...to expect ^some^ --any-- information from school about long-term teacher absence?

[CSLewis]

KS1 teacher, has been absent since before the summer half-term.

Since then my daughter's Year 1 class has sat their Phonics test.

Two weeks ago I asked the Deputy Head what the story was regarding her class teacher, and was told a letter was going out to parents.

Still no letter, so today I asked the Head the same thing, and was told again that a letter was going out (apparently today but I'll believe it when I see it), and that she was due to have a conversation with him this afternoon about some medical results, after which she'd know more.

Head was very defensive and clearly annoyed at me for harping on about the total lack of any communication from the school about the absence (now going on 2 months) of this (very nice) teacher.

I told her that I do understand their difficulty if they don't know if/when teachers will be back from sick-leave; I also understand how difficult it can be to recruit decent staff, let alone decent cover/supply... it's BECAUSE I understand the difficulty that I'm worried about the situation of my daughter's class!

AIBU? To want to be kept informed of who is teaching my child? To think that the school could have kept us informed (in general terms, I understand the teacher has a right to privacy) as to the likely situation going forward, a little earlier on? Because it sounds like the Head thinks I am!

If the class is being covered by supply teachers then it may be that the same one or two teachers are coming in during this time, it isn't necessarily a conveyor belt of supply teachers with no continuity. Or it could be that the class is being covered by staff already employed by the school. For example, a teacher who covers PPA time for all teachers in the school may be moved in to this classroom to provide cover, and a supply teacher may be called in to cover the PPA hours. When my OH was a supply teacher he was regularly called back to particular schools as they liked him and felt he did a good job.

Whatever happens, the school will provide teaching cover for the class, and that is all you really need to know. They don't need to run these things by the parents.

I think it's rude of you to ask. Why the teacher is off is none of your buisness. You've been told the teacher is off sick.
You could have asked if the children were keeping the same supply teacher until the summer holidays which would have been fine but it's literally another couple of weeks so what reason do you need to know. It'll be new classes after the summer holidays anyway. You are just being nosy.

MYOB

My DD has had 4 teachers this year.
DD2 had untold teachers in reception.

We were told fuck all that was useful or made sense, about anything.

Not the same as your situation op but our head went off sick in February and we were notified that she was unwell and they couldn't tell us how long she'd be away. Oh my, the way some parents reacted. Demanding to know exactly what was wrong, insisting on definite time frames, rants on social media, complaints to governors about their right to know. I was horrified.

Anyway, yes you should be informed to a reasonable standard what the current teaching arrangements are in your child's class. Home-school communication is one of the bedrocks of education.

Jenny and Long have you read anything the OP has written?!

But OP, you said "Two weeks ago I asked the Deputy Head what the story was regarding her class teacher,". That is asking about the teacher, not asking about appropriate cover. And they shouldn't have said anything to you about medical tests. You clearly aren't coming across well on this thread and it seems the same for when you've spoken to your school.

Yes, absolutely, talk to the school about how they are managing appropriate cover, but you shouldn't be asking at all about the reasons for the teacher being off, or how long they are going to be.

YANBU to want to know the arrangements made for covering a long term teacher absence.

YABU to keep pestering the school when they obviously don't know anything definite. I was off on long term sick leave and the worst thing about it was how little empathy parents showed towards me during a terrible time.

I am going through cancer treatment. My plan keeps changing due to am I or am I not having chemo (not), more surgery because margins aren't clear. I don't know at the mo if I will be back in September or not, if I will be off maybe for a couple of weeks or if I need big fat recon surgery, if I will be off for four months. No one knows. It's a pain for everyone but that's what is happening. It's near the end of term. Tbh, I very much doubt whether they will get cover in. Budgets are so tight they will cover it using TAs and use the insurance money to buy equipment for the school.

You should want to know what the school is doing about a replacement teacher. It sounds like you're prying about the teacher's health which is bang out of order.

As has been said Asking what the story is with the teacher isn't asking if they have adequate cover in place.

I'm aghast that people think they are entitled to know Anything beyond "we have cover in place " to be honest.

They finish in a few weeks.

Until then I suggest you clean your sticky beak and stop mithering the Head, who has more important things to be doing than dealing with your persistent nosiness.

How the fuck do you expect the school to tell you anything when they've made it clear to you that the teacher is awaiting further tests?

And that's from your op.

By-the-by: parental engagement with their children's education is one of the clearest markers for how well that child will do all the way through school, and on into adult life.

As an aside, this doesn't seem to be entirely the case; parental engagement is quite a complex topic and research suggests that the types of engagement have differing effects. Interacting with the school (ie attending plays, being involved in PTA etc.) doesn't actually seem to make much of a difference to academic performance but the quality of time spent at home assisting homework and also talking about academic aspirations and expectations does.

(Wrote an essay on this recently- couldn't let it pass!)

Yabu. And dramatic. Your dd is year 1, it was a phonics test. Is this the worst thing happening in your life right now? If so, celebrate and then move the fuck on.

Yep.
I was thelong term cover teacher. Went in after Xmas.
Still there.
School have no idea the member of staff I'm covering will be off. I have no idea how long I'll be there. So that's about the long and short of it, and everyone just has to crack on as best we can.

Such is the nature of long term absence.

I don't think you should know the cause of the absence - it could be illness, compassionate leave, suspension or even just not bothering to turn in for work. Imo you do deserve to know what the plans are for teaching your DC, and something a bit more specific than "a teacher will do it".
However my view is it of step with most schools and teachers who mostly seem to think it's impertinent to even think of needing an explanation as you should trust the head and how they go about running the school is none of your business.

So, in summary YANBU but lots of people will think you are.

It's absolutely none of your business and the head can't give you more information without the specific consent of the teacher, and why should the teacher tell you? I can think of half a dozen reasons why a teacher would be off long term and none of them need passing on to parents.

Oh but do look forward to secondary school op, when it all begins to master much more and cover lessons become the norm as teachers are pulled out of your DC's class on a very frequent basis to provide extra tuition to the year 11s.

I share an office with the staff member in our school who manages supply.

If you had any idea how difficult it is to arrange, especially when someone is off for an unknown length of time, you wouldn't want to add to her load by wanting updates about who's going to be teaching today.

the school haven't even told us that the class is being taught by cover/supply staff, let alone if it's 'appropriate'

The school are hardly going to say the cover is inappropriate, are they?

teachers who mostly seem to think it's impertinent to even think of needing an explanation as you should trust the head and how they go about running the school is none of your business.

How they go about running the school basically is none of your business. Just like it isn't your business how your bank or your gp's surgery are organised and managed. The school provides an education for your child based on government guidelines and using the resources they have available to them. Parents do not get a say in the running of the school. Why would they? The vast majority of them probably know next to nothing about what's actually involved in making those decisions.

Completely unreasonable and really rude if you ask!

Do really expect the head teacher to provide (and tell you about) inappropriately cover?

School will be using the minimum number of supply teachers possible, as that is what works best.
The current supply teacher could get offered a long term contract and need to accept it, and therefore walk out on Friday.

The cover organiser/head will be just as frustrated and inconvenienced by this as you.