I am a teacher at a boarding school AMA

[OhBeAFineGuyKissMe]

I work in an 11-18 co-ed boarding school. I teach a science subject to years 9 and up.

I know lots of people have lots of questions about boarding schools and it is exeat weekend so I thought I would do an ask me anything.

Is it a mixed sex or single sex school OP?

Do you do more for the kids than just teaching your subject?

Do the teaching team ever say to parents 'this child is not cut out for boarding, take them out'?

How does being at boarding school change the parent\child bond?

What hours do you work?
What do you get paid?

How common is homesickness?

Do you get paid on the teaching MPS?

Do you just teach or are you expected to do more?

Do you live in?

My son has ASD but presents as very capable in STEM and gifted in music. He’s also very independent and loves strict routines and can handle friendship groups with other geeky nerdy boys. I’m considering flex boarding for him as he seems to function better in school than at home and has some very lazy , grumpy , greedy bones in him when he’s not constantly stimulated which is unrealistic at home for various reasons including poor parental health.
would a boy like this be considered for and likely to benefit from a school like yours?
can you think of any kids you know that are like him that are doing well?
purely fact finding as we have a few years to go yet .
thanks OP in advance

How are you parents? As in do you see them much and are they very demanding snobby, a mixture or generally nice?
Do you ever feel intimidated talking to really posh rich parents?
Maybe you come from such a background yourself!

Sorry I meant how are the parents not YOU PARENTS lol

From what age do children start bearding at the school you teach at?

Woukd you send your own children to board?

How do you deal with children who really need their parents? But their parents don't realise it's not the right place for them emotionally?

Ah sorry OP, I see they children board from age 11z

If you (or a colleague) are also a boarding house master/mistress do you get paid more for being on overnight duty or less because you get a free house/flat?

Are you exhausted by the pace of boarding life?

This was my question. I imagine the parents to be dicks.

State school parents can be utter arseholes and I can only imagine these parents being ten times worse.

Yes, I am a tutor and we have a higher than average extra curricular load so get to know the students more.

One of the benefits you get to kohl’s the students better.

Me personally no, as I am not high up on the pastoral side, but if a child is obviously unhappy then yes we would say that.

Do you worry about abuse? I mean I know several boarding schools where historic abuse seems to be coming out. Is this something that concerns you for boarders or do you think schools/boarding has changed since more historic cases?

The hours are long and 6 days a week (which in reality is 7 as I still need to prep) but the holidays are longer so swings and roundabouts.

Payscale is the school’s own but very similar to MPS, though there are a lot of TLRs available and other benefits - fee remission, accommodation, use of facilities…

Very, but a lot of student see their parents at weekend no can call/FaceTime if they need to. It crops up when people are tired/ run down and is usually transient.

Very similar to MPS. And yes you are expected to do a lot more than just teach. But I do teach less hours than state, standard teacher is 22/28 (would be 30 but no lessons Wed afternoons). You are expected to run after lessons activities or run a sports team and do Saturday mornings as well.

If you live onsite then you have to do morning and evening duties and there is a Sunday rota.

Very much a different beast than it was before. Safeguarding is very important and students are told who they can talk to - teachers, tutors, houseparents, matrons, school nurses and counsellors.

Abuse can happen anywhere but I don’t think the atmosphere is ignoring misgivings and turning a blind eye and children not believed happens anymore.

Do the boarders really have lovely lovely tuck boxes, like in the story books I read as child?

A house parent / assistant house parents gets paid more and does evening/ morning duties as well as overnight. But after bedtime they just go to bed themselves, there isn’t anyone awake in the house. If the students need an adult they know where to go.

Other staff that live on site don’t get paid more or less but are expected todo evening duties but not overnight.