To be annoyed about this

[lookingforwardtoautumn]

The schools website has said that term is from 3 September onwards. I’ve just found out there’s a training day on 31st August, and I’ve no child care ... Aibu to just say I can’t go?

OP, I have known teachers have to take kids into inset in emergencies. Contact your HOD and see what they say.

Do you not have a friend or sibling?

And baby must be going to a private nursery if 10mths. They are normally quite accomodating I have found. Give them a call .

You will have to contact sitters.co.uk or similar as suggested by PP

If you have so little support you really do need to find out what cover is available in your area.

And you also need to be better informed about when you need to be at work.

I am all ears as to ideas as for who would take an ill baby.

I used to be a teacher and am speechless at the idea you would just expect to turn up on the first day of term! It's a professional job - there's preparation to do

You never said the baby was ill?

"I don’t think having a baby and booking her into a nursery while I am at work is irresponsible parenting."

literally no one has said this

but you returned to work on July 21st (and no, it's not 'obvious' that you wouldn't go in, particularly since no one magically already knew this information before you divulged it - all staff were in at both my dcs' school on July 23 & 24, and at my dd's school all pupils were in too)

I think people's backs are put up by the fact that you seem more concerned with getting cross with people for not already knowing things which you haven't yet bothered to include in the thread than you do with providing enough background information for people to formulate helpful and relevant replies

Sorry if you are upset by the responses but you genuinely do need back up childcare arrangements in place and especially so if you don’t have family to ask.

If you are feeling so fragile are you going to cope with teaching in secondary school? I hope you find a solution but please don’t rely on your head being fine about you not coming in due to childcare issues: you must know firsthand just how awkward that is.

What precisely am I supposed to be preparing that can’t possibly be done at home

Well for starters:
Display boards
Setting up the classroom
Working with colleagues regarding new exams/schemes of work

The date on the school website for 'first day of term' is for parents (if they put 31 August, hundreds of children would fetch up) - staff are meant to know the inset days, etc via communication with school.

It's your responsibility to find out the staff attendance dates and make plans for childcare accordingly.

OP, I am aghast that you are a teacher, how can you have so little understanding of your own job?!

Display boards - displays are made up of kids work, and they haven’t done any yet If you mean the backing paper, that isn’t a teaching role. In any case, displays aren’t very important in secondary.

Setting up the classroom - again, doing what, moving the desks?

Working with colleagues regarding new exams and schemes of work - not in the holidays.

Matilda, I’m absolutely fine, but the point is, if my baby is unwell and cannot go to nursery, then I will have to take time off to look after her and it’s not on to flame me for this, plenty of working parents do the same.

Don’t talk nonsense didnt

Some/many emergency nannies will take a sick baby

Obviously not desperately unwell but with a cold, chickenpox, virus etc, they will.

An adult can handle that (and take hygiene precautions), the kid just can't be in nursery to stop it spreading to other babies.

In my babysitting days, I'd do chickenpox, shingles etc because I was a robust adult who has already had them so my risk was v low (and the money was good)

@MichonnesBBF

I meant that she at nursery she may not me leading the class. Our nursery is all year but even at a time time only nursery you get some activities repeated throughout the term as that’s how children that age learn. It’s not the same as lesson planning for secondary school.

Nowhere have I said that nursery teachers don’t work hard or as hard as any other kind of teachers. You have just got yourself in a huff reading too much into something. Either way they all work more than this teacher who is bemuoby prep.

So - secondary school teacher who has had no contact with head of dept regarding timetable, etc? None at all?

Mm-kay...

OP, you sound stressed but you really need to sort this.

Have you not been checking work emails? Even sporadically on MAT leave? I’m a teacher and can’t believe that you’re being so blasé about school.

You do need to sort childcare and get yourself in on 31st.

OP I'm sorry that you're upset but you've posted in AIBU and everyone thinks you are being unreasonable. There's your answer.

I probably should have checked but we have never been back in August before ... it’s confused me

WOAH hang on a second did you seriously just write If you mean the backing paper, that isn’t a teaching role. are you that important that you don't even back your own boards, of course displays are part of a teachers role.

Also aghast at this not in the holidays So when exactly do you look at the new exams and schemes of work cause its pretty ineffective to do that after the children come back and start there lessons.

I am amazed that you think you are so entitled to spend the holidays doing nothing, you are literally the first teacher I've ever come across who thinks that's acceptable.

And I don’t think I derserve criticisms about my parenting or teaching

I’ve never backed my own boards, maybe it’s just my school.

OP I'm sorry you are feeling overwhelmed. I too have been a single parent from the word go (not by choice either) so do have a degree of empathy.
Unfortunately you asked a question about the lack of communication from school. Communication is a 2 way process and both sides failed.
I'm sure this one oddly timed inset can be sorted but you need to discuss it with the appropriate senior teacher.
Good luck. It's tough. You will need to be even more organised than some of your other colleagues

To be fair OP I am a manager in a FE college and my teachers were all back in last week so they could sort out changes to SOW/LP in line with Curriculum changes.

My team also want to know about the students they will be teaching this year, so that they can think about differentiation and other relevant strategies. Are you genuinely saying you just intended to rock up and wing it?

Thanks Hester

Not really a good enough excuse is it for missing work, not having child care.