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How can I make working 4 days a week effective? Any tips?

6 replies

RedPencilPot · 08/03/2014 03:52

Am going 4 days a week from September. I cannot afford less so working 3 days is not an option!

I'm primary, and wondered if anyone can offer advice on now to make 4 days really work as I keep reading horror stories.

I will absolutely not do any school work on my day off, it'll be a day I will solely dedicate to ds.

Any ideas how I can organise my workload in school to make sure my 0.2 teacher has a valuable input.

My worry is that I'll feel like a full time on a part time salary but my one day a week with my baby is very important.

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Kezzybear · 08/03/2014 04:45

Do u have a good relationship with your job share? Good communication between the two of you is probably what will help best. I use to do four days and tbh was really working full time (I did all the planning). I now work 2 days and that is more like 3 days. Good luck.

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CharlesRyder · 08/03/2014 07:27

I think I would fit additional numeracy and literacy teaching into my timetable on the 4 days so the 0.2 didn't have to pick up planning for that. Especially if your day off is Friday because by then you have deviated off your original planning following what the children needed so it is harder to explain to someone else.

Leave something completely self-contained for the 0.2 like Science am and MFL the Art pm.

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mycatoscar · 08/03/2014 08:14

I job share 50:50 and we just split the planning but that won't work so well with 1 day a week.

I would suggest that you get your job sharer to do stand alone things on her day. Could she do handwriting and spag for literacy? Times tables and all shape for maths? Science or art in the afternoon?

I find working part time works well. I work 3 very long days where I work through breaks and maybe a morning on one of my days off/sat/sun but don't bring much work home.

It means I get proper quality time with dd.

Good luck Smile

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MrsShrek3 · 08/03/2014 08:20

am watching - have applied to slt for the same. I had previously done this for years in special ed, but it's very different in my current school. I have ideas as to how to make it work in my context but very interested to see what is said here, if thats ok with OP?

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RedPencilPot · 08/03/2014 10:31

Glad of the suggestions posted here. Four days is the minimum I can afford so I will have to make the best of having a precious day off with my son and not ruin it by wishing I had another day off.

I had thought of giving my job share partner discreet things like handwriting, independent writing and topic maths then art in the afternoon.

Wondering if something like this would work?

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Makingchanges · 08/03/2014 10:44

I used to teach 4 days and another teacher do the 5th. She picked up a topic in Maths such as shape or one of the units so that she could plan and it wasn't reliant on what I had done. She also picked up separate literacy units such as poetry or myths and legends. In the afternoon she picked up the music and the RE. Worked well as she could plan for her own teaching and not reliant on what else had happened in the week. She also wrote the report areas for music and RE as there was no overlap.

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