To wonder if any teachers can help me …

[Peekaboolight]

How do you get stuff done?

I’ve been trying all weekend, unsuccessfully, to get my planning and marking sorted (I have a toddler) admittedly we are going through a VERY challenging stage with sleep so not going to bed early.

But I’m struggling so much, just bogged down with work

Which year do you teach ?
a colleague once said he has a 5 books a day strategy and never breaks it.
This is Primary.
Depending on which year you have there could be some peer marking / whole class self marking ?

What year?
I go in early and do some each morning. I do a bit at lunch if under pressure then work until 4:30 pm when no meetings. Then evenings mom, tues wed once kids in bed. Leaves a few hours on a sat or Sunday- if dh camt occupy dc then its film time.

I'm sure there will be lots of 'helpful' people along shortly who will say, with a chuckle in their voice 'never mind it will soon be the long summer holiday', you'll get a break then..... Just tell them to do one, ask if they'd like to spend a week in your shoes. Ah! Thought not! I am not a parent, but I was a teacher and it's a murderous job if you're sleep deprived and cannot keep up. I share your pain!

I would talk to my line manager. I line manage, and am also line managed obviously, and this sort of thing happens all the time.
Earlier this year I was really struggling - I have a toddler too and it’s my first year back trying to juggle work and life. After the Xmas holidays I felt like packing it all in. I admitted everything to my LM and she was incredible. She helped me properly prioritise and also scrap non essential things. She was able to give me a day off timetable to sort everything out and she really looked after me in the weeks that followed.
Others have come to me in similar circumstances and I try to follow her lead.

Granted, I have been extremely lucky at my work and I do know that. I hope you’ve got a supportive team around you too.

What year or subject?

What's the rest of your time like? Eg when do you get to work/leave?

Do you have support?

Not a teacher.
The only thing I could suggest is, assuming you have a partner, set up a system whereby they take toddler out for X hours every Saturday morning and you do work then. Better still enroll them in toddler ballet or football, or swimming lessons.
And make sure your work is time effective, so don't waste time making things 'pretty'.
(Or if you don't want non teachers chipping in, post in The Staffroom next time!)

Depends on what/who you teach. I’m secondary and essay writing subject. I get into school for 7.15 and work solidly when I am there, hide during my PPA, sometimes get younger years to watch programmes whilst I mark mocks!!!! If you have to set homework set simple stuff to mark or Mark as a class- peer/self assessment.

I prioritise my exam classes when marking/setting homework. I try to reuse most my lessons and just tweak them to suit the class better- this works as we don’t set so most lessons are majorly differentiated.

I’m English … years 7-13. No y11 though.

I wouldn’t be able to speak to LM - I’d get a sort of ‘what do you want me to do about it’ response. And probably be put on capability!

I get to work around 8 and leave just before 4.

Shut yourself away, whilst your partner looks after the little one ?

I mean, it is never all done.
It is challenging.
I chose to drop to PT and only work about 36 hours a week, but I don't know if that is a possibility for you ? I found it impossible to try and work whilst my dc were around when they were little, hence thinking it is easier to "book" whichever few hours you choose and go and work somewhere out of your house or get your DP to take the little one out somewhere for 4 hours, then stop, and focus on your little one.

Our English lessons always start ks3 lessons with 15 min silent reading…. Just a thought! Would buy you a fair amount of time in the day!

I don't teach anymore but when I did with toddler twins at home I was quite strict with marking as wherever possible I would only do 2 lessons a day that required in depth marking so either English or Maths and then one other or English and Maths on the days we had say pe in the afternoon for the others I'd do something I couldn't a sticker or peer mark for. This was Y2-Y6 I also had 2 evenings where dh did bed time and I worked ans stuck to them religiously. I also used to try and do all my reports at May half term around naps/nursery ans bedtime but that didn't always work put. It's tough op x

Come over to FE. I teach English GCSE resits and never bring work home. 8.30am to 4.30pm and paid the same as secondary.

I get to work around 8 and leave just before 4.

Oh, that puts a slightly different perspective on it then.
If you are choosing to leave at that time, then can you not put some time in after your little one is in bed ?

Are you a lone parent?

Any friends/family that would like to take the toddler for a few hours at the weekend?

Could you afford to pay a teenager to come around and play with the toddler for a few hours, they can be quite young if you're still at home.

sleep over at Aunties??

I've happily helped when I knew any of my friends/family were struggling, but people don't always realise you could do with a hand.

I hope you can get some help from your LM, but all my teacher friends are swamped due to lack of staff so help within the schools isn't always possible.

oh & I'm a dab hand with a marker pen too!! 😉

I am a secondary English.
It's never all done is it? As soon as you mark stuff more comes in etc etc.
It gets easier as your own kids get older and more independent.
I sympathise-it's tough.

Do you have to do such short hours in school? I'm primary but usually get into work for 7.30 so I have an hour before any meetings or 1h15 before children arrive. I do as much marking in lessons as possible and use a lot of peer and group marking to save time. I mark books and do bits of planning during break and lunchtimes and then stay after school until at least 5.30. If you have to leave early because of collecting a child then it's harder though.

Hate to say it but 8-4 is part of the problem.

I get to work at 7.10 and don’t leave til 4.30. One evening per week I have childcare in place so I can stay at work until 6pm (or indeed later if needed, which it is 50% of the time).

I also only work 4 days a week.

I’m a secondary teacher (English) and just resign myself to the fact that there will be a few weeks scattered throughout every year which will be utterly horrendous. The last couple of weeks have been so chaotic and I’ve had to stay up late marking, making resources and doing other last-minute things to prepare my Year 11s and Year 13s for their exams. Things will calm down again very soon - and then there’ll be another crunch point along again soon. It’s just the way it is, and I’ve made my peace with it (sort of).

It was definitely harder when my DCs were toddlers, so you’ve got my sympathy there!

Could you explain the 5 books a day strategy? I don’t understand it? I teach Year 4. I have 28 children. So every day I need to mark 28 maths books and 28 English books = 56 minimum daily. If I only marked 5 books that day then there’d be double to do the next day? I also then have at least 1 and sometimes 2 other subjects to mark (eg sometimes science + history, but if I have PE, music or computing as one of my afternoon lessons then I only have 1 subject to mark). So minimum 84 books a day and up to 112 some days.

Can you leave closer to 5 on a weekday and try to blitz some work without a toddler? That could be 5 hours extra uninterrupted a week?

Are you fairly new? It gets easier as you go- more resources to fall
back on.

What’s your marking policy like? Marking for the sake of it? (That’s a dig at policy, not you!)

your LM sounds like an unhelpful dick.

God no @TheZeppo - ancient. But new to teaching and parenting a VERY lovely child.

That should have been lively … I mean he is lovely, but not very conducive to work.

@MarianosOnHisWay

surely it is only a bit of writing/maths a day rather than a book of it?

what is your school’s policy on marking? Do they genuinely want every single piece of work marked?

Im a single parent in primary. I am only just ahead of the game now. I work mentally 3 weeks ahead. Im constantly plotting how I can redistribute my time. I planned 5 weeks of lessons for Monday afternoon so that the following week I can plan 5 weeks of a, Tuesday mornings lessons. I also tey really hard to mark as much as I can at school.