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.

Is my performance management meeting the time to say I want to go part time (0.8) asap after Christmas? Can't work out when to officially make it known what I want (it has been mentioned in passing)

I bloody hate assemblies-not having them has probably been one of the best things about the last year!

rule, who are your u referring to as your DH??

Silly typos

Rule Submit a flexible working request ASAP. That's how it works in my place. Head would expect an informal chat first. Most people get what they want but we are secondary.

How will they fill the 0.2?

I love assemblies. Mainly because I escort my form to the hall and leave them there, and get an extra 15 minutes to prepare for my day. Teachers are rarely expected to attend in person assemblies, but we have to attend Teams assemblies obviously.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

Is my performance management meeting the time to say I want to go part time (0.8) asap after Christmas? Can't work out when to officially make it known what I want (it has been mentioned in passing)

Yes make it known so staffing can be planned before timetabling starts

@TheHoneyBadger thanks x He is with us now 😊

Just remembered the one thing that did make me 😮 in that DT article: something about “the continued drive to get school staff vaccinated”.

WHAT “drive”???

If the DT / U4T types werenst any point calling for teacher vaxxing, it was solely so that schools could “get back to normal” and to “shut those ridiculous and dangerous unions up”.

I’m presuming there’s no reference to giving teachers boosters in this 5 point plan?

According to teacher tapp 90%+ teachers are now vaccinated. We don't need priority anymore you fools, we're all over 18!! Priority boosters would be nice.

Wtf re full school day, that’s just designed to feed the ‘teachers are lazy & haven’t been working since the pandemic began’ narrative. Grrr.

My y1s have never been in a proper assembly and will have no idea how to function in one unless a real life mute button becomes a possibility. The first real assembly in September is going to be hilarious 😂

Boosters smoosters, peeps..... (no ref to them in the 5 points, no. It reads like getting all staff double vaxxed will be enough cause for back slapping!)

Seen the Chat thread started by a teacher about her sec school just having closed til Sept? Interesting tales of various school situations. Apparently one of the factors PHE take into account when deciding how to handle an outbreak is the proportion of students reporting LFT results.

Maybe if this were publicised it would incentivise parents to do them again? Also reinforces the message that they are one of the few mitigations we have, therefore important.

I thought as much re boosters. God, the government really don’t like us, do they?

It sounds like we are scrapping masks, scrapping testing, scrapping self-isolation, scrapping quarantine and scrapping releasing of daily stats, if some people get their way. I actually look back to Theresa May with a sort of vague fondness in comparison to this shower of shite (and I couldn’t bear the woman!)

I saw that, Jan.
I was wondering how long it would be before teachers' lack of 'can do' attitude would be blamed.

The article implies that the “full school day” thing is about ensuring all pupils are actually attending. Aimed at parents keeping kids off because of Covid worry. Parents United are getting very worried about this.

Seen the Chat thread started by a teacher about her sec school just having closed til Sept? Interesting tales of various school situations. Apparently one of the factors PHE take into account when deciding how to handle an outbreak is the proportion of students reporting LFT results.

That's the teacher who was getting a complete pasting for saying 5 kids fell ill within an hour. Thread deleted, thankfully. It was really unpleasant.

How will they fill the 0.2?

Various options. Everyone else at my level is 0.8, I'm the oldest teacher doing officially 1.0 in the classroom. Too old for this level of hardcore behaviour management, it's exhausting. I want to be in a better mood for my own child.

scrapping releasing of daily stats

I think more stats on all sorts of things should be public knowledge. Road deaths for example, like in Australia.

I think more stats on all sorts of things should be public knowledge.

Agree. Then people would be better informed and possibly judge risk slightly better. Risk assessment is so bad in this country.

I can't see primary kids testing daily.
Jeez there's kids that come to school without having breakfast!

And I didn't think they were allowed for under 12s anyway??

I think they are just going to ignore primary completely!

Duh obviously 11s can (Y7) but not sure about younger?

Yes, when the gov talks about 'school', they mean secondary. Not primary, and definitely not specialist provision.

So is the plan with primaries just to let the children get sick? Parents will do the usual feed the kids some calpol and send them in regardless and it will spread round like Norovirus.

No testing, no sending home bubbles despite it being airborne, no bubbles so back to 100s of children together in assemblies and break time. How are the public health bodies meant to do contact tracing for everything if schools arent?

Also can't believe we won't be elligible for a booster.

Sorry realised that was a huge rant.

I think the plan for all kids is to let them get it.

I can't see another way out though unless we vaccinate children. The repeated isolation isn't working.

Why oh why won't they give us the booster?(Rhetorical- I know the answer). We are going to be working with the unvaccinated far more than health or social care will. They really hate us. I'm so done with it.