Teacher wellbeing days for shopping

[ForAMinuteThere]

Nope - this isn't a bash. I saw an article in the Fail about it and wanted to add some support for the teachers of this world.

I am a non teacher. It looks hard. One day off for shopping is a nice gesture.

I expect mixed responses but personally, I think teachers staying sane and feeling worthy can only be a good thing.

(This isn't my first post, have NC)

The schools here stop on the 21st of December- I would have no problem with a term-time day off for shopping at all

At our school we are given half a day of for Christmas shopping. We are covered by other staff.

*off

Lots of of people work long hours and don’t have time to prepare for Christmas. And I know no one who takes a days holiday to do Christmas shopping - how many people are you shopping for?? In this day and age with the ease of internet shopping, it’s hardly a chore.

I personally think this is a bit silly. And for those of you going “won’t someone please think of the poor teachers, why would you begrudge them one tiny day” - I don’t begrudge them a day, but what they need are steep pay rises and better support. Not a publicity stunt which is about as useful as a chocolate teapot and which will do bugger all to resolve the morale and recruitment crisis.

I think it’s a great idea. Plenty of private firms have fringe benefits, why not give teachers the odd extra non financial incentive here and there? Things like this are known to help boost moral and I think more of it should happen in schools. Who wants a demotivated teacher teaching their kids? Maybe something like allowing them to take a day off in the month of their birthday would be a nice perk too (with headteacher covering). They are struggling to recruit and retain teachers so some extra perks wouldn’t go amiss!

Lockheart I agree they need pay increases, but if headteachers cant do this due to budget constraints why shouldn’t they find other ways to improve things for their staff? In any private industry recruitment and retainment issues would be solved by bigger salaries and better benefits, but the headteachers are limited with what they can offer.

but what they need are steep pay rises and better support.

Heads can’t give this, that’s not in their power. Covering a teacher for the day, however, is.

One of our NQTs is already talking about quitting because she’s totally overwhelmed. If I could cover her for a day so she could go shopping or even spend it in bed, I’d consider it.

Lockheart

I wholeheartedly agree that what they need is to be paid properly etc.

The funding comes from government though doesn't it and while they restrict the money schools are very limited with what they can do to support staff. They can't offer a 10% pay rise or shares or anything.

Schools are barely balancing their budgets as it is. That is a travesty. The fact that health and education are so woefully underfunded is scandalous.

My daughter has a teacher for 4 days a week ie 80% of her time in school. Her teacher has the standard half day for lesson prep plus a half day for ‘extra responsibilities’. She is deputy head in a school with a non teaching head and 4 class teachers. The other day is covered by teaching assistants. This term she has had several days per month covered by supply teachers. Either teachers are highly skilled professionals whose presence is essential to the child’s education, in which case they should be in the classroom more than 70-80% of the time, or their role is not that essential (in which case schools could save a load of money by replacing teachers with assistants). Anyway, I would be very unimpressed if our teacher took a shopping day on top of all the other time she is too busy to actually be teaching.

Why the speech marks for extra responsibilities ?

If only someone would invent something that would allow you to buy things without having to go into a shop ...

Teachers finish at 3pm - who knew? As a member of the profession I get paid for 32.5 hours a week and work on average at least 50.
A day off as a gesture of goodwill that doesn’t affect or hinder the children and their learning is at the discretion of the headteacher; it’s a total non-story.

I dont want a shopping day but id love a day to see my dc's nativity. Since there are no bonuses and no paid for office party it would be a nice gesture.
The inflexibility is hard with children - I've dealt with it the same way many colleagues have, by being part time.

Hmmm mixed views on this! My son's school has given staff two days off for Xmas shopping they do it every year! The school is closed on these days. Whilst I understand that teachers have it tough and work damn hard, I'm a teaching assistant myself, (at a school that doesn't offer a long weekend for shopping, we are in on non pupil days for training and prep) I do think it's a little bit of a piss take. Maybe offering days off which are covered by other staff, so that students can still go in would be a better way of doing it!
But then I am very grumpy at the moment because I have a cold! Maybe it is a good idea????

Melkim are you saying that your DS only goes to school for 188 days per year, or that the head has simply set the school calendar so that two days off in December are made up with two extra school days at Easter (or whenever)?

Melkim. Two days for Christmas shopping by closing the school?? That’s taking the absolute p* if you ask me.

What does it matter, Dorset if the kids get exactly the same number of days at school as every other kid, just different days?

Noble. That’s not what was said, hence my question mark.

So if that’s the case my comment stands.

Melkim40

Maybe the days off are non contact inset days that are made up by the teachers doing extra twilight sessions throughout the year?

I think it’s a great idea for paramedics, nurses, all people who are over worked and under resourced

Dorsetdays

If only we had all the information and not the standard second hand hearsay.

Mrs T. is a teacher and works 8-6 on the 3 days she works in school (for which she gets paid) she works 1.5 extra (unpaid) days at home to keep up with the marking and planning.

I used to run my own business so am used to 80 hr weeks but at least I got to choose when I worked and what I did.

The pay is lousy but the pension is good, so that'll be another teacher lost to the profession, like thousands of others in 5 yrs time.

I'm glad my kids are through the system now as I don't think we'll have many teachers at all in 10 yrs time, and many of those won't be that experienced.

As a job it's lousy as the government have just loaded it with bureaucracy and paperwork instead of trusting professionals to do a good job.

Boney. Not exactly second hand...the poster said it herself and clearly stated she felt it was a piss take thereby it’s reasonable to assume that she was saying these aren’t part of the normal holidays reallocated.

How would the teachers have worked four twilight inset days (up to 6pm) when most are saying they already work well beyond 6pm just to keep on top of their day to day work?

Sara, your DC and other DC would certainly benefit from having qualified teachers 100% of the time. One of the reasons they have a TA for 20% of the time is not because teachers have decided they want to go shopping or do other things, but because the school can't afford to pay a teacher to be in front of the class all the time. Increasingly TAs are used to cover classes because they are cheaper. They can set work up or deliver materials but they don't plan and teach in the same way teachers do. So your child is being short-changed. And it's not because the Head or her teacher want to skive off but because the school doesn't have enough money to cover everything that is needed - that Deputy will be doing tasks which are vital to the running of the school when she isn't with the class. The Head will have arranged it like that because she can't afford to pay a class teacher 100% of the time and cover and pay people to carry out all of the management and other roles required in the school too. No doubt the Head, your child's teacher and the other staff work many hours outside of the school day to meet all of the governments requirements and to do what is needed for your child to be taught. Probably morale is low and the Head has no means to reduce workload or increase pay and so has taken a small step to boost morale with the inset day - of course your child will still receive the same number of teaching days across the school year, becaue that is obligatory. The teachers will all still teach the required no of days - no one is skiving.

So yes, your DD should have a teacher and hasn't got one every day. It's a symptom of cuts to school budgets, plus possibly difficulty in recruiting.

Who should you complain to - the government. Until funding improves, your DD will find that she has a qualified teacher less and less frequently or her class sizes rise or the resources available to teach with reduce, or her teacher has more and more demands put on her outside the classroom due to fewer staff, so she has less time to devote to the key activity of teaching.

You should be aware of how your DC is being short changed here and you should be outraged. But it's not down to the teacher or the Head.

How would the teachers have worked four twilight inset days (up to 6pm) when most are saying they already work well beyond 6pm just to keep on top of their day to day work?

By working later into the evening. Obviously.