Primary School Teachers jobsharing

[KittyPerry77]

Out of the 14 classes in my kids' school (2 form entry), 4 classes will now have two class teachers jobsharing instead of one class teacher. I think this will be most unsettling for the children and just not workable at primary level. How can one teacher pick up the maths lesson that someone else has taught the day before? Most impractical I think. And if there is an issue that happened with one teacher you'd need to wait 'til they're working again next week.
Am I being unreasonable?
And if not what can I do? Obviously the head can't change these teachers working conditions now so what criticism can constructively be given to the head? Thankfully my kids are both having one class teacher each this year but I am worried about subsequent years.

[Duckyneedsaclean]

Usually with job shares one teacher takes on the majority of planning, and the other follows said plans. And they, you know, talk to each other.

[raspberrycreams]

Teachers are professional and can job share effectively. Children benefit from different styles of teaching and expertise. Very unreasonable of you IMO

[MatildaTheCat]

You want adice on offering the head some constructive criticism on a situation which hasn't yet been started and does not affect you since your precious DC aren't in the class?

I have no advice but good luck with that.

[FranHastings]

I think this will happen more and more, as working conditions become more difficult. If you're worried now, wait until they are being taught by unqualified teachers. Nicky Morgan has so many bright ideas.

I have no problem with job shares. There will be time for a handover planned into the week. They offer many benefits to the children as well as the staff.

[Scarydinosaurs]

It is an unreasonable complaint and there are also many benefits to having two teachers.

[LucyInTheSkyWithDonuts]

DD1 had two teachers last year and it worked very well. They both taught different strands of the English and maths syllabus and then shared the other subjects according to their expertise and interests. They communicated lots and we never experienced any duplication/gaps. Also, Teacher no 2 arriving on Thursday raring to go gave a great mid week energy boost to the class. I wouldn't start giving criticism to the Head until you know there is actually something to criticise...

[ChunkyMonkey4321]

YABU - they're entitled to flexible working just as anybody else. Maybe they will divide topics between them so they can both see it through without having to know exactly where the other teacher got to and yes - they can plan together!

Also - why are you so interested when it's not even your kids' class!? 😂😂

[Hrafnkel]

This happens all the time in teaching. I think it can be beneficial as actually each teacher can pick up the parts they are strongest in.

Has it occurred to you that without jobshare arrangements such as this one, any person - male or female, parent or not (though I am really thinking of people in my position, a teacher with young children who needs to work part time for my sanity, energy levels, time with my family etc.) - will be precluded from teaching full stop? Now that really IS unreasonable.

[monkeysox]

Yabu. 30 hours per week each
They probably have their own dc. I'd rather have two dedicated teachers than one knackered one

[CarpeJugulum]

My DS has had this for this past school year, and he loves it - so much so that he's delighted he's getting two teachers next year. In fact, all the kids love both teachers and all are doing really well under both of them.

[Mov1ngOn]

Teaching is exhausting currently. This at least means the teacher is fresh towards the end of the week!

I'm surprised you've not seen this before. Very common!

[dangermouseisace]

YAB totally U but your worries are kind of understandable if you don't know much about what teaching entails.

A full time teaching post requires so, so many more hours work than 40 per week. I'm assuming that job share teachers probably have their own families that they might wish to actually spend some time at the weekends with.

I'd rather have 2 teachers, who have had a decent amount of sleep each, and are happy in their jobs than one overworked and demoralised teacher. They are professionals. They can do this and your kids will benefit from having the input of not one, but 2 trained teachers. Lucky them!!

BTW my daughter is having 2 teachers job sharing next year

[feetheart]

DD had a job-share in Reception, it worked really well even though one teacher left half way through the year and was replaced by another one.
DS is in Yr5 and has had job-sharing teachers this year. It has worked brilliantly and he has claimed that it has been one of his best years (THE best year was when he had an NQT in Yr3 - another one that people fret over but it was a fantastic year for all of them :))

[Iggi999]

Uabu.
Why not wait to experience problems (if they come) rather than predicting them?

[DarylDixonsDarlin]

My son (year 5) has been in a class with two teachers this year - they split the week down the middle between them, its worked fine for us. DS hasn't done any better or worse this year than any other year of primary, he likes both teachers and he knows that at one end of the week he will be focused more on literacy and the second part of the week is more computing, maths etc.

It shouldn't be relevant, but one teacher is male, the other female. In our case it does seem to matter since male primary teachers are rare where we live, and DS very much looks up to and admires the male teacher. There doesn't seem to have been any communication problems and at parents evening both teachers were present, from what I could see they had a great working relationship. I've got no complaints, his is not the only class in our school with job share teachers.

I am pleased schools can find a way to accommodate part timers, rather than ruling out potentially great teachers just because they can't work full time hours. Therefore I think YABU. Having said that, school should be happy to discuss your concerns and put your mind at rest, when it is your child's turn to be in a class with job sharing teachers.

[Overrunwithlego]

My DS has had 2 teachers in three out of his four years in school so far. My Dd has two teachers in reception and will have two teachers in year 1. It's really not a problem although I'll admit to be slightly concerned at the outset so I do understand where you are coming from. But overall having experienced it, it has probably had a positive effect.

[opheliaamongthelillies]

YABVVVVVVU

[JustHappy3]

In my experience it works brilliantly. The teachers are happy and put in far more than they need to to ensure good handovers. They are well motivated. And it means if the kids work less well for one teacher they have a different option for half the week. I think good lesson planning means nothing gets dropped. I wouldn't worry.

[Felyne]

This was how it was in one of my DC's classes this year. Only downside is having to buy two gifts instead of one

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

What can you do?

Enrol on a teacher training course and then take on a full time position.

The other option I suppose is to insist all teachers must only work full time. I'm sure the string of supply teachers you will get when they can't recruit any teachers will be a vast improvement on the situation.

[Bragadocia]

I think it's a great idea. If it keeps more teachers in the profession, that's a really positive thing.

[SantasLittleMonkeyButler]

YABU. DD has had two teachers for Reception year this year and will have a different two next year for Year 1.

The teachers don't have to teach the exact same lesson - they will communicate with each other. They will each know what the other is teaching!

It's worked very well this year - the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday teacher has been concentrating more on numbers, letters, spelling, reading etc. whereas the Thursday, Friday teacher does also cover those things but also includes a lot more PE, outdoor activities, crafts etc. Two good teachers are FAR better than one not so good one!

DD is my DC3 - the elder two DCs each had a year of primary with a not-so-great teacher five days a week. That was a bad situation - job share can be great.

[RachelGoldberg]

Yabu. We have class share and I have two teacher friends who do it too and its a great idea.
They have set days so it is not unsettling to the children.
They get two people with different strengths to help them.
They can have one of their teachers step up for sick days/emergencies instead of having to have a day temp who really could unsettle them.
Their class trips have two strong leads. Their christmas, easter, special day assemblies and plays get MUCH more organised as two people are controlling the chaos.
They have two different chances to spot problems with children. I know in my daughters class there was a child who needed additional help but with two teachers this year mentioning little things to each other it got picked up as actually something bigger that could be helped faster.
The teachers are not so exhausted. I am always agog at how much they bring home and think about the children outside but with two teachers that load is shared which is better for them.
Also you can choose who you click the more with when you need to approach the school.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Why would having 2 qualified teachers be a problem. over having 1 ?

these set ups allow many much loved teachers come back after maternity leave or allow teachers to broaden their experiences by doing other things

dd has had 2 teachers in a job share this yr. shock horror reception have had two teachers in one class also.

it's not something that's ever crossed my mind that it could be a problem.