To think it is a choice for teachers to work during summer holidays?

[antelopevalley]

I know five teachers in primary and secondary schools. During this summer holiday, two are doing work during the summer holidays. These two teachers are younger and very ambitious. The other three openly say they are doing no work over the summer.
So AIBU to think working over the summer is a choice?

Oh DFOD.

My awarding body have completely changed our course for September, with most of the spec being updated after school had finished in July and no example work to build on.

I’d love to actually have a rest but the kids will inevitably need to be taught as if I know what I’m doing. Thus: kid in nursery three days a week and me working, albeit with caffeine and a comfier chair.

Some teachers will have spent a lot of time planning and preparing at the back end of term. Some will wing it and catch up on planning in the first week back. A few will just completely wing it. Depends on where you’re at in your career and your life, really.

NQTs, HODS, senior management, anyone ambitious for promotion and worriers will do some work.

I’m on SLT and get 4 weeks off, not 6.

I haven’t done a stroke of work or checked my email in my time off and don’t intend to. I DO during every other holiday of the year, but this is my first proper holiday abroad since covid kicked off and I need the complete rest.

I go back two weeks before term starts and I will be working like a dog during that time, believe me!

Oh and both parents were teachers and I clearly remember doing jobs in school with them during my childhood - not many days but definitely did some stuff.

I wouldn’t think of informing my family or neighbours if I was doing school work. I wonder if any of your family/neighbours do school work that haven’t discussed with you?
If not, perhaps you could tell us which schools they work at? Are any of them at secondary schools? The headteacher must be going into school to do exam results - this is a team job. Also what about appeals? We usually have some over the summer - does your relative/neighbour refuse to attend?

Anything I do on the summer helps me in the new term.

So, for starters, i at least need to prep what I'll be teaching in that first week back.....

Beyond that I need a plan for what I'll be teaching for the term.

I also need to make any resources I might need, new symbols for communication aids and I've 3 kindle tablets that I need to program a communication app for me to try with 3 of my children.

I've then got my D of E prep to think about, alongside my academic planning.

Lastly, I have 5 annual reviews in the autumn term so any work I can start on review reports is a head start and frees up a bit more time in the term to think about planning days and weeks of teaching.

So, yes it's my choice - of a fashion. The choice is so I work now to manage my time better during the term time or do I have 6 weeks off now and not have enough hours in the day during term time.

Also, I have 2 children of my own that don't go to holiday clubs or nursery, but I work around them and take them into school with me - that's for the PP who suggested teachers can't work because she never saw any children in her OOS provision.

These are friends. All three said they are doing no work over the summer.

Now an ex teacher married to a teacher and I can tell you our kids were taken into both of our schools while we were sorting out classes during the summer holidays. Never needed a club for them .

Mostly it's a choice, sure. I choose to work in school for a week or so in early August, so I've got the proverbial ducks in a row & don't have to do routine planning which would make my hours even more ridiculous in September.

The planning I do for colleagues within the department does need doing, though, so that's usually WFH the first week of the summer break (end of June) so I can email everything out.

I'm also in charge of new staff (international school) so I'm spending several hours several times a week, hanging around the airport from now until late August.

DH has been a teacher for a long time. He now just does a few days before going back to school. Kids love his lessons so he's doing something right.

SLT tell us not to come in over the holidays as we should be resting/enjoying ourselves. But they also come around the first week of term checking our classrooms have been set up, boards backed and displays up. We don't have time out to do this so has to be done in the holidays!

"These are friends. All three said they are doing no work over the summer."

I am sure your imagination extends to comprehend that how much work you do depends on your phase, subject, additional responsibilities, commitment, SLT and school expectations.

Those saying they have work to do and will have to do it in the holidays are not lying. Why on Earth would they lie? Why do you persist in implying that they are?

Is having displays and seating plans a requirement?

When I was at school the walls were bare and you sat
where you wanted (secondary).

It is if SLT say it is.

I was replying to Iamdonewiththis
who said that she knew a range of teachers. The headteacher who has told you/her that she is not doing any work over the summer is having you on - you seem to have fallen for it!

@Nannyogg134 you would send children to a holiday club because real work cannot be done with children around. so if you are able to look after primary school aged children while you are working, you are not really working.

I wfh. That means no interruptions, head down at my desk, 8 hours a day. Real work cannot be done with children around.

So it lockdown the only people who did real
work were those physically at their place of work, or thr child free people?

I’m an actuary, I’ve done plenty of work with my son at home.

Please define ‘real’ and ‘non-real work’

Yep, the 'data' here suggests we're all different with different roles, school expectations and personalities. It's the best-kept secret that teaching is a piece of cake with high salary and massive holidays. Come and join the party, guys, I believe there are a few vacancies still in the UK.

Why does it matter to you if teachers work or not? It's their holiday. If they want to work, good for them. If they don't, well the things will still need doing, just at a different time. As a wild generalisation, primary teachers tend to have more classroom prep than secondary, they strip and back walls, label trays and books, prepare displays etc. Some schools can plan in time for this to be done during term time, some schools don't. I used to plan the first couple of weeks for the next term during the holidays so I could keep on top of things during term. There are lots and lots of little jobs that you never get time to do during term time, holidays are a good time to get them done. But all of this is non directed time, teachers can't be told what and when to do it. Some will work a couple of weeks flat out, some will do a couple of hours a day over the six weeks. The " choice" is when and how it is done!

It also massively depends on your school. I have worked in schools where the expectation is that your classroom stays as is until the end of term - no new displays up, children working hard on curriculum until the last day. In these schools, all books, trays, pegs etc would need labelling in the holidays, displays would need replacing, planning would need to be done, needing several days in school plus some work at home.

Other places allow all that to be done at school in the last week and TAs can help. Planning meetings with your team can be done for the next year before the end of term, and time at inset in September set aside for last few bits of prep.

Another thing that makes a huge difference is how experienced you are - how much you have in place that you can reuse, and how quickly it takes to whip up new stuff.

And yep finally, it does come down to choice a little bit, as often early career teachers, especially those without kids of their own, will want to spend hours more doing the nice fluffy bits that experienced teachers have long since ditched as being unnecessary!

I don’t do any work over the summer.

It isn’t just a bravado thing. I can’t really prepare until I know my classes, so it would be pointless. I learned that the hard way in my early years teaching! It does seem to be different in primary but again depends.

It seems displays are the things taking a lot of time. They were one of the tasks teachers weren’t supposed to do - no idea if that’s still the case. I’m hopeless at them and hate them.

Lovely, another teacher bashing thread!

What is your motivation for starting this OP? Why do you care (as a non teacher) if teachers work over the holidays??

I have two teacher friends-one primary and one secondary. Both work to varying degrees over the summer holidays. Sometimes they go into the school and sometimes they work from home. What's the point of the question?

My DM was an infant school teacher and we went in with her in holidays to help clear the classroom - wash toys, change display boards etc and then she planned from home. My friends now who are teachers are definitely prepping for next term but not working solidly so they spend time with their DC.

For those poster unfamiliar with what teachers are expected to do. Things have changed a great deal in recent years.

I know this may sound unbelieve, but it is entirely true. If you have a HT who dictates about absolutely EVERYTHING then the amount of time teachers in the school will have to work doing utterly pointless tasks in their own time will be ridiculous.

Head teachers can and do dictate about classroom and corridor displays. To the extent that they have to be all to the same standards - the same coloured backing paper, the same borders, the same fonts. They will dictate the frequesncy at which they have to be changed. This is not just in primaries, this is in secondaries as well. This is despite the very hard fought for new working conditions which explicitly state that teachers should not be doing displays.

The same headteachers also dictate the exact way that exercise books should be set out for every lesson . this will often also include a myriad of bits of papers in multiple colours that need to be cut and pasted into books.

They will also insist of data collection. All the bloody time. This will involve hours and hours of testing and then recording data onto the system.

And the there is the marking. Again, a uniform system for all subjects and all year groups. Marking with detailed written feedback, then student follow up, then remarking to check the students have acted upon the initial feedback. triple marking. It takes hours.

If I had not worked during the summer holidays I could not have kept up with the work in the Autumn term. I did not work through my holidays through choice.

I have now left teaching.