THE FIFIETH REPUBLIC!

[StaffRepFeistyClub]

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.

Do not give the staffroom password to others 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.

@Mistressiggi

I have heard the exact opposite in an interview - that the child in the family was often the "first case" who then spread it to the rest of the family. Trying to remember who said it, an epidemiologist anyway.

6 adult members of an extended family group (inc 2 over 60) of my neighbours caught it from the y6 boy just before Xmas. (So 7 out of 10)

The three under 7's weren't tested as no symptoms.

There were two positives in his class.

And my neighbour still claimed it wasn't an issue in schools just before they closed "as only two got it in his class." #notgettingit

I wonder what the government would say in response to why other countries are prioritising teachers for vaccines? I bet it has a lot to do with not ‘wanting to be seen to be doing anything that the unions want’.

Good to see you, @piggywaspushed! Hope the head is back to normal now. Migraines suck big time.

I lost all my arguments, we're doing hardcore testing in week 1 and probably stripping out the fun from the curriculum in terms 5 and 6.

I'm not sure I'm working at the right school really.

Glad to see you back Piggy. Hope you are well.

Thank you Monkey and Mrs H, I think I'm going to have to give them a go. I've never felt like this before.

I agree the police have been shafted over vaccinations too.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

I lost all my arguments, we're doing hardcore testing in week 1 and probably stripping out the fun from the curriculum in terms 5 and 6.

I'm not sure I'm working at the right school really.

That is rubbish-I feel for these kids.

My head is great on this, luckily, and it’s all about the well-being. Not to say SLT have it right about everything else though, but it’s a start!

I've reached possibly my lowest point the last day or so, seeing in the media quite how little teachers and the police are valued by society.
We're important enough to take children off their hands, and the police area expected to jump when we need them, but how DARE we wonder if we might receive some protection for our troubles.

I’ve just had tears reading that “no priority vaccines for teachers or police” article. It’s horrible. All back to school is awful anyway, but at least the reassurance of a vaccine in the near future would make it slightly less terrifying. I’m 37, it’ll be almost the summer holidays before I get mine. Why will nobody admit that a profession that sees you in a small room with 30 other people, poorly ventilated without the space to distance, does put you more at risk than someone slightly older than you but working from home.

I feel tearful and drained today. However I did ask some of my lovely Y7 and Y8 to unmute today and give me their answers for the first time (we’ve all been working with pupils just on chat, no mics), and I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to try it, it was really lovely to hear their voices! And then I had a lovely comment from my daughter’s teacher saying we are one of the top 3 most consistently uploading work to her school’s platform, which is so reassuring as I feel like I’ve barely been able to support her, but maybe I’ve been too hard on myself.

Nearly the weekend all, and the sun is shining

Primary teachers have it the worst. At least they made a pretence of caring about secondary with masks and testing (even if that is now predictably being chipped away).

Although that ignores SEN who I thought had been vaccinated but apparently not?

@CallmeAngelina

I've reached possibly my lowest point the last day or so, seeing in the media quite how little teachers and the police are valued by society. We're important enough to take children off their hands, and the police area expected to jump when we need them, but how DARE we wonder if we might receive some protection for our troubles.

Yep, but it’s just fine for all those random WFH staff to be done because of their job-and how DARE teachers begrudge them getting done!

Teachers are shit and useless and don’t deserve any sort of protection, but let’s get the lazy fuckers back to work ASAP (without their holidays) because our children will be total failures without them!

I am trying not to think about it for a day or two as I was so angry, it was giving me palpitations.

@CallmeAngelina

I've reached possibly my lowest point the last day or so, seeing in the media quite how little teachers and the police are valued by society. We're important enough to take children off their hands, and the police area expected to jump when we need them, but how DARE we wonder if we might receive some protection for our troubles.

Sorry you are feeling crap.

It is shit that people don’t get protected. Basically just because it would be tricky logistically.

I have just spoken to optician : no multiple households allowed in there. LOL.

Just to update : migraine and blurred vision keep coming and going. Was fine yesterday. Have tried to limit screen time and in lessons left kids to get on mainly.

DH has jab on Sunday (hoorah!) and DM in NYC had hers (and is now moaning about awful side effects)

Jan will be pleased to know my freezer is still making awful noises but not dead yet. Toilet flush is broken : other white goods and car holding up.

I didn't get the job. Not surprised. But annoyed I wasted my time again (not bothered that I wasted theirs though which was one of the aims).

Am staying in a core three threads and not straying.

I too wonder how they can justify something on pure expediency. They just seem to be in a vaccine race so they can still say we are the best. It is out of step with virtually every other country.

I reckon there will be a spate now of people spitting at the police.

How did those farm workers get jabbed by the way??

All of the farm workers at a big plant near me have been done. No idea how! I assumed the same way MPs have been done.

MPs haven't been done have they??

The JVTs etc of the world keep banging on about careworkers/NHS and that's it for occupation (and possibly SEN but no one seems to know or care...). I can't see how farmworkers have slipped through...

I mean they were RIGHT down the bottom in the recent ONS stats that everyone is ignoring.

I promised my kids today that I would be off work with the slightest sniffle, not go in if at all unwell, and not do anything extra. No afterschool clubs, no after school intervention, nothing. I am keeping myself as "clean" as I possibly can in a class of 35 11 year olds. Bloody July! July! Months of worry ahead.

Can anyone confirm for me what constitutes an outbreak in a school? My class has shut twice, R and yr 2 twice. I had 3 cases in my class the first time, 2 the second. Plus all of their family(16 cases in total) Apparently this was not an outbreak according to PHE or my head.

These are not farm workers as in field workerz, it's a big as in MASSIVE distribution place in the East of England and runs storage and silos for the surrounding area so I do see how that's vital - supply would crash without it.

I am just jealous!

I wonder which environment has more prevalent transmission - school or factory? So difficult to show as children don't show symptoms the same way as adults.

Glad to hear you are ok, piggy, commiserations about the job (minor ones if you weren’t that arsed).

Was just laughing wryly with colleagues about the new break and lunch arrangements from 8th March. We’ve been spreading out into unused classrooms so, although all staff are in, there has been plenty of room.
Still sticking rigidly with 6 maximum, so there is an order of non-classroom spaces we are to use. All used frequently for PPA or classes of children, so not clean, not Covid Safe, not any use whatsoever.
There still won’t be enough space, so I don’t know what we are expected to do? I can sit in my car (only gave that up when my hands turned blue with the cold), but it’s just ridiculous.

Another factor with factories is the transport to and from. Whole coach loads of workers from some areas, lots of car sharing. Not a criticism. I mean, how else are they supposed to get to and from work, but I remember last year a family member with direct experience / observation of that telling me about it.

@Saucery a bit like the buses my two kids will be getting again from Monday! I tell you, those school coaches are nasty!

@lonelyplanet I’ve always been prone to anxiety but tried to manage it through diet and exercise. Since becoming peri-menopausal it has worsened and last August I just broke with the fear of returning in Sept. I called my GP and I explained my fears of being on antidepressants- my mum took them all her life and she always still seemed depressed. GP convinced me to take Sertraline as she concluded I have OCD rather than depression. Honestly changed my life.

Which ones have they given you lonely?

I'm sluggish and bleurgh today. Parents evening took more energy than I realised and I am very glad it's Friday. Just have to do my attendance registers now and need to design and record a lesson over the weekend and finish marking the year 9 essays finally.

We're having department days on Monday - only a couple of hours but would honestly rather not sit in a classroom with people at this point. Will just keep my distance I guess.

Just feel like I need to celebrate this - I finally cleared my SMHW backlog! See, here's proof! And there's no way I would have done it without a) my xp pen tablet and b) knowing that I wasn't the only one having a fucking awful time with this online shit, so thank you muchly my fellow republicans!!