The Forty Second Republic - Lockdown 3 online learning struggles continue

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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

Lessons are 45 minutes and the first 15 are ‘I can’t see the board’ and ‘I can’t hear you’

Gold standard.

I am getting alarmingly good attendance at my live lessons. Thankfully we are setting work centrally and not all lessons are live, but I am still finding it exhausting and I hate not having the demarcation between home and work.

herdy, January Yes it's legal. Govt and LEA HR guidance says unless you are ECV yourself you can go to work as long as you have "good prevention practice" both at home and school. Batshit gaslighty twat head has suggested I could go in and then distance myself from DH, sleep in separate room, eat at different time etc. But as that's clearly bollocks and none of his fecking business I don't want a dead DH, I've taken the financial hit. Can't be furloughed as that's only if you can't work. Can't work from home as children are in school. In March it was different but this time, nope.

I've been grinding my teeth so much I've popped a filling out. I only had it replaced a fortnight ago.

Cornercupboard I'm reading your post - that's awful.
Do you work for a state school in a LA? I'm wondering could they not use you to work from home with pupils other than the ones you would normally teach. I think that is what I would push for - the idea that you can work from home in your area. Where I am the council employ you rather than the school iyswim.
(Though I'm sure you've already considered all the options, it just seems wrong to me )

I keep getting pestered for exam entries form my exam officer. Literally hold your horses love!!! How in the blazes should I know whether I can/ should enter students for AS or not??

Yes I was thinking that, is there no way you could do interventions by video, welfare phone calls, admin, making resources for those in school? Some schools are doing such things.

And I know public sector employees can't be furloughed anyway, was using the term loosely really.

@Piggywaspushed

I keep getting pestered for exam entries form my exam officer. Literally hold your horses love!!! How in the blazes should I know whether I can/ should enter students for AS or not??

Do you know whether to laugh or cry??

January and Mistress I've offered, but "computer says no". Yes, state school LA, but also aforementioned batshit gaslighty twat head.

I'm a grinder too Enemy - really painful jaw the last 2 weeks, wonder why?? Shoulders up round ears too.

Just had someone attempt to disrupt my Y11 teams lesson- trying to sign in under another student's name as a guest. Luckily, I'd noticed the student was already in the lesson, so I refused to let whoever it was in. They were very persistent though.

Most of the Y11s who attended tried really hard, which was great!

Hi all. Sorry to hear people's tales of loss and illness.

I'm working from home today. Just as well. I'm a bit down in the dumps. I finally found a job I liked the look of and was about to apply when my gp results came back and now I have to have a colposcopy. I dare'nt apply now in case I lose my service years. Thoroughly grumpy and worried now.

Cornercupboard, that's awful. I'm sorry.

phlebas you should still apply. The colposcopy might turn up nothing

Just had an email about lateral flow tests in my school for staff. Dont think its going to change isolation at this stage but am worried it may go this way.

Associate staff are being asked to ring about 40 students each (contact list sent out, with pword later) to check on remote learning/ well being. To call once every few weeks.

No mention of the fact we'll be using our own phones, no warning that our children shouldn't be within earshot, nothing about hiding yr number.

I also think we could be opening up all kinds of random conversations, a few of which could be safeguarding stuff.

We've been given a list of likely FAQs (eg exams) and answers, and a list of different people we might need to escalate various things but I'm a bit 😮 at the whole thing.
I know some people (teachers or support staff?) did this in the summer, how did it work?

January there are lots of safeguarding issues around this remote learning, aren't there. With teachers working from home, recording lessons has been mooted at our place for those who can't log in live. I am a bit meh about this if they are insisting all the children have cameras on. I did ring a few children last year from home, on my own phone, withheld number, but as it was parents' mobiles, I had to say at the beginning that the child needed to put phone on speaker so mummy/daddy could hear. No way to stop awkward parent from recording that call though.

My DCs school have already had to step down hard on children screenshotting teachers from live calls and playing about the image of teacher. Even sensible children have done it, just among themselves, but there are all sorts of issues there.

Sorry I wasn't clear, we're asked to ring and speak to parents rather than the actual students.

But agree with your points, yes.

Jan have you had to phone parents before, ever?

I very, very occasionally take a call, if a parent rings the library. I'm not personally particularly fased at the idea (depending on how the calls go!), but don't think it's being managed well...

I don't actually know whether it's all associate staff, but it certainly includes Finance as I've had a call from a colleague there re my own kids!

I would want to know that any children with a sniff of safeguarding/problem parents are being phoned by the pastoral team and that you are getting the easy ones.

A script of what to say
If something does come up that you can’t deal with you can say ‘I’m sorry I’m not sure, I’ll get x to ring you back’ instead of having to sort it yourself.

Don’t forget 141!!

Generally it’s fine.

I appreciate that it needs to be done and that teachers don't have the capacity.

If I was organising I think the least I'd have done a training session via TEAMS first, some sample scenarios/ role plays and a requirement to check in with me after the first 5 or something.

I guess I'm assuming it's all associate staff going on the quite wide (to my mind) range of people who are down for KWV supervision! And also we've only got c50 students each (grouped by family) and we have 30 times as many, presuming 6th form included.

Hmm but maybe the fact it was just an email to me and my boss with our section of the list indicates something.

Yes actually there was something about safeguarding concerns and one or two others having been removed from the list, had forgotten that bit to be fair.

But have also looked at it and I could spot a few I know have problems so not sure they've removed many......

‘Just ring home’ is basically the response to every school issue, Jan and the expectation is that not only you’ll be fine with that (I hate phoning people) but also that you’ll be able to say the right sorts of things (I have no social skills).

I don’t think it would have even crossed anyone’s mind that you might need support or training and they’d be a bit about it.

It’s not as bad as you think it’ll be.

January, I have to call my tutor group and did last summer as well. Anything that was even slightly dodgy I pass on to HOY. Mostly, it is fine and people just want a chat.

If you are doing it from your mobile there should be a setting to hide your number on all outgoing calls - better than trying to always remember 141.

Is there advice on what to do if you can't make contact?

I agree with writing a script or key questions/answers for the first few!

Madness at school. Numbers have gone up and some of the worst behaved boys all in together for no reason other than mum was keen to see the back of them.

I wasn't prepared for that change of pace.

As I said I'm not bothered by it myself but think it should not necessarily be done by people who aren't student facing normally, and are untrained!