The Fifty-second Republic - Beware of Education’s ides of March

[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 non-staff as it attracts the wrong sort of crowd.

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. Do not sit on the chairs and do wear a mask.

I think our staff fund sends flowers or something when someone's really ill. And the first sympathy card to arrive by post when my brother died was from the Head. She also sent me a 50th card, and my boss a card to celebrate the end of her first year in post.

New head is good at that stuff. I had a birthday card and was sent a postcard during lockdowns thanking me for my hard work (obviously sent to everyone).

My HOD for all of my moaning pops a thank you note and a one of those premixed cans of gin and tonic in our pigeon holes at the end of term. In our meeting today she said basically if I'm not chasing you and moaning then you're doing great but I'm rubbish at praise. I can relate to this as I'm constantly being reminded to give out more house points and rubbish at doing it.

We've got someone in charge of 'wellbeing' now who will hopefully do some useful stuff. Previously however many meetings and consultations resulted in the idea of being able to send each other, 'you're a star' postcards to thank staff who'd been brilliant. I was a bit about that I'm afraid because a) fuck off with your patronising shite and actually do something about working conditions so people's wellbeing is actually addressed and b) not going to help the wellbeing of someone who already feels ignored and overlooked and now has that extra emphasised by the fact no one sent them a star card.

We've now been buddied up with someone else in the school and we should send each other memes or some such to keep their spirits up. They're not awful ideas but they just ignore why people's wellbeing is suffering at work you know?

I want to go and check now if Harry has bad teeth. I spent over an hour on the phone with my parents this evening discussing Meghan. One loves her and one hates her so it was a bit of a switch of conversational tone when the phone got passed over.

Well-being at my school generally involves food. It would be better if it involved cancelling meetings.

Is that interview available anywhere to watch?

Bored enough to consider watching it.

It was on ITV, don't know if they have a catch-up.

You could watch Suits instead. Suits was good.

Well I am exhausted. DS vomited in the night so had to change him, his sheets and then couldn’t sleep properly as he wouldn’t sleep in the camp bed, only mine. (We try to have a rule that I’d you vomit you’ll sleep on the camp bed incase if more episodes).

Luckily it was just that once and he slept through and now playing with Lego (5 is our usual get up time. We’re v much larks).

I’m lucky in that I’ve had my first dose of vaccine and this week am able to socially distance my small group of learners, open windows, require masks etc. But my goodness the mingling, hugging and generally normal behaviour among young people off-site...
If they wanted the virus to spread in the area I teach in, they could hardly have found a better way.

For those of us in our 40s, when do you reckon we’ll be invited? Or is it really a postcode lottery?

My GP said June for me at 49. They have only just started on group 6.

So most likely in the summer holidays? Least we’ll be protected for next Winter.

phleb You should be before June at a vaccination hub that does age priority. I got Early June estimate in my mid 30s. The second doses are going to slow the rate of first doses but hopefully now people are better at going to the big centres, all their capacity will be used.

Waking up at half past two is not an entirely sensible course of action for the day ahead. FFS.

I slept so well during lockdown most of the time.

Made such a boo boo.

My school finishes 16th July (taking too Insets the following week). Booked a camping trip away. Kids came home with a letter yesterday and had a reminder of terms dates. They finish on the 21st. Going to have to be one of ‘those parents’ 😆

Honey how thoughtful you are toward your bereaved colleague. I think mentioning it is the best thing - one person at my work not only spoke to me as soon as my mother died but also brought it up a few times as the months went on - ie she knew it wasn't something you bounced back from quickly. Many people I would have called friends acted like nothing had happened and did not even manage to say "sorry to hear your news" or whatever. It's left a very bad taste for me and I distanced myself a bit since. Though I know people can be very clumsy around the bereaved, I do understand that.

Our head sends cards and flowers to staff. I tend to give hugs.
I cooked a few times for a student in my form when her mum was dying and dad wasn't coping - her uncle is a colleague so I checked with him before sending hot dinners!
One of my colleagues' adult sons died unexpectedly last year. His inquest was today so I've been checking in with her. We have a meeting (in real life!!!) tomorrow so I'll take cake. I wish I could do more.
Well-being is absolutely tokenistic at ours but I don't know how we could fix it.

Two more shit for brains 'expert' organisations to watch out for, with strong affiliation to Unlocked and U4Twats:

www.hartgroup.org/covid-19-bulletin/

www.ukmedfreedom.org/resources/open-letters

It FRIGHTENS me that these people are doctors.

Quick question: If we are asked to go and help with testing when we would normally be teaching a year group do we have to go?

You can be asked to supervise but being involved with testing, no, according to my union colleague.

@MrsHamlet thank you! 😊

@Monkeytennis97

Quick question: If we are asked to go and help with testing when we would normally be teaching a year group do we have to go?

That’s what we’re doing this week. No teaching, we’ve been given testing roles.

uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5fa5866942937a4d73918723/6030f6aa9ca862709bb0a3af_UKMFA_Piers_Morgan_Letter.pdf

From one of those links, Piggy posted. This seems to be a lot of effort to go to over one of Piers Morgan’s tweets.

@Monkeytennis97 from NEU

“ Assistance with the process is voluntary. The DfE has recognised that schools may need to use volunteers or temporary staff.

The NEU believes that most staff working in a school or college will not be contractually required to carry out most of the tasks associated with the testing system.

Notwithstanding the contractual situation, many staff will also be unhappy about volunteering to perform specific tasks on their own merits, e.g, Test Assistant - "Collects completed swabs and pass them to the Processor. Ensures cleaning of swabbing bays." Or Processor - "Prepares test sample for analysis, conducts processing of Lateral Flow Device (LFD) and interprets result. Provides results to Results Recorder. Ensures cleaning of processing bays."

If your school or college try to coerce you into taking part in any aspect of the testing programme with which you are uncomfortable, please speak to your NEU workplace rep, or in the absence of a rep, your NEU branch office.”

Oh yes, Lawyers For Liberty are another bunch to watch out for. I mean covid coming along must have made all their dreams come true. Something at last to campaign about since the MMR.

I sometimes wonder if a prominent legal MNer is a member of that bunch.

[quote MrsHerculePoirot]@Monkeytennis97 from NEU

“ Assistance with the process is voluntary. The DfE has recognised that schools may need to use volunteers or temporary staff.

The NEU believes that most staff working in a school or college will not be contractually required to carry out most of the tasks associated with the testing system.

Notwithstanding the contractual situation, many staff will also be unhappy about volunteering to perform specific tasks on their own merits, e.g, Test Assistant - "Collects completed swabs and pass them to the Processor. Ensures cleaning of swabbing bays." Or Processor - "Prepares test sample for analysis, conducts processing of Lateral Flow Device (LFD) and interprets result. Provides results to Results Recorder. Ensures cleaning of processing bays."

If your school or college try to coerce you into taking part in any aspect of the testing programme with which you are uncomfortable, please speak to your NEU workplace rep, or in the absence of a rep, your NEU branch office.”[/quote]
I’m working as a test assistant all week. We have a NEU and NASUWT rep in my school. We’re still doing it.