AIBU not to go to work during the holiday (teacher)?

[Namechange7000]

I'm a teacher in a village primary school in England but I'm not originally from the UK. Since arriving in England I've only worked as a teacher and I can't tell if my work's expectations are normal for here or not.

We have today and tomorrow as inset days and the children come back to school on Wednesday. Before the summer break the head teacher told us that we couldn’t afford cleaners over the break and that there wouldn't be much time for classroom setup on the inset days and hinted that we should come to work during the break to do it. But by the time the email was sent (end of June) I had already booked my flights to spend the entire break in Australia. My parents live in Sydney and we haven't seen them since before covid so I really wanted my dc to spend some time with them and obviously I wanted to see them too. We had a lovely break and got back to England on Friday so I'd have time to recover from jetlag and be ready to start work today. We got the inset schedule emailed to us on Sunday and there is literally no time scheduled for classroom set up and no planning time. We have back-to-back meetings from 8.30 - 17.00 with an hour for lunch both days but actually today's lunch break was only 40 minutes because the meeting ran late. I had to leave by 17.30 to collect my dc but even if I didn't, the school building is only open until 18.00.

At 17.00 this evening I was in my classroom frantically trying to sort things out. I've moved year groups so I had to move classrooms and there was a summer camp using my new classroom for a month. The previous teacher had to shove all of the teaching materials, toys etc into the cupboards before the break to prevent the summer camp from using them. My manager came into the room this evening and commented on how messy and not ready it is (the furniture is all over the room wherever the summer camp left it, no displays backing paper up, no interactive learning wall displays, no materials out, no book corner set up, no role play area set up, I haven't put the children's names on their pegs, trays, exercise books etc). I explained that I haven't had time to do it but that I'd stay as late as I could and do as much as possible before leaving. She reminded me that we were warned that there wouldn't be time to do it during inset. I explained that I had already booked our flights to Australia before that email was sent and that we couldn't reschedule them that late even if we wanted to. She then said that I should keep in mind that it was paid holiday time and that it is my responsibility to ensure that the classroom is ready before the children arrive on Wednesday. There is no way I can possibly get the classroom ready to the expected standard in time because the building is not open long enough. I will go in at 7.30 to do an hour before inset tomorrow and Wednesday and dh has managed to rearrange his work hours for tomorrow so I can stay until 18:00 and I'll work through my lunch break but that’s still only 4 hours and it’s much, much too much work to do in that time. For context, the example classroom we were all taken to look at as part of the training today took the teacher 6 full days to clean and set up during the break and that wasn't finished. We also only have 1 printer and 1 laminator in the school so there are long waits to get access to them.

I am so stressed and I feel like I’m already failing my class and my own dc. I’m already behind and overwhelmed even though it’s the first day of term. I had a panic attack this evening. I feel like this is my fault for not knowing that I was supposed to work for a week during the holiday but no one told me until it was way too late. Is it common practice here to work during your holiday if it is a paid holiday? I have a salary which is paid in equal instalments throughout the year so I was fully paid for August even though I didn’t work a single day. We have similar arrangements in Australia but my schools there always gave us time to do the admin and class setup before the children arrived (and didn’t have such specific requirements regarding classroom setup). WIBU to go on holiday and not go to work to clean and set up my classroom during the break?

Oh I feel your pain. Ex teacher here. Leave and become a tutor. The teaching profession is beyond a joke .. over worked and underpaid. Obviously you'll get loads of people on here saying how U you have been but they obviously haven't ever taught a day in their life. Don't stress it OP and remember with teaching skills you have so much to offer in other roles.

Oh no this sounds incredibly stressful.

It is generally accepted here in the uk that teachers will work a handful of days throughout the summer holidays to get classrooms ready.

It’s a shame that wasn’t mentioned to you before.

i would think the best thing to do it to do some grovelling (it sounds like you already have explained), but tell your head that you just genuinely didn’t realise this was expected. Had you known, you would have had everything sorted.

I'm a teacher. I didn't do any work over the holiday. Inset today, kids in tomorrow.

My planning is done and I'll be teaching good quality, fun, relevant and appropriate lessons tomorrow because that is my priority.

There's not a single display up as I'll be creating them with my class. Two will be done by the end of the week, the others as term goes on.

Your class will be fine. But you might want to look for a better school!

How ridiculous

I'm sorry, but it's perfectly normal to set up your classroom during the holidays. INSET days are for training, not set up.

On the whole YANBU but there are some examples you have where you could’ve helped yourself by being more organised in the summer.

no planning time. Couldn’t your first week back have been planned before the end of last term?

I haven't put the children's names on their… exercise books etc Could’ve been done before you broke up for summer?

For context, the example classroom we were all taken to look at as part of the training today took the teacher 6 full days to clean and set up during the break and that wasn't finished. That’s ridiculous and that teacher is making everyone else’s life more difficult by setting over the top expectations.

We also only have 1 printer and 1 laminator in the school so there are long waits to get access to them. Couldn’t the majority of printing and laminating be done before the summer break? That seems a bit last minute.

Is it common practice here to work during your holiday if it is a paid holiday? No. Not unless you’re doing exam results analysis
at secondary school and even then only if you’re SLT. Subject leaders can a couple
of weeks on return to school to do
this.

She’s wrong - it’s not paid holidays! We are paid for term time only. You are not paid to work in the holidays.

Don’t worry about the mess and chaos. Do a little here and there as you go.

if it’s any consolation, I went back to work on Wednesday. I haven’t had any time at all since then to plan lessons or get things copied etc as the time has all been directed. We can only do what we have the time to do!

Oh dear.

Sorry OP, but I don’t know a single teacher (primary or secondary) who doesn’t spend 3-5 days in school over the holidays to set up classrooms.

Inset days are training days - professional development - not admin days.

Is this your first full year as a U.K. teacher?

We have similar arrangements in Australia but my schools there always gave us time to do the admin and class setup before the children arrived

You we’re given time to set it up though, you were just away. It’s not really their fault you booked the latest possible flight back.

I would definitely not go in to work in the holidays. It is your paid leave and teachers need that time off. It should not be an expectation at all. In my school if teachers come in during the holiday for essential work ( eg exam results day) then they are entitled to a day back later.

@NoSquirrels I don’t know a single teacher who does! 3-5 days 😳 Is this primary school?

We shouldn't have to do it but I don't know how you would function without working on the holidays. I have to be in for the results days for GCSE and A Level, plus the day before each, but from then I'll spend another few days a week just getting myself sorted. Inset doesn't give me any time to prepare as we have to catch up on safeguarding, prevent, new starters etc.

Hi, Sounds like a nightmare! Deep breath and just get done what you can. Prioritise things that really need doing and the 'nice but not essential' things can be done once the children are back.
Assuming you work in a state school, we're not actually paid for the holidays, it's just that our salary is paid across each month. I'm 99% sure that's correct!
Years ago we did have time to set up classrooms on INSET days, but now it does tend to be full on training days with very little 'spare' time to do what you need to get done.
To be fair though, our training is only during normal teaching hours and then any before / after school time is ours to do with as we wish. Really not fair to have meetings until the time you mentioned unless it's normally a staff meeting day or something?
I think lots of (most?) people do go in during the holidays to get things done (I'm sure lots of people will now say that they don't but in every school I've worked in they always have), but in your situation that wasn't possible...
As others have said, next time there are things you can do before the end of turn year like naming books/peg labels etc
Teaching is full of never getting everything done isn't it, and we have to just do the very best we can in the time we have or go mad trying to do every little thing!
I hope you get things done quicker than you think. Maybe it won't be perfect, but so long as it's good enough for now and you know you'll have more time to do things later then that will have to do.

Primary and secondary.

Might not be full days but every single teacher I know is usually in over that range. Usually first week of holidays and last week, a couple of mornings or afternoons.

Twas ever thus (child of teachers!)

After 6 weeks paid holidays you have to work overtime for 2 days and you can’t cope? No wonder people think teachers are lazy.

Teachers are paid for a max of 1265 hours over 195 days a year. You aren't paid for the holidays.

Maybe ask you headteacher to clarify how they're using your directed time?
neu.org.uk/workload/directed-time

In practice, teachers are expected to work additional unpaid hours in the holidays, but you shouldn't have to.

Do you work when you’re on holiday?

You cannot be directed to work during the summer holidays. Yes, most people do go in, but you were totally within your rights to be away for the whole summer, and any sensible head would also understand your particular circumstances meant that you wanted to make your family visit as long as possible. A really good head would try and divert you some TA time or create you a bit more time on the training days because they know you won't have had time.

I saw a great display board one September - it just had a piece of paper in the middle saying "Coming soon: poems by year 7". Ideally try and get some backing paper up, but if not, perhaps tell the children you haven't done it because they're going to vote on the colour. Maybe they can be involved in the drawer labels too - print the names out but leave a space for them to add a drawing or something - and that's why they're not already on the drawers!

Do you have a union rep in school? They might have a word with the head about directed time.

I do think it’s the norm to come in on a few days in the holidays. We’re not paid for the holidays, we’re just paid 12 times a year but I go in for my own benefit. It means you can start the year “ready”.
Don’t beat yourself up over it though, you now know for next time and you’ve explained yourself to your boss so just do what you can and the rest you can do when the kids are in. We have Working Walls instead of some displays so that could save you some time.

@AutumnIsUponUs no and I don’t suggest she should. She said herself she needs to work longer hours to finish a task. Doesn’t that happen in most jobs? Sometimes you have to work late to get something done. I am sure it’s not every day.

@AdriannaP what an insulting message. It’s that you’ve never been a teacher with an attitude like that.

@Namechange7000 you’ve every right to use your holidays as you wish. If teachers want to go in to set up then that is their choice but it should not be expected or demanded. A child will learn just as well without fancy wall displays which can sometimes be distracting - especially for some children with additional needs who can find overly decorated walls sensory overload.

Oh dear.

It's this kind of dangerous attitude that have caused a recruitment and retention problem in the profession... in my opinion.

If you are a head or indeed intend to become one... please... please... don't.

It shouldn't be though. It is holiday time not work

It is the norm to be ready for the start of term but it's up to you for how you prepare. If you knew you were away all summer then yeah everything you needed (apart from the room) should've been done before you finished (ie basic planning, book labels).
As for the room, shove everything back in the cupboard, sort your furniture out and do little bits at a time over the next few weeks.

Your summer holidays aren't directed time so it's not up to them to insist you come in but equally inset is training not PPA. It's ridiculous that you've been in more than teaching hours though

I’m not in education, margot84, no need to worry! And I’m not saying it’s fair or right or what they’re contracted for or anything at all other than… every single teacher I know expects to go in over the holidays for a decent chunk to set up. That was OP’s question: is this expected? And in my (anecdotal) experience - yes, I’m afraid. Oh dear.