The Forty-fifth Republic - Is there anyone there? Surely time for 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

Saucery I don't have symptoms apart from a slightly sore throat, but I've only had that since I stuck a swab down it, so I'm hoping it's that.

Thanks everyone for your good wishes.

There are at least a couple of students on school from every class I teach. There must be nearly 200 in school I estimate (secondary)
Can I ask a question for primary bods please?
My middle child (year 2) is finding the work set incredibly easy - which I understand as the teachers are actually in school teaching, plus recording 2 video lessons per day, so of course they have to cater for the lowest common denominator and I don't want to add extra extra work....
... But as a primary teacher would you be pissed off if I started doing my own thing? I have CGP workbooks for them. Child is just getting really reluctant to do any work as it is so boring. And having watched some of the videos I can see her point. She's a very able reader (including comprehension and inferring). I have emailed (once!) saying she was finding it easy and becoming reluctant, but didn't really get anywhere.
Last year I let them have free rein of any topic on BBC Bitesize and they bloody loved it. This year I have to practically get a whip out...

Drive - I hope DS gets better soon x

A bit late to the party but I agree about teaching being almost addictive.
I too once had an office well paying career track job, and was bored to tears... Moved into IT for a bit as that was more interesting, but still didn't feel right.
Then ended up filling in a bit for a GCSE IT class.... Did my teacher training, and the rest is history. Even though 15 years later I'm still earning less than half what I did in my boring office based professional job... But thanks to that boring professional job we are mortgage free and I don't HAVE to work. In fact I was a SAHM for a bit.... Got bored to tears

@EnemyOfEducationNo1

There are at least a couple of students on school from every class I teach. There must be nearly 200 in school I estimate (secondary) Can I ask a question for primary bods please? My middle child (year 2) is finding the work set incredibly easy - which I understand as the teachers are actually in school teaching, plus recording 2 video lessons per day, so of course they have to cater for the lowest common denominator and I don't want to add extra extra work.... ... But as a primary teacher would you be pissed off if I started doing my own thing? I have CGP workbooks for them. Child is just getting really reluctant to do any work as it is so boring. And having watched some of the videos I can see her point. She's a very able reader (including comprehension and inferring). I have emailed (once!) saying she was finding it easy and becoming reluctant, but didn't really get anywhere. Last year I let them have free rein of any topic on BBC Bitesize and they bloody loved it. This year I have to practically get a whip out...

What sort of work are they asking to be submitted? Can she do the work they want handed in first, then move onto the CGP bits?

Random useless fact: the cgp offices have a grand piano and peacocks and a health centre with pool.

It's like stuff on the 2 or 10 times tables, spellings, copy and correct a sentence. I know she could just whizz through it but the work is kind of hidden in the middle.of videos telling her stuff she already knows. I've tried encouraging her to look at it as just refreshing her knowledge but she's now just refusing to do it as it is too boring.

@MrsHamlet

Random useless fact: the cgp offices have a grand piano and peacocks and a health centre with pool.

Awesome!

I don't have time to sit with her and nag. I'm live teaching to timetable.

Sorry about the positive test drive

Just looked at the email for pupils not able attend live lessons. A lot of those kids have received a laptop from school. They’ve been in my lessons (not particularly engaging well).

I think what’s actually happening, is the kids aren’t working. The teachers asking the parents to help them a little (just make sure the pupils can and do send their work in).

Parents are then pissed off because they don’t have the time or mental energy to get their kid working. I guarantee these kids will be at home doing fuck all. Dreading teaching them when they come back - they will be so far behind.

My bubble of KWV is Y7 and we had 21 in on Monday. We've had to split across two rooms. I don't know about other years though.
God I'm knackered today. DH was snoring so loud I ended up sleeping on the sofa from 1am.

Hope you continue to not feel too bad drive. Rule - were your birthday test results negative?

I’ve just seen someone who almost no work experience being advised to work as a TA. That’s a really tough job under normal circumstances, let alone now. Wish I knew why it’s always given as a good idea for a job.

Enemy - do whatever you need to to engage her. I’ve got some time at the moment as not teaching so I’ve started zooming my year 2 nephew once or twice a week so we can read each other some stories and do an nrich maths investigation together. Means my sister in law gets a break for an hour to do exciting things like shower or sort kitchen. Didn’t occur to me it might annoy his teacher! Do you have anyone (grandparent?) who could do similar for you?

@EnemyOfEducationNo1 I agree can you complete the basic work (maths English without the videos?) then do whatever you like? I have the opposite to you. My Y2 is on ANR because of writing (and a bit reading), so struggles to access most of it. I can see the work others upload in comparison and can see how behind he is. I know there are students in the class like your child though who are finding it really easy (DD) would have been one of them. It feels like there is no differentiation at all - we are just doing our best and doing some scribing for foundation subject etc.. writing fewer sentences but just doing what we can. His teacher tbf has been great and given me some suggestions to make it easier for him. I don’t know how any primary do it - the attainment gap is so big between them!!!

Thanks both. No I don't have anyone willing to do similar

toomuch that's a lovely idea. My mum wants to do similar with my dd2, but dd refuses to talk to grandma on any device. So that's a non-starter, even though it would solve 2 problems in one go. Mum is bored stupid because she can't do any of the things she normally would (swimming most mornings with friends, trips out for coffee, Brownies, volunteering in a charity shop, etc), so she's crocheting for woolly hugs all day every day. Dd2 could do with some help on some of her work, I help with maths every day, but the other subjects she needs to just get on with by herself so I can work. My mum could help with so much!!! She was a primary teacher for 35 years!! But dd just won't talk to her 🤦

Enemy get your child engaged in whatever way is easiest for you. If that's gcp books then go for it, or let her loose on bitesize again, or oak academy. Send what she's done to school and explain that she wasn't going to engage with the school stuff as it was too easy so you went off piste. Dd has gone off piste with some things, like art (she's been following tutorials on YouTube and can now draw a pretty decent, life-like face), but her school are pitching things just about right for her most of the time. If it was too easy, or to difficult, I'd be finding something different with no guilt whatsoever.

And yes - gap must be enormous! Sorry for brevity...

Herdy I saw that thread too and thought the same!
I don't do it for the money and I certainly don't do it for the working conditions. I am massively over-qualified but I do it because I love the children. I am missing them so much. But I can go back to work after half term yippee because DH has had his jab.

drive hope you are feeling better.

drive I hope you stay well and DS gets better soon!

I'm in school tomorrow. Not exactly yippee about it but I do tend to feel better for it. I'm lucky though there'd be no yippee in me at all if I was being made to teach in school every day with dangerous numbers in and simultaneously teaching those at home.

Just had half an hour of wrestling angry ds awake. He's now sulkily sat at computer waiting for his lives maths lesson to start and telling me to come downstairs with him claiming he doesn't hate me he just hates me waking up. I'm sure Jekyll and Hyde must've been inspired by teenagers.

Think you said ds is vulnerable drive? I bought a cheap oximeter off of eBay which can be helpful and there are guides of what to look out for. Take care.

Ds still hollering for me to come downstairs. I said it's like living with Jekyll and Hyde, he said it's like living with Anne Frank in the attic Do love my schizoid 13yo

were your birthday test results negative?

Yes!

Enemy

That's how we got through the last lockdown, and how we're getting through phonics now. One page each of CGP every day - phonics page, maths page, write another bloody love note to Toby - all major stuff covered!!

We don’t tend to employ anyone with less than a Level 3 qualification and experience, Herdy. That way, you know they have achieved the baseline of competence and can be used to cover a class in unexpected teacher absence (short term, talking half days or single lessons) even if their contracted hours are a level 2. The only level 1 jobs I’ve seen are in SEN schools, for lunchtime welfare and personal care.

We have to employ people with no experience - no one else applies.

That’s interesting, Rule, we have lots of applications for each job. Usually at least one ex teacher in there, too!

Which reminds me of when I first thought I’d like to do the job. Was a volunteer at DS’s school and a Governor. Didn’t even get an interview, which stung a bit . Being on the other side of recruitment showed me why that was, though and they were very supportive of me getting the experience I needed for my qualification.