My FT contract is 32.5 hrs/wk, which is an absolute joke. I need to work a minimum of 47 hours a week to keep up with, never mind on top of the workload. This week and at other busy times it will be more than 50 (no TLR). I frequently have to give up my legal entitlement to a paid break in the form of detention in line with the school's behaviour policy - and 10% of the whole roll are usually in detention in any one day - as well as weekly duty. I have agreed to produce some curriculum resources for the whole dept as nothing is adequately differentiated and I have a top group as several low ability groups.
Yet there is no goodwill on the achool's part. I have been timetabled to lose my PPA as spend nearly four hours with notoriously the most difficult group in the school on a forthcoming 'skills' day. I had to take a day off when DS began vomiting at the last minute and was unpaid. I know that there is no entitlement to be paid for parental leave, but from experience at my previous workplace that this is at the head's discretion and needn't be the case.
I am spending most of this weekend marking three weeks' worth of work (as per assessment policy) of a top KS4 set, prior to two PM observations within three days this week (I also need to mark another set of books prior to the second obs but won't have time until Tuesday).
I feel like saying 'fuck it' and working my contracted hours. I know that none of my extra hours will be taken into account if I request leave of absence for DD's sports day or DS's first morning at school. Why should I do more than I'm contracted to do?
As it is I will probably say nothing and leave teaching. I have an interview on Monday.
Rant over.
Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.
The staffroom
Where's the goodwill?
LapsedTwentysomething · 04/10/2014 17:57
PPA gets clobbered at our place if it's a 'timetable stand down day', which roughly equates to 'any time core subject boosters might come in handy for y11, we are going to get everyone not directly involved in that to babysit entirely random groups of KS3 kids'.
From a Union POV, we've managed to get these at least calendared at our place (disgruntled parents of KS3 students have helped).
To be fair, FT teaching has always involved silly hours worth of 'over & above'. You'd be absolutely entitled to just work your paid hours, but yep, leaving teaching is generally how that pans out...
Everyone is having two for some bizarre reason, except for curriculum leaders. This is a school that thrives on paperwork 
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.