I ABU so please give me a telling off - re working part time as a teacher.

[dottytablecloth]

I think the main issue I have is that I don't think 4 days as a teacher is really part time! I will still do the majority of the work (and get paid the majority) but I see the person who does my 1 day will do just that, teach for 5 hours and I'll do all the admin, planning, parent interviews etc.

But anyway...

I'm about to go on ML to have dc2. I worked full time after my first baby, it was tough some days but have a v supportive dh so it definitely was manageable.

Dh and I agreed that after dc 2 I would go 4 days a week as childminder is going 4 days and we don't want to be reliant on family. The plan is that our dc will be in paid Childcare for 2 days a week, I'll do one day.

Now for the BU bit. I feel I am. My dh does shift work and he is at home various different days during the week, sometimes 1 or sometimes as many as 3 during the week. On these days he does all the Childcare obviously. He's not great at multitasking so doesn't do cleaning or ironing etc when he's at home- he spends the day with ds, out and about, walks, park, toddler groups. He will always have dinner cooked when I get home but I will have to tell him what to cook, I don't mind this as left to his own devices will produce some strange concoctions!

Anyway, everybody I know who is a teacher does 2/3 days when they have children and I struggling so hard not to be petulant that I can't do this. It wouldn't make sense to have the two of us, dh and me, at home during the week so it does make sense I suppose.

I am the higher earner so financially it wouldn't make sense for me to drop more days at work.

My mum does one day of Childcare for us and mil does 1-2 days a month, so this arrangement will continue.

I guess I feel guilty for not being part time, in my mind part time is not 4 days. I do get comments from people about working and I have had to justify myself for not being part time, it's really no one else's business but I find it hard not to be defensive. Sorry if I'm rambling.

AIBVVVU?

I might not help here being a 3-dayer... But when even that seems too much I remind myself that I will always have every holiday with my children for the next 18 years. It does sweeten the pill!!! Well, I will have it until some government official decides to take it away from us anyway...

All of my 3 DC had a year with two teachers doing a 50/50 share and it was brilliant. They both put in more than half of a full time job and my DC really benefitted from this. They both attended parent's evenings etc and worked well together.

OP isn't asking whether you like your DC's kids being taught by a job share, is she?

m.thesalarycalculator.co.uk
This ^^ is the one I use. Don't know how to factor pension in, but it does everything else.

I was responding to something another poster wrote. Sometimes threads can go of subject for a bit.

I'm a teacher so I know this problem. In my experience and from what other colleagues have said, if you work 4 days you will end up working full time but only get paid 80% of a full salary. As you said, you will end up with all the responsibility, planning, meetings, etc. If you want to work part time and for it really to be part time, then you need to drop down to a 3 day week. The 3/2 split does mean that responsibilty is shared and it is easier to walk away from work outside your 60% position.

Is there any way you could manage on the 60% for at least a few years, and then go back to 100%? To be honest, I think if you are going to work 80% you may as well just go back full time. At least that way you'll actually get paid for the work you do.

So your issue is that you feel you need to justify yourself that you are not going part time after 2dcs? Do I get that right?

Sorry but that is your choice and no one else. You have no reason to justify that and just saying 'yes I will be fully tine(or nearly full time' is enough answer. Just as 'because it works for us' is another if someone asks you why.

And YY to the fact that you will be doing nearly as much work as if you were full time if you work 4 days a week.
Personally I think you need your DH to step up more than he does atm. I am sure he can cook a meal that us looking like a meal and out some washing to go.
And then after you can both share all the rest of the HW when you are both home.

Definitely NOT a good plan to do 4 days a week as a Primary class teacher. You will end up "owning" all of the rest of the stuff you have to do - from planning your class assembly or trips to writing all the reports - and only save on 5 hours of actual teaching, rather than the 12 hours that a 1/5 of your working week would be.
All ongoing stuff like Literacy and Numeracy it is easier to plan yourself, so you don't save that. All the pointless paperwork (and the odd bit there is a point to) the SMT want will still be yours.

Agree with poster on the prev page about it's worth looking to see what the difference in your take home pay will be, with the personal tax allowance being so high these days, you certainly end up with a lot more than 3/5 of your net pay as a FT teacher. Then of course, you take the childcare off that amount.

I'm a primary teacher who has worked 4 days pw for the past 9+ years. IMO, it's an excellent compromise; enough time in class to feel as though I'm the class teacher but time at home with my own DCs too (DH has also worked 4 days pw for the past 9+ years).

To make it work you need to look at rearranging your timetable and make sure you are not planning subjects that you won't be teaching e.g. don't plan RE/History/Art if that's what the other teacher will be teaching. I've been extremely lucky in that the teacher who covers my 5th day (which isn't a Friday - I like to be in class at the end of the week to tie up loose ends) also covers my PPA and so takes on the responsibility for planning a whole curriculum area or two e.g. science and RE. I enjoy teaching PE (but there's little in the way of marking) so keep that as one of my afternoons. Other teacher often does double maths on my day at home so might plan and teach block C (data handling) as a discrete unit which can also link to science. On a different day I would teach double literacy to make up the number of lessons - I've found this works well in terms of division of labour and also consistency, especially in literacy.

Also, if you are sharing the class with another teacher, it makes sense for that teacher to be involved in parents' meetings, report writing, assembly planning etc. etc. Lots of teachers I know would describe themselves as people who like to be in control. Sharing the admin tasks, planning etc. doesn't have to be about relinquishing control - it's about gaining control over your time and how you choose to organise it. Don't let the other teacher (who is likely to be being paid a decent salary too) do little more than deliver your plans - share the workload/class.

Another idea to consider is to ask if you could take your PPA as part of your day at home so that you would, technically, be working 0.9. That way you will be paid more, at home the same amount of time but could look to paying a cleaner to do some hoovering etc.

I know I do the lion's share of the class-related work but the choice I've made was never about reducing work; it was about having a day at home.

It's hard but I've always had to work full time (2dc) and IMO you are lucky to have a job you can reduce to 4 days a week, I'm quite envious as wasn't possible for me... So I can understand why you are envious of 2/3 day colleagues.

Massive plus is that you don't have to work in school holidays. It is tough juggling work and tiny children but it will pay off. You just need to compare yourself to people in worse situations rather than better

we found the 2.5 day split worked well. I then did the planning in the rest of the .5 of a day. and got to see my jobshare partner after school. by the time i did three days, I needed a whole day on planning and prep. obviously, things have changed in the last decade though...

How much preparation you have to do for the 5th day depends on whether it is being taught by a teacher or a TA surely. I wouldn't expect a ta to take responsibility for a subject area and although it is unreasonable the teacher has to plan for the time they won't be teaching.

Maybe you could go back full time for awhile (save up the money) and then drop down to 3 days a week after that?

Can you temporarily drop down to 3 days or will that have to be a permanent decision? Maybe you could do 3 days a week for a year?

Maybe have a think about the best year to be working part time for 3 days a week and plan for this? (Depends on dc age gap but I would suggest while they are both still below school age to save money on child care)

I agree that it doesn't sound like teaching 4 days a week is a very fair form of part time work. As you have the bulk of responsibility for less pay.

If you can't vary these plans then try and think of a way to limit your workload.

I don't think of four days per week as "part time" either - in a lot of jobs, no additional person would cover the fifth day.

Can your DH influence his shifts so he does more in holidays and fewer in term time, thereby reducing childcare costs a bit?

YANBU
I worked 3.5 days for years - still felt like full time tbh. The problem was as a part timer I didn't get as much non contact time (secondary) as the full timers. At one point I was only teaching one class less than the full timers. The Head of dept couldn't see the problem as I "could prep and mark on my days off, couldn't I?"

I now teach two days a week (different school) . Now does feel like part time, but by the time you add on prep and marking I still work most days.