Two days teacher training sprung on us with less than three week's notice

[Wheels79]

Just had a letter from school saying reception will be closed for two days after half term for teacher training.
I'm new to being a school parent but I find that 1) a bit short notice; 2) lacking in an apology or acknowledgement that it might leave parents with a childcare issue; and 3) hypocritical given that their policy is to refuse to authorise any holiday requests and yet missing two days out of the blue is fine when they say so.
Am I being unreasonable for feeling miffed? Should I accept now that school will arse around with our lives willy nilly?

Otters this is the second time in as many days I have seen you telling others that they don't grasp the concept of safeguarding. On both occasions it has been used in the correct context. Perhaps it's your own understanding that's a bit shaky.

Our school published the next year's INSET days at the end of July - however, one date had to be changed and anyone who had booked a long weekend based on the original date had the day authorised.

When the government stops requiring lone mothers to go back to work when their child goes to school

You're confusing "requirement" with "stopping state support and expecting you to pay for your decisions.

This one comment is so telling.

I'm a teacher and I think that's too short notice. My school decides on the dates for inset before the previous academic year has even finished and wouldn't change them later in the year.

I have no problem with inset days but 3 weeks notice is ridiculous. We would struggle to cover that at three weeks notice for some periods of the year, October/November being one, due to pre-planned work travel and intense periods.

It's not that we couldn't do it at all, it's that work either does not allow us to take leave at certain periods, we already have work travel booked, or finding cover is next to impossible. In fact in the OP's circumstances, e.g. three weeks from now, I'm honestly not sure what we'd do, I couldn't get the Mon and Tuesday off - we might have to see if a friend could take them or pay ridiculous not-12-week-advance train fares to get a GP to look after them.

When the government stops requiring lone mothers to go back to work when their child goes to school

You lost me there.

When you got the term dates did it say 2 inset days to be arranged? They were probably waiting for outside trainers to be available. If this is instead of 2 days already published I'm sure they would be understanding if you have already booked holidays for the published days. I can't see how they would get away with having two extra training days in one school year.

I'm new to being a school parent.
At least you have prior warning of this. When DC are ill you will find your annual leave disappears very quickly.

@StraussN Um. Most lone parents did not decide to become lone parents. The situation is very frequently forced upon them by death, divorce, unreasonable behaviour from the child's other parent, or a myriad other reasons.

I would quite like my tax money to go towards supporting parents in this situation until their children are older, or towards supporting businesses to have fair employment pratices that recognise that some people don't have another adult to support at home. I'd be quite happy to pay more tax for the privilege of knowing that all lone parents were being supported.

StraussN
Are you actually proposing that only couples that can afford to live on one salary/have enough savings/ have a spare non-working grandparent be allowed to have children?
Or maybe you think that people should employ childcare for the whole day on the off chance that they are needed rather than just wrap around care.
Surely schools are mostly staffed by working mothers so it can't be a surprise that parents work.

Another one here who doesn't understand the pop about Safeguarding.

Taking one child out for a holiday means they will be missing what the rest of the class are learning at that time. If the whole school is closed, then the whole class are in the same boat and they're technically not "missing" anything.

School is not a free childminding service. I'd rather have teachers that are 'trained' and well prepared teaching my kids.

I'm sorry that I wrapped up lots of issues into this one post.
Communication has been a bit ropey so far and so I am a little disappointed with the school. I guess it was the tone of the letter that upset me the most. It was a two line letter stating that it would be closed.
I'm not going to kick up a fussy though I might mention it at parents evening in passing.
I absolutely do not object to staff training and happy that they do want to train those staff. It just feels a bit of a surprise and disorganised.
As a previous poster mentioned I am trying to save a few leave days for if he falls sick. I'm expecting that exposure to new germs may well get him!

Parents' Evening is for talking to the class teacher. She will have had precisely nothing to do with the organisation of these Inset days, so there would be little point in complaining to her.

It’s unusual. I haven’t heard of 7 training days before. There are always 5 and at least some of them are planned into the calendar at the start of the year. A couple may be kept as ‘tba’ but usually with a little extra notice.

Still, I think 3 weeks notice, whilst sort, is fairly reasonable and the training is obviously very important.

Can you try to be understanding of the school’s position and remember that they are working hard and doing their best for your child?

Please remember that we are educators, not babysitters

Absolutely no need for any of this ^ nonsense. It's just not adequate notice.

If the reason is for additional training to meet the requirements of a curriculum or subject change, then it is probable that whoever is giving the training has a full diary and those dayshave had to be fitted in. It's not ideal timing, but it is important surely, that teaching and support staff are au fait with curriculum change. Unfortunately, trainers are often booked up and compromises have to be made.

It is very different from taking a child out of school. All the children will be in the same position, so no one is losing out. It's difficult to see how this could have been achieved, other than in this way because new arrangements are frequently introduced with little warning and are expected to be implemented by schools straight away.

In an ideal world, dates would be published well in advance and would never be subject to unexpected changes, but we don't live in an ideal world.

Sometimes the head is present at patents’ evening, doing a ‘meet & greet’ and troubleshooting role. So you could mention it to her/him I suppose. Definitely not the class teacher!!

Why would a school apologise for training its teachers to provide a quality education for your dc?

School isn't childcare.

It’s not particularly short notice, and you’re being ridiculous thinking they should apologise.

If it's about a change to the Early Years Curriculum then is it just the Reception class that's off? Why would a Y6 teacher (for example) need urgent training on a change to Early Years?

thatdearoctopus
Oh dear I thought she'd be able to pass it back. What do you suggest as a low key way to note it? I'm still learning how this all works.

Is this an academy? If so, they can do what they like!
In over 30 years of teaching, 28 or so with training days incorporated into the holidays school year, I have never known there to be more than 5 a year, and they have always been set out at least a year in advance, so this "last-minute" business is news to me, and yes, I agree that 3 weeks is a bit short-notice.

If you want to mention it, grab the Head in passing, or write to her/him. I'd keep it light and pleasant though. Keep your powder dry for if you ever have a serious issue.