Sixty Seventh Republic - under temporary guardianship

[Hercisback]

In the absence of staff and her fabulous thread titles and witty openers here is a 67th thread. The broom cupboard is overflowing so time for another Republic. Hopefully we hear from staff soon.

Stolen from thread 66.
'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.'

@WhenSheWasBad it's awful. I don't think I've been this ill since 2019! I kept feeling tired walking from the kitchen to the living room in my small flat. Still, one more day!

Welcome @stravagante and @Proudplantowner. Help yourself to the biscuits, but please don't ever sit on the chairs.

We've hit the threshold (Primary), so back to masks, bubbles, separate staff rooms etc. I've been suffering from the non-Covid cold and feel like I could sleep for a week.

Fingers crossed that we can all enjoy a well-deserved half term.

@chocolateisavegetable I wouldn't dare sit on the chairs!

FFS.

Because of where we are in the country, it has now been decided that any child who lives in a house where there is a positive covid case, must stay home for 5 days and have evidence of a negative PCR on day 5 before coming back to school. If they won't do a PCR, then they have to wait a full 11 days of isolation like before.

This is 'good' in that it is obviously a safer option, but bad because we are going to be having to provide 5 days remote learning work left, right and centre. 7 year olds can not do this.

Work-load a go-go.

The mix of setting remote working and trying to teach classes plus making sure all the students who have been set remote learning have been sent a Teams invite to join the actual lesson as well is quite a challenge.

We've hit the threshold

Oooh, what was the threshold? Out of professional interest.

@Radagast

The mix of setting remote working and trying to teach classes plus making sure all the students who have been set remote learning have been sent a Teams invite to join the actual lesson as well is quite a challenge.

I don’t think people realise just how much extra work this entails.

Plus the juggling nightmare of trying to teach kids at home and kids on line simultaneously.

We did kids logging into lessons in the summer and it was balls for everyone. Thankfully we're not doing that anymore, just setting some generic work centrally.

@noblegiraffe

We've hit the threshold

Oooh, what was the threshold? Out of professional interest.

10%, although we're unsure whether that was 10% of the whole school, or just because more than one class was 10% or more.

It's just the worst of all worlds for all the students trying to teach to a class and online at the same time, everyone gets a raw deal.

More than one of my class has more than 10% off with covid and we've still got no mitigations.

@Michino
Thank you. Not very common but not completely unheard of then!

We had 1/4 of children off and still didn’t close. PHE came to investigate, checked our cleaning and cleaning products, admired our Covid policies, told us we were doing a grand job and to carry on. The hardest part is when some children are off, some are in and some have returned after being away BUT some of those have accessed online lessons and some haven’t. I wish the unions would focus on stopping online lessons unless we are working from home.

Hi @stravagante and @Proudplantowner!

Inset tomorrow so feeling like I’ve broken up for half term although am in bed nursing my painful chest. No doubt it’ll be a chest infection, always happens!

We’re still teaching every lesson via teams as well as in class until told not to do so.

I had messages id complaint from parents when logged on to my emails today as the cover teachers Mom-Weds didn’t start teams meetings for the lessons the were covering for me - which is obviously my fault.

That's rubbish, Mother! Not your fault at all clearly.

Every single one of my classes has more than 10% positive cases. Nothing has been said about any measures.

Just realised my classes that don't have more than 10% positive cases are sixth form - vaccinated.

I imagine rule won’t be teaching online and in class at the same time as she’s primary?

My DS14 was off again today, after he managed 3 days in a row following 3 wks off for Covid. Felt really sick this morning.

We don't do that up here (dual teaching); we aren't allowed to. Would be backed by Union if we were asked to and refused

No, we won't be doing class and online at the same time. Provision of suitable work that can be accessed by parents who don't speak English, and children who are 7 and 8 though... tough.

Tempted to just sort out a pack of work based around learning to tell the time. Or how to use money. Those are easily accessible. Obviously also times tables learning. Thing is, it's supposed to be 'the same' as they'd be getting in school - which is impossible.

Still limping along to half term with a smattering of kids testing positive daily. Luckily no staff yet apart from a few who've been hit by the horrendous cold that is doing the rounds too.

My TN has kicked off, which means no mask for me as it's agony to wear it!

Oh TN’s agony isn’t it, I’m sorry.

Yes how could primary possibly give “the same” work as in class.

Hello and welcome newbies! Make yourselves at home - there might still be some cake in the tin...

Definitely not easy setting the same stuff in primary for those at home.

Not that they bloody do what we've spent valuable time preparing and sending, in my experience, despite emailing to ask for it!