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

@Stepawayfromtheminirolls Snap! Ours cannot play on her own yet at all, so its either play with her or have her climb onto your head/destroy something/run off with your stuff. This is the only reason that she is getting a sibling, for parental sanity reasons.

I am assured by many that we will miss this stage when she’s older. The people who say that never had a toddler and a full time job in lockdown!

Also, solidarity to a fellow parent of a non-napper. We lost that peaceful half an hour a day at 20 SODDING MONTHS old.

God the cherish this is flies by so fast-ers did my head in! I loved the baby stage where you could put them down somewhere go to the toilet and come back and they were exactly where you left them. I was also ok post 3yo when there was some reasoning going on. The bit in between was living on my nerves and being exhausted from chasing around. High mobility and little sense is a shocking combination.

@Timeturnerplease I'm torn between supplying a sibling for some peace and never going through this again!

I reckon the 'cherish that timers' had nice biddable toddlers that you could leave with a bunch of toys for a short period of time and they'll be fine. DNiece 1 was like that. Dniece 2 was...a shock. Absolutely love her to bits, even now she's a hormonal year 9 but holy fuck she was nightmare toddler. Always on the move, zero common sense.

Gaffer tape and Cbeebies is the only way.

@TheHoneyBadger

God the cherish this is flies by so fast-ers did my head in! I loved the baby stage where you could put them down somewhere go to the toilet and come back and they were exactly where you left them. I was also ok post 3yo when there was some reasoning going on. The bit in between was living on my nerves and being exhausted from chasing around. High mobility and little sense is a shocking combination.

I hated the baby stage with DS1 as he didn't sleep. DS2 was a lot easier and I was more chilled out.... until the epilepsy started at 9 months and then the autism stuff at 13 months.. from then on it was a blurry nightmare really of worry and sadness. Sorry that's probably going to cause tumbleweed 😂

Honestly I don't know how any parent does it. I've had my god children for weekends and I love them to bits.... but they're so relentless!!!!

I know everyone says you cope because you have to but I really don't think I would monkey. I'm can only imagine the energy and strength it takes.

@TheHoneyBadger Well it certainly wasn't the path I thought I was going to take. Being a parent of a severely disabled child has shown me so much- the extreme highs and lows x

I think you are all my people 😂

Sorry didn't mean to derail. I felt the same with DS1 before DS2 was a twinkle in our eyes.

@Timeturnerplease

Also, solidarity to a fellow parent of a non-napper. We lost that peaceful half an hour a day at 20 SODDING MONTHS old.

Oh yes, the pain of non-nappers. DS is 20, but he was The Baby Who Never Napped and the pain has never quite left me.

DD did nap. I distinctly remember a day when DS was at last at pre-school (required him to be potty trained, another episode best left in the depths of memory) and DD was asleep, and I went down the garden to plant bulbs. It was the first time I had been genuinely awake-child free in the day for close to 3 years.

I could not have worked in those early days. Respect to you all.

I have 3 and yes they sometimes entertain each other, which is absolutely lovely.
However I'm starting to wonder if something is wrong with the youngest as he cannot play on his own or with other children for long without an adult stepping in.
He breaks stuff, is always on the move, doesn't understand friends, is always climbing and jumping on me and still having toilet accidents several times a day.
He's 4...

www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/national/19053037.captain-sir-tom-moore-hospital-covid-19/
Sir Tom Moore now in hospital with Covid

Neither of my dds napped unless they were in some way attached to me. So they would happily nap in bed if I was lying there, but if I moved they would wake up. Or sleeping on my chest, fine. Or being walked round in a buggy, fine, but bring the buggy inside and stop, nope. I somehow managed to go to uni when dd1 was 11 months old, using a combination of my dad and a cm for childcare, both of whom managed to get her to nap beautifully in a stationary pushchair . I went back to work after mat leave when dd2 was only 6 months old, which in hindsight was far too early, but at the time I was thinking of the money as I am the main earner in our house and we would have struggled through the months with less money coming in. I am so incredibly glad the pandemic didn't happen back then, as I definitely couldn't have coped with working ft with a toddler at home.

to all of you who are struggling.

I feel almost guilty saying I've had a lovely weekend. We've borrowed a dog for the weekend and he's absolutely delightful. Dd2 has happily come on a long walk each day with the dog and has just been thrilled to have him around. We are definitely going to get a dog as soon as we can, but need to look into reputable breeders around here as we don't want to support back yard breeders or puppy farms but it's difficult to spot them in a pandemic.

(⭐️ to Awesome for correct use and spelling of stationAry)

My DS was a bloody nightmare baby. He was sick whenever you put him down, woke every 45 minutes for months, was wide awake in the middle of the night for about the first year, wouldn't go to sleep without having his arse patted for hours for the second year. I nearly lost my mind. And then as a toddler had massive separation anxiety and would scream and scream whenever I left the room. Took a long time to build up to having a second!

He's a delight now.

@MsAwesomeDragon I said to DH this morning there is no way we could be doing live lessons etc if it was 10 years ago and our boys were smaller. I don't know what we'd have done.

I'm also parent to three, eldest now only knows I exist when it's time for food 13), middle is 10 and all hormonal and eye rolling. Youngest 7 and still wants me. A lot. I feel so neglectful.

This afternoon I flaked out for 2 hours. Which means I'm now even further behind. I still feel a little washed out from covid over xmas so I'm trying not to be too cross with myself.

I have sorted my maths for tomorrow, but no idea as to English for this week or next. Just need to finish some vipers questions for next week, print my cpd journal off and that will have to do for tonight.

Does anyone know where I could get an example of the kind of things to go in a personal statement for jobs? There aren't really that many around at the minute but I want to be thinking of it, or noting examples down as they happen. I need to get the QTS first though....

Bloody hell if something happens to Captain Tom I'm not sure the country could take it. He got us through the last lockdown.

I hope they've got David Attenborough in a protective bubble on a remote island somewhere.

He's a delight now.

Oh yes, my non-sleeper, hard to rear, selective mute, generally high maintenance DS was the most laid-back teenager and nicest young adult you would hope to meet.

Wow some of those comments on the thread about Tom Moore I really think some posters just enjoy being vile.
Hope he pulls through.

Best advice I can give name is to really tailor your application to the school. It sounds obvious but we do often get hack jobs that one that's about us gets moved to to the top of the pile!

Very very slow rolling the vaccine out round my way so Capn S'Tom may well not have been vaccinated. Hope he pulls through .

It said on Sky he hasn't had the vaccine as he had pneumonia. Hope he pulls through.