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

This is a good idea in principle:

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/26/teachers-in-england-should-pick-vulnerable-pupils-for-early-return

But who's betting that, if advertised, some would take advantage - stop encouraging their child to do any/much work etc - so that their child got chosen?

My dd2's MH is actually significantly better being at home. She's possibly regressed a little emotionally, as she now has a team of teddies helping her do her school work, but I'm not sure that's a huge problem in a 10yo. She loves not having to talk to the teacher, or speak to the other kids in the class. She's enjoying being independent and choosing which bits of work to do at what times. I do worry about how she'll cope when schools go back, but that's more of a MH issue with the way schools work rather than schools being shut.

I've got a question about the whiteboard fi. Can the kids use the whiteboard and use teams at the same time on one device? What about if they're trying to do it entirely from a phone?

I think one of the issues last term was that schools were open but a lot of the outside agencies who usually come into support students weren't- because it was too unsafe for them to physically visit!

I agree that rotas would be good for lots of reasons!

To make them work in most primary schools, you would have to send a lot of the kids currently in home, though- which I imagine would be massively unpopular.

And I think you'd get some parents saying the rotas were too difficult to manage and not engaging.

I think we have to choose what we want to prioritise:

-Mental health (which is a problem).
-Reducing disease spread.
-Education (which would probably use rotas differently to mental health)
-Safeguarding the most vulnerable students.

I don't think we can have everything, unfortunately. I think we have to pick the solution which is the least bad.

@RandomGrammarPun

This is a good idea in principle:

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/26/teachers-in-england-should-pick-vulnerable-pupils-for-early-return

But who's betting that, if advertised, some would take advantage - stop encouraging their child to do any/much work etc - so that their child got chosen?

The problem with that is the 3 students I would get in from my tutor group have already been offered school places and refused. One lives with grand parents, one is a young carer, and one has a sibling with vulnerable health.

There's a couple of others I would then try, who aren't vulnerable as such, but are doing fuck all at home. But I think at least one of those would refuse, and one other parent would be massively offended to be identified as "vulnerable"- and her daughter is well looked after, just doing nothing in terms of school work at home!

And the more kids we have in school, the less good the deal gets for those at home.

I'm thinking of planning a separate writing unit for next week and not telling the rest of my phase. I'm bloody phase lead! Sneaking around. It is making me wonder about whether this is the right school for me longer term, which is useful.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

That's 3 different emails - considering I'm only hearing regularly from 5 parents, that's a majority. Ha.

I've just done my day's input to the crazies on health, staying off now!

The whole 'get back to school' thing has gone fucking mental again, hasn't it!! Why all of a sudden? It's so obviously organised. Or maybe 4 weeks in parents are at the end of the tethers!

It could be that nearly a months worth of live lessons are driving parents mad.

We are struggling too. Both of us have full time jobs and our kids are primary age. It’s utterly exhausting - but it’s worth it to lessen the spread and hopefully not overwhelm the NHS.

I think parents honestly thought “live” lessons would be some sort of magic bullet. Teacher would be 100% responsible for their kids learning and need zero input.

It’s not really working out that way in most households.

Well, the parents of pupils who haven't been submitting work received letters yesterday about it (we're in week 4!! I asked how those parents were being contacted on day 1 and was told it was all in hand). So now, the phones have been ringing non-stop with parents asking why they haven't been told sooner (I agree with them, we've had weeks to contact them!!!). I've been emailing the pupils directly to ask for the work, but apparently loads of them are claiming to have never been told how to submit work, or that they have been submitting it and there must be something wrong with the system, etc. It's taking so long to reply to all of these extra parental questions, about work from a couple of weeks ago!!!

And because the letters/phone calls have taken so long to be sent/made, some of the kids have indeed submitted the work since I flagged them up, so the letter they've just got is long out of date. There has to be a more efficient way of contacting the parents!!!

Urgh just want to rant. Have spent ages (hour plus) helping a student and I've just had a very entitled email from them. I'm done sunshine.

Sorry monkey entitled kids are so annoying. At least the majority and lovely.

Um I have to ask noble, cat, and a couple of others - having just caught up with the U4T thread - DO YOU EVER SLEEP???

I think parents honestly thought “live” lessons would be some sort of magic bullet.

Yes. Anyone under year 4 basically has to have someone sat with them.

I wondered if my 'chat' session today was actually more useful for parents (as well as kids) - it's just social, I can mediate and keep the conversation going, parents can push off for half an hour in a dark room with gin.

@Monkeytennis97

Urgh just want to rant. Have spent ages (hour plus) helping a student and I've just had a very entitled email from them. I'm done sunshine.

I had a very passive aggressive comment with a piece of work the other week. So I screen shot it, and emailed it to him and his HOY asking if he meant to be so rude 😂 It felt GOOD.

Wow:
A school has threatened to withdraw places for pupils who have told teachers they are visiting people outside their households

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-55809975

DO YOU EVER SLEEP???

I do not ever sleep. At the moment it's even worse. Two hours at least after midnight just lying there waiting to sleep. Tedious.

Sorry to hear that rule.

JanuaryChill

😁
Not enough. I'm working on it - but I'm a teeny bit anxious at the moment and that takes bites from my sleeping. 😁
My aim, this lockdown, is to sleep more.

The anxiety is offspring and money related. 🤷‍♀️

@MrsHamlet 👍😂

@WhenSheWasBad thanks x

Ah I'm sorry cat. And to anyone else with sleep problems, that's truly horrid AND affects the whole of life.

(Wishing I hadn't capitalised my rhetorical question... 😐)

I'm dealing with a lot here too, but my only sleep issue is getting DS to stop gaming and go to bed so I can....

Sympathies to the non sleepers. I seem to have fixed mine by listening to calm radio 4 through ear pods while I drift off. Currently enjoying "the boring talks". Interesting enough but not enough to keep you awake, and nothing to worry about.

The literacy my yr3 was fronted adverbials and conjunctions. There is no way on god's green earth of making that fun by online work.
So she's now going to do a bit of creative writing and persuasive writing based on the David Attenborough she has just binge watched.

I think parents honestly thought “live” lessons would be some sort of magic bullet. Teacher would be 100% responsible for their kids learning and need zero input.

Totally this. And that was never going to be possible.

They also seem to want live lessons, but not to have to wake their children up for them?

I have had not one but two parents say that our 8.40 live tutor time is too early for them!

I’m a night owl, I was up doing school work, it’s a lot easier once the kids are in bed (although would have gone better if I hadn’t been distracted by that us4themer who was trying so hard).

I am very much not a mornings person.

I've come upstairs for a lie down. Dcs are doing school work and I still feel wiped out after marathon day yesterday.

Sent polite but firm email to complaining parent scheduled for 9am and I've been determinedly refusing to open my email since. Boss says there has been a strange response but no more aggression so that's enough for me.

So tired 😴.