The Fifty Ninth Republic - May Half Term beckons

[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 for school staff to let off steam.

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. Finally, upload your covid test results twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays.

I think Gav thinks he is an episode of The Apprentice. Trying to do something really cheaply and assuming Suralan won't notice.

I have a 30 minute break at lunchtime. (well, it's usually closer to 15 once I've finished with the slower eaters).

I am not sure that 0 lunchbreak is allowed, simply in terms of H&S / working conditions law?

The secondary school near us starts at 8, has 2 x 20 min breaks then finishes at 2.05, not sure how losing half an hour of lunch would pan out there!

Congrats hobnob

I had an afternoon nap and have woken up highly confused as to what day it is. Thought it was morning.

@CallmeHendricks

Have we seen this?

😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 And breathe... 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂

He just says the first thing that pops into his head.

What. A. Dick.

I see two things happening; a mass exodus from the teaching profession and staff off with stress if this all goes ahead!

Cutting lunch break by half an hour would leave us with 15 minutes! Obviously we'd be doing better than those of you with 0 minutes, but even so...! What planet is Gav on?!

I went to look for the Gav article and found this amendment:

"This article was amended on the day of publication. It originally said that school lunch breaks could be cut by half an hour, however the DfE have told us that Mr Williamson in fact intended to imply that the government could consider enforcing a one-hour lunch break in schools."

So extending lunch breaks by half an hour?

Gav, you useless twat, you couldn't even articulate your bollocks proposal properly.

Can't - I think workers are legally entitled to 20 minutes' continuous break if they work for more than 6 hours, which obviously most of us do.

What? That makes no sense?

Does it mean enforcing an hour so that 1/2 hour of it can be used for tutoring? Presumably at some point some DFE dude said 'if they don't want to stay longer, then do tutoring in lunch time'. Someone then pointed out lunch wasn't long enough and the reply was'make lunch longer and they will be'...?

I'd be happy to have an hour for lunch tbh as the repeated cut downs to lunchtime have decimated the extra curricular provision. I remember having 75 minutes for lunch 20 years ago... was brilliant for rehearsals.

@Piggywaspushed

What? That makes no sense?

Does it mean enforcing an hour so that 1/2 hour of it can be used for tutoring? Presumably at some point some DFE dude said 'if they don't want to stay longer, then do tutoring in lunch time'. Someone then pointed out lunch wasn't long enough and the reply was'make lunch longer and they will be'...?

My head hurts! This is completely mad, isn't it? Have we slipped through the looking glass or something?

What is Gavlar gibbering about?! Does he think schools have 2 hour lunches or something and just need to cut this down and do one?

Or does he just not think???

I wonder if he's realised that many schools have cut lunch to 30 mins to stop the fighting ...

I have just spent 15 minutes (that I won't get back) listening to a video and the actual words Gavelar said in that BBC interview. God he has a dreary voice. He was bumbling on about the school day and mentioned that many schools have cut lunch to half an hour and he did actually say that was to the detriment of something or other...

I can't bear Gav's voice. It makes my skin crawl. I particularly loathe the way he says 'youngsters' and 'robust.' Shudder.

I can’t believe he wants to increase the lunch period of schools to allow for things like socialising. It’ll be something far more shit than that.

"Yooncsters."

We only have 30 minutes, too.

It's like he's never set foot in a school?

@Monkeytennis97

I'd be happy to have an hour for lunch tbh as the repeated cut downs to lunchtime have decimated the extra curricular provision. I remember having 75 minutes for lunch 20 years ago... was brilliant for rehearsals.

But you would only get the non-PPG kids at extra-curricular clubs because the rest would be tutored, thus closing the gap with one hand and widening it with the other.

@CallmeHendricks

"Yooncsters."

🤮

@SaltyAF true although tbh twas ever thus...

Didn't take long...

Former education minister, now vaccines minister
@nadhimzahawi
, says teachers' unions are to blame for Sir Kevan Collins' not getting his education recovery plan because they "resisted extending the school day in the first place".

@Piggywaspushed

Didn't take long...

Former education minister, now vaccines minister
@nadhimzahawi
, says teachers' unions are to blame for Sir Kevan Collins' not getting his education recovery plan because they "resisted extending the school day in the first place".

I can't bear him. He used to be my MP. He could not have been less interested in his constituents, but was very happy to charge the taxpayer the expenses for heating his stables.