Sick of people trying to turf me out of my rooms

[Wearescientists1]

I work 2 days a week as support staff at a 6th form college, and I've been doing this for around 3 months now. I'm timetabled to be in certain rooms at fixed times during the 2 days.
On several occasions now I've had other teachers burst in whilst I'm doing my interventions, trying to turf me out because they need a room, "Are you meant to be in this room?" "Are you actually timetabled here?"
I've just had one burst in "Are you actually working in here?"
No, I thought I'd just sit in some random room for the sake of it.
Each time I tell them very clearly, yes, I am timetabled here.
I find it undermining and they wouldn't do it to 'proper' teachers. It's also rude of them to interrupt my interventions with students.
They seem to think because I'm 'just' support staff then I'm just grabbing random rooms when I feel like it.

Do you have a physical copy of your timetable with the locations on it? If so, every day you’re in, print it off and sellotape to the outside of the door.

Note on door - Meeting in progress. Do Not Disturb.

i think you need to raise this with your superior. It's very rude of them to keep doing that.

Would it be possible to ask for "clarity" about room allocation at a staff meeting?
I raised a "matter of school policy" on a different issue in this way (SLT were being lazy about supervision, "do what I say don't do what I do" rather than leading by example) and the head had no option, in public, to confirm that this was indeed policy, to the silent but visible annoyance of goldenballs.
I appreciate that you are part-time, and support staff, so this may not be an option.
I fondly remember one former colleague, close enough to retirement to have no fear of stepping on anybody's toes, finding that the new whizzo computerised timetable had double-booked her, with a class in tow expecting a class music lesson, with me halfway through an English lesson in the same room, which doubled (trebled?) as formroom, regular classroom and music room with all the specialist equipment this implies. Things like the piano.........I was responsible for music, but not the only teacher delivering the subject.
So with her little troop of Year 3's in tow, she marched up to the corridor where the head was peacefully hiding in his office, announcing that she she was peripatetic, and what should she do?
I liked, feared and admired her in equal measure. They don't breed them like that any more.
More practically, could you get hold of a copy of your timetable, with room allocations marked, printed off and laminated, to show to intruders? Probably more realistic and polite than my other suggestions.

I hear you. I am in a peripatetic role and I frequently get shunted into some rubbishy, unsuitable 'space' because the room I'm supposed to have has been commandeered double-booked. It's crap.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions I will try them

Sympathy. But please try not to take it personally, it’s unlikely that they are trying to piss you off. Like everyone they are probably just desperate for a space to actually do their job in! I agree get yourself a red laminated sign and stick it to the door, if anyone comes in give them a polite but firm “yes this room is booked to me until X time did you not notice the sign?”. Surely after a few embarrassing encounters the other staff will get the message. If they don’t, I agree, report to your manager and ask for this to be raised formally.

I find some teachers can be very superior and entitled to wards support staff. YANBU.

Print a copy of the room booking timetable and stick it on the door. Put another sign saying 'booked session in progress, please do not disturb'.

I hear you as well, I actually have my name on the door and rolei.e it is supposed to be my office but one new SLT waltzed in the other day 5 minutes before I am supposed to leave as part time and they had organise a meeting in my office! I never ever leave on time, sometimes 2hrs after end of my official day and I was expecting a phone call, fortuitously the phone rang and proved my point. Another time a a trainee teacher was given my office to train in the whole day on my computer, she didn't move and told me she was told to go in there. I had to go home and WFH. It is most of the reason I am leaving the job im in as support staff in education is the most thankless, disrespected roles.

Space is at a premium in a lot of schools so you can't expect to have an office to yourself always.

It's not an office, but a classroom.

There will be a central online timetable and your room booking obviously doesn’t appear on it. I’m guessing these people have accessed the system to search for an empty room and your room is listed as empty. Then they turn up and ask why you’re there because the timetable said the room was empty.

I 100% agree with this. I would never work in a school again.

Agree with this; you need to ask for your scheduled slots to be added to the central system.

RedHelenB, in my case it is 'my office' though and I'm working in there, it is small and more like a storage cupboard. It is supposed to have limited entry due to what is stored in there and I can't share the office for a meeting between 4 people whilst I am on the phone as the phone conversations are confidential.

You need a big sign on the door. Laminated with blue tac that you can move around with you "this room is allocated to 'X for this session - do not disturb"

I had a sign on my door and SLT 'still' poked head around door. I heard one of the members of the meeting who had declared to me this was to take place in my office 10 mins prior to SLT arriving that I was working in there, so they knew, saw the sign and still came in!

I used to be a LA advisory teacher. The schools I was allocated were keen to have interventions for their pupils, but much less keen on providing the space for me to do that, or communicating with me about any changes.

I usually ended up in a cupboard somewhere, or the Staffroom perhaps, where people would randomly barge in and out. The number of times I’ve not been told that the timetable has changed or the pupil isn’t in school, or something else is happening and I can’t have the session.