The Forty Third Republic - Lockdown learning continues - when is half term?

[Staffdontblowitnow]

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

@borntobequiet

If secondary children spread among themselves and to adults close to them, then adults spread to other adults, wouldn’t we expect a lag similar to what we see here? And yes, many primary children still in school would explain higher rates among them and possibly their parents and grandparents as well. Do teenagers interact closely with younger siblings over lockdown? I’d assume they avoid them as much as possible.

Not quite sure what you mean in yr first sentence?

In our briefing today found out we will be doing LFT for staff only. However it's only if you have no symptoms and bubbles will still close so that's a huge relief. Primary and very relieved it's not for students.

Maybe its because secondary kids are just not being tested at the moment. Adults going to work test if they have symptoms. Primary kids at school probably get tested with symptoms. Why bother testing a teenager in the house who isn't seeing anyone even if the rest of the house is positive?

@Beachhuts90

In our briefing today found out we will be doing LFT for staff only. However it's only if you have no symptoms and bubbles will still close so that's a huge relief. Primary and very relieved it's not for students.

Same with us but it is optional. I can't decide whether its worth signing up. I may be unpopular if I don't.

It’s random sampling, lonely, so the best representation of how infected the population actually is. It doesn’t rely on people getting a test when they have symptoms and it picks up asymptomatic cases so better at seeing what’s happening in children.

@noblegiraffe

Tbf, MsAwesome, I wouldn't turn up to an optional lesson on hypothesis testing either.

But yes, very frustrating when it's Y13 and you're busting a gut and they're not.

Well no, I'd rather not have been in the hypothesis testing lesson either. But one of them specifically requested live lessons yesterday when I asked where his work was, then didn't bloody turn up to the live lesson today. He could have had one to one tuition if he'd bothered, and he'd have really benefitted from it, but as it is, I'll have an apologetic email at some point next week explaining why he still can't submit any work, because he hasn't asked for any help. Hey ho, it's not my grade at the end of the day. A lot of the others are genuinely working hard, but prefer not to be tied to lesson times, which I understand. But they do send messages asking for help when they aren't getting the right answers.

@JanuaryChill

That if children infect each other within school, then infect parents/grandparents at home, and parents/grandparents go to work/shop/wherever and infect others, you have a time lag of a couple of weeks between rates dropping in children and their elders.

Just had an email from a student who asked for extension work. I promised it by Monday haha and finally put it online today, so I let her know it was there and apologised for it not being there Monday. Her response:

Hi miss,
I know you must have a lot to think about so I appreciate even getting it up today thank you.

I'm not crying, you're crying...

And in their elders.

Come to share some good news. I'm classed as CEV , yesterday I had a text from my doctors to say I could book an appointment for my first vaccination. I was amazed that I was contacted so soon. I could have had it as early as next Wednesday 27th. ( chose Thursday) So hopefully other CEV staff will hear soon too.

@JanuaryChill

Is that from today's ONS report *@TrashedWarrior*? Crikey that just shows how closing schools helps slow the infection rate (doh!)

Yes from the flu report; but yes not great for Sen and nursery, and their staff.

@Beachhuts90

In our briefing today found out we will be doing LFT for staff only. However it's only if you have no symptoms and bubbles will still close so that's a huge relief. Primary and very relieved it's not for students.

Yep, we start using them on Monday.

More faffy than I'd thought though!

@flumposie

Come to share some good news. I'm classed as CEV , yesterday I had a text from my doctors to say I could book an appointment for my first vaccination. I was amazed that I was contacted so soon. I could have had it as early as next Wednesday 27th. ( chose Thursday) So hopefully other CEV staff will hear soon too.

That's great news!

On Monday all our staff received an email from the head saying that due to excess vaccines in the county all school staff could now sign up. I filled in the form and received a response from the vaccination team to say I was on the list. On Tuesday the offer was retracted with an apology from our director of education who had apparently made a mistake.

That's wonderful flumposie !

I wonder if there will be an increase in rates of transmission graphs due to LFT? Picking up more asymptomatic or different symptomed cases etc? my brain is too tired to work it out.

Wow lonely, what a fuck up?!

@TrashedWarrior

Wow lonely, what a fuck up?!

Yes yet more incompetence.

I really can't decide about these lateral flow tests. They will take time to do in an evening and at the weekend. You have to, without fail, send results to school and the dfe before 6pm twice a week, if you forget they will chase with a text. I can only see it being a total waste of time and leading to complacency in school as people think they're okay.

Well done flumposie that's great news.

I've just seen a thing about students who test positive with LFT not having to have confirmatory PCR if they test positive. Presumably they DO isolate?

School students or uni students?

Fucking technology! 3 videos that my microphone wasn't working for! All of which now need redoing, so have to print out all the resources again and grrrrrrr!!!!!!!

I know, they are definitely a big commitment. We've been told we can opt out if we wish.

We've had it drummed into us that they're not a safety net.

I do suspect chaos of staff absence ensuing with any double voids needing pcr tests etc.

Im going to do it though. We work in such close contact and most of our children are in.

@lonelyplanet that is awful.

What a shock:

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/22/children-health-screen-times-covid-crisis-sleep-eyesight-problems-digital-devices

And what a shock again:

epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/covid-related-teacher-absences/

And this looks at that NEU data:

schoolsweek.co.uk/fact-check-are-school-staff-at-greater-risk-from-covid-19/

In our briefing today found out we will be doing LFT for staff only. However it's only if you have no symptoms and bubbles will still close so that's a huge relief. Primary and very relieved it's not for students.

Same. I'm not going in to school if I can help it though. Haven't been in since first Tuesday back, trying to get to the end of term.