The Sixty Third Republic - as we glide into staycations the DfE whip up anti-school media storm

[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.

And it’s so unfair as a(n?) SP because schools advise staff parents to ‘get the other parent to deal with it’. Yeah thanks.

Don’t suppose your parents could perform that role, could they (if you stated that you were happy for school to discuss with them)?

BBC’s reporting of what he said re schools isolation

“Jane Merrick from the "I" newspaper asks about the mental health impact and damage to children's education from Covid restrictions.

Can the PM guarantee schools won't close again, she wants to know?

"We have a massive catch-up plan for schools," the PM says, but people "want to see a different approach to outbreaks in schools".

The education secretary will announce later this week "how we will move away from sending bubbles home" in England, he adds, to reduce the impact on schools.

He says "the way forward is testing".

And asked whether children should be vaccinated, Sir Patrick Vallance says we need to wait for guidance from the the JCVI which regulates the rollout.”

He says "the way forward is testing"

Even in primary?!

I’ve been treated pretty negligently, IMO, by our pastoral team - can’t say more here - and it’s so difficult to know how to complain to or about colleagues, isn’t it? Thinking about it, there should be some kind of advocate system or something for staff parents esp single ones. But there isn’t.

It’s not fair when our kids end up losing out.

Primary? snarf snarf, those little things nipping round yer ankles you mean?
Never mind about them.

Apart from my current pride and joy, Wilffy......

Are any secondary kids still testing? 10-20% max, I'd say?

@DanglingMod

Are any secondary kids still testing? 10-20% max, I'd say?

My dd is in hope of some time off. Her friends are similar.

In school testing centres then?

The sensible thing for primaries would be to use the saliva tests......

Oh so long as you babysit the kids it's all fine primary

Thanks. I need to have a meeting with someone who actually has some clout and say can I be a parent now and nothing I say here is judged or impacts on me as a teacher so I can actually discuss my concerns properly? Don't think I'd trust the answer anyway though.

I've never known who I'm even meant to communicate with because... 5 fucking form tutors in less than 3 years all shit and quit within a year and a constant revolving door on pastoral roles with faceless email addresses and no teaching experience. Where is the common sense that actually we need to give this group someone long term who will be sticking around as they've been through so much disruption and ineffective tutoring? Where do academic concerns go? Where do expert concerns go? To the person who has no training and has been in the role for ten minutes? Meh.

Cairo not an option for ds: refer to my earlier post about him 'literally killing himself' if I took him out of the country or sent him to boarding school. He was really bright and engaged at primary and I kick myself because really I knew this was the wrong school for him but as a non driving single parent without massive disposable funds to throw at public transport and knowing I needed to be able to work I sent him anyway.

We've ordered takeaway and are going to watch a movie. 2 weeks of school to go for me and 2 years of GCSEs to go for ds (and my nerves).

Sorry for the moan.

I want a moan but I will get over myself soon enough.

Tired of being constantly overlooked. Maybe I'm just crap at my job.

www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/covid-spike-wolverhampton-sees-500-20976385?fbclid=IwAR2nz2QwjdY6l9TmenIwW3lMe2SCnOp8cAZFlhOvguIYOG4M1-aWBFqpS6U

Well that explains why we have so many pupils isolating!

It's almost as if getting the massive population of unvaccinated citizens who mix on mass in the most crowded conditions to scrap masks was a bad idea

Fucks this shit. Sorry. Bad mood.

Cairo not an option for ds: refer to my earlier post about him 'literally killing himself' if I took him out of the country or sent him to boarding school.

Do you think he will be determined to hate a move, or could he grow to like it, given the other opportunities he could have, especially with the outdoor activities?

I'm sorry, I have no idea what I would do either.

@GuyFawkesDay

I want a moan but I will get over myself soon enough.

Tired of being constantly overlooked. Maybe I'm just crap at my job.

You can moan as much as you like .

Aww Jan I'm touched...thank you :)

The 'what about the flu season coming up, won't we need flu beds and covid beds?'' issue makes a bit more sense now. They're planning to have covid season first and get it done just as flu season starts to gear up.

For all suffering with crappy schools.

I have no advice Honey. Would a school move be a possibility at all?

My dd is in hope of some time off. Her friends are similar.

Is she a friend of mine? I'd quite like a close contact isolation to happen to me right now. Am sick to the back teeth of my class.

They're planning to have covid season first and get it done just as flu season starts to gear up.

Yes, this is about a summer 'exit' wave, rather than an autumn/winter one.

I'm just really glad that we're about to break up.

Partner is anxious (single jabbed, bad asthma, but not bad enough), I'm confused as to the decision making (which I think makes me sensible). So we've had a conversation about how with me out of the mix of people, with child out of the mix of people, we can manage our risks pretty well throughout the summer... and the imminent shit storm on its way. We're going to get supermarket deliveries again (as that is the place we are mostly likely to come into contact with mouth breathers), and only do stuff for child outdoors. That's what has been planned for her summer holiday anyway. Our own holiday is low risk due to being our own place.

Just more culture war crap, isn't it.

Geoff Barton on One Show, pretending not to be furious.

Found out a job I was interested in was given today to someone else. On a temporary basis, but it means it'll be way harder to go for when it does come up.
I shall survive, but it was a bit of a slap on the face to be told.

Found out a job I was interested in was given today to someone else. On a temporary basis, but it means it'll be way harder to go for when it does come up

That’s shit guy really sorry. There’s so much cover to cover at my school at the moment. School is just using all the teachers gained time. But we are still expected to complete all the extra projects etc we’ve been set.

Staff seem throughly pissed off.

@GuyFawkesDay

Found out a job I was interested in was given today to someone else. On a temporary basis, but it means it'll be way harder to go for when it does come up. I shall survive, but it was a bit of a slap on the face to be told.

They might be crap at it. Leaving the field open for you to swoop in and claim your job

Nah, they'll be good at it. Which is fantastic. I'll get over myself soon enough.

And I'll go for the role if it comes up officially

I hate the secret handshake job giving.