The broom cupboard 3 - for briefly stranded republicans

[TheHoneyBadger]

First in tops up the gin supplies and turns on the tea urn.

Honey Seneca is pretty easy to do, are the kids already set up?

I too think we've underestimated the upskill, even for relatively ICT literate people.

Welcome @NaThenThee!

I agree that Seneca is easy to use. I don't like it for maths, personally, but lots of other subjects use it a lot.

Agrees @MsAwesomeDragon it's crap for maths. But it is good for other stuff. Reminds me I must check if they have done GCSE stats on it yet (doubtful).

Hi @NaThenThee. I have 3 days of inset shoot me now.

@NaThenThee hello and good luck! I have an INSET for classroom management(soooo grateful as an ECT!) then three twilights next week. Eek. They're just KCSIE, fire drills and food safety though, I think.

Question for people who know this sort of thing- I am primary (SEN) and we have two days with the children off timetable next week, that happen to contain nearly all my PPA-should I still get them? I think I'd rather spend the time getting to know the class, but then I'll be planning a lot at the weekend. My TAs cover my PPA, so no staffing issues.

Hi NaThenThee. I have one day of inset on Wednesday, which will be the usual safeguarding, SEND, yeargroups meetings, department meeting, school improvement plan, etc. Then year 7 and 12 are in on Thursday, everyone in on Friday. Covid tests done period 1 on Thursday and period 1 on Friday (and one period 1 next Monday too).

Welcome @NaThenThee!

I've got two days of INSET but no idea what's on the agenda apart from the obvious safeguarding stuff. I'm hoping for a free couple of hours somewhere but I won't be surprised if I don't get it!

Yes, 13luckyblackcats you are entitled to your additional 10% PPA time and you should have your request to have it at another time granted and if not, your union rep should be able to sort.

We’ve got 2 days of INSET then just Y7 and 12 are in doing a load of tutor stuff and I’m not a tutor of those year groups so in my head all the work is going to get done then.

@MsAwesomeDragon wow that's tough! Pretty much straight into the fire for you then. @Hercisback I have 3 days of inset too - Wednesday/Thursday is classroom management which like @13luckyblackcats I am incredibly grateful for. Friday is then all schools in the academy together for KCSIE/ CEO speeches . At least there's no growth mindset/bloom's taxonomy/behaviour-management-by-smiling-and-cartoon-drawing training this year though!

Thanks @ChloeDecker! That would be a help for sure, I will speak to my mentor.

@13luckyblackcats You are entitled to it but it is so difficult sometimes isn't it to not want to rock the boat in the first couple of weeks back and be 'the squeaky cog'? I think PPA makes such a difference in at least being able to stay on top of the game for the whole term that I would definitely encourage you to push for it though.

We've got inset Wed, kids back Thurs. Thurs is normally my management day, so I think I'm going to ask my cover to do the afternoon. She teaches my class 20% of the time, she needs to get to know them too.

Honey the worse thing about Seneca for me last year was all the kids forgetting their own passwords.

Always swore if I used it again I would make the kids use the schools name as a password. Yes they could hack their friends account. But the worst they could do is complete their homework for them.

Good idea when ds claims never to know how to sign into any of these things.

No classes won’t be set up on there as these are year 9s and they don’t use it in ks3 so new to them too.

Welcome Na we have 2 days inset, all the usual plus new whole school literacy strategy, sre training, behaviour strategy and other things I’ve forgotten. Good luck with new school start.

Can’t believe I’m back tomorrow. Still seem to be in denial as I’m not stressed. 3rd year in same school though and I did reassure myself and anyone who needed it last year that normal teaching in departments would seem like a breeze after a year of legging it around the school remembering everything we need for all lessons would be a breeze.

After last September I feel a little bit bombproof. I’m sure that’ll wear off quickly though.

My first day of testing today, Y10-13! Training at 8, first batch in at 9!

Hope all who are in today for whatever (inc Mistress, Dolly etc) have good days!

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9941803/Schools-improve-behaviour-keeping-lunch-bubbles-Gavin-Williamson-claims.html

Gav wants us to keep lunchtime bubbles as they improve behaviour. Well for us behaviour was undoubtedly worse as pupils wanted to be outside, not eating their lunch in rows in a cramped classroom. Has he been in a secondary school? Pupils eat whatever is the fastest to consume!

Even though I've only got inset today, I hardly slept a wink. Back to school nightmares are the worst!

May the odds be ever in your favour, to all tributes teachers and school staff.

Hope it goes well Jan.

I'm laughing at the idea of us even having room for every student to sit down to eat let alone the kids reaction.

Bit fucking late to organise the school day now, Gav. I do like that the Daily Mail changed his name to Jenrick halfway through like he is so crap at his job that the housing minister might be more likely to comment on school dinners.

Can you imagine Bob’s response?

‘So I have to, like, sit? To eat? But I eat m sarnies between lessons so I can play football’.

Mr Williamson said headteachers found it a great opportunity to teach ‘family dining’ – including table manners and social skills.
Did they? It was like feeding time at the zoo, trashing nearly every classroom, rather than just the dining rooms.
Fuck off, Gav, there's a good lad.

Morning

Welcome @NaThenThee

I hated our lunch time bubbles as it meant that the kids were all outside unless the weather was torrential. Not a bad thing in itself but when they came in, the year group was crammed into one space e.g. hall/restaurant. So it was crammed and inevitably led to bored kids getting up to mischief!

Good luck to all those going back today/this week. It’s much better when you’re actually there and the familiarity of the DH droning on entirely predictably about exam results, the need to do better in every way and the necessity of being on perpetual guard against non-regulation trousers sends you into a light doze, at least in my experience. But I suppose the testing will make it very different this year.
Gavin Williamson should be walled up somewhere, and I mean literally, not figuratively.