The Sixty-Sixth Republic - Who will be the medal winners on Results Day? Grade inflation predicted again

[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.

Like a bad sitcom.

I tried to simultaneously teach the ones in school and stream the lesson and it ended up in chaos after the pc crashed because it couldn’t handle it.

One of the lessons I was teaching to the class and kids at home I ended up muting myself for 20 minutes while I dealt with appalling behaviour in the class that ended up with a kid being removed and then suspended for what happened. God knows what they thought was going on. After that, with that group I decided it was pointless to try to teach both and if they logged in I'd give them a link to a Corbettmaths video and some mymaths to go off and do which was far more productive.

Impossible to do dual teaching if your class isn't the best behaved and needs your full attention.

I had a great one last term where we were doing an end of term quiz with all 4 classes in our phase. I was running it and was doing the first round - there I am chatting away with my questions, when the child behind me does a MASSIVE vom all over the desk, then just sits there throwing up all over herself. That was beamed into 3 other classrooms on the IAWB. Nice! I did a quick "We just need to take a break" and shared my screen with the 'Big Quiz of the Year' slide on it. Couldn't tell the other classes/teachers because I was dealing with vom. Had children appearing with messages from other rooms 'WTF?'

In other news, past me did NOT write a proper list of things that needed to be done before we go back. Super. Current me thinks past me was a dick.

We dual teach but it's a nightmare to be honest.

Faffing about dialing them in at the beginning and then once they join (if they do!) sometimes the say they can't hear/can't see the slides etc. I find it difficult to teach the others while having to keep an eye on what's happening on teams.

noble you're absolutely right about it being impossible with challenging classes! My Y11s last year were a really tough group who I had to have eyes on constantly. Being distracted sorting teams out just led to mayhem and they were then difficult to settle.

Quick ?

When the LF tests are done at school, why don't they wait for the 30mins to read the result?

Is it just our high school?

the DfE are now launching their 'back to school's campaign

Ah, that explains why Alice Roberts is all over Twitter this morning retweeting like mad with the opposite message. I don't see DfE stuff, I think I blocked it at the beginning of the holidays.

I hate duel teaching. The tech was unreliable. Behaviour was frequently appalling (you were meant to mute yourself every time you “disciplined” a pupil, even if it was “Bob pay attention).
Nightmarish juggling act that just makes your lesson shit.

I wonder what it would be like with shit hot tech and no behaviour issues?

Just read our risk assessment for September - only thing that changes is that bubbles are now lots bigger - whole phase rather than class. In my case that means a bubble of 100. Means we can teach phonics across classes, which is desperately needed. Still masks for staff outside of our classrooms, still limited numbers in the staff room and some admin areas out of bounds for everyone other than a limited number of individuals.

No mention of assembly in there though, which is my big concern.

We’re nearing ‘Broom cupboard’ time, but I haven’t seen Staff for ages, either here or on Skype.....

twinkletoes if it’s before term, because they can just go home and be contacted by school if a positive, rather than wait around potentially infecting more people?

No mention of assembly in there though, which is my big concern.

We're back to complete 'business as usual,' including whole school assemblies. It's a worry.

We're due to be back in, fully business as usual.

Given that the local infection rate is higher than it was at the end of last term, stratospherically high (well into the multiple thousands per 100,000 in recent weeks) for older secondary age pupils, some of whom have siblings in my class, I am not feeling comfortable....

Maybe @JanglyBeads.

My dc's school want them tested on Thursday and Monday before a return on Wednesday 8th. Got a letter this morning.

I have inset Thursday and Friday and in school properly from Monday 6th, so how I'm supposed to get them there for testing is anyone's guess!

I'm going to write to my head and say that I'm not comfortable with assemblies. See what happens. I'm sure our risk assessment will be updated before next Wednesday though.

We are taking them out of lessons to test them at my place. Hmmmm.

DS's school more cautious. Two tests before they begin.

Term begins next Friday but 2 days Inset. Testing is next Tuesday and Friday. Lessons don’t begin until Friday PM but it’ll just be form time.

I will have forgotten how to teach!

We're testing before they come back

piggy I read “to test them at my place” as meaning the whole school was coming round to yours, and momentarily thought it was so you wouldn’t feel left out.....

Oh well, why not!? The more the merrier!

I will have forgotten how to teach I’m still trying to work out how to teach.

No idea what my new schools plans are.

Old school is sticking with the same bubbles and zones for the first week / two weeks. Whilst they test everyone.Then it is meant to be back to normal, with kids moving all round the school again.

Inset is on Tuesday 31st, I’m starting to get nervous. Xx

Am aware of a setting where, because it draws from a very large area, often by public transport, they made sure everyone had a box of 3 tests at the start of the holiday or given to new students when they registered, and those tests are to be done on specific days before the start of term.

Tries to balance risks of bringing everyone in by public transport to take their tests vs the risk of students not doing them particularly well....

I've switched the kettle on in the broom cupboard...

See you there