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)

I wonder how much support the rest of a department would feel they were being given from a HoD that operated on those hours?!

I suppose they don't have to use it foe shopping though. They can do what I would do and spend the day in bed whilst doing shopping on Amazon.

I couldn't get worked up about this even if it was my kids school (I work full time outside the home)

I wonder how much support the rest of a department would feel they were being given from a HoD that operated on those hours?!

I agree. That's kind of what I was getting at, all things considered.

You do realise that curriculum choices have already been reduced due to funding cuts, changes in performance measures and lack of staff?

Sure. I am not particularly suggesting that schools should or should have to make this choice (of reducing options), just giving some extra background on why the situation is particularly acute for secondary.

The problem is particularly acute for secondary because secondary needs teachers who know their stuff in subjects like maths, physics, languages. The people who know that stuff are going elsewhere for better pay and working conditions.

Art? My goodness. Is that suggesting art teachers don’t work very hard?
Are pp alluding to some sort of subject hierarchy?

That’s disappointing.

I agree on that. I don't like sneering at other subjects. It's not a race to the bottom , as PPs have said. All teachers work really hard in lots of different ways.

My guess was maths based on allusions to setting, and the fact your department must be very large : not based on any assumptions about ease or difficulty of teaching, or managing, the subject.

Art? My goodness. Is that suggesting art teachers don’t work very hard?

Not at all.

However, Art is "marking-lite" - no piles of books with essays to wade through. Feedback and guidance can be given 1 - 1 as students work in lessons. Planning is minimal: a scheme of work per year group can easily be adapted to suit groups of different abilities.

Mind you, on reflection I can't imagine any regular secondary school having sufficient Art groups to provide a full timetable at KS4 and 5 only, even for a HoD on a reduced load.

I don't like sneering at other subjects.

I was not sneering. You have misinterpreted my post. See my rationale for having suggested Art in the post above.

My dd's primary has hers next Friday (7th) and it has been this way for years as ds ( now 15 ) used to attend the same school and it was always the first Friday in December.

It is not labelled as a teacher or parent/pupil shopping day but as "Christmas shopping day" which I do use to take dd for her Christmas clothes and a nice meal.

No other schools near us do it and others are very jealous ( lighthearted of course! )

Not RTFT, but we disaggregate one training day of the four that come out of our holidays. That means two hour training sessions over four evenings, and a day off in November. We call it Christmas shopping day as a joke. Half the staff spend it marking so they can have the weekend off

Hiphoray123
Are pp alluding to some sort of subject hierarchy?
That’s disappointing.

From the person that brought up PE

They finish work just gone 3!

Lolz.

YoureAllABunchOfBastards
We've done that. Reorganised the directed time calendar so there's more twilight and we can have a couple of days off.
We still have some training days but often have 2 days to take off from our twilight time.
It's a nice thing to do.

We also (like most schools I've worked at) do an early finish for everyone on the last day before Christmas. It's lovely for staff and students.
Of course there's always some git who'll complain but I try to ignore them (usually because they're the type who get a sad thrill of criticising schools).

We don’t do the same as the original HT because we have too many classes for them to cover, but we do use 2 of our insets as twilights to release that time for staff. It’s great for staff wellbeing and doesn’t affect any teaching and learning.

Let’s hope someone doesn’t come on and suggest the 5 Inset days happen during the summer holidays...

I'm on maternity leave @Chocolatecoffeeaddict but I work nearly every weekend in term time.

Teachers get PPA half a day to do planning etc. They could use that time. It's just not viable to give them all a day off. Unsettles the younger ones and means a lot more catching up time. (I'm a HLTA)

chocolatecoveredraisons

PPA isn't always in one block.

Secondary teachers usually get PPA in one hour blocks spread throughout the week. And it is for working and you have to stay on school site.

As I said before I advise teachers now. I speak to teachers every day who fantasise of car accidents just for some time off. Teachers who are struggling with chronic illness but keep going.

If course there are other hard jobs. But it isn't a race to the bottom. But like I said. Don't worry we won't have any teachers soon.

Teachers get PPA half a day to do planning etc

Secondary teachers get PPA on a free lesson basis. Depending on the school that’s 50 minutes/60 minutes in the majority of schools. Even if you get a double free, it’s not half a day. There is also a requirement frequently that we remain on the premises because we need to do a form registration later in the day, for example.

Wow. I work in healthcare. What is give for an afternoon to do my Xmas shopping or even go and see my daughter's Nativity. Anyone who works full time has a juggling act to get stuff done 😳

thismeansnothing, unless this individual decision by the head to cover teachers do take a day off is purely altruistic, and therefore way off the norm, there is no way that teachers are being given something for nothing. As you could have gleaned by now from reading the thread, this is the same principle as TOIL in the NHS. And of course you could book time off from your annual leave (I get that there's not enough of it having worked in both settings).

I know teacher's work hard, my mum was a teacher (she definitely did not finish at 3, she finished at 5 and then had lesson planning to do on top of that) however I do not agree with shopping days, there are plenty of professions that work just as hard, nursing for example who will not get a day off for shopping.

Let me tell you it took me a full two hours of PPA yesterday to mark one writing task in one set of books, giving feedback and individualise close the gap tasks. I have 8 different classes to do that for.

I know teacher's work hard, my mum was a teacher (she definitely did not finish at 3, she finished at 5 and then had lesson planning to do on top of that) however I do not agree with shopping days, there are plenty of professions that work just as hard, nursing for example who will not get a day off for shopping

The point of this was that the HT cover the teachers' work, which the managers of any workplace could also do if they chose. It was a wellbeing day, for the teachers to use as they wished. After planning a day's cover lessons. Differentiated, with IEPs in place, etc. etc.