If you can’t make it work full time, go part time.

[Pineconederby]

Teacher at DC’s school. Appears to have numerous childcare issues from what we’ve been told. Barely makes it through a week without being off for this or that, but tells the DC it’s because she needs to look after her little one.

AIBU to think that she should be supported to go part time, rather than trying to eke out a full time job, which she is very clearly not doing? Multiple complaints made by parents, school not particularly receptive. This is a new member of staff who started in September, supposedly full time, and has completed just two entire weeks in the classroom since then.

At the start, I was sympathetic. Now, not so much. It’s really started to affect DC’s attitude to school, they are left with the (not amazing) TA when the teacher isn’t in and seem to complete endless worksheets but not much else. At parents’ evening it was pretty clear she didn’t have a clue who DC was, or what their abilities were (made a glaringly obvious mistake and referenced a different child 😳). I know teachers tend to be sacred on here but really? Is this the standard that’s deemed acceptable these days?

Why should 30 kids' education suffer?

They shouldn't. But that's not the teacher's responsibility. It's the school's management that should ensure continuation of teaching if a staff member js absent. Teacher's are human and allowed to take time off work for various reasons. There's only so much emergency childcare they're allowed to take, so I imagine this would be for a very seriously ill child or bereavement as PPs have said.

The issue is how the HT is managing this situation. I wouldn’t be happy either.

However, there is no money and no slack in the system. Not in education, in health, in any public or private, for that matter, service. So we’ll be putting up with shitter and shitter service. It’s a Tory thing. No doubt some daily wail saddos will get a boner out of this.

It’s none of your business whether she is full time or part time. You have no idea what’s going on in her personal life - why should she have to cut her pay long term when it may be a shorter term issue, you just don’t know do you.
what is your business is your child’s education. This can be provided by other people on her days away and not just her. Good cover should be provided - if you’re not happy with that then speak to the school about that side but leave the poor woman alone.

God. Who would be a teacher?

No, this isn't a desirable or even acceptable education for your DC and you are right to be disappointed and concerned.

Please email your MP and let them know the situation, and how the absent teacher isn't being covered by a teacher but a TA, and they are doing worksheets.

In a normal education system, an absent teacher would be covered by a supply teacher who could follow the planning for the class (or do their own planning).

We are not in a normal education system, we are in a crisis situation. Parents need to complain to the government that it is unacceptable. Schools don't have the resources to fix this.

TA cover would have been extraordinarily rare 15 years ago when I qualified. It’s now common place and not just HLTAs who in theory (at least initially had training and weren’t supposed to do planning). In the school I work in (not for) they have a 20 year old doing all their PPA cover and ECT cover. They don’t even have A levels or any TA qualifications (yes I do know that for a fact because he told me). It’s ridiculous.
It’s budget.

The thing is the class teacher remains responsible for planning the learning and for pupil progress and attaintment, even if she doesnt come in. Supply is great but they do only deliver what the teacher has prepared generally if its ad hoc random supply, the same way as a TA.

So you cant really judge she is poor value if she has planned the learning in her absence.

This is a situation where tge HT coukd be rubbish at managing staff and school, but complaining wont change that

The ht could be averaged which is most likely, and she is doing everything by the book for the teacher and is happy the
TA covering a class is good enough compared to non existent expensive supply.

The Ht could be above average and not only is she supporting ateacher through a tricky patch, knowing it will end, she has personslly seen the planning, asked a parrallel class teacher to check in on the TA regularly and is closely monitoring progress and is confident it is the same as the parrellel class or previous year.

All scenarios look the same to a parent.

This is very odd - I'm not sure why the school are seemingly accepting it. I had a teacher at school who was off frequently during my GCSEs as she had very severe PND. Whilst it's a private thing obviously, she explained it to parents and put concrete plans in place for when she wasn't able to be in with lesson plans planned a term in advance.

In the end she dropped to part time and we got a new teacher, but she handled in a very positive and professional way, as did the school.

Maybe it's another private matter that's keeping her off but they're using that as a public reason. Or maybe her nursery closed down or something? It seems unlikely that she would have started the job knowing she didn't have childcare covered.

This is very odd - I'm not sure why the school are seemingly accepting it.

Try this thread www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4685680-staffing-crisis-in-schools-teachersschool-staff-whats-your-school-like?

How horribly invasive. Nowadays the school would sign her off with sickness/disability allowance as stipulated by discrimination law and certainly wouldn't be inviting prying pupils and parents to comment.

Your solution still doesn't change the fact there is NO SUPPLY for very good reason.

It is unfortunate but realistically there is no way they will address this with teacher shortages as they are.

think your argument is with the school- the teacher's issues are between her and her employer.

But your dc should receive proper education and the school are failing in that respect, how they address that with their staff is up to them.

The issue is with the school and lack of decent cover, NOT with the teacher who is probably dealing with a lot in their personal life. YABU. I had a flakey A-level English tutor who turned out to be suffering multiple complications from a miscarriage. Teachers are human beings.

Yes, where i work i was surprised that the cover teachers are not degree educated, we don't have TAs covering lessons though.

What makes you so sure she is being paid when she's off?

Rather than the teacher I would focus on the school system. So if a teacher is off a unqualified TA steps in? And this happens on a regular occurrence? They should have better measures in place to ensure the school is fully staffed. What is there cover policy? Also standard of work- endless worksheets on a regular occurrence isn't good practice- what is their cover work policy- surely it's the teacher's responsibility to set appropriately challenging work. (I am a teacher, I have to set work which mirrors what I would have taught to the same high quality)

I would pose these questions to the head.

The reason and fact she is off shouldn't be the focus- it's how they manage the absence that's the issue.

Also, how do you know the TA is unqualified? At least half the TAs I've worked with have QTS.

There may be other reasons for her absence that the school can't tell you. Teaching is massively under resourced and many teachers suffer with MH issues trying yo juggle everything.

Bear with it and see if things improve, perhaps if it's no better soon then look at other options maybe even moving schools if you are very dissatisfied.

So positive and professional is being required to share extremely personal details about her family life and mental health with all the parents and students - and proving to them that she had plans in place to make up for her inadequacies?

As I said, who would be a teacher with these kind of expectations?

So? Unless they are being paid teacher rates to do the job of a supply teacher, using them as cheap cover and hoping that they'll step up as a teacher despite their job title, is unacceptable.

If TAs wanted to be working as teachers, they wouldn't be TAs.

Bear with it and see if things improve, perhaps if it's no better soon then look at other options maybe even moving schools if you are very dissatisfied.

Don't assume that other schools aren't facing similar issues.

Oh I know, having been used this accordingly myself. But ops beef is not the TAs welfare or fairpay. It's a perceived lack of skill, which is usually inaccurate.

"Oh and by the by, teachers are very rarely allowed any time off*"
*
You are joking right?

Appreciate that you are thinking solely about the impact on your child but I’d have a bit more knowledge about her circumstances (not that it’s your business, in all honesty) before reaching the conclusion that she’s not up to an acceptable standard. She could well be an excellent teacher having an absolute nightmare in her personal life and doing her best to come in at all. You don’t know how long it’s going to continue and you probably aren’t going to be given details, but the head knows more. Only they can weigh it up and decide if the teacher needs to have special arrangements.

With teachers, they are so crucial that we feel their absence even if it’s only for a couple of days; nobody else seems to be able to fill in for them seamlessly, yet often schools still don’t have the resources to obtain adequate cover for them when they are off.

One reason why teaching is so difficult / stressful is that, as a key worker, it is extremely hard to take time off if it’s suddenly needed or work flexibly. I worked while miscarrying because there was nobody to cover my GCSE class, and that’s one example of about thirty I could give you.

Lots of people think teaching is the perfect job if you have children because of the holidays but don’t think about the term-time logistics of having a job that involves looking after multiple other children all on the same schedule as your own. If I take my daughter for a hospital appt on Friday morning, I can’t work late to make up the time as the school is shut, nor can I catch up at the weekend because the lessons have already been and gone. Imagine having a seriously ill child and needing to be off but trying to come in where you can to do any lessons that you can?