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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think this last minute inset day is a terrible idea!

279 replies

Gotajobthrunepotism · 09/12/2020 22:11

Please don’t think I’m teacher bashing. Because I’m really not: I think teaching must be a stressful job, and not one I would choose.

But, this last minute inset day is an awful idea:
This year has been dreadful, and stressful for most people. We home schooled during lockdown while both working full time in hectic jobs. And it was very trying.

To schedule a last minute inset day makes it so difficult for people to get childcare: not everyone has someone to look after their child (particularly if your family are shielding)

Surely this should have been announced at the start of term so parents could plan in advance ?

OP posts:
Flipflops85 · 09/12/2020 22:47

@WhyNotMe40

Who are ‘tracing people’?

maverickallthetime · 09/12/2020 22:47

My daughter's secondary school are closing but the school I'm teaching in hasn't said anything (I've not been at work today). Knowing my head we won't close as we've too many plans and thankfully we've not had any cases yet. Fingers crossed it carries on with no cases!!

sherrystrull · 09/12/2020 22:47

@WhyNotMe40

Yes the school has that information, but there's should be nothing to stop them handing that over to tracing people for them to make the endless phonecalls, instead of it tying up SLT.
I agree. But also it's not only SLT. In dp's school the admin staff are contacted by SLT with names and they have to do the email contacting. This is often at weekends or in the evening
WhyNotMe40 · 09/12/2020 22:48

[quote Flipflops85]@WhyNotMe40

Who are ‘tracing people’?[/quote]
Dido Harding's lot

Elfieishere · 09/12/2020 22:50

My sons school was already closed on the Friday and my daughters isn’t closing on the Friday out of choice.

Flipflops85 · 09/12/2020 22:50

How would they have info about who a child was in contact with?

PurpleDaisies · 09/12/2020 22:52

@Flipflops85

How would they have info about who a child was in contact with?
Class registers Seating plans Lists of who goes home on which bus Registers for pre/after school clubs

Etc etc etc.

WhyNotMe40 · 09/12/2020 22:52

@Flipflops85

How would they have info about who a child was in contact with?
As I said - school could hand over contact details to the track and trace company, who are actually paid for this, who could then spend the hours making all the phonecalls.
OhDear2200 · 09/12/2020 22:52

Sorry to all the teachers that once again our ‘leaders’ have let you down. You are doing a great job. I hope you manage to have a good Christmas break!

Viviennemary · 09/12/2020 22:53

I think whoever thought this up is mad.

Flipflops85 · 09/12/2020 22:53

@PurpleDaisies

They don’t have that info or provide that service. Heads have been told that they must be on call for 6 days beyond the end of term.

PurpleDaisies · 09/12/2020 22:53

[quote Flipflops85]@PurpleDaisies

They don’t have that info or provide that service. Heads have been told that they must be on call for 6 days beyond the end of term.[/quote]
What do you mean, they don’t have that info? My school does.

WhyNotMe40 · 09/12/2020 22:54

Every school is keeping records of seating plans so that record can be easily used for tracing purposes.
Same for buses.
Attendance records have always been kept.
Not a problem to make a list of contact details, along with the above, and hand it over. That is already happening in schools except it is then handed over to a member of staff who should be doing something else to make hours and hours of phone calls.

ruby4ever · 09/12/2020 22:55

What inset day? Our school last day is the 18th. We got an email today about the track and trace between the 18th-20th dec.

Flipflops85 · 09/12/2020 22:56

@PurpleDaisies

The track and trace company have all those details? Why would we need an inset day then? If schools didn’t actually need to do any of the work why would it matter when we closed?

Tootsietootie · 09/12/2020 22:57

I've never understood why inset days aren't in the school holidays?

PurpleDaisies · 09/12/2020 22:57

[quote Flipflops85]@PurpleDaisies

The track and trace company have all those details? Why would we need an inset day then? If schools didn’t actually need to do any of the work why would it matter when we closed?[/quote]
No, schools have that information. I think we’re talking at cross purposes here.

1Morewineplease · 09/12/2020 22:58

@Flipflops85

It isn’t an additional INSET day. We’re allowed to transfer an INSET day to next Friday! So leadership teams would have a week to provide a whole days training for their staff. Inset days are planned well in advance, and teachers are entitled to CPD. We don’t sit on our arses drinking tea all day!

The inset day would enable school leaders to stop being on call for covid cases on the 23rd rather than the 24th. However, the papers have used it to paint the lazy teacher picture - frigging brilliant!

@1Morewineplease
Isn't it to give staff and pupils enough time to self isolate prior to the multiple household Christmas parties that we're not meant to have?

How on earth, would the kids finishing a day earlier, allow you to have quarantined before Christmas? If there’s a positive case in the class on Thursday, quarantine still goes on until the 31st.

That's what we were told.
BoattoBolivia · 09/12/2020 23:02

They were. 5 days were taken from the school holidays in the 1980s to be used for teacher training.

WhyNotMe40 · 09/12/2020 23:02

@Tootsietootie

I've never understood why inset days aren't in the school holidays?
Essentially they are. When they were first created, an extra working week was put into the academic year for cpd - those 5 days can be allocated anytime, but they were not taken out of pupils teaching time, but teachers' holiday time.
CallmeAngelina · 09/12/2020 23:04

@Tootsietootie

I've never understood why inset days aren't in the school holidays?
Oh dear God, not this again!!

Inset days ARE taken from holidays. Teachers now have 5 days less holiday than previously. Children have the same amount, so if there were no Inset days at all, they still would not be in school that day.

With regard to when in the school calendar they are timetabled to be, that is at the discretion of the Head, who has to plan visiting trainers. For every parent who prefers such days to be tacked on to existing holiday periods, there are others who prefer them to be scattered thoughout the year.

MsAwesomeDragon · 09/12/2020 23:05

I don't know any teachers at all who would say this is a great idea. We all like to know in advance what's going to happen, not the will before! A lot of schools won't be going for it, because there just isn't time for anyone to plan. Parents need time to plan for childcare in primary schools. In secondary schools teachers, parents, pupils all need time to plan for the end of term. We've got events planned for that Friday, like mock exam results for year 11, a house quiz, etc. There is a plan, so that plan will be going ahead as far as it can (obviously if pupils need to isolate then that will change plans a bit). We can't just magic up some training to do by next Friday either, so it wouldn't be a proper inset day, as there wouldn't be any inset to do (unless schools have any twilight sessions planned for this week or next which could be put back to the Friday).

This is not teachers doing. This is the government doing what they do, which is last minute announcements, then trying to blame teachers/unions/etc rather than take responsibility for this being their decision.

AliceMck · 09/12/2020 23:06

Everything about this year is a total shit show, it’s no surprise it’s happened. But at least it’s more notice that you would get if a bubble closed down and you would need to isolate.

Tootsietootie · 09/12/2020 23:07

Could they not have just taken them in the holidays instead of an extra week? Teachers already get 12 weeks holiday, the average in the UK is 6.6 weeks a years annual leave. I know they work hard lots of my family and friends are teachers but I have also many friends working in extremely difficult jobs for the expected to do lots of work outside of their hours that cuts into those pathetic six weeks holidays.

OutDamnedSpot · 09/12/2020 23:08

@Tootsietootie

I've never understood why inset days aren't in the school holidays?
They are.

INSET days were introduced in 1988 in addition to the 190 days schools are open - so essentially taken from teachers’ holidays.