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.

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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.

@JanFebAnyMonth

Oh no *@StanfordPines* !!! Picked up by LFT?

Yes. I felt like I had a cold and thought I’d better test.

@MrsHamlet

I am beyond appalled at what we're doing with y11 and 13. It goes against everything I value and is an insult to my professionalism and the work of the students. I feel sick.

From this point on there’s no new content. Until ester we are setting revision lessons. From Easter to Whitsun they will exams on a rolling period so students are overwhelmed but it has been worked out each subject will have 3 exams over the period. Students will leave at Whitsun. They are also allowed to redo any past exams in their own time for their evidence folder. (For ‘old English teachers we’re basically putting together a coursework folder and go through the old moderation process).

@StanfordPines I’m sorry to hear that. Rest plenty and take care.

From this point on there’s no new content. Until ester we are setting revision lessons. From Easter to Whitsun they will exams on a rolling period so students are overwhelmed but it has been worked out each subject will have 3 exams over the period. Students will leave at Whitsun

We are doing rolling two weeks tests from Easter to Whit. With one final assessment (exam). Poor kids are going to be so stressed.
No idea when year 11 are leaving. There was talk of them finishing all their exams and staying on for another 2 weeks

Hope you feel OK stanford. Rest up.

Sorry to hear that Stanford. I hope your symptoms stay mild.

Hi, haven't caught up I'm afraid, but I just wanted to say that I didn't really 'get' why secondary bubbles would have popped on the first day or two..... I (very naively) assumed the kids would stay separate until tested unless they bussed in. However, at dd and ds's school they are doing the tests and then sending the kids off to class before they even have the results. Seems madness.
Also, I only got the result for his Tuesday test yesterday via text.
When I submit my LF result it comes through immediately.

@StanfordPines hope you recover quickly.

@KatherineOfGaunt hope the quiet at home outweighs the isolation lows!

Hope you have a very mild dose @StanfordPines 💐

Yeah, some of our more rural schools have 95% plus on buses or trains so they've done all back in, test during the day. Positive case = all class home for ten days. Bonkers but unavoidable, I suppose.

Oh no Stanford - I hope you will make a speedy recovery

Caught up a bit- Sorry to those who are already positive/ isolating. Hope it passes quickly.

We did all of year 11 and 13 back in and into form groups before their test on Tuesday. I don't know how many would have been sent home if one got a positive result (which they wouldn't have got anyway because we weren't keeping the tests long enough to pick up any positives). I suspect we'd have sent the whole form home. The other years haven't been in lessons yet, as they've all been given time slots to come in for their tests then go home again. 100% of year 11 and 13 took the tests, down to about 90% for other years, with the ones not doing them being the kids who can't get to school and back in the middle of the working day. There have been several requests for tests to be sent home as they can't access the ones this week. Happy to do the ones on Monday and Thursday next week, where they're all just going to be taken from lessons to do them.

Sorry Stanford - hope it is mild as others have said. Wondering if I should do one as I have 'cold like' symptoms and we're meant to do them twice a week anyway.

Twinkle - yes that's how it is at our school. All back in class before any results are read. Not a lot else that can be done really. Couldn't have whole year groups queuing around the school waiting for their turn to test and then their results. We've tested 6 year groups now without a positive result. Ds is back in today as the last year group to be tested. Fingers crossed no positives and he isn't straight back home again.

I'm in the house alone for the first time in a long time - have to leave for work in a couple of hours but nice for now.

Just done my second home test. It's such a faff (little fiddly bits, steps to remember, discomfort, logging it, packing it all away/disposing of the rubbish, time inc the half hour from last eating/drinking can be nearly an hour) I really really can't see any but the most dedicated, educated and stable families doing more than the first home test, if they even get that far.

And that's before we get to testing and processing reliability.

This system is ridiculous.

Just waiting on my own results Jan. Not my favourite way to spend my spare time.

It's got even worse this morning, when trying to register my test result:

The NHS site won't let me log in, says there's a fault so I have to register without an account. (Tried 3 times as sometimes faults are momentary)

Fine. However. Can't register without an account as don't have a test site ID. Now I do vaguely recall a short letter sequence being emailed for something recently so that could well be it (although maybe it was for one of the 11ty thousand learning platforms for students or staff?!). But I cannot find such an email. I also tried ringing our Finance/head of testing's office but it's on answerphone because they're all... testing. Sigh.

Will wait till I go into school then hopefully find an answer....

Again: how many families are going to repeatedly go through this faff?

I hope you are ok @StanfordPines - look after yourself

Thanks all. I’ve got through two episode of Homes Under the Hammer so far, as well as sorting out next week’s online learning.

I’ve also discovered that a child in school who has a sibling in my class (primary) tested positive but the mum didn’t tell the school.
Now the parents are all bitching that the year group has been sent home like it’s my fault. (They don’t know I’m the one who has it). I have literally only been to school and home.

So you've caught it from someone in school anyway!?

Yes. Has to be from someone at school. I literally go to my school and come home again. That’s it.

Clearly the shine will wear off but it was actually lovely to teach whole classes today and have a bit of my normal job.

Knackered though

Oh don't worry stanford. Wider MN massive could find a hole in your theory that you got it from school. Perhaps you licked an envelope that someone else has handled. Maybe someone walked past your window at home and breathed in. Maybe you secretly visited relatives. Attended a party. I mean there are so many ways of getting it that do not include being in an overcrowded, unventilated schol for 7 or so hours a day.

They must suddenly be racing through vaccinations in my area. Just got my appointment booked for Tuesday! That's approximately two months earlier than I expected!

Yay Piggy. I’ve got my 2nd jab pushed forward to tomorrow evening. So hopefully will be done and 1 step closer to getting home.