The Forty Fifth Republic - Can I get a hair appointment before the summer term starts?

[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.

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Vaccine booked! Main site is now booking over 40s! Am a little excited. Haven't read the thread so sorry if you all already know this.

Late 40s I think.

What happened to that thing a couple of weeks ago where they insisted that the under 50s weren't to be vaccinated for ages due to a vaccine shortage?

I'm glad over 40s can get stabbed now. I'm obsessively trying to book for partner, who is 45 in May. I have to wait for the GP to call for my second one.

Thank you SquashedFlyBiscuits for that - have just managed to book my vaccine too. Can't quite believe it! That's great.

I think it would be worth putting your details in if you are over 40. From the few people I know who have booked tonight, they are definitely accepting 46 and up.

Yeah they're not accepting me.

That's a bugger. Hopefully this means things are starting to speed up again and you will be very soon.

Nor partner, but yes for a friend who is 47.

No sign of 40s where I am in Scotland. We can't book online either so the postman is being greeted daily with much excitement (followed swiftly by disappointment!)
Glad you're getting them though you've been in school far too long without them already.

Does that mean kids are getting worse at maths noble? (Lower standards but same proportion) or just the way the marking goes? Sorry probably being dim.

Glad I’m forgiven Jan. felt bad.

Rule I’m confused what you are looking for and why?

Less than five hours sleep again. May be due one of my comas soon. Not in work today and Wednesday’s lessons are all planned and resourced. Just have a couple of Fridays lessons to plan and the one last set of assessments I didn’t mark over Easter.

Thank you for the tip! Just booked DP’s vaccine online - and our area has been quite slow in the past due to being largely populated by people in their 60s and 70s keen to be vaccinated (and therefore able to book skiing/cycling/golfing holidays ASAP 🤦🏻‍♀️)

It’s 45+ in our area - a couple of friends in early 40s have tried but no luck. DP was able to book his second vaccine at the same time too, which is helpful.

The appointment for the second vaccine fell the day after my birthday. DP said ‘oh, but I might be a bit hungover’. I pointed out to him that I will be eight months pregnant by then and he sensibly shut up.

Morning all

Good news for those 45+ who can now get vaccines! I'm 34 so a bit of a wait yet but hopefully not too much longer.

I didn't sleep well last night thinking about school/work and I am still on holiday
Love the job but good grief this year is difficult

Planning a trip to the library with DS later today -he's quite excited bless him!

NHS England website is saying 45 and over now so I still can’t book a vaccine as early 40s and although bummed at still having to wait and going back Monday still unvaccinated, I do have a bit more hope that I may get it before July!

Rule I’m confused what you are looking for and why?

I'm looking for a vaccine appt for my partner. Because pandemic

Just tried to book a jab and the site seems to be down - I'll keep trying!

So some advice, please. I retired nearly eight years ago at 60 and have just retired from my 0.8 retirement job after differences with management over appropriate support for learners. However I want to continue teaching, because I like it and am good at it. I don’t really enjoy private tuition. Would I be mad to sign up to do supply in school? I’m Maths but very versatile, in good physical health and have spent the last few years dealing with lots of people who didn’t do well in school for many different reasons. (Don’t want to go back to FE right now.)

And I’ve had both jabs.

Definitely not mad. A colleague of mine took early retirement 3 years ago and he's now back doing .8 supply in the dept he used to manage! He'd got bored, done local day to day supply and then was asked to step in for a mat cover and hasn't left.

@borntobequiet I think you should go for it!

A few friends borntobequiet when they officially quit teaching and went either to SAHM or studied for another qualification, actually contacted local schools directly and got slots of supply that way. Would that help?

@HarrietDVane if site is still down, try 119 and booking that way. Otherwise keep refreshing and you should get some success.
Seems like a lot of 45+ are booking today and hope you get to be one of them!

I thought you were looking for a partner or a friend who was vaccinated It was early.

Born you could do that or you could literally email all the local heads and say I'm an experienced Maths teacher looking for a part time role and wondered if you had any gaps in provision for September. Lots will be short I bet or keen to have another on staff anyway even if it means a couple of extra frees for others.

This is how I ended up teaching Science for two years - just telling the head I was looking for a 0,4 contract if he had any gaps come up. Cheaper than recruiting (plus who to recruit when it's a core subject) and for part time 'gaps' in timetabling slots recruitment is an expensive route.

Depends if you want supply or the security of holiday pay etc and to be part of a school.

Mouth much better today, phew.

Apparently many of these cases of the South African variant which has led to the surge testing were found in care homes and schools - hence the testing invitation being to all those 11+ rather than 16+ as it has been in other such events.

Thanks for the encouragement! Yes, I was going to email local schools as well, just thought I’d spread the net a bit wider with supply agencies.
It’s interesting that if I hadn’t retired from school when I did, and carried on until 65, I think I’d be totally done for now. The job I just left was actually pretty nice but changed over time so I didn’t have the autonomy I did at first, which is why I left. What it did do was make me strip my teaching back to the essentials, which was a very useful exercise. It will come as little surprise to any of you that the essentials definitely didn’t include much of what teachers are told they should be doing.
I was observed by someone who asked me what was the most important thing I did to help my learners succeed. I said, send them into the exam smiling. She thought I was joking, but it was true.