DDs teacher is constantly off sick

[northernnitemarrrr]

The school say this isn't an issue for her education ( year 1) But I just feel if a TA was a suitable teacher then they would be the teacher. And they having random Ta's or support staff cover the classes, so it's always a different person isn't really on. None of the TA's have been there all year, as they don't seem to last long in our class. Maybe it's the class or the teacher but AIBU to be pissed off ?

Yes, how dare the school not sack the teacher immediately, or at the very least discuss all of the details with you so you can second eye check their running of the school as best befits your daughter?

Outrageous!

I suggest moving her to another school. Seems like a no brainer given how incompetent you think they are.

Sorry but that's still too top level for me to be indicative. Teachers often work further away from their school. The nursery my DS went to (12ish years ago) had 7 out of 9 staff literally in the same village who could attend on foot.

You're right though, there's definitely a pattern somewhere... 🤔

This thread is a shock. I'm very surprised that many people think 'its just year 1'. Early years teach essential, foundational skills. The switch from learning to read to reading to learn is a huge transition point where many kids who did not learn the basics adequately begin to struggle. In Aus, we have also seen huge teacher shortages due to Covid. Teachers have been dedicated towards the youngest years will secodnary students asked to learn online if necessary. They have begun with year 12 and worked down as necessary. Older students can learn independently which younger ones can't. We also prioritise smaller class sizes for the youngest years in acknowledgement of the importance of these years. A constant stream of changing teachers will remove any consistency. The TA's will not know what previous TAs covered yesterday so information will be repeated or missed. Behaviour is very difficult to manage when kids know that they can get away with poor behaviour because the teacher will be gone tomorrow. Thar means that a lot of teacher time is dedicated towards classroom management. The TA will have no ideas were individual children's strengths and weaknesses lie so children who need help or advancement are much less likely to get it. This will have a big impact on OP's DD. I would also be very worried.

The head needs to make a clear plan for classroom coverage and communicate this to parents. Noone needs to know why the teacher is sick but a very solid coverage plan needs to be in place..it is early not acceptable for TAs to cover these years or all schools would choose this option. I would expect that the other year 1 teachers would be switched between the classes to spread around the impact of sickness. I'm stunned by the posted who thought it was entitled of the OP to think that other children should be disadvantaged so that the OPs DD could have another classroom teacher one day a week. If course this should happen! The negative impact should be shared around so that no class is disproportionately impacted. The school also needs to do everything possible to find a consistent replacement teacher. If necessary then the school librarian or music teacher or sport teacher (a specialist teacher) should be switched in and other teachers should take the necessary specialist subjects in relation to their class. This would spread the impact through the whole school and better protect the core subjects.

If you haven't heard of a clear plan OP then I would be writing a formal complaint to the head and school board. I would also complain to a local MP. The media may pick up the story and rally support for long term change to funding. They may also enquire with the school board and their complain may be taken more seriously.

Good luck OP. I hope the the teacher makes a speedy recovery and your daughter received consistency.

As a contractor do you get paid more or less than a permanent member of staff? I’ll answer for you, you get paid more. As a supply teacher you get paid less especially when you take into account your holiday pay.

Then there are all of the issues of being a supply teacher (poor behaviour, often given the tougher classes, don’t have the same rapport with the students as there is no history) none of my friends stuck at supply unless they didn’t need to work. One friend is still a supply teacher and that is because he doesn’t need to work so he is incredibly picky about the schools he works at.

There is a reason why schools are suffering with supply over and above the budgeting issues which are not insignificant.

A truly excellent post, @ilovepuppies2019

I guarantee 99.99999% of the people here pooh-poohing the OP's concerns would be singing a different tune if their child was the one dealing with the slapdash performance of the school administration.

Can i just add that I dont think its a good thing that schools are not able to access long term supply due to costs/availability or have a bit of give in their own staffing structure to cope with absence.
But i do think thats the reality of an overstretched underfunding education system and its not necessarily an incompetent head and i dont think sacking a teacher without following correct process is the solution.
This is going to be a bigger problem going forward

Not
This. There is both a lack of supply teachers and a lack of money to pay them. Where do you all suggest the school recruits from? There is a serious lack of good teachers because so many have left the profession due to workload, pressure from managers / Ofsted and pay either being frozen or under inflation rises (not just this year) since 2010.

It's unbelievable how many people here are blaming individual teachers for the teacher shortage. It's like common sense has gone out the window and has been replace by neo-liberalism on steroids.

Margaret Thatcher would be proud.

mathanxiety
The only purpose of schools is to educate children.

That hasn't been the case for a very long time.

Which is part of the problem.

They would rather blame the teachers than have a reflective look at themselves or the current education system.

Teachers often don't live near their schools to avoid bumping into their pupils and their families at weekends. It's not just about wanting privacy and a life away from the school gates, but if you've had to raise a CP issue with a family or a child's been bullying and the parents won't hear of it, the last thing you want is for them to know where you live.

I guarantee 99.99999% of the people here pooh-poohing the OP's concerns would be singing a different tune if their child was the one dealing with the slapdash performance of the school administration.

You can't guarantee any such thing. You are discounting the teachers on the thread (who make up considerably more than 0.00001%). If our children were in that situation (and some of them may have been) we'd be saying exactly the same as we are saying now. Because the fact that it's your own child does not change what can or can't be done.

What nonsense. My dd was in a very similar situation in Year 2, with the teacher off for a significant extended period, followed by a return to work when she was in and out for the rest of the year. I had no idea what was going on for her at the time, but assumed the school was taking whatever action was appropriate in the circumstances. Cover was a mix of supply, other class teachers, the deputy head and TAs for quite a lot of the time. It was far from ideal but it was just the way that things were, and I trusted that the school was doing its best under the circumstances.

I discovered years later, after becoming a governor at the school, that the poor woman had lost a child that year. She had tried to come back to work but her mental health never fully recovered. She left teaching in the end...I can only imagine that being around other people's kids all day was unbearably hard.

Have some compassion. Not everything revolves around you and your dc.

@Anothernamechangeplease the reason why a teacher is off is something completely separate to the affect of not having a consistent teacher and poor cover in place.

I suppose I should not of suggested the teacher get sacked due to sickness. I just work in an industry were they quickly manage people out with so much sickness if they are employed or end their contracts if self employed.

I do know they the teacher is off "sick" as the head said that, but I accept that I do not know what the issue is or why. I will go back to her and then if she doesn't sort it better I will reach out to the governors as suggested.

"Noone needs to know why the teacher is sick but a very solid coverage plan needs to be in place.."

Gosh, silly schools not realising that they need regular, reliable cover for a teacher who is struggling with illness.

I wonder whether it's more likely that they don't realise this, or whether it's absolutely fucking impossible to acquire at present because there is a desperate shortage of supply teachers, or any teachers for that matter?

Unbelievable that people are bemoaning the plight of little Felicity and the rubbish school who simply won't prioritise her education without asking themselves why that is.

I think ask yourself what sort of person you want to be. The sort of person who will not tolerate an ill teacher and wants her sacked? If she goes off at the drop off a hat with the slightest sniffle, maybe. If she's coping with serious or life-changing illness then can we not show a bit of compassion with just weeks to the end of the school year? If you don't trust that the Head and governors are managing this in the best - maybe only - way available to them, then find another school.

I am not expecting a supply teacher, I know schools don't have the money for this. I am expecting the existing teachers in other classes to do some cover in my DD class so they aren't without any teacher for weeks on end. Ideally at worst the same TAs to be there. For all I know it's the receptionist or the caretaker teaching my DD. Of course I now realise I'm a heartless bitch and I should be graceful for the free childcare and not have any expectations of her learning anything.

@justfiveminutes it's private they don't tell me why the teacher is off sick. How can I have compassion? And yes it has been all school year. I haven't noted it down, but I honestly believe that the teacher has only done two full weeks ever. She yes she is full time.

And I know this sickness was an issue last year as when I moaned about it to another mum she said her child had the same issue last year ( between Covid closures when her child was in her class.)

northernnitemarrrr Every teachers worst nightmare.

"Of course I now realise I'm a heartless bitch and I should be graceful for the free childcare and not have any expectations of her learning anything."

Well if the cap fits. Has she learnt anything? Has she made any progress at all? Passed her phonics screening?

Because if she's made progress all your frothing is hyperbole. The TAs may be qualified teachers (most of ours are) or HLTAs. Far better to use staff known to the children, familiar with the school routines etc than a succession of outside agency staff.

If she hasn't made satisfactory progress then that is what you query. Not calling for a teacher coping with god-knows-what to be sacked. You don't need to refer to staff or tell the Head how to manage them, just ask for a meeting because she hasn't made progress.

"the reason why a teacher is off is something completely separate to the affect of not having a consistent teacher and poor cover in place."
@northernnitemarrrr

That's interesting because it completely contradicts your post insisting she should be sacked?

"A qualified sub may be hard to find, but finding a permanent TA isn't an impossible task" @mathanxiety

I assume you've not read the recent threads from school business managers saying how they're finding recruiting for (low-wage) support staff roles including TAs an impossible task...

@justfiveminutes I don't know about the phonics screening. I know it was scheduled for the week they returned form half term. I have not heard anything about it. Her teacher was off that week.

I can see on the school website there is only one HLTA, I know who he is, he covered planning sessions.

I know a few other TA's at the school. I live close to the school, they are not ex teachers. I do not know the background of the TA's but I really do question the theory that many TA's are ex teachers.

Have a teacher on long term sick is not good for the school or the class so I understand your concern. It is very hard for the school to plan for an absence like this unless they know the teacher will be off for a long time and often the teacher will only be signed off a week at a time. I agree that in the short term a TA may be better than a succession of supply teachers BUT it is not a long term solution so I would definitely be raising it with the school. There are many many reasons why your child deserves a teacher and you are right to expect that and not a TA constantly. Teachers have trained for 4 years for a reason!

OP, please just apply some critical thinking.

Has the Head decided to take TAs away from the SEN children they support, facing criticism from the parents and teachers of those children, who really feel the loss of that support, when s/he has got ample funds and a queue of supply teachers just longing to cover your DD's class?

Or do you think using familiar staff, known to the children, is either the only option available, or the least-worst option?

Heads do not want irate parents or children who are not progressing as they should. They make the best decision they can in difficult circumstances. You have weeks until the end of term and a fresh start in September. The only time I can recall a parent complaining about a teacher being off ill, was when they were very ill indeed and eventually died. Imagine being that arsehole. I don't think she ever looked a member of staff in the eye again. If this teacher is pulling a fast one, the Head and the governors will be all over it without needing you to point it out.