Teachers gave the best job in the world. Fact.

[Oakmaiden]

I mean, don't do it if you are afraid of hard work, or want to be rich. But absolutely the best job.

true RU

It's not just academies- all schools can set their own payscales now.

Nooooooooo it can't be - I have the best job in world - FACT

D'you know what, Euphemia, I'd be up for that. And I know DH would.

NearTheWindmill

"If anyone can tell me the contractual holidays for a teacher I can work it out more clearly."

I have yet to find any contractual holidays for teachers, and have only seen mention of it once with reference to maternity pay.

The best explanation that anyone has come up with is that teachers are paid for 1265 hours per year which is separated in to 12 monthly payments.

Holidays are not paid.

I think Jimmy Carr said it but he has a friend who is a part time teacher but then again they all are!

It will be ok as gove is going to the teaching board sometime soon to push his deregulation of hours through. then we can work all year for a pittance and people will get the free child care that some are after.

1265/38 = 33.29 hours per working week. Every employee in the UK gets statutory holidays 20 days per annum plus 8 bank holidays on top of that. The statutory holiday allowance is non negotiable.

If a teacher contacts their local authority there must be a standard contract and explanation of these things available. If anyone wants to send me the standard contract happy to help with clarification; likewise also happy to help with any Employee Relations issues as they relate to a contract of employment.

If a person works an average of 35 hours pw for 46.5 weeks per year (that's 20 days stat and bank hols) the annual working hours would be: 1627.5 hours per annum.

The problem is Near, that the 1265 hours only refer to directed working time; the workload is such that teachers must work outside of that directed time or fail.

School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document is the contract most state school teachers work to.

And I believe Gove has submitted plans to the School Teachers review body already -Here.

STPCD

Well, I must admit the hours did seem low. Is there an agreed prep/marking/parents eve ratio that goes hand in hand with the hours which I imagine relate to contact time?

I may be wrong, but I think government (and often non-teaching, or at least non-academic nanagement) think we can achieve everything in the 3-4 contracted non-contact hours a week. (And that's a generous estimate of PPA time)

In reality, I work around an extra 24 hours each week at home. More before I had DS. And still I can't get through the list of "priorities" and still perform as an outstanding teacher.

Even when unions say we're "working to rule" we're still doing the same but just beating ourselves up less!

PPA is included in the 1265 hours and must be no less than 10% of timetabled teaching time.

I can't CnP from the STPCD, but have a look at points 51.20 onwards, particularly pont 51.22, which requires teachers to work an additional unspecified number of hours as part of their contract.

Once upon a time I would have been in agreement - when I started teaching 20 odd years ago it was a bloody fantastic job.

Now? Hate every moment. Love the actual TEACHING bit but the rest? Nah.

I will be leaving in July and finding something else to do once I have healed my mind.

I'd say on average an hour of teaching produces at least an hour of planning and marking, probably closer to an hour and a half. I teach 20 lessons a week (a couple fewer than some of my colleagues as I have a TLR) so that's a 40 -45 hour week before other things such as the 2.5 hours of tutor time a week, parents' evenings, extra responsibilities kick in. Ultimately we are expected as professionals to do what needs to be done.

I've been at it for a while, don't beat myself up if my lessons aren't all singing all dancing and work at a school where (at the moment) our work-life balance is respected. I love teaching and think it's a wonderful, joyous job at its best but it terrifies me that Gove is after even more from us. I have never thought I work harder than anyone else but the part timer comments do grate. Hey ho, nothing new.

Agree 100% with never.
Yes, the teaching bit is the best job in the world - never a dull moment with the children; always something to think about and all the opportunities you ever wanted to be creative. Fantastic.

However, the ridiculous policies:
from free schools and academies to changes in SEN finding; to destruction of LEA advisory centres; to the total disregard of children in need; to the denigration of teachers; to the new curriculum; to the bizarre suggestions for changes in working hours FOR CHILDREN, etc etc... have also helped me make up my mind to take early retirement in July.

We are being led by an incompetent bunch of tossers (and in saying that, I include both unions and government.) I'll be so pleased to be out of it.

Oh - it might make a difference that I teach in Wales, so we don't have Gove and cronies making up policies...

I think my dp would agree. He's a teacher. Not because of the holidays set in stone nor the hours and hours of out of school work but because he loves what he does.

Passionate about his subject, very well liked by his pupils and respected by his colleagues.

As much as he moans (and works his arse off) he is very happy with his career and would never change it.

I don't think I'll ever have that. I envy those who have found at true vocation.

Oak

Dp is a teacher in Wales too.

Despises Gove mind. I can understand why. The man is quite clearly a fucking idiot.

I think, for me, right now it is the best job in the world.

I get weekends and holidays mostly work free, job security, relatively low stress levels , flexibility to leave early and catch up later, good pension, immense satisfaction and I laugh every day.

In return I have taken a pay cut and I work around 75 hours a week. I think it is a fair trade off. If I didn't, I wouldn't do it.

I fell onto teaching for the holidays , I must have struck lucky because it hasn't stopped me loving the job or being quite good at it .

I think if you work in a difficult school it is frankly hell. A friend of mine works in an 'outstanding' school and so hasn't been formally observed for 8 years. 8 years!

I work in Shitville School and because our data is shite, people are FOREVER trying to observe us. They turn over the entire building to find out what's rotten at Shitville School. The never ending scrutiny! All my colleagues are busting their butts on a daily basis.

So it's the teachers' fault!

Our catchment is not good and is never going to change. School us just free child care. Homework? Nah, don't do that. Come to meetings? Nah, down the pub. Feed kids breakfast? Nope. Bathe them? Not often. Send them to school on time? Nope. Have chaotic home lives which means kids are so anxious learning is not actually possible? Yep.

Somehow all of that is our fault. Fighting a losing battle. We will never be even an Ofsted 'good'. Ever. We can't even make 'requires improvement'

We remain committed to the pupils though. We have 4 staff on long term sick for stress.

Best job? Depends on the school.

Spinkle - those groups are the ones government are too short sighted to understand. Ideas about learning and progression and courses are based on upper middle class notions, and forget entirely those children whose families are unable to care for them properly. Where survival comes above achievement.

The league table system is flawed in this respect. Imagine if hospitals were ranked by death rate. You'd be triaged, and if it looked like you might die, be sent off to Unsatisfactory Hosp down the road, lest you tarnish the record of Outstanding hosp.

Nearthewindmill - I don't think there is an agreement over the number of hours. Parents evenings etc are covered under directed time. I get 2.5 hours per week for planning and assessment. I easily do 10 times that amount as you have to to get the job done. When I started 8 years ago I kept thinking it would get easier after the first couple of years as I'd have loads of resources that would just need tweaking. However, the government changes things so often that I just get to the end of a two year course and they have changed it already, so resources need re-writing again.

I don't get the holidays thing either but when I left on the 18th July one year I made sure my resignation was 31st August as my head had a reputation for not paying people which I'm not sure how they get away with it.

As hard as it is, I love it. I work mainly with children with SEN or who are disaffected. I have to spend a lot longer planning to try to engage them but I enjoy finding ways of helping them learn. As much as I love it though, if our terms and conditions are changed massively (e.g much less holiday) I think I would leave the profession because it just isn't sustainable to work like this - everyone is on their knees by the end of term.