The Sixty-Fifth Republic - The Covid School Phoney War under way so who will the gold medal and who will get the wooden spoon?

[Staffholidayclubrep]

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.

You can sit on chairs but keep the windows open. You don’t have to upload LFT results during the holidays. You do not have to wear mask - free choice

Indeed, @echt....

@Beachhuts90

Leaving education or the arts sector?

Leaving the arts. Last year when the government was fannying about all summer and not saying who would get how much of the arts grant, most medium and large arts orgs had to let lots of people go. Those jobs aren't coming back. Too unstable even with things open.

I can fully understand this; maybe there's hope for education after all! More teachers with an arts background really helps in primary and Sen. what was your area of expertise?

Just dropping in - sorry to hear about your two positive DS Piggy - I hope you and DH are ok.

Day 4 of decorating here. At that point where you wonder why you ever started. DH and I have been sanding floors all morning and are now ready to collapse. The house is in absolute chaos and there is dust everywhere

Sorry to hear both your DSS are positive piggy. And that you've got arsey men in your life. I hope they stop being arses soon. And that you all stay well too, obviously.

Sorry about the positives in your house Piggy. Stay well.

I can fully understand this; maybe there's hope for education after all! More teachers with an arts background really helps in primary and Sen. what was your area of expertise?

I worked in the theatre! I agree it helps so much in primary and sen. I was working with children the last couple years of my career there and it's nice now to work with the same children every day, as it was different groups most days before. One advantage of school!

sunbeamsoutofcucumbers.substack.com/p/what-ever-happened-to-that-spectator?justPublished=true

This piece on Rashford, School meals & the Spectator is amazing. Not if you are Rashford, obviously but I wonder how far it extends to everything else they write.

Sorry, completely off topic but jeeze, wtf

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/aug/04/allegations-of-toxic-working-environment-at-top-london-school-holland-park?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

I worked in the theatre! I agree it helps so much in primary and sen. I was working with children the last couple years of my career there and it's nice now to work with the same children every day, as it was different groups most days before. One advantage of school!

Oh that's fantastic! You're not in the NE are you?

Staff questionnaires hidden from Ofsted! LOL. As noble knows the questionnaires at my school were hidden from staff so we couldn't fill them in..

That Spectator thing is bonkers!

@WarriorN

I worked in the theatre! I agree it helps so much in primary and sen. I was working with children the last couple years of my career there and it's nice now to work with the same children every day, as it was different groups most days before. One advantage of school!

Oh that's fantastic! You're not in the NE are you?

Unfortunately not!

My office is being painted this summer WarriorN
I'm hoping for Farrow and Ball to cover the damp.

Boris strikes again, joking to Scottish ex mining communities about how thatcher helped the move away from fossil fuels.....

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58107009

Front page of the Telegraph refers in big letters to ‘A-level chaos’ and suggests that universities will need to rely on entrance exams in future.

Good, tbh, years of trying to make A-levels into entrance exams for top unis has rendered them useless for other students.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/05/universities-set-entrance-exams-amid-a-level-chaos/

[quote noblegiraffe]Front page of the Telegraph refers in big letters to ‘A-level chaos’ and suggests that universities will need to rely on entrance exams in future.

Good, tbh, years of trying to make A-levels into entrance exams for top unis has rendered them useless for other students.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/05/universities-set-entrance-exams-amid-a-level-chaos/[/quote]
Agree. The majority of ‘our girls’ want to be doctors. They all take the sciences but don’t really enjoy those subjects. They’re pushed into medicine as it’s expected by their families. If Unis were more selective maybe they would find it harder to get into them and therefore choose Alevels suited to their personality/ability rather than what they think they should do.

Piggy, one Lincoln club apparently responsible for the surge - not named officially but presumably students will know which one?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-58069324

Yes, seen it. DS didn't go to a club in Lincoln but he did go to pubs so presumably rubbed shoulders.

Hope your family get better soon piggy

Checking in as we are back from 2 lovely weeks in Devon. Was exactly what I needed after last year!

Back to rain though-lots of rain

Very tired though as we left at 4am to avoid traffic (which was successful!).

Sending you whatever is needed Piggy.

Oops forgot the

Crap, someone Dh works with (office based) has had two positive lateral flows and waiting for pcr.

Both double jabbed; no idea what T and T will say. 10 days till it won't matter anyway! Argh.

no more lounging about mn for a couple of weeks if he's wfh isolating

Oh bugger.

Depends if the guy tells T&T they were within 2m for at least 15 mins or within 1m for a minute or shared a car.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_staffroom/4316491-The-Sixty-Sixth-Republic-Who-will-be-the-medal-winners-on-Results-Day-Grade-inflation-predicted-again?watched=1

Oh god it is those August dates again ....... Will Gav be around?