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

@noblegiraffe

Where did the DfE get their data from? Schools or wider population testing.

Just schools reporting how many teachers they had off that day with covid.

And the NEU have halved it and said that’s how many teacher cases there were that day.

Maybe it will prompt the gov to release actual occupational data?

He was gormless on Radio 4 as well, just parroted on the same old line. He wanted to talk about his new initiative but no-one wants to hear it, Gav!

Yeah, he tried to interrupt Piers with that initiative news, but as soon as Piers heard the words "skills," he asked what skills Gav has in this role and brought it back to his resignation!

@CallmeAngelina

Yeah, he tried to interrupt Piers with that initiative news, but as soon as Piers heard the words "skills," he asked what skills Gav has in this role and brought it back to his resignation!

I actually laughed out loud at this point.🙈

In other news I got my increment and back pay so that has cheered me up a bit.

@CallmeAngelina

Yeah, he tried to interrupt Piers with that initiative news, but as soon as Piers heard the words "skills," he asked what skills Gav has in this role and brought it back to his resignation!

Have we ever had such an incompetent Ed sec? Boris seems utterly determined to keep his cabinet of dross.

schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-to-get-two-weeks-notice-of-reopening-plus-4-more-findings-from-williamsons-media-rounds/?f&fbclid=IwAR3cv9Ta8xf_N5MVVUQU4iyliTDl54Sa0AtuOKkzXA-eyTCTw1zAWL4cZl8

Oh yes he mentioned 2 week notice.

twitter.com/peterstefanovi2/status/1352178465785700352?s=21

Piers laying into Gav is quite a good start to the morning.

They’re going to give two weeks notice of opening schools so that we can mass test them all is my bet.

I'm picturing Gav coming out of that interview saying, "I think that went very well, don't you?"

Read the room, Gav mate. Read the room.

It’s like that episode of The Thick of It when Blinky Ben is getting grilled by Paxman and all the SpADs are watching in horror.

Before he came on (not immediately before, that would have been too cruel!) R4 bod said a source had told him/her "that Gav was a nice guy, but completely toxic... but instead of completely they actually used a swear word"!

I actually can't imagine what that would be intended to convey (in either version)?
Toxicity implies intention which is far from nice, surely?

So the "not enough tests" must either be a lie, or imply that he lied originally....

And yes, dividing by 10 would seem rather more sensible. Is that the total absences, ie suspected Covid + confirmed Covid? Of course more than half (?) of the suspected Covid will turn out not to be Covid, but those that do test positive, that getting test/awaiting test results time counts as part of their 10 days, so it's not easy to tell from just the school absence data.

Toxic to the party I imagine they mean...

Here you all are.

Non work day again and I'm not working again. I keep thinking it's Sunday. Ds and I have been watching walking dead since 7am!

Tomorrow is a whole lot of marking and chasing missing work and composing an email to request only being used for kwv provision as fits my being part time.

May look for the gav v piers clip on YouTube

Mass testing after Christmas made sense. Why does mass testing after a lockdown?

Am I the only one sufficiently cynical to think this is so they can say infection rates in schools and staff are low??

Our head of testing wants us to go and get tested if we only go in for one day a week. he can bog off. It'll be the only place I've been!!

Me, too, Piggy.

It doesn't make sense. We are expected to get a test on our first day back in school every time we're with KW children. But I've been ten days in between and not been anywhere. Not a single place. I'd rather have a test I could do at home a few days after my shifts in school, thank you very much.

It’s only confirmed cases, Jan

There has been something niggling at me about the DfE data for ages - it has consistently reported the number of kids off due to confirmed covid as about 0.2%

Yet we know the infection rates in kids has been rising quite a lot. Attendance dropped (ONS data). So why has the percentage confirmed case rate stayed the same?

@RigaBalsam

In other news I got my increment and back pay so that has cheered me up a bit.

Woo hoo, will be a nice chunk of back pay for you. Great news.

Gav was awful on Radio 4. Might have to look up the Piers Morgan interview later.

The tweet I linked to at 9:50 has a good Piers/Gav clip.

I actually think it’s quite shameful how poor these kids computer skills are. Not the kids fault and not the schools fault.

Really needs more focus on in the curriculum.

On this thread re the NEU graphs -
School staff ARE more at risk from contracting COVID than the general population- according to da... www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4141243-School-staff-ARE-more-at-risk-from-contracting-COVID-than-the-general-population-according-to-data-released-by-the-DfE-yesterday

• borntobequiet points out that the April data showed about 50% still were working outside of home, and Nov ONS figures show the same. So those arguing that you can't compare school staff to the general pop as it includes many not leaving home may be half right....

(Not sure that's any help though!)

Government message was no greater risk of covid though, Jan. No caveats about working population!

Yes, meant to add that really noble.

Keep thinking that looks like a toilet sign.....