hear that @13luckyblackcats and @namechangedyetagain you are both having better mentors/placements. I found my PGCE hard enough, never mind in these circumstances.

Ha, @noblegiraffe I found that one.

Engagement has gone up in my year 11 too : for now. I don't think anyone can keep momentum going with incessant live revision online though until 'late summer' and the problem remains with all more practical subjects (and media) of covering content remotely.

That made me LOL noble.

I've had a number of emails which start with variations on "miss, you know the Macbeth work I didn't do between March and June..."

Not quite sure how they intend to do the work they didn't do on top of the work I'm still setting, mind!

@noblegiraffe

I am rather irked to see vocal teacher bashers now starting threads about how terribly dangerous everything is out there.

Yes I noticed that too🙄

I'm allowed to work from home tomorrow so I've asked DH (IT whizz, changed careers from networks to engineering because he hated it) to figure out why my wifi connection is slow.

It works for everything else in the house.
It works fo 30 seconds after I connect in my laptop, then drops out.
My laptop is fine if I use my phone as a hotspot.

I'm hiding folding laundry because he's doing his 'IT face'.

Hopefully he can sort it otherwise I'll have to trek to school to my freezing classroom again.

There’s more than one!

@noblegiraffe

I am rather irked to see vocal teacher bashers now starting threads about how terribly dangerous everything is out there.

Some people really do lack any thoughts at all let alone critical.