The Forty Ninth Republic - Announcement Week - Roadmap and Exams - Be more Bob

[StaffRepFeistyClub]

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Just a quick question for secondary teachers about consent for LFT. I have been sent letters from both my dd schools saying that they are doing the testing for seven days and not isolating close contacts. I thought that was scrapped ? I have emailed them both asking for clarification but wondered if that’s what is happening now ?
Dd2 school has said they will initially go in just for a test and then return home to start the following day.

My SLT still going on about staff testing on site but the guidance doesn't mention that?

Not just you, starry, there was a thread in the CV section where another school has sent out similar. They've clearly used the January template as they've now said that was the incorrect information.

The DfE clearly haven't updated it

No piggy, it's definitely home testing for staff. I guess because staff have been tested onsite for KW provision up till now?

Heads really should get themselves onto MN.

What could possibly go wrong with all of this.....

So you need PCR condo if you test 'unsupervised'. Interesting.

@noblegiraffe

Not just you, starry, there was a thread in the CV section where another school has sent out similar. They've clearly used the January template as they've now said that was the incorrect information.

The DfE clearly haven't updated it

Thanks @noblegiraffe hopefully they send updated guidance. Don’t want to sign anything agreeing to that.

*conf not condo. Although that would be nice.....

But noble , not all staff will have been onsite and therefore been tested under supervision?

Ah I meant that heads might be confused about staff having to be tested onsite because that was the case up till this new guidance.

You're right JanFeb it's not a bank holiday but it is absolutely in my holidays so I think really it's a way to put it back to after Easter without saying it's after Easter..
The dc who is going back in 3 weeks is happy and the one who won't be till after Easter is also happy, so I guess that's a win! We (dh and I) won't be vaccinated when we return but hopefully the figures will have gone down a lot by then 🤞

Grr, my classes are starting with the “we get too much work” stuff. Nope, you get the right amount. One of them used as “proof” the fact a week long CTEC (like BTEC) assignment took 7 hours. Well, 4.5 hours of that is class time, and you’re meant to be putting in the same amount of time outside lessons, so I’d say 7 hours is proof I’ve set the right amount of work. They only do 3 subjects and it’s a practical course so project-based and supposed to be based on professional practice - that means working until the work’s done! I’m not even strict about deadlines but they do need to be set and I will monitor them. That’s not piling in pressure, it’s basic teaching and sixth form should be able to deal with it.

Rant over!

Another thought about the LFTs: didn't some LAs say they'd refuse to do them when it was first announced? I wonder what they'll do now. Or perhaps that was mainly about the issue of replacing isolation with 7 tests.

I had that a few weeks back gravity. It grates...

We have just received the email to say masks in class rooms and non compliance will be dealt with.

The kids were moaning today saying they will sit in a corner 2metres away.

It definitely does grate. Most of them want to do Media Production at uni so I don’t know how that’s going to work seeing as asking them to do a perfectly standard amount of pre-production is “overwhelming” and they never “know how to get started”. I mean, I don’t shove a brief at them and tel them to get on with it, at the start of every lesson I spoonfeed exactly what they should get done that lesson with examples. I suspect some of them go back to bed and then panic on Sunday because actually it does take a full week to do a week-long assignment.

@RigaBalsam

We have just received the email to say masks in class rooms and non compliance will be dealt with.

The kids were moaning today saying they will sit in a corner 2metres away.

Non compliance “dealt with” I’d want more info on what that actually means.

Funny that!

I had that from sixth form a few weeks ago as well gravity, and it annoyed me a lot. Yet the head of sixth form sided with the kids that they were getting too much work and "homework" needed to be suspended while we are remote. So my year 13 have spent exactly 2 hours a week on my lessons (and 3 hours on the lessons from their other maths teacher). Except, the keen ones have just continued exercises and done extra revision type work for themselves. It's only the lazy ones (or the ones who are working ft on the family farm during lockdown) who are doing so little. Yet they'll be surprised when they do badly in their mocks, which have just been announced as starting on the 15th March (so there's less chance of them having to self isolate if we do them quick apparently)

@starrynight19

Just a quick question for secondary teachers about consent for LFT. I have been sent letters from both my dd schools saying that they are doing the testing for seven days and not isolating close contacts. I thought that was scrapped ? I have emailed them both asking for clarification but wondered if that’s what is happening now ? Dd2 school has said they will initially go in just for a test and then return home to start the following day.

It seems like some schools have rushed out the letters, and not realised the guidance has changed which is very poor.

Just seen on @noblegiraffe’s thread that a parent said her child’a will start testing on the 4th and then test all weekend to get them back on the 8th.

Hope my head doesn’t read that and thinks ‘what a great idea!’

Just had a conversation with a student who has done no work this term.
What can I do to help?
She needs examples of stuff.
Have you looked in the class notebook where there are video/ examples / model answers / walkthroughs?
No. FFS!!!!

@motherrunner

Just seen on *@noblegiraffe*’s thread that a parent said her child’a will start testing on the 4th and then test all weekend to get them back on the 8th.

Hope my head doesn’t read that and thinks ‘what a great idea!’

Hell no to that.

I use one day of every weekend planning my lessons (please god let this change after my NQT year).

There’s no way. Fucking Boris. He’s planned this stupid reopening & tests. When it doesn’t go smoothly it will be the teachers fault. Bastard.

Oh yeah, I’ve had the panicked, flapping, hasn’t looked at any of the work but doesn’t know where to start stuff today too.

Here’s a clue - you know the list of assignments you haven’t done or looked at? Do them, or at least read them, in chronological order, as they all have the lesson PowerPoints attached.

Voila. Problem solved. No flapping needed. Honestly it couldn’t be more fucking simple.

I don't really want to do a test twice a week - they hurt and are shit. But I've just seen in the RA that we'll be 'spoken to' and 'encouraged', so you know.. testing twice a week it is!

Well I've had far fewer kids sending me work today after the announcement that we'll all be back on the 8th. And quite frankly, I don't blame them. In our wisdom, we only collate non-engagement data and contact parents every 2 weeks (because the first time there were so many the pastoral staff couldn't phone them all in a week), so the next time we would phone home, they will all be back at school so it's pointless. I would quite like to be able to contact parents at the end of this week, or even daily, but I'm not in charge, so I'll just carry on doing vast amounts of work for half a class and the ones who don't engage will just not understand when they get back to school 🤷