To be disappointed that my children’s teachers have not come into school?

[Mixedbags]

My teenagers are at secondary school in crucial years. They have said that the last 2days many teachers have not come in due to snow and the supply teachers have not been very effective. The snow fall here and within a 60mile radius (relatives and friends all over) has been close to non existent. What example does this send to our children? Snowflakes? 🤪

I don't actually start work until 10.30 bit thought I would come in early incase I was needed. After a 3 hour journey to work, I have now been told to return home by our head because I live a distance away and we have 18% attendance of students today. OP I hope if I happen to be teaching at your childs school that they are here!!
Out of interest its in rural Cumbria (not exactly tropical) and out of my 12 years of teaching across 3 schools not one of them has been closed for a snow day!

Hi, I am on my lunch break. I am at work as is everyone else around here (apart from as outlined) as there Is no snow. My relatives and husband have also managed their (some of them long commutes 50 miles) journeys the last 2 days as there is no snow. Well done for making the effort as long as it was safe to do so, valiant effort. A great example to pupils especially when they enter the world of work.

Well done you

Just back from work myself, 90% of staff were in as usual despite heavy snow here (rural Oxfordshire). The few that weren’t in couldn’t make it because their children’s schools were closed and they had no family etc available for emergency childcare.

My sister, who is a teacher, travelled her usual commute of c30 miles without problem and the vast majority of her pupils were in. The school two minutes from hers was closed

I actually think it was a terrible example. I have sat for 5 hours in the car in freezing conditions, blocking the roads and putting myself and others at risk. All while I have a a sick son and have had little sleep. Why? Because on here last night, seeing your post made me feel guilty. Guilty that I should dream of taking the day off to spend with my son or take the safe option and not drive in the snow and risk him loosing his mum because your post highlighted that to some parents the most important thing is their childs education.

Outnumbered. For goodness sake, take responsibility for your own decisions!

People on here have been clear that we’re talking about those who ‘can’ get to work but choose to skive off and use it as an easy excuse for a snow day.

I’m assuming you have left your poorly child with their father or someone else so who is entirely capable of looking after them?

Dorsetdays Yes he stayed over night in hospital and they have both come home this morning. It was my own decission, but what I was trying to highlight is that the 8 teachers at OP schools my have made difficult decisions not to go to work. Myself and my husband are both teachers and therefore there were always going to be childrens education being affected. We had to make the call as to which ones. The OP had no idea of the teachers' individual circumstances making presumption that they live locally to the school and that all were off because of the weather. I was off yesterday because of my son. There was snow at the school and I am sure some students and supply teachers would presume wrongly I wasn't there because of that.
Teachers scieving making excuses because of snow drive everyone mad, including fellow teachers. Luckily as in any workplace the boss knows where they live and won't put up with it.

Why do so many teachers choose to live so far from where they work?

They know too much about the sort of neighbours!

I am sorry your son has been ill. Without outing myself too
I have I am a health care professional and do sympathise.
As I said, venture only if safe. I am tempted to add a photo of our ‘non existent snow’ over here to prove a point and as repeated numerous times my relatives travelling distances had no issues either

Some of the dcs' high school teachers live locally as they had kids at their primary school. I'd never live locally if i were a teacher as i wouldn't want to bump into school kids and their parents in the supermarket/hairdressers/primary playground like they do.

I would be more worried that my kids can't handle two days without school.

Not in UK now, but years ago I taught in an independent school in the country. DH was sent home from his job at a govt office because of the predicted heavy snow. We approached our Head to ask that he close the school early so that parents of day students could be warned to collect their children, and distant staff could get home. He declined. By the end of lessons/prep, the snow was falling heavily. Many parents had turned up early to collect their kids anyway. I tried to leave and got stuck in a blizzard for 3 hours, eventually being forced to return to the school, frozen through. Many staff were trapped at the school overnight, with parents in 4x4s still arriving at midnight, after 5 more more hours trying to get through. Chaos ensued-the boarding housemaster's wife had to make enough tomato soup to stretch over everyone still there, people with contact lenses and no cases/solution, medications missed by people requiring regular pill-taking. People sleeping on chairs. And guess where the noble Head was? He had gone home to his large multi-bedroomed house to sleep in his own bed and sit by his own fire. No captain going down with his ship. No solidarity with the people he had let down by refusing to close the school. The point I was trying to make before this trip down memory lane is that schools have a duty of care to staff and pupils alike. Of course no-one should attempt to attend if there is a risk of being trapped or endangered in any way. Most teachers have the facility to contact classes/individual students with instructions for homework assignments/revision, so no children should be disadvantaged by brief and essential staff absence.

As a teacher it drives me mad to read all these teacher bashing posts. Are all teachers perfect? No. Do we try our best? Yes. Will I be risking my own safety or my children's safety for my pupils? No of course not. Nor would I expect any other professional to...

I agree it can be frustrating when school is closed when the weather doesn’t actually seem that bad . My dd was also out today and is in an exam year . She stayed at home and did some work and slept . Ds also in an exam year went in . A good number of teachers didn’t get in ( it up to them to decided if they can) the supply teachers we’re unprepared and ineffective. Mix that with half a school of boys who feel hard done by that they are at school while a number are not due to coach transfers , then send the rest of the coach boys home and you get chaos !
So although my ds didn’t the day at school he did nothing useful .
Personally for me they should have opened for the exam years and used the few teachers they had effectively. But I’m
Sure that was considered . They are damned if they do and famed if they don’t .

As someone who was a teacher and who works in education, I sense a tone of 'my child could make it in, so why didn't the teacher's. Yes, teachers have to commute in a long distance, often because housing more local to the school is unaffordable. But why not just blame the teacher, who presumably should have stayed in a hotel locally at their own expense to be able to make it in?

Every fucking snow day

OP - rather than air your disappointment on a website why don’t you contact the school on Monday and arrange to speak to each teacher individually to find out why they did not attend school today?

Your kids wil survive a couple of days without teaching. Point them towards bbc bitesize or gcse pod. They'll be fine. Better that than potental accidents. I skidded on ice earlier this week. It is easily done.

My kids can handle it yes, the problem is the accumulation of days without their teachers in crucial years. People can’t help getting ill or if the snow is bad and it’s dangerous to commute. But I don’t agree and like a broken record I repeat there is NO chuffing SNOW here! My kids school continually highlight how accumulates absence/missed levels can impact on grades. If there is an accumulation of non necessary days off then this is the same.

Dorsetdays
Boney. Slightly clutching at straws there?

No straws clutched just your inability to see something form the other side.

Both of my children’s schools are closed today, we received texts by 6.30am by which time none of the teachers would have even attempted to get in so essentially they’ve just decided it’s not possible before trying?

How would you know when teachers leave for school, unless you are just making shit up just to prove your point.

However, I’m fully expected to go into work and rightly so as, whilst travel may be slower than usual, it’s totally doable around here.

And you judge all areas by the area in which you live.

Looked up my son's grad salary yesterday. Just £7K less than his mum, a fully qualified teacher with 30 yrs experience. No wonder there is a shortage of teachers. Add parents attitudes and workload and it's a wonder there are any. 5 more years and early retirement beckons.

That said, Mrs T has never failed to turn up to school. Winter tyres or walking a few miles. She's opened the school and then had parents complain that they can't get their kids there or why can't the kids have time off to enjoy the snow.

They can't win. But if this is all we've got to worry about compared to Syria, Africa and Venezuela then aren't we all lucky.

echt
That's common sense (and how many sensible places work).

It's easy to say 'What's wrong with saying 11A3 you have a cover as your teacher is unwell?' but the bottom line is it isn't necessary to say that. What if they arent unwell? Say 'personal reasons' and allow the rumour mill to go mad? Or say nothing and then have silence fuel gossips?

The only people who need to know why an employee is absent are the employee and the relevant senior staff/HR (depending on the workplace).
The only people who feel the need for snippets of other people's private lives in the workplace are people who like a gossip.

Mixedbags
Good for you. Like most other people.

But the bottom line is you are not privvy to employee absence information at a different organisation, regardless of what you and your gossippy mate want to speculate over.

This thread reminds me of why I think staff room gossips are sad individuals with nothing more going on in their lives.

This is exactly why there is a teacher shortage. They are constantly criticised and belittled by people who have NO CLUE . I am a teacher of 19 years and have a long journey into work . I have a child
With ASD who had a horrific journey home in the snow as the school felt complied to open because of parent pressure - 30 min bus drive was 3 hours - he was absolutely traumatised . I teach two days in a week because of my children and especially my ASD child - there was no snow where I work so as I knew this type of disgusting teacher bashing would start - I stayed in a hotel for the night by school . £140 ( was cheapest there was ) . That’s more than I get paid for that day. So , please , OP . Give teachers a break .

My husband is currently stranded because he went to work when it was ok this morning but this evening lorries have jackknifed and blocked the motorway and another lorry jackknifed and blocked a roundabout and he is stuck in traffic that literally can’t go anywhere and hasn’t moved for nearly 2 hours. So really I don’t blame anyone for being cautious. My kids did go to school today but the school sent a message as soon as the snow restarted saying that parents were allowed to collect their children early if they wanted and I did so thankfully. I can’t believe it’s still snowing...it’s like the weather doesn’t know that it’s england haha

Where do the staff live compared to the school?
Is it walkable?
What is the snow and/or roads live where they live and their journey to and from school?
Do they have children who are at schools which have closed, so they need to stay home for that reason?
Is public transport running to and from their home and work? Is it feasible to use?

I live about 4 miles from school. It can be no snow at all in town near school but a very different story at home. It is very hilly. It is a really long walk - I did once in heavy snow a few years back. Took almost 2 hours as the snow was deep, everywhere was slippery and its really hilly in places. School closed about 30 minutes after I'd arrived!! Fortunately dh now drives a large 4x4 which has meant I have been able to get in when others haven't.

Many teachers will have had to show their headteacher that they cannot get to school, and show they've been a reasonable attempt to do so.
They can loose pay if school is open and they don't attend.