AIBU to think the teacher sickie story is not newsworthy?

Lots of jobs have periods when you are just not able to book leave in. There are other jobs that tell you when you have to take your leave.

Can you not book annual leave for these events?

I’m sorry but every other profession does not get to take leave for a stag do.

Revealing how ignorant you are about the reality of many other roles does not help your cause at all.

I can’t count the number of weddings, hens nights, funerals (including of friends and colleagues who have died from suicide due to the pressure of this job), baby showers, christenings, major birthdays, christmases, Easters, public holidays etc etc etc I’ve missed over 15 years. It’s never occurred to me my profession was the only one making these sacrifices - a moment’s thought or a bit of life experience would immediately tell me that’s unlikely to be so.

Why is the stag do of any interest? It's a non story. Again I urge you to go check any online tribunal outcomes for other professional bodies.. there are FAR more interesting cases than this that aren't reported. This kind of thing happens all the time. It's maybe quite interesting/gossip for his immediate colleagues and that's about it...
It's just dredging this up for no good reason and causing stress to a dying man and his family...

This is the problem though, they can’t get time off for important occasions. When I was a teacher I was not allowed to go to my cousins wedding, to my next-door neighbour of over 20 years funeral or to any of my own children’s school events – I offered to take all of these unpaid but was still not allowed. One of the reasons I left the profession!

It's newsworthy because of the Stag Do issue and the trying to cover up with an illegal act.
I'm not saying other things shouldn't be newsworthy.
Yes, I keep saying the length of time was unfortunate but his current medical condition is irrelevant.

Yanbu. Jesus he did something silly it's not newsworthy, like if a child was put at risk.

I'm in Ireland and if we do a 20 hour online course during the summer we can take 3 paid days during the year.

S’tricky. I had to request leave for my godmother’s (great aunt) funeral. Different school, my cousin (also a teacher, but p/t) got married on a Friday, also had to request and got paid leave. My dad died very suddenly while I was leading a foreign trip. There was absolutely no way I could just abandon the trip. I imagine many jobs would have allowed me to leave immediately.

We do get a great holiday allowance, but it is inflexible. I know, boo bloody hoo, but I’ve had a stressful time recently trying to view/buy a house in an area nowhere near me.

I was pissed off some years ago that I had to arrange my horse being pts and was not paid. I think former headteachers would have paid me, given it was very obviously a very shit day for me. It was at his discretion and I just found it upsetting. They didn’t use supply, so it didn’t cost them anything.

I am registered with the health profession council that includes physios, paramedics and many other registered professionals. If you look on the website there are people "struck off" all the time. It's so commonplace and I assume it is similar for teaching professionals, doctors, etc.

None of these make it in to the news
..and some of the reasons they get taken to the hearings are FAR more shocking than this. There would be hundreds of news stories published every single day!!

The info is widely available for anyone to see as every outcome is published online.

It's not newsworthy. And it must be distressing for this man's family who are already going through a lot.

This. And I am not a teacher. It seems like some heads are just bullies and like to treat their colleagues as pupils.

It certainly isn’t newsworthy and how is it in the public interest as opposed to in the interest of the public. No wonder I don’t read newspapers any more. Most of them are just scandal mongerers. And I’m fed up with them trying to manipulate people’s emotions by making us angry all of the time.

He has motor neurone disease according to some more recent reports. Puts a different spin on it IMO.

I have already said, I have sympathy for his medical situation but he, a teacher, lied for a trivial reason and then broke the law.

The length of time it has taken to come to the public/media attention is unfortunate but it is newsworthy.

No but the poor guy is going through something unimaginably difficult, so why do the news outlets feel the need to report this... Along with his name and photo...when it's something not even newsworthy.

It's disgusting of them in my opinion

He may have been the best teacher in the world but he lied to go to a trivial event and then performed an illegal act to try to cover up.

All before his MND diagnosis.

I have sympathy for his current medical problems and have said the investigation and adjudication of his misdemeanours took too long but he still lied and broke the law.

But a good teacher doesn’t lie and throw a sickie with no notice to attend a Stag Do and try to cover up with illegal document damage.

Good teachers would ask months in advance to attend life events like weddings, graduations, etc, for which they would know the dates of in advance. They would also have a plan to provide work for any stand in to deliver.With pre-planning the school may not even need to use supply.

I have said, the rules for term time leave are, in my view, stringent but there are ways of dealing with pre-planned events and emergencies. A Stag Do is not an emergency.

I know Joe, hes a fantastic teacher. Everyone has really rallied around him in support during his diagnosis of MND. This is the last thing he needs to read while facing a terminal illness, while providing memories for his young child while he still can.

The school in question suffered a loss when he left, so did his students.

One important detail missing from this is that Joe has Motor Neurone Disease, and over £25k was recently raised in just a day to support him and his family.

This included many donations from parents of the pupils he taught. That level of support gives a very different perspective on how he’s regarded by those that actually know him!

For anybody who wants to know more about Joe’s fight and support him, his fundraiser can be found here:

I am. I really am. But it’s more costly to lose good teachers.

Bet he's got no regrets, especially now he's sadly ill.

I left teaching because of the lack of flexibility, I put up with it in the early 2000s when pay went further in real terms. Now it's an underpaid job with inflexible working conditions and declining behaviour. When you leave you think I must have been absolutely bonkers to put up that! I am now paid leas but with a much better work life balance.

He’s a total plonker but in the grand scheme of things I’m not really sure why it’s newsworthy. The lie he told wasn’t the worst lie ever, doesn’t sound like anyone was hurt by it. I guess he’s hurt now through sheer embarrassment. But apart from that, meh.

especially if you don't read the article! 😞😬

And yet some schools manage to make it work 🤷‍♀️

i’ve had some events where if they’d refused leave I’d have left (my sisters wedding, for example) - I got my request in early enough that I could have resigned in time if necessary. There aren’t enough teachers so nowadays I’d walk in to another job no issue. Meanwhile the school I was leaving might well need to use an expensive supply teacher - for weeks/months/terms, not just a single day. I know what I’d rather, as a school leader and as a parent! It’s basically no different to a teacher having a single sick day except you’ve been prewarned so can book someone and have planning ready.

Sometimes it's easy to get sucked in by 'clever' journalism.

Are you aware how complicated and expensive it is to get good supply teachers? And the impact on the classes?
The no term time ban on time off is very strict but the alternative is difficult and costly.

Oh! So I see... 🫣