to expect DDs teacher to actually come to school and teach her?

[mumnosbest]

This is not an 'I hate teachers' thread. I too am a teacher just one who actually teaches
Out of every half term DDs foundation stage teacher spends at least half skiving off sick. Since Easter she hasn't been back! I know the woman and know she dislikes her job so why can't she give up her post and work elsewhere. This is DDs first year and with no regular supply teacher it's not been the best start. The supply teachers don't stick to the class routines and DD can't even tell me their names.
On a plus side the teacher only 'works 2.5 days a week and the other teacher is great. Surely this also means the % of time she's spent off is much higher too.
Rant over, sorry!

Do you actually know personally her reasons for being off? Just because she hates her job it doesn't mean she might actually have genuine and serious health problems.

Maybe you should put your energies into asking the head to try and manage the situation better and have more consistent cover for the class.

@hockeyforjockeys My thoughts exactly

Difficult as I work there too. I know her reasons haven't always been genuine in the past, e.g. getting up to date with paperwork and childcare is also an issue.

What make you think she doesn't like her job?

If she had an illness like cancer would that make a difference? (which you might not necessarily know about)

I agree it's nice to have continuity with a teacher, but she could have come to an agreement with the school for them to support her while she's ill.

(although I'm not a teacher and only guessing)

'I know her reasons haven't always been genuine in the past, e.g. getting up to date with paperwork and childcare is also an issue.'

They could just be excuses given to other people who she doesn't want to discuss her private life with.

Op has said that she works there too.

Exactly. How do you know she's not ill? She's unlikely to confide in you if she's your child's teacher. The continuity is an issue, but at least one half of the week is stable. You need to share your concerns with the head.

I don't know she hasn't been ill for the last 3 wks but I do know about other long blocks of absence. I'm not heartless of course if she is genuinely ill I would understand, although that doesn't excuse the lack of quality cover. It could be a case of 'the boy who cried wolf' but I do feel she's taking the mickey now.

She does confide in me about certain things, we often have a moan about pressures and the workload, she's frequently spoken off leaving and openly talks of childcare issues. Doesn't really see me as a 'parent'.

I think it's all very well saying the op is unreasonable, but if someone has a reputation for always being ill, and it is known that they A, dislike their job, B, have had issues keeping up with their workload before and C, haven't always been genuinely ill when taking time off then it's understandable that someone might not believe their reasons to be entirely genuine. The boy who cried wolf and all that.

And there are people who are just hypocondriacs who take time off all the time, and having to work with, or deal with people like that is bloody annoying.

here here!