The Forty Fourth Republic - primaries sort of in, secondaries out, Gormless Gav says two weeks notice

[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

Glad your friend's improving, C.

January, parrot, yes it's all those things.

Sadly I've also witnessed appalling attitudes from the occasional mainstream staff in my time.

Thank you monkey, I'm ppa now so it feels like I don't have the knee deep relentless daily job some of my colleagues have (pardon my words, it's also very very rewarding and we wouldn't do anything else.) Harder for parents and we all know that so much.

Which is why we don't want to close. But it's definitely at personal risk to many of us.

We are MLD but we do actually have some classes with pupils who are sld in their level of asd. And will go to sld schools or even residential after us. When I read about Katie's Harvey, yes we have had a few just like how he's described. (I'm so glad she's speaking about these things.) They're still with us due to the amazing relationships our staff have. I'm so proud of them, pupils and staff.

And they don't deserve to be treated in the way the dfe have.

born, I had no idea.

Sadly I've also witnessed appalling attitudes from the occasional mainstream staff in my time.

WRT a general social attitude to learning disabilities. It's v common.

Sadly I've also witnessed appalling attitudes from the occasional mainstream staff in my time.

WRT a general social attitude to learning disabilities. It's v common.

Very common, insidious. I think a lot of blame should be placed on Ofsted, league tables and ‘targets’ - meaning that those children who can’t, and shouldn’t be, aiming for those levels are considered second class and a liability.

Thanks for the pat cat. I'll be in the corner hitting the gin that everyone forgot was stashed behind the photocopier.

I had no idea of what teachers in special schools did, tbh, and contributions from SEN teachers on these threads has been an eye-opener. You really are amazing.

Gosh absolutely parrot.

The word ableist is one o only learnt quite recently.

I swear much of the stuff around targets and assessment we are trying to do more than ever at the mo is ableist.

Yes, trashed, absolutely. How we fight against it is a huge question.

No idea; I'm just throwing tantrums in school about it at the mo and refusing to do CleverUslessIdeaNumber342.

Social distancing has its uses

@parrotonmyshoulder

Sadly I've also witnessed appalling attitudes from the occasional mainstream staff in my time.

WRT a general social attitude to learning disabilities. It's v common.

Very common, insidious. I think a lot of blame should be placed on Ofsted, league tables and ‘targets’ - meaning that those children who can’t, and shouldn’t be, aiming for those levels are considered second class and a liability.

The culture of targets is insidiously harmful.

PhD thesis there, I reckon.

I think it's changed the culture in a lot of schools, and in wider society. Changed what we value and mean by education in a 'hard to grasp' way, and made it infinitely harder to deliver fully-inclusive education just at the moment when that goal has become one we - theoretically - want to strive for.

And, weirdly, that leads to a lot of stress for teachers and children with SEND.

The culture of targets is insidiously harmful.

PhD thesis there, I reckon.

I’ve been intending to write it since 1998! Somehow teaching got in the way of my academic career!

TheHoneyBadger

We have issues with this at normal times, when the 2016 curriculum change happened (before my time) the course was chopped up and planned. One person just didn't do it, so their modules have been cobbled together on the fly by non-specialist staff. I still come across the odd lesson that just has no resources or a series of lessons nicked off TES that don't really fit our course.

Ditto anything else that gets 'group planned', new feedback sheets, new assessment sheets, whatever. Anything assigned to this person just doesn't get done and has to be cobbled together on the fly by whoever needs it first. HoD keeps assigning them their 'share' to make some sort of point, but it just makes life harder for the rest of us.

Sorry honey I swigged that gin yesterday afternoon whilst trying and failing to teach year 10

Pisses me off FrlFrl - your hod, and mine, should actually monitor if those things have been done and been done properly and if they haven't take action. This lady consistently is behind and a nightmare to share groups with but isn't being either managed or supported really. I also happen to know she's gotten in ahead of the hod and complained to business manager and slt that she isn't being supported and feels the hod isn't coping. I don't know if the hod knows that.

It's all a bit of a mess. Schemes she's been responsible for in the past have zero resources in with them and she recently said yeah I wish someone had told me I needed to put the resources I referred to in the ppt in the folder with them because it would have been easy then. It's not fucking rocket science and she shouldn't have had to have been told to do it but then from the other side hod should have checked her work, picked up on it and said you need to add the resources at the time rather than me pointing it out nearly two years on. They are actually both as bad each other and nothing is being done to address it.

It is very awkward and a minefield to try and say err does anyone know where the resources are for this or why there is no planning for x etc. HOD puts systems in place (like we're meant to fill out a spreadsheet for remote learning saying what the lesson is, what the tasks are, what the links are, where the recording is etc) then the girl I'm talking about doesn't fill it in leaving us to chase around trying to work out what she's done and where but it's the hod who should be noticing it's not done and chasing it whether that means support or sternness. Instead it will be me for example because I desperately need to know and it's bloody awkward because it's not my job to have to chase for things.

I've taken to cc'ing both of them into any communications around these things.

Oh that's where it went then MrsH. Luckily I have cheap coops own to see me through.

And yes, I am already on the gin.

I am wondering if I need to have a word with the business manager in confidence too because it's actually pretty bloody untenable at the minute. If I try to directly address anything with HOD I basically get tone policed rather than her addressing the issues. I'm going to sound so sexist but it's like working with massive amounts of pms all around you with people not doing their jobs but it can't be addressed rationally because you can feel massive riptides of emotion and danger below the surface.

It actually nearly makes me miss the incredibly left brained to the point of probably on the spectrum and often outright rude straightforwardness of my old science hod.

Just spotted this nice juxtaposition of threads in active...

Very good gravity

I can't remember which part timer's motto this is but the top thread needs a, "what would you like us to stop doing so I can do that then?".

That's one of my sayings - I'm not part time but I also didn't sigh a pact in blood 🤷‍♀️

@TheHoneyBadger

I can't remember which part timer's motto this is but the top thread needs a, "what would you like us to stop doing so I can do that then?".

Think it was me ther posted that! I deffo use it as a part timer.

@WhenSheWasBad yes - just share the application window itself rather than your whole desktop/screen and you can do what you like elsewhere. Do you know how to do that? Feel free to PM if you want instructions or anything if that helps.

Anyone else have a head who is, in all communications, especially to parents: "Since we will all be back in school on March 8th...." and talking about do we do or not do specific things in school after that date?

I feel like Eeyore always replying 'Well, that's the earliest possible date for some possible return, so....'

Silly Head!

Well, yes, but it is - yet again - creating a need for a two track set of planning. Not to mention parents easing off on home learning because 'it's only for another few weeks, then they'll be back in school and you can sort out x,y and z'

Not to mention poor decision making at school level about things that really could make a difference for the second half term of home learning but 'since we'll be back it doesn't matter'.