To already be fed up with teachers/eduaction workers posting about their long holiday!

[Freshlysqueezed]

Facebook is swarming with people saying how much they deserve it and other people patting them on the back. It seems like the world and his wife are in education or SAHM's with 6 glorious weeks ahead of them. Apart from a one week holiday I have a juggling timetable of various childcare arrangements to run to and fro from.

So they never have parents evenings or after school meetings/events? Never put in a few extra hours because of observations or exams/tests which need to be marked? And you know this for a fact?

Oh yes - that is true, she did tell me she had to work 1 evening for a parents evening until 1900.

But she does normally finish before 5.

Putting in a few extra hours is normal for most people who work. So I am not sure how this demonstrates the greater need for more holidays.

It doesn't. Teachers don't get long holidays because they deserve them. Teachers get no choice about the holidays they are allocated. The reasons the holiday is as it is currently is historic and not really relevant to modern life. Whether that should be changed is a different debate.

It is still reasonable for teachers to express relief and happiness to be starting their holidays.

Teachers don't get holidays as a reward - it's just part of the job.

Your family member who has done "one" parents evening is not being truthful, or you're deliberately being provocative. No school only has one. Secondaries have one per year group. My kids are in yr 4 and we've had 2, but the teachers spread that over two evenings, so 4 for them.

This year I've had evenings in school for:
Parents evening x6
Open evening X1
Sixth form open evening X1
School performances/concerts x7
Trips x4
Twilight INSETs x4

Not complaining - part of the job. The concerts/performances/trips are my choice, of course and I know that not every school does twilights but parents evenings and open evenings are pretty standard.

I'm not being deliberately provocative and not sure why DS would not be truthful - maybe she is just lucky...

I don't blame teachers for long holidays, or looking forward to them (who wouldn't?) but they are a perk of the job, not a deserved break IMO.

I have a lot of respect for my dc's (good) teachers. My dc are thriving which is, in part, due to the wonderful teaching they get at school.

But it does get on my tits hearing about how bad teachers have it, taking work home, stress etc etc. Suck it up, that's life.

Plenty of people work long hours, take work home and unfortunately miss their dc's plays and sports days. It's not unique to teachers.

And teachers are better paid than would appear because the salary isn't a true reflection based on hours worked, as it's for 37 weeks and not pro-rata'd.

Does she teach primary or secondary?

Also, state or private?

There's a severe teacher recruitment crisis looming. There is one already in many subjects. Despite the long holidays.

It's your kids we are teaching.

It baffles me that people who should be invested in recruiting and retaining excellent teachers are instead moaning about one of the few things that keeps many teacher in post. Get rid of the long holidays and I'm fucking out of here. And I am not easily replaced.

Not only is a teacher recruitment crisis looming, there already is a head teacher recruitment crisis.

the crisis isn't looming, it is already here. As a supply teacher, I take my pick of anything up to 10 schools every day.

I agree, totally. I work 5 days a week on supply and I often have a choice.
I also turn down a lot of jobshare and termly supply requests.
And I'm in a lovely area with almost all schools rated Good or Outstanding.

jade what do you mean, the salary isn't pro rata?

yes, think yourself lucky this year if your child has a teacher because they may well not have one next!!

BeyondTheSea
"Well why on earth would they lie about what hours they work?"

I didn't say that they where lying, just that they may not tell you everything.

Why would they when the one that tells you lots of things is moaning about them.

I think one of the reasons teachers are so jubilant about holidays is the lack of flexibility during term time. I teach in FE, and work long hours, which I see as part and parcel of the job, but having to manage stuff that other people would take a day off for in term time can be tricky. For example, we moved house a couple of months ago, and it would have all been so much less stressful if I could have had a couple of days either side. Similarly, most of my colleagues and I will work on through illness because being off sick causes so much disruption for the students and other members of staff who have to cover on top of an already full workload - this means people are run down and crawling towards the end. I'm delighted to be off, I'm in Scotland so we broke up a couple of weeks ago.

wideopen presumably if it's advertised at 23k then they earn 23k. I see teacher jobs advertised without pro-rata being mentioned whereas TA jobs say 15k pro-rata so you'd only get that for working 52 weeks less annual leave.

noblegiraffe I expect you'd easily be replaced but it would be with a NQT rather than an experienced teacher. In my DCs school every job vacancy over the last 5 years (bar one) has been filled with a NQT

I'm a maths teacher. I'm not easily replaced by anyone qualified, NQT or otherwise.

Lots of schools are starting to look abroad for maths teachers because there aren't any here.

plenty of people work long hours, take work home and unfortunately miss their dc's plays and sports days. It's not unique to teachers.

People tend not to bitch about other professions though.

But next year there will also be a shortage of NQTs as training colleges and other training schemes can't recruit enough student teachers to fill available places!

But the contract for full time is for 39 weeks. This is then paid over 12 months.

So I suppose it is a kind of pro rata - maybe they should be advertised at a higher rate with pro rata stated? Or is the implication that the £23,000 (for example) should be for 52 weeks, then reduced to reflect the 39 week contract?

Some science subjects and maths have been shortage subjects for the last 10 years.

But the contract also says " and for as many additional hours as are required to fill the demands of the post " ( or something similar!) So although 39 weeks might cover the directed time, it doesn't cover the actual time! Teacher contracts are a nightmare!