The Fifty-third Republic - Ides of March Part 2

[StaffRepFeistyClub]

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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

Just heard from another student SI. FFS.

I am only getting this info from the organised students. No comms from school at all.

Chloe, yes, the testing at home isn't going to happen, is it?

He is the second highest paid staff member in the school. I think he enjoys it....

Let's lay bets on how long the MSM will take to realise that (students not testing at home) as opposed to Gav et al's spin that it's going wonderfully and ergo schools are safe...

Probably about May, I'd say!

@JanFebAnyMonth

Let's lay bets on how long the MSM will take to realise that (students not testing at home) as opposed to Gav et al's spin that it's going wonderfully and ergo schools are safe...

Probably about May, I'd say!

No I think longer. It will be blamed on Easter mixing.

I'm maybe sensitive about it because in my 20's my mental health was a real struggle and I'm sure people would have thought 'sicknote' when actually I was genuinely struggling and trying to hide it and therefore it would be odd days off here and there with some pathetic sounding excuse because I actually could not make myself get out of bed and leave my home on that particular morning no matter how much I berated myself.

The MSM will not report anything about schools because schools reopening has to have gone well for the next stages of reopening to happen.

There was already a bit of concern over whether the vaccine shortage would stop April 12th happening and much relief when it was said it wouldn’t have an impact.

Too much investment in the data being fine. I still think masks will go at Easter.

The BBC reported last week that attendance was high . On the same day that Schoolsweek reported it was quite low. It was 89% in secondaries. This is low. Some spin somewhere felt the need to say that this was above average for a normal flu season. Is it fuck.

Now the schools are 'open', the media is back to not caring.

Anyone SI or testing positive has their new default answer 'It's probably a false positive though'.

Any of our Welsh or Scottish posters have any idea why cases are rising there? Primaries opened early, but secondaries still aren’t properly?

I just remembered the terror of having to phone in sick - we also had to dictate all of our cover over the phone!

Thank god for modern technology!

Sorry to hear about test results and poorly dogs. I'm sorry to not respond to people better - my brain is frazzled and I get to the end of catching up with the thread and can't remember who said what. Hope it's clear I'm frazzled not callous.

I’m in a total quandary.

A job vacancy has come up at a school near me. Really not sure if I should go for it or not.

I like my current school but they’re attitude to workload isn’t great. Also not keen on behaviour management policy. Current school it is all about relationships. What can you do to keep children entertained? Detentions are done by the member of staff giving the detention, so I spend all my breaks and lunch’s dealing with misbehaving pupils.

School where the vacant has come up has policies on reducing workload. Plus all detentions (even breaks) are managed by SLT.

Really not sure what to do. I wish there was some way to have an interview in secret. I probably won’t get it and then current school know I’m considering leaving.
Do I just stick with current school?

Cover is an admin task at my place, surprised its an SLT job elsewhere.

We have 'sicknote' here. Off for everything, everything is a drama, bloody good when they're here but average attendance must be ~75%. Very difficult to back them up when they're well enough to post on SM and run a sideline business.

@TheHoneyBadger

I'm maybe sensitive about it because in my 20's my mental health was a real struggle and I'm sure people would have thought 'sicknote' when actually I was genuinely struggling and trying to hide it and therefore it would be odd days off here and there with some pathetic sounding excuse because I actually could not make myself get out of bed and leave my home on that particular morning no matter how much I berated myself.

I understand that, Honey. It’s not meant to be personal and if you (general ‘you’ ) can hold your head up and say “Well, I AM ill “ then that’s fine and sod anyone who feels it is any of your business. As a manager myself later on I took some fantastical phone excuses for sickness absence. Extremely creative, some of them. I just sighed at the rota I’d worked on that now looked like utter unworkable nonsense and got on with rewriting it. The interminably slow Sickness Absence Procedure took over then, it was nowt to do with me. HR were paid to send out letters and engage Occy Health.

Whenshe go for it! You'll regret it if you don't.

I don't actually know anyone who's had the vaccine without an obvious reason for it. So anyone younger than 50 who I know has had it are group 6 (or cev). There is one who isn't sure herself why she had it, but it's obviously her BMI (she is morbidly obese due to a health condition). I can't tell her that though!!!

I'm on a zoom first aid course for Brownies today. God it's dull!!!! I've done this exact course with this exact woman 3 years ago, although it was obviously in person then. She waffles an awful lot, and I've heard the same personal stories from her twice now, so I know far more about her personal background than I ever wanted

any of THEIR business

Also meant to say, the general suspicion of multiple absences contributed greatly to the presenteeism I struggle with now. Both public sector jobs, but different areas. School treats us like adults rather than Yr8s swinging the lead, which was not the case in the other organisation.

You might as well, When! Be good to look at a new start as we gradually ease out of this shitshow.

We don't have HR or occupational health. This is a major factor in not managing some colleagues with poor attendance. I mean that as in, they are not referring or supporting. Some of the threats are in place but none of the referrals or proper support. Ime staff who are frequently absent either have known or unknown MH issues or domestic problems.

Thanks herc and saucery

Maybe it’s not a bad idea to do it now. I’ve not really bonded all that much with my team. Not their fault, they are all lovely and brilliant.
Just really hard to feel properly part of the department when you have to keep your distance at all times.

I do have some good news today. The recommended teacher look worked on the dishwasher and it is now working.

People are going to be applying for jobs left right and centre mostly having had to sit tight for the past year. I wouldn't worry about how it would be viewed by the school, it happens all the time.

@Piggywaspushed

I do have some good news today. The recommended teacher look worked on the dishwasher and it is now working.

Yay!!!

I have to do an application today.
I've been busy and also putting it off
Marking poetry essays isn't helping to distract me.

Yes I think sometimes the short absences getting higher 'points' on the absence management system backfires.

I had one year where I had to take a day off due to a dental abscess and needing to go to an emergency dentist plus I'd had a day off for a horrendous migraine in the space of a couple of months and I was called in for absence management because my score was higher than if I'd had 2 weeks off at once. I get that short absences are viewed with suspicion but they can be the sign of someone who has taken off as little time as possible and come in still under the weather but not wanting to let down eg. their year 13's who are close to going on exam leave.

My mum didn't believe in illness (except her own) and I had a horrible case of glandular fever in my teens and felt like death but was shouted at to get out of bed and stop pretending etc. It's not much wonder I'm sensitive about the sicknote thing now I think of it Tons of triggers. That's when I started wagging school - not through delinquency but just sheer exhaustion. I'd come home for lunch sit down and then just not be able to get up again or alternatively would just wait in the field behind the house till my mum went to work and go back to bed.

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