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 agree that other professions could take more interest in the welfare of their staff too, of course.

If my child's teacher has one day off that makes them feel more valued and therefore happier, I'm all for it.

Interesting to hear from teachers about alternatives, is it difficult to raise these suggestions in schools, or is it government level decisions?

Tbh it doesn't really matter what the DM or the general public thinks of teachers.

The fact staring this country in the face is that people who are in a career where:

You get 13 weeks holiday a year
The pension is still relatively really good
If you need to you can leave any time after 4
Once you have a few years of experience you should just be able to cruise on through, making a few tweaks in order to keep things fresh
Every day is different and the job is often a lot of fun

Are leaving that career at an incredible rate to go and do jobs where you might not get any of those things.

Leaving schools to try and survive on very little money from term to term on supply teachers and those who are clinging onto their career and their mental health with their fingertips.

That is what the Daily Mail should be frothing about.

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?

A very valid question, ChocolateWombat. I don't pretend to have all the answers, but would suggest a good starting point would be to actually listen to the profession's views on where the problems really lie - as opposed to those who've never faced a class in their life handing down ill-thought-out proposals from on high

Or must I be joking?

It's all a 'sticking plaster' anyway, which isn't addressing the real issues.

I feel a bit annoyed when I hear about these 'well-being' initiatives which schools and other work places like to parade to show how caring they are of their staff. So, they offer a day at home in November, or they say 'don't overwork this week' or they offer a mindfulness course after work.........and at the same time, they still increase the demands on staff which are the root of the problem - more reporting and recording is demanded, new marking strategies have to be implemented, more risk assessments or forms for special needs must be filled in, more online courses about child protection or terrorism or whatever need completing, more meetings must be attended, more targets are set which are unachievable and pay related to them........it is this stuff which is causing people to leave and have break-downs and pretending a day at home in November or a week when you don't have to overwork, which clearly shows that you do have to overwork every other week of the year, is the problem.

And I know that management in schools and other jobs are under pressure from above.....but until this increasing burden is acknowledged and dealt with, we should be honest and see it for what it is and that policies of 'wellbeing' are a farce and actually pretty offensive.

@Avegemitesandwich

Excellent post. Spot on!

My school offered a stress management session after school once. No one turned up to it because we were all too busy.

ChocolateWombat spot on. Education budgets that reflect the amount of staff needed to run a school, a reduction in paperwork, and not needing schools to be substitute parents/carers for some, would be a start.

Interestingly on Friday two members of staff brought their children in to see where they work. Something if it is a one-off or once or twice a year I welcome. Both were off school because it was a teacher training day- I wonder if the choice of days was a coincidence?!!

woah there @neveradullmoment99

I was quoting a previous poster. I'm not stupid I know teachers work far more than the 3pm finishing time. Please read comments more carefully before claiming I should educate myself on teachers contracts.

It's not 13 weeks of holiday, it's 13 weeks of unpaid leave.

We used to get a shopping day in December when I worked for a Big 4 company. Also a day off for moving etc. I can't begrudge anyone else the same.

But Christmas shopping days are not the solution. In fact, they are part of the problem. They are part of a package whereby staff are told ‘we value you - look at these marvellous things we do for you to reduce your stress levels!’

^ This. It's a pointless, empty gesture which will piss off the general public and not really help teachers. There is a lot that needs to be changed in schools in order to enable teachers to do their jobs effectively without burning out and quitting in their thousands. Shopping days are not any kind of answer. Neither is giving the staff free cake once a month (the genius idea of the SLT in one school I worked in, where questionnaires revealed morale among staff to be appalling ). I didn't even stay to the end of the maternity leave I was covering. And that was a school that had been rated outstanding the previous month.

I don't begrudge them a day at all - and it should be a day that benefits them, rather than a 'quid pro quo' where they end up having to do twilight INSETs etc. and give back far more than they get.

You could not pay me enough money to teach. I don't have kids so no experience of school as a parent, but having seen what friends (who teach) go through, it's a hellishly hard job.

I've been watching the "School" documentary and it's heartbreaking to see the teachers so demoralised and worried about the impact to their students when funding cuts mean that they are having to trim back even the bare bones service. It was so sad to see the teachers upset when the HT resigned. You can tell that they are demoralised, exhausted and at breaking point. There's a huge recruitment crisis and teachers are leaving the profession faster than they are being replaced - if one day off helps with morale then do it.

Amazing how critical people are of teachers, yet they’d hate it if their jobs were being scrutinised and criticised as much. In fact that goes with any public sector job.

Because people pay taxes they feel entitled to stick their oar in.

I’m not a teacher but in no way begrudge this. Talent attraction and retention is proving more and more difficult and what was a well paid and respected vocational profession has been eroded over the years.

They do a hard and important job with long hours, I’d rather they just paid them more or reduced workload but there we go 🤷‍♀️

But I agree that it's a short term sticking plaster rather than a solution. The whole system needs a shake-up - and the changes need to be to give the schools and teachers the autonomy to make the decisions that are best for the students within their schools. They are the professionals, so how about we listen to their ideas? Instead of imposing more "standards", more targets, more paperwork and data gathering? Give them time to actually teach rather than worrying about how to structure a lesson plan so that they can pass an OFSTED inspection.

A day is probably going to be at most 5% of the unpaid extra time most teachers put in to their job at weekends, skipping lunch and in the evenings, well deserved in my view (and no, I am not a teacher just a former governor).

“It's a pointless, empty gesture which will piss off the general public and not really help teacher”

Why are you pissed off?

Avegemitesandwich exactly so.
On paper, it’s a fantastic job. I’m on supply, earning half what I did, and I’d not go back to my previous role. This sort of squabbling over possible perks avoids looking into the void and analysing the real issues ripping teaching, children and the future of education apart.
But the majority of the general public continue to be willingly unaware.

It's just a nice gesture by an appreciative head teacher, teachers work crazy hours, those saying it's well paid break it down to an hourly rate and you'll feel differently. It's not a basic entry level job. This time of year they're giving up lots of free time with concert rehearsals, Christmas parties etc. They have no flexibility they don't get TOIL can't book a random Tuesday off to get things done and so on. A good friend of mine is a deputy head and she is in school by seven every day, she gets home between six and seven and several nights a week is still working at eleven/twelve at night. In a position that senior anywhere in the private sector she'd be paid an awful lot more than she is, but it's ok to pay the people who spend more time with our children than we do, peanuts. I also work in the public sector, my wage is not amazing for the level of work and responsibilities I have, I have a cousin who works as a PA and gets paid more, although the decisions I make day in day out affect people's lives, safety and the protection of the public, but at least I can choose to book a day off to do my Christmas shopping.
Teaching is not the easy ride some people here seem to think it is and if some parents have that attitude think about how that translates to your children.

I think that they are well paid, have lots more days when pupils are on holidays where they can be flexible and also have flexibility of time to complete their work after pupils have left for the day. They should use weekends and online shopping like the rest of the working world!

Why are you pissed off?

I'm a teacher. I was referring to the likelihood of non-teacher members of public being pissed off at the idea of teachers being given a shopping day.

Well all of us have been to school and most of us have children at school. I've not met many teachers that have really impressed me

It’s a panacea for the teacher crisis we’re facing in this country.

I’m sure most teachers would forego a ‘shopping day’ if they could have proper, funded classroom support, better supplies, and the freedom to teach ans support learning and not just drive results.

(Someone has undoubtedly said this before me, sorry I was too lazy to read the whole thread).

Our local high school was completely closed yesterday. I don’t have dc there so I don’t know the official reason given but a few parents I know have said that they believe it’s for Christmas shopping.
I don’t really care and wouldn’t even if I did have dc there, I have a few teacher friends and I know I couldn’t do their jobs.

They should use weekends and online shopping like the rest of the working world!

We do.