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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be pissed off at school revelations?

341 replies

HKLP · 27/04/2011 23:19

Have name changed for this as the route in which I found out this info makes me very identifiable.

I always have my friend's DD on Teacher training days as she has to work at the school the DC attend.

My 2DC are off school today and tomorrow as the school decided to manipulate TT days so that the school broke up on 8th April(1.30pm) and return 3rd May. It means the school will be open on Polling Day (with extra safeguarding in place Hmm) and we will not finish one day early in July as we normally do.

That's fine, but obviously 3 weeks and a day and a half makes life very difficult for WOHPs.

After speaking to my friend last night, it was revealed that the staff are not going into school on these 2 days as have worked/will work extra hours after school to make up the time.

Shock

Apparently, attendance at afterschool events will count towards this time, rather than actual training. Is this acceptable standrd practice?

AIBU to be pissed off about this?

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 28/04/2011 07:14

We do twilight training sessions in lieu of a couple of INSET days at my school. I'd rather come in on the INSET day to do it, to be honest. A couple of hours of death by powerpoint after a full day of teaching is a bit much when I've got plenty of other stuff to be getting on with.

onceamai · 28/04/2011 07:22

Has everyone missed the OP's point that after school events will count towards the "training days" so therefore the twilight sessions will not be used for training. If that is so, then what the school is doing is wrong. It is also making life very difficult for working parents who have to arrange child care for the training days which are now designated as additional holiday for staff replaced by attending after school events. I rather hope some parents will submit bills for childcare in the circumstances.

lynehamrose · 28/04/2011 07:33

We don't know the detail of the after school events. Maybe they are community events and the head and governers have a need to promote those issues at the minute. As long as the staff are getting the training they need and delivering the hours of lessons they need then its not any of our business

goodbyemrschips · 28/04/2011 07:35

Teachers are known for getting lots of hols and anyone who can scam an extra couple of days and do the work another time will do it....They are only human.

StayFr0sty · 28/04/2011 07:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

emptyshell · 28/04/2011 07:50

There'll be a directed time budget, setting down how every one of those hours that teachers are contracted for is taken - including class contact time, parents evenings, training. Sometimes it's done afterschool (twillights) sometimes as Inset days but every single hour is accounted for... often it depends on the availability of trainers etc as well - if day-trainers are booked up, it can mean that the school's got to nab them for a couple of afterschool sessions instead.

Consider it family-friendly flexi-time :P ...oh I forgot - teachers just exist to be your slaves.

You're getting your required hours out of them - the school's just chosen to organise them in a way convenient for all (even though I always fucking hated after-school training sessions personally and would rather have gone in for an Inset day).

StayFr0sty · 28/04/2011 07:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ElsieR · 28/04/2011 07:56

Does anybody actually count the extra non directed hours teachers put in on a regular basis: school clubs, trips, visits, revision sessions etc...?
And they are not obliged to do any of this....

goodbyemrschips · 28/04/2011 07:56

stayfrosty............that is exactly what I said they take the time in a day off or two and cram the work into another time.................dont blame them.

COCKadoodledooo · 28/04/2011 08:00

Elsie no of course not. Not when there's the huge amount of holidays to bitch about Hmm

katz · 28/04/2011 08:01

ElsieR - good point my DH was in running revision sessions over the Easter hols, he spent 50% of the holiday marking mock exams so the students could have them back this week to learn from, he will spend this bank holiday weekend marking course work and regularly spends most of sunday planning and prepping for the week, and don't mention the hours every evening spent marking, planning and prepping as well- all of this is not in the 1265 hours quoted above.

Goblinchild · 28/04/2011 08:02

'Does anybody actually count the extra non directed hours teachers put in on a regular basis: school clubs, trips, visits, revision sessions etc...?
And they are not obliged to do any of this....'

That's what a working to rule strike is, we did them back in the early 80s.
Best sort of strike, you just stop doing everything that's not in your contract.

Goblinchild · 28/04/2011 08:03

Planning would take less time if the Powers-That-Be stopped changing everything on a termly yearly basis. Imagine being able to use planning twice instead of creating it new each time.

ElsieR · 28/04/2011 08:06

amen Goblin

katz · 28/04/2011 08:08

Goblin - that would be so true!! He did have a year when it was lovely, nothing changed from the year before, so just tweaking and marking. This years lovely change has been to move the AS exam to nearly a month earlier which means thats 4 less weeks to cover the same work.

NinkyNonker · 28/04/2011 08:09

But the school would be closed anyway, so what's the difference between them doing twilights and having the day off or doing the training that day instead? The end result is the same.

It's very standard.

Also worth noting schools have no say in being used as a polling station on the whole.

jenga079 · 28/04/2011 08:09

Um, also it's not the teachers who decide when training is. We do what the LEA & head teacher decides (& a hell of a lot more on top)

MoreBeta · 28/04/2011 08:15

".. as the school decided to manipulate TT days.."

"... it was revealed that the staff are not going into school on these 2 days as have worked/will work extra hours after school to make up the time."

This story tells me everything I need to know about the attitude of the LEA and public sector and teaching unions.

The whole school year needs reform and that should start with teachers working 9 - 5 and beig in school every working day apart from their stautory holidays.

The teaching profesisn will get absolutely no sympathy for te general public if/when they go on strike in the summer. Indeed the ones that do should be the first ones to be sacked.

The economy cannot continue to have teachers working half the year. They have to fit in with the modern world of work.

NinkyNonker · 28/04/2011 08:15

I think the OP just has her wires crossed a little about what wil be done after school is all, but it makes no odds to parents as the school would not be open anyway.

NinkyNonker · 28/04/2011 08:16

But why, MB?

katz · 28/04/2011 08:18

MoreBeta - 9-5 - I would love my DH to only work those hours! He currently gets into work at around 8am and generally doesn't leave until 6pm. He then often works at home in the evenings from 8-10pm. Add on 10-5 and 8-10 on a sunday and perhaps your 9-5 may not get the work done.

ElsieR · 28/04/2011 08:19

MoreBeta, you have no idea....or you are an idiot. Sorry.
Teaching is such a piece of piss, that's why there are so many people who want to be a teacher. It's just about the holidays you know and kids are so lovely and keen to learn theses days. And I am not even talking about parental support...

goodbyemrschips · 28/04/2011 08:21

Maybe they should work 8 -8 then like some of my friends do.

goodbyemrschips · 28/04/2011 08:23

morebeta....i agree with the hols........if they just had the basic 5-6 weeks off a year like us normal people they would have shed loads of time to plan their lessons and teacher train.

NinkyNonker · 28/04/2011 08:25

Many of my teacher friends do work 8 till 8, and don't complain as it is just life. Reorganising just because we don't like teachers having long holidays seems a little spiteful. Besides, if we fired everyone from all jobs who went on strike the country would quickly grind to a halt, or does that just apply to teachers?

There are no 'revelations' here, just standard practice (that affects no-one)that the OP hasn't heard of before, that's all.