The Sixtieth Republic - One half term to go - just need to survive Sports Day and Activities Week!

[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.

Morning all. Starting the day with double gained time as should’ve had Yr 11. Time to start ploughing through TAG data. Anyone else worried about the response in the summer from pupils and parents? Now the marking mania is over, ice now replaced tiredness with anxiety. Eurgh!

I am still especially rubbish at writing detailed plans. I like to know where I'm heading and how to get there but I don't write every little thing down, which i know i should be.
Every year I make at least one nqt cry when I take my red pen to their detailed plans. By this stage, you should be being encouraged to write as little as possible.

Good morning everyone. As predicted, I did not sleep well, but it wasn't because of me thinking about school. Dd1 had gone to collect stuff from her uni house yesterday and didn't get home till after 11, so I stayed up to talk to her a bit. Then dd2 couldn't sleep so appeared at my bedside at 1am, then the dog needed a wee at 4, and I've started the day at 5:50 (slightly later than yesterday). I am a bit too tired to care about teaching today 😴

Wail and self pity. I don't get gained time. Or very little! That said, today I have one lesson and still grinding my teeth.

Six more weeks!

Joining the bad sleep brigade, always happens. Early one tonight to catch up.

You've mentioned rollover timetables, Piggy...but surely your new cohort of 9s doesn't come up to you early?

Anyone else worried about the response in the summer from pupils and parents? Oh yes. Especially from year 13, as we had complaints after the mocks and the final grades aren't going to be much better tbh. My year 11 are a bit better than expected actually, so I'm not worried about them so much, but year 13 are going to give me many sleepless nights.

Good grief... I want a silver clock next year for 25 years experience and I still have lessons that don't go to plan and feel a bit shit.

6 weeks to go. That include... stem week, healthy week and sports day (maybe not), leavers concert to be filmed, leavers service to prep and hold on school field with parents in attendance should covid numbers allow...or stream or record if they don't.

And I have 4 half day courses to attend virtually. They are fine but it obv necessitates the writing of plans and, sadly, usually, the picking up of pieces and addressing behaviour of the class when it isnt me that teaches them.

Oh...and reports and the follow up parents evening.
Zero transition for my y6s though, which is a crying shame and which then impacts every other class not being able to have a going up day too.

No they don't dangling but the inequity is galling most as core subject teachers don't lose many classes, whereas option subjects only have their new GCSE classes and year 12 so their timetables plummet, especially fi they are a less popular subject which is taught to everyone in in year 9 until May half term(glares at MFL who now have about 12 lessons a fortnight - the average full time core teacher has well over 30 and expected to do the same extra stuff)

The other difficulty with rollovers is that to save money people who are leaving leave in May and aren't replaced so people fill in until September. This is the first year this has not happened in our English department , touch wood. It's not working as an idea any more but we cling to it out of habit.

Our school loves to fill our 'gained time' with various meetings, inductions etc etc.

I worked out that if we had proper 'gained time' I would be three lessons better off this year, which isn't too much. Last year , I taught 41/50 lessons after May half term!

I think the annoyance is because in a 13-18 schools gained time should be amazing since lots of people teach multiple year 11 and year 13 groups.

Primary colleagues are probably rolling their eyes at me!

As expected hardly any sleep here. Not helped by tbe house alarm going off at 2am again down the road (new owners moved in fri, they need to learn how to set it).

Right. Today I am being kind to myself. I am still learning (well i always will be but you know). I'm sorted for today.

Final push . I can do this.

No they don't dangling but the inequity is galling most as core subject teachers don't lose many classes, whereas option subjects only have their new GCSE classes and year 12 so their timetables plummet,

Not actually true where I am. The non core subjects have less timetable time per exam class (2 per week non core to 4 for core) and we more key stage 3 classes (as we have them once per week so lots of different forms but core have them between 4 and 5 per week, so one form multiple times) between fewer members of staff, so whilst I may lose 7 lessons (which get taken up by invigilation and activities week etc) a week from today, my core colleagues lose double that at least, (sometimes more if it’s someone who has had mostly exam groups-looking at you a certain HoD) and I still have 9 classes for Years 7 to 9 each week to write reports for, mark assessments for, along with Year 10 to 12 (I teach two classes each so next year will have more time off at least!)

I think it’s because we don’t do 3 year GCSEs maybe, so whilst I still have all my 9s till end of term, some have definitely ‘checked out’ if they haven’t chosen the subject!

Piggy ignore me-completely forgot about your three tier county so what I have said is totally irrelevant! Just having my ‘get going’ tea now!

Good luck to all those going back today.
I was rubbish for the first three years. I thought it would help being a mature entrant but it really didn’t. In retrospect I thank my erstwhile department for giving me pretty much wall to wall bottom sets for that time - it was a thing they did - so my behaviour management got good fast. Once I’d more or less cracked that everything else was relatively straightforward.

By this stage, you should be being encouraged to write as little as possible.

I'm being observed on Wednesday - observer will be lucky if they get given a postit with a list on it they won't even get that

Morning. Also in the crap sleep club. 4.5hrs according to Fitbit.

Zones have ended but our department area is having work done so my lessons are in different places still so kids will be moving as well as me so crowded corridors fun to come.

No gain back time here. Hopefully people will remember that and not pile extra work on me

Hope everyone’s day goes well.

@MrsHamlet

I am still especially rubbish at writing detailed plans. I like to know where I'm heading and how to get there but I don't write every little thing down, which i know i should be. Every year I make at least one nqt cry when I take my red pen to their detailed plans. By this stage, you should be being encouraged to write as little as possible.

On my very first lesson on my very first training placement, my mentor did that with mine. It looked like my plan was bleeding everywhere. 😂

Now, I've not produced a written plan at all for five years and I'd be pushing to scrap them again if I ever moved to another school which had that expectation. It's madness to think of the hours I wasted writing down everything in detail for the benefit of someone else.

Also in the crap sleep club.

Me too. Partner was drunk and snoring, it was hot, I couldn't switch my head off. So, 6 hours according to tracker, but doesn't feel that much. Did an extended swim this morning trying to sort out some endorphins.

Already 4 behind my report schedule. Coming in to school to do them is a bad idea. Can't work in the building site at home though.

BBC reports:

^Posted at 16:07
The health secretary says the growth in Covid cases has been "predominantly" among secondary school-age children and that testing them twice a week is "incredibly important". He adds he wants to "keep as much education as possible between now and summer".^

• acknowledging that some are having to isolate now and that will go on being the case? Or worse??

And secondary kids have younger siblings in primary so it will be heading our way, and ours don't test.

A year 10 positive (symptomless) LFT yesterday took out a number of students and staff today.

How, MrsH? Surely they weren’t in contact?

Well we've had fights, exclusions and all manner of drama today but thankfully no covid cases!

We had 9...

One mum on the staff taken out by the child who took out some other kids (and another parent) who'd been together over the holiday.

Those trials of LFT testing instead of isolating have just been told that it’s ok to do it even for contacts of confirmed Delta variant cases. twitter.com/georginafellow3/status/1401859105158012936?s=21