To think school heads should be contactable in school holidays

[EloiseMinch]

A secondary head is likely to be on 70k+ and a primary head of 50k+. Those are high salaries for positions of senior management responsibility. AIBU to think they shouldn't just cut off completely in the school holidays?

Maybe some heads really are working in the holidays but I know the head at DC's school definitely doesn't. She is, for example, completely uncontactable from the end of one term to the start of the next.

EloiseMinch

Why should they have the same availability to parents? Why shouldn't they be able to demarcate certain times as the time they are a) on holiday b) working on strategic school priorities and c) business as normal? Why do you think you have the right to access to a senior professional running a complex organisation whenever you feel like it? How odd!

Why should the HT be available to you what on earth do you have to contact them for that couldn't be dealt withbefore end of term or when the term restarts.

There is a recruitment and retention crisis in teaching. Golden indeed.

You think they should be contactable for the whole holiday? Why?

I think they should be contactable all the time (in the usual way, e.g. by email.. you can't go round to their house :) ) they are not on holiday. Why? Because there are sometimes serious issues in schools that need to be sorted out before the next term starts. Also, the start of a school year is often a very busy time and so it doesn't make sense to try to do everything in a massive rush.

We still don't know why you would need to contact the head during the summer holidays..
She doesn't.
She has it in for a head teacher and despite being told mutliple times that if her concerns were as serious as she claims she should have absolutely formally raised complaints, she says she didn't go formal until the very end of term (because obviously we'd all put bitching about an email address above the safety of our child who is being assaulted and verbally abused).

However, if they are not actually on holiday outside term time then they should have the same availability to parents as they do during the term. If they are in fact not employed at all outside term time as was suggested, then they shouldn't be working. In other words, I am confused
No you're not. You have it in for someone.

Head teachers (and anyone on the leadership spine vs MPS/UPS) have different conditions and don't have the same directed time limits. It still doesn't mean that they are on call to parents through the holidays.

Serious issues in schools during the holidays? When no students are in? That need to be dealt with immediately?

Why should they have the same availability to parents? Why shouldn't they be able to demarcate certain times as the time they are a) on holiday b) working on strategic school priorities and c) business as normal?

Actually that sounds perfectly reasonable. What doesn't sound reasonable to me is to sign off completely as soon as term ends and to be completely uncontactable until the next term, every term.

Why don’t you do her job - I love how much people bang on they have too much holiday but don’t want to do the job themselves! Leave her alone for her holiday!

If they were contactable during the holidays their email box would explode. They are working, not reading mails. I don't think they get all of the 6 weeks in summer.

The head will almost certainly be working at home for a large part of his/her ‘holiday’.

Because Bezm wasn’t writing about a teacher, she was writing about an HR professional. Reread her post.

If they are not employed at all outside term time.. they shouldn’t be working

What do you do for a living OP? Have you never worked an evening, weekend, holiday that you didn’t get paid for? Just because you are dedicated and want to do a good job?

I have, so had my DH. Neither of us are teachers.

What is it you need to contact her about? I’m sure we could find a way to help you get in touch if it’s important...

That's in my salary range. No bugger gets to call me when I am on leave. I work 37.5hrs a week and no more plus don't have anywhere near the stress that a Head teacher does. The idea that they are overpaid and work shy for not being contactable during the time they are not paid for is daft.

As someone who worked her butt off in her earlier career I am at a loss where this idea that flogging yourself to death = moral superiority comes from.

Head teachers are paid a salary for a set number of hours. They are not wrong or bad people for not working more than those hours (I am aware some do anyway). That goes for anyone. Your employee buys a service from you and that service is often limited to a number of hours work. You are under no moral obligation to do any more than that (again, am aware some people choose to for various reasons).

Why don’t you do her job

She hasn't offered to me :)

No bugger gets to call me when I am on leave.

I assume you don't have 13 weeks of leave.

What doesn't sound reasonable to me is to sign off completely as soon as term ends and to be completely uncontactable until the next term, every term.

But why not? What urgent issue do you think she needs to be on hand to deal with, given that your child is in your care until they go back to school? Why shouldn't she be able to organise her time as she sees fit?

They don't want to talk to you or any other parent because nothing is that important you are not that important that you need to contact a headteacher during school holidays.q

It is not 13 weeks of leave. I'm not sure why that keeps getting missed.

The head is not paid for those 13 weeks - they essentially have 13 weeks unpaid time each year. Even LESS reason to be contactable.

@TheFallenMadonna the OP clearly needs to schedule in the HTs performance management meetings, because, ya know, the HT just isn't getting it right and the OP is best place to put forward some suggestions

Sigh.

Serious issues in schools during the holidays? When no students are in? That need to be dealt with immediately?

Yes serious issues that arise, for example, during term time but which are not resolved during the term. It's not so rare.

You don't genuinely believed that teachers have 13 weeks off work do you? Let alone head teachers?
DSister is a teacher. She works 70 hours on an average week and all through half terms. She takes one week off at Christmas and Easter and 4 weeks in summer. The rest of the "holidays" are spent working.
So she actually works more hours than your average full time employee.

I think if lives were at stake then a top professional (prime minister, surgeon) should be contactable when on holiday but not at the whim of a parent.

If you work, are you available during your holidays/annual leave?

TBF, yes. Aren't most people in senior positions/with responsibility

The head is not paid for those 13 weeks - they essentially have 13 weeks unpaid time each year

Various people here have said it is 6 weeks leave. Does it vary a lot by type of school or is there another reason for this discrepancy?

Anyway, I would say she is an exception as a HT if she is genuinely uncontactable at any point in the holidays.

You don't genuinely believed that teachers have 13 weeks off work do you? Let alone head teachers?

As I said, I have complete sympathy for teachers who are on nothing like 50k+ in a primary or 70k+ in a secondary.