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)

Bookworm - that if there is not a meeting, you can go and do what you need to do and catch up on the work another time. Obviously.

Not read the full thread.

I worked in a different job for 20 years before becoming a teacher, all the time ridiculing my teacher friends. Then - I trained - and I am being truly honest in saying that it is the hardest job I have ever done. You can never have a 'bad day' as it affects so many others, you have to be on the ball all of the time. I finish with students at 4pm, then have clubs twice a week till 5.15pm, meetings at least once sometimes twice a week and at present we are doing things for the end of term shows etc - I have worked through half term, every weekend and most evenings doing extra stuff - and then I have planning and schemes of work to write when I get home. I am nigh on exhausted. Don't get me wrong I am loving it (mostly) but I have also had parents evenings thrown into the mix, amongst my own family commitments (more parents evenings and meetings). I get paid fairly well, but I earn every penny. I definitely earn all of my holidays too (at least half of which I work). Not sure I want a shopping day - maybe a morning - or just a coffee in peace?! But the raffle of wellbeing sounds amazing!!

I work for the NHS 5 days a week Monday to Friday. A hour commute each way. Start at 8 finish at 5. I manage to do all my shopping on the evenings and weekend. I also start early (teachers could start at the October half term). Schools could allow amazon deliveries etc.

We used to have this in the NHS , back in the day when the NHS had more money

Totally agree cricketballs. As support staff we are appreciated by our individual teachers but there is a lot of unseen stuff we do to keep the rest of the school running smoothly that only gets noticed if it's not done! An unexpected day off was such a lovely surprise that the next day we did the dreaded task of cleaning the staff fridge with a lightness of step and didn't mention 'disgusting animals' once!

Teachers having a day off for personal reasons (for shopping or whatever) is a good idea. It's a profession with a high burnout rate.

We have a wellbeing INSET day in January. Thsi involves staying later than normal, having a 3 hour meeting/ training in the morning and then being forced to do soemthing like basket weaving or yoga for two hours in the afternoon...

So, at the beginning of a term.. no planning time, no marking time...Just the very thought of this is making me stressed!

Many moons ago, the head gave us that day off as a post Christmas treat. Not one single parent ever complained.

I wonder if it's the 'shopping' that is annoying MN and the GBP here, rather than the wellbeing day off.

Ona side note, it's worth pointing out that over 50% of teachers are parents themselves! I couldn't actualy toddle off at '3pm' to do shopping becuase of family commitments.

This is something that we used to get years ago in Scotland but it has stopped sadly when we got our Mccrone time [ time out of class for planning]. Such a shame. I loved having a little afternoon.

I don't see an issue if the day is covered by another member of staff (and therefore presumably only taken by a few staff). Our school recently had one of these 'wellbeing weeks'. I'd never heard of it before so assume it's a new thing. The head said he was going to ensure there were no internal meetings and teachers were told not to over work for a week. All fine, that's a SLT decision as far as I'm concerned. What I was about was the request for parents to only contact teachers if 'absolutley necessary'. I'd love to see my patients faces if my boss sent an email telling them it was well being week and to only contact me if urgent for a week. It just smacks of preciousness. And before anyone says it, yes I know parents aren't patients and the relationship is different but the fact remains talking to parents is part and parcel of the job. Teachers deserve respect and no one can deny its a difficult job but so is mine and many others. I think this type of stunt just puts people's backs up. I've had cause to complain to the school on a few occasions (show me a parent of a child with SEN who hasn't) and to be honest the reaction was totally unprofessional and defensive. It read as I should be grateful for what they've done and how dare I criticise. All great, but I was talking about what hadn't been done and how it was negligent. I expected some attempt to investigate my complaint and come back to me but that didn't materialise. They quite literally closed ranks.

Lots of people do unpaid over time, have difficult government targets to meet and don't get paid alot. They also don't get 13 weeks holiday and their main 'client' group is only there for 6 hours of the day. Its a bit like this culture of buying presents for teachers. Every Christmas and end of year we're strong armed into paying £10 towards a gift so the teacher ends up with £200 or so of vouchers twice a year. I don't think the teachers should be allowed to accept it, we certainly wouldn't be allowed to accept that type of gift and I work for the NHS.

My experience of the eduction system has been a story of two halves. My eldest daughter is average with no issues and pretty much sailed through. My youngest daughter has SEN which were ignored or overlooked for many years. I had to fight to get help and when I managed it they still didn't fulfill it. I have met some truly crap teachers who don't have even the most basic knowledge about anything SEN and claim ignorance. I've also met some brilliant teachers who's hands are truly tied by lack of resources and funding.

@sonlypuppyfat

Maybe a better way to view it is that all employers should be doing more to improve staff wellbeing, rather than suggesting that those who do, shouldn’t.

If there is not a meeting, you can go and do what you need to do and catch up on the work another time

What, like Christmas shopping? 😂😂😂😂

I’m not getting the joke, sorry.

The article says it's a wellbeing day

With the caveat that the article may be an invention, I'm reminded of the recent thread where OP pulled a sickie because, while not actually ill, they just didn't feel up to going to work. There was a deluge of replies insisting it was vital to protect mental health this way, though a few posters wondered what the reaction would be if "occasional days off" were offered to teachers

FWIW I'm not sure this is the best solution to classroom stress and retention, but now the discussion's turned to teachers it's interesting to see all the posts along the lines of "why should they?"

I suppose a question we should all ask is, what are we going to do if the teacher retention and recruitment crisis continues - teachers are leaving in droves and schools can't attract qualified people and not enough are training.

Regardless of whether we think teachers should have a shopping day or a well being day or not, what exactly is to be done to stop the burn out which is going on? As parents, how do we feel about the future in 5 or 10 years of schooling for our kids if we continue with the current trajectory? Because it will be our kids who are affected and then the issue of a day not in school in November will seem laughable and like a drop in the ocean.

The "joke" is that you assume teachers can just swan out of school at the end of the day when the mood takes them.

If you have to, you could leave at 4

Erm, we can't. We are contracted to remain on school premesis until 6pm. Once the children finish at half three, we are running after school clubs daily, staff meetings, SLT meetings, planning meetings and we aren't able to take books home so most of us are there past that with marking.

Purple Flower - I'm not doing it wrong, I'm doing it well. There's a difference. I'm disabled - I don't do anything in the evening anyway, so I'm happy to put my all into my job. It's what's got me where I am today.

When I worked in Administration in a hospital all staff got a Christmas shopping day.

@Icerebel

They are very well rewarded for what they do! They finish work just gone 3!

Some time educating yourself on teachers contracts might enable you to see that we are contracted to work from 9am-5pm [ here in Scotland and I am very sure it is the same North of the border] 3pm? You have got to be kidding!!! Very often we have meetings, courses after work that we have to attend as part of our contract. Then, when we get home at 5pm and very often later have perhaps 61 jotters [maths and literacy with a class of 31] to mark - and not just tick but write a personal comment about childrens learning. I have been up until 11pm nights on end if I want to keep up. This is before any planning and preparation for the children the next day.

I’ve worked in schools for years moody

Never had to stay Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday until 6.

@ProfessorMoody

If you are happy with your workload then that is fine, but you don’t have to put all the hours under the sun in to teaching to do it ‘well’. Long hours, yes, but if someone was having to use almost every free hour I would question their efficiency. There is always something extra to do but there is no wonder so many leave the profession within 5 years if those hours are portrayed as the requirement to do well in the role, they’re not.

I used to be a teacher - I wouldn't have done this tbh. I didn't even take time off when pg to go to antenatal checks if I could reschedule them for outside of school hours.
Plenty of people work long hours and have demanding jobs. I believe teachers ought to shop at weekends or use amazon like everyone else.
I wouldn't object to it if schools weren't so anal about parents removing children from school occasionally for personal reasons.

A day off for shopping? They are very well rewarded for what they do! They finish work just gone 3!

Hahahahahahah. I leave school at 6 most nights.

Having said that, I don't want a shopping day, I just want less meaningless crap paperwork.

There was an article in the Times Educational Supplement recently. Teachers were generally of the opinion that a better aid to well-being and performance is to reduce the workload (triple marking, constant reports, assessments etc) and forget about shopping days, in-work massages, bake-off days.

Purple - I completely agree! Professor Moody - do you teach in an independent school? You are working your contracted hours then, surely? I also do my job well, but differently. I leave at 4 and work, when required, in the evening. I do a couple of hours at the weekend. Im a bloody good HOY and my results at GCSE speak for themselves. But, I do have a life amd a balance. If you do not work in the evenings then so do you.

Erm, we can't. We are contracted to remain on school premesis until 6pm.

Is this part of the wonderful world of academisation, @ProfessorMoody?