The broom cupboard 3 - for briefly stranded republicans

[TheHoneyBadger]

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

@MrsHamlet

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.

Family dining - clue in the name there. Fuck off Gav! Good luck to those in today.

Literally hasn't set foot in a school, has he?

He's like that 5 year old narc we all know who sits telling an assorted gathering of actual adults that blue is yellow, snow is hot and the DfE know anything about schools.

He seems to be doing Michaela hot takes from 5 years ago.

Proper nerves kicking in now. Inset tomorrow then start on Thursday. So far i have a few getting to know you games, a scavenger hunt to learn the new classroom, possibly a bit of team stuff outside for some fresh air, need to set class rules so need to introduce this somehow, and then on Friday we have a "new beginnings" day. So all about individuals feeling welcome and valued and being part of a team. Was thinking a story and then discussion about our different qualities but put together we'll be a great class. Possibly jigsaw pieces then we can add any new chn to it. Have 3 completely new to the school.

I'm so stuck. Why don't they teach useful things like this on your PGCE??? Honestly I'm not sure how much it's prepared me at all!

Yes, the PGCE drops you into a classroom already set up with routines embedded by the class teacher which isn't helpful for the start of year.

I'm so stuck

The kids don’t know that, though, so just do what you want to. Nothing is likely to be a disaster.

I'm so stuck. Why don't they teach useful things like this on your PGCE??? Honestly I'm not sure how much it's prepared me at all!
You'll be okay :) Prioritise the routines that you want them to be in, and breathe. You're Miss now; they think you know AAAALLLLLL the things!

Good luck to anyone in this week. This is my payback week for not breaking up until the 23rd, not in til Monday for inset, only primary in Tuesday then ks3 (that I’ll have to teach for the first time in years) Wednesday and ks4 Thursday. Thank goodness for Fridays as my day off!

I just had a delicious night of sex dreams. Makes a change at this time in the holidays, normally I'd be doing school anxiety dreams. Ha.

@namechangedyetagain - give them some structured time to chat, do some nice art with them so you get a chance to chat to them too, few bits of 'remember what a noun is?, try to listen to some readers (especially your SEND ones). That'll do.

I should probably make some plans...

Happy birthday @twinkletoesimnot and welcome to the thread, @NaThenThee! I did 3 schools in my first 3 years after PGCE and it was so, so hard, always having to change. I did two years on a temporary contract at my current school before they gave me a permanent contract. Being in the same place makes life immeasurably easier.

I'm slowly getting back into work mode (what a difference to my motivation it's made, not having a planner yet to organise stuff in to), doing a bit of maths today. Inset Thursday and Friday, then back in on Monday. Feeling apathy like I've never experienced before at the start of an academic year .

@namechangedyetagain, good luck. I found NQT year a real shock to the system and had to throw my PGCE planning processes out pretty quickly. I remember having panic attacks within a week and oddly, it was an early outward bound residential with Year 7, which gave me the time to properly breathe and take stock of the situation. Probably because I had a couple of days where I wasn't mad in the evenings planning lessons.

Good luck to everyone. Assuming that this term is going to be difficult with covid etc., I think it's probably going to be a case of just trying to get through to Christmas!

I've watched a webinar on the Ofsted Research Review for Secondary History and made lots of notes on recommendations and implications for our department and ofsted inspections etc. I noted between the lines it does look like the push is to go back to 3 year ks3 to ensure that broad and balanced curriculum and not 'teaching to test' (I know some of you have already but we're still doing it in 2).

I've also looked at my diary and the notes I'd made about what I need to do tomorrow and my timetable etc and looked at the first lessons I need for Friday and done very broad stroke planning and looked at what I need to print. Glad I took the time at the end of last term to get organised for the beginning of this term as I've done bugger all this summer really.

Just need to wash my greasy mop and find something to wear tomorrow

Hoping those back this week have a good week!

Our INSET schedule and first day arrangements have now been emailed.

Suddenly the return seems really close! Start of term jitters have officially kicked in

So was there a period when everyone did a 2 year KS3? I thought some/most had never done that (we certainly don’t currently) but I had a long period when wasn’t involved in secondary.

No, never at my current school or the first two schools I worked in. Yes, in the last school, but they switched back a few years ago.

We've never done a 2 year ks3, and neither has dd's school. I think it's better for the kids to do 3 years of ks3 and only 2 years where they are expected to be doing GCSE, possibly with fewer subjects than the schools with 3 years of ks4.

My subject starts our GCSE texts summer term of Yr 9.

My old school moved to 2 year KS3 and starting GCSE in Y9 the year I Ieft (2013) and it was one reason I was glad to go. There’s so much learning you can do in KS3, so much breadth and depth you can build in when unrestricted by the GCSE specification. Going above and beyond (and off-piste sometimes) in KS3 can really boost performance in KS4 (and subsequently at A level).
I think that for some people, those years are their best learning time. It can be disconcerting sometimes to see the facility for learning - or at least academic learning - switch off in an individual.

Back tomorrow. Was wanted on a smt online meet today but didn't find out about it until after I had already made plans for today. I'm not in charge of any of the inset so I wont have missed anything.

I did find out today that my colleague who I havent seen all year has retired and managed to secure Ill health retirement. Good for them. They are far better out of it if it was making them ill.

You are all sounding a lot more organised than me. I have inset Thursday and Friday but have not planned anything for Mon yet. Today, ds and I did our own version of a triathlon - 6 mile bike ride, 1 1/2 hour swim in the local open air pool, tea and cake (our third event ) then cycled home. Feel like having a nap now.

Here we are honey, MN starts to realise the potential problems of children having to isolate for 10 days of positive but employers requiring parents in work
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4336336-If-a-child-has-to-isolate-but-not-parents-how-will-you-manage-childcare?pg=5

Apparently NHS staff are still required to isolate if have a positive family member, which is good.

Not all NHS @JanglyBeads. My friend has been told as she is double vaccinated then she will be expected to work.

First lesson checklist might be useful for new teachers/people who have forgotten how to teach.

improvingteaching.co.uk/2016/08/28/checklist-first-lesson-with-a-new-class/

I was reading that thread earlier - I think @TheHoneyBadger was right. I think because my school are actually great about that kind of stuff, I assumed other schools would be similar because there is no choice. But that isn’t the reality for many.

I am really worried about household members not needing to isolate any more… worried about immunity waning, especially, selfishly as I had my jabs fairly early - hoping I might be eligible for booster as diabetic. My bloods are out of control and they are about to totally change my medications to try and fix it.

Feel like my emotions are a bit all over the place at the mo - don’t know if age thing. Feels like PMT, but all the time, that I have the rage with everything even when I don’t really.. I’m also having to do the shit bit of INSET this week to all staff 🙄

Thanks for the checklist, that helped. I am getting nervous! I'm a trainee this year but salaried so starting off teaching from day 1. Excited to see my class again and really get going, it is just hitting me it's all the same things to learn as when I started at my last school, like how things are done and coming to terms with different schemes.

Hello all. Lots of children off today.

It's always nerve wracking going back- especially when you go out to the lines and go oh shit, there they are- but when you get them sitting in front of you, everything comes back :)