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 found blocking the Corona virus board made a huge difference.

I don't see any of the shite from there on my active threads. Reduced the old anxiety no end!

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot the ncetm ready to progress stuff is very useful - and the PowerPoint activities etc really spell it out for people who aren’t as confident. Their focus is very much on developing subject knowledge. You just have to make sure teachers understand it isn’t a ‘scheme’ as such.

@MrsHamlet definitely go for the job. DH had the same at his last school - doing a really complex job but not being particularly recognised for it, told x, y & z were ahead of him in the list for progression.

Guess what? He went for the SLT role, got it (& is totally thriving in it) meanwhile his old school were firstly shocked he could even think about leaving and now keep trying to encourage him back. Don’t think so.

Your head sounds like they know exactly how good you would be and don’t want to lose you.

Here's a nice and funny thread for those of us who have teens, or even teach teens:

Things I've done wrong according to teen DD www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4190122-Things-Ive-done-wrong-according-to-teen-DD

I'm here jan! Don't worry!

I ahve put my back and hip out after one week. So painful.

My head has annoyed me too. Is trying to wriggle out of a timetable agreement. Not sure if he is gaslighty twat, or forgetful on the details. I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now but I am annoyed.

Thank you all for having faith in me!!
He is known for his foot in mouth moments but it was just so bloody rude. He actually said, among other things, that I don't deal with behaviour on the corridors. Well no... because kids don't tend to misbehave on corridors when I'm around! It's not because I walk on by. Knob.

That could easily have been any school in the country testing a 15yo even without parental consent. Mostly because 15yo are deemed to be old enough and competent enough to consent for themselves. They can consent to all sorts of medical procedures for themselves, so this test is nothing compared to some of the things they can consent to. We had loads of year 11 who did the test for themselves even without a signed consent form, because they chose to do it. We didn't have kids in other years doing that, mainly because year 11 came in, did the test, went to lessons. Other years only came in for their specific test time on their test day, then went home again. So if their parents didn't consent they couldn't get to school.

Hi piggy, glad you're here. Didn't you have back problems whilst teaching from home? It'll be related I'd imagine.

I always have back problems Jan. It moves about and at the moment is in my hip. Sitting badly on teachers' chairs all week and wearing shoes has done it!

Aagh - what's the word for if I was trying to say that 'x topic isn't properly in their heads'? It's not consistently used? they are not confident?

What's the word 'we' use? Complete menopause brain today.

‘Not secure’, rule?

Not secure?

I was going to go for insecure!

That's it. FFS. Thanks.

I sometimes like to make up terminology to baffle my betters, eg I might say “insufficiently internalised” rather than “not secure” and see their fleeting look of dismay that they might have missed a new educational concept. No one has yet called me out on my bullshit.

That sounds fun born. I might try making up my own bullshit terms. My hod would genuinely ask what I mean and where I heard about it so he can use it himself. But SLT would be horrified at the thought that I might know something they don't.

I've literally been lying in bed all day bar quick dog walks and trips to the kitchen. Ds is asleep and has been all day bar asking me for a glass of water at one point and telling me he loved me but his body wants to sleep more.

The cat has been passed out on the kitchen window sill all day and the dog is snoring on the bed beside me.

Should I be checking for carbon monoxide or something?

Do you have a carbon monoxide monitor honey. I mean, this week has been exhausting, but if even the animals are exhausted maybe it's worth investigating.

Check that and open a few windows.
Mind you I've lain on the sofa all afternoon reading/snoozing and dh has just had a nap. Children are up and about though.
I don't even have the excuse of having been back to school for a week!

I've just been out and the weather's horrid! Hibernating seems sensible to me.

@JanFebAnyMonth

I've just been out and the weather's horrid! Hibernating seems sensible to me.

Was horrendous here all day but now the sun is out and I’m sitting outside with the kids - in a t-shirt!

Partner and child are at the park. I'm stressing about maths. It's windy and shitty, I've been outside loads this week, I don't want to go out today.

I can't do this with mixed age group classes. Too many different gaps, none of the children will get a good go at catch up/keep up, and all the teachers will be spinning plates all over the place. Badly.

We have 4 x mixed year 3/4 classes. So if it weren't for covid, we'd be swapping for maths - 2 x year 3 classes, 2 x year 4 classes. That's what we've done in the past.

I either need to be able to have another adult in my class, or to be able to have bigger 'bubbles' so we can swap some classes around. Probably neither are an option.

The weather was awful here in the early hours of the morning. One of the large trees in the field behind my house fell over in the wind, missing the community centre by about a metre. I went for a short walk after my jab this morning, but quite fancy another walk this evening.

Weather a bit hit and miss here. Brilliantly sunny and then torrential rain a few minutes later. Then back to sunny.

Just waiting for my 15 mins to be up.