The Forty Sixth Republic - online learning has killed the 'snow day'

[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

I’m getting mine on Friday. Group 5 (age).

I don’t really know why I get it? I assumed my name went on some list at the start and assumed because I am diabetic. When DH logged in with his account he didn’t get any priority slots and when my dad logged in he could see even more slots that I could but who knows?

My sister is getting her jab on Monday. She's group 6, diabetic. I'm also group 6 diabetic, but I haven't heard anything yet. My mum is only getting hers on Saturday and she's group 4 (age). Different places are at very different stages of the vaccine roll out I think.

Maths teachers twitter.com/StudyMaths/status/1359605054337134603?s=19 this is fab if you're using chat functions online.

Yes my mum is group 4 (she’s 69) and got hers last Tuesday. I know my area have whizzed through - they were also saying they could take many more per day than are given appointments so wonder if they’ve upped the numbers per hour now they now they can deliver efficiently? My bloods would show really poor control so perhaps that has put me higher? I’ve no idea tbh but am grateful it’s my turn and will hopefully at least have some partial protection even if schools go back on 8th maybe...

I remember getting "aww"-ed at by Y8 as a PGCE student because I jumped up and down to wipe the date off the top corner of the board .

Fell asleep after school but not before texting a chippy order to dh for collecting on his way home.

I can't wear heels, they hurt too much. Everyone in school towers over me, even half of the Year 8s.

Two lessons left. Tomorrow is off, but it's crazy busy with errands. I've promised to make cakes for my parents to give to their friends and we have a big cultural festival on Friday so I need to decorate the house and sort the food for it.

That mathsbot guy, where does he get the time? Him, and Dr Frost. Very grateful to them, obviously.

I'm thinking of doing some CPD reading over half term. Has anyone read the whole of Reading Reconsidered? I like the extract, and we use it for planning our English curriculum. Is it worth reading the whole thing?

Morning.

Long narrow feet here and very long toes so have flappy too wide and long mid foot section in 'ladies' shoes and my heels slip out when I walk but my toes are stuffed in a short bit itms. Rubbish at shoes other than trainers and flip flops.

Impressed you spent the whole evening talking about feet

Things are way too cheery. Boris will have to think of a real bombshell for Monday

Meant to say I've been doing cpd with the national college online. I did one on remote learning and am now doing one on trauma informed practice. I've also been doing subject specific webinars with Pearson. I'm going to be ready with a big folder of evidence including cpd if they turn me down for ups next time.

Brie I have had the same "awwww". The same class then put my board rubber out of reach! I'm not that short - 5'4'' - but I definitely feel like it most days! I much prefer dresses to trousers as they're looser on the tummy, and I have many pairs of pretty shoes. Makeup - not so much. I wear it for special occasions if I can be arsed but sometimes find my "going out" makeup is less than a lot of people's everyday makeup!

Really concerned the bombshell for Monday will be extending school into the summer hols. But surely they can't afford it and it's not cos effective? Even if they somehow decide they don't have to pay teachers, what about all the school staff on term time only contracts? Down here, some of them take on seasonal work during the summer holidays too.

Nick Gibb also talking about extending the school day using remote learning technology (quoted in the guardian) but that to me is fucking stupid because a) the kids who need catch up will be those who can't/won't engage from home and b) a lot of kids won't be home til around 4pm, so then you're talking about teaching them until maybe 5 in the evening, which massively interferes with extra curricular activities, family life and social life.

If there is so much to catch up on, then perhaps we should just down tools and be furloughed for a few weeks after half term, as obviously everything we are doing right now is pointless 🙄

What kids have truly missed out on is not education but socialising, sport, clubs, life expanding experiences like school residentials. And they need time to do these things!

Really concerned the bombshell for Monday will be extending school into the summer hols

A good chunk of our staff have holidays that were moved from those weeks last year to this year. It’s enough key people (SLT, senior staff, first aiders, senco etc) to make opening a school without them very difficult. Surely they couldn’t compel those people to just cancel?

I agree though-I’m worried they’ll announce something stupid.

@Appuskidu

Really concerned the bombshell for Monday will be extending school into the summer hols

A good chunk of our staff have holidays that were moved from those weeks last year to this year. It’s enough key people (SLT, senior staff, first aiders, senco etc) to make opening a school without them very difficult. Surely they couldn’t compel those people to just cancel?

I agree though-I’m worried they’ll announce something stupid.

I agree, logistically it's likely to be really difficult. But we're talking about a DfE who last year seemed not to know that private candidates existed. Do you really think they'll have thought it through?

Do you really think they'll have thought it through?

Like they did when they said A level students could have their mock results?! Hmm, no-you’re right.

I can’t ultimately see it actually happening-for logistical reasons, but I wouldn’t put it past this government announcing it will happen, then the unions spend months campaigning against it, giving the media and government fuel to bitch about us not ‘doing our bit’ like the NHS and then it won’t happen. But everyone will hate us even more. Mission accomplished by the gov?

Me too Awesome. I've given up and bought brogues from Clarks.

Has there been an announcement that there will be a big announcement?

Hasn't Boris said he isn't announcing anything on Monday and that was a mistake?

I agree that if remote learning is so shit it makes no sense that Nick Gibb keeps banging on about its wonderful opportunities. I think that, never mind us, lots of kids will work less hard if they think weeks are being added on later.

Another thing they have no concept of: some students travel up to an hour to get to and from school (an hour and a half for private schools, but they won't need catch up)...

Still furious over FE colleges can do rotas and school sixth forms can't (not for me - we're 11-16 - but for friends who teach in large 11-18 schools who had 30-40 Covid cases in Yr 13 per week, but they to still all be in all day every day.)

Perhaps the private schools with their charitable status should be the ones in their extra holiday time 'catching the kids up'. Do their bit for the community.

Only half joking : most of the big ones have holiday clubs which could be funded to open more widely.

Really concerned the bombshell for Monday will be extending school into the summer hols

I’m pretty sure this won’t happen. Radio today talked about pupils, students, teachers and parents needing a break.

I think someone did the sums and realised it would cost a bloody fortune. And that extra school appeals now. But in summer when the weather is good and people can actually go out - extra school will seem like a burden and not a bonus.

Yeah, ds's old school has a holiday club which is really good value and open to non-students (obviously, that's for childcare in normal times).

Yeah, if online learning doesn't count, why are we putting all this effort forth??

Re: height, I am 5'5 which is a great height for KS1 but when I helped at after school club in autumn term many of the ones in year 6 are close to the same height 😳 I wear a lot of dresses too because most trousers don't account for my waist being smaller than my butt. And yes I have noticed that some of the others in my year group don't wear shoes all the time, but I am afraid to go shoeless because there are so many of them that keep tipping their chairs over and I don't want them to come down on my foot!

Haha, yeah, I'm a bit cross about just how many of us (and the kids) are currently screwing our eyesight if remote learning doesn't count.

Really concerned the bombshell for Monday will be extending school into the summer hols. But surely they can't afford it and it's not cos effective?

The problem with this government is that they have no idea about how anything works, and mostly can’t be bothered to find out. So they can’t plan for anything.**
A few politicians stand out in that they know stuff. Jeremy Hunt is an example, he may not have been a good Health Sec in the sense of supporting and improving the NHS but he’s intelligent and learned how it works, hence his pronouncements on how to handle the pandemic have been largely convincing and correct. Hancock is less bright but also appears to have learned while in post, so he appears to be more trusted than others.
The rest are just bumbling along and looking out for number one. No one has a clue about education.
** See: Brexit.

Jeremy Hunt is an example, he may not have been a good Health Sec in the sense of supporting and improving the NHS but he’s intelligent and learned how it works, hence his pronouncements on how to handle the pandemic have been largely convincing and correct.

He’s actually just really good at parroting the advice given, and stealing comments from those who work in his local community. The only thing he does do well is take the credit from those who did the work. It needs to be shouted from every rooftopacknowledged that this vile man didn’t want food banks in the local area set up as he couldn’t see a need for them. The food banks have been overwhelmed by people put into poverty by this appalling government.