To say no! Twilight sessions (unpaid)

[LorlieS]

Can't sleep I'm so stressed!!
I'm working as a HLTA - paid hours 8.30 until 3.30.
Just picked up an email sent today telling me I need to attend two twilight sessions from after school until 6pm. Needless to say these will not be paid for and the first one is this week!
AIBU to say no?
Oh, and I also have a 3 yo and her childcare only runs until 4.30.

Did you ever check your contract?

Not had time! But will do.
Again I am being asked all day to cover teacher absence. So far I've delivered maths and English using sketchy planning I've only been given this morning. Class of 30, high SEN. Only sporadic TA support. All for just over minimum wage.
This is not the job I signed up for 😞

As an hlta cover was the main bit that differentiated me from a standard TA

@Barrenfieldoffucks Thing is, I was employed as SEN support for EHCP children. My "thing."
Now all I am is cheap supply!

Check your contract. I suspect, like mine for a similar role, it does state that you might be expected to do occasional evening sessions. These are too short notice, and it is perfectly ok to refuse to do them, but ask if there will be more. If it looks likely there will be, look at sitters in your area and get to know one or two so that you could use them another time. With a few weeks notice of an occasional evening session, which you have agreed to in principle in your contract, not being able to get childcare would be a poor and lazy excuse.

@stichguru Not doing the job for too much longer hopefully but not personally comfortable with using sitters (and I imagine they're also expensive which we can't afford) so if I'm given enough notice next time hubby will have to take time off.

Are you sure? Worth checking your contract for this too. Often schools employ a TA initially because they need ehcp support but actually the contract is much more general.

I think the lesson from this whole thread is read your contract and see what you're signing up for.

@Zonder Job title on contract is 1:1 SEN support HLTA. Can't remember the last time I actually did that.

Omg do not do this! Do people really leave their children with random strangers off social media?

@keeptheaspidistra Apparently so. Scary.

It will be in the contract somewhere. My partner has at least 2 twilights a month and it drives us insane!

I hated the twilights as did everyone else so we reverted back to inset days. Easier for most who have childcare to think about and after work activities planned. It was a menace and a major inconvenience to me personally and every twilight one of my kids missed out on football or basketball lessons. It’s a long day and most check out mentally by 4pm. You are required to work them though and do a certain number of days per year which are paid. Short notice thing is lose it over though as I hate rearranging family routines and plans. It’s hard when you have one car and 2 kids to get to things you’ve paid a lot of money for and then they ultimately miss out.

check your contract, see what it says on training/ times of inset days. Is it important training?

How much notice did you have to give when you handed your notice in? It is usually a month for an HTLA.
Will you need to find another job in that time because presumably your MSC won't start until September?

It is most likely part of your contract.

Similar happened with me and I couldn’t get any childcare and so they gave me the option to either do them or not do them but reduce my pay.
I had to take the reduced pay because I had no other option.

I would seriously consider other jobs, such as the NHS etc and see if you can do condensed hours over fewer days.

Obviously holiday childcare may be an issue but I found working in a school very family unfriendly.
I know lots of people who were in a similar position as you and left but didn’t go to TTO jobs and they are way happier.

You could also look for school office jobs etc too.

You need to look at document ‘Support Staff Working Conditions’. As a TA, you have different working conditions to teachers. Look at your contract, are you 38 weeks (term time) or 39 (includes INSET days)?
Teachers have weekly staff meeting as part of their hours. You don’t. Anything above your contracted working hours such be paid or given as time off in lieu. If you are in a union, speak to your rep. Let the headteacher know you can’t attend due to childcare issues. In my school, most TA courses were held during their working hours. If not, they were able to claim overtime. If you are only paid school hrs, term time, it is unreasonable to expect you to be attend unpaid training.

Out of interest, is anyone doing this work when you're doing cover? Presumably there are specific children with EHCPs which need this who haven't disappeared just because there aren't enough teachers to actually teach?

What did the HT say though when you said you couldn’t go. Sometimes training is taped for staff to catch up, it’s not ideal but it happens.
Im surprised if you put on twilight training on with little notice not everyone will be able to come. I bet there are p/t staff who won’t make it.

Are you school days plus extra days? Usually training etc is covered in the extra (we had forms for TAs etc to track extra hours over the year to make sure they did them). It would mean you wouldn’t need to make those hours up on a PD day? If they hit their hours they were paid OT.

@pronounsbundlebundle This is what bothers me. They took me on to work with these children and - please do forgive me if this sounds at all arrogant - I was chosen because of my Psychology qualifications
and years of teaching experience which included class teaching in a Pupil Referral Unit which only accepted SEMH children who had been permanently excluded from mainstream education. I was Positive Handling trained (and experienced) etc.
These children haven't gone - far from it - with the impact of Covid the support needs of SEN/EHCP has very much increased.
But reduction in budgets has meant using me as teacher cover because I'm far cheaper than supply.
When I'm covering for these teacher absences these EHCP children are receiving
extremely limited support in classes of 30.

OP is on minimum wage. So can’t imagine that will be within reach.

fucking terrible that basically any job which is done mostly by women tends to be minimum wage.

FFS I said someone you may know! Sorry for trying to help.

@Gonnawashmymouthout Agreed. For what I do the pay genuinely beggars belief. Most of my TA colleagues can only afford to get by financially because they have husbands that earn decent salaries. I know that's not the case for me, but I would say it is for the majority.

Have you checked your contract??

Who is your line manager, and how big is the school? If I were you I'd check that it actually applies to you, as to me this reeks of a whole staff email sent where it only applies to teachers and not to those who aren't contracted for inset. It's absolutely too short notice and if I were you I would say you can work the original inset days if that's in your contract. Essential training such as safeguarding means it is the school's responsibility to ensure it's done, so they will have contingency plans for people who are sick on the day for example. Any decent slt would have some leeway here if you show willing to do the training at another time, or online for example. With a smaller school that may be harder but they're also likely to value you and be flexible. Good HLTAs are hard to come by; they won't want to lose you for the sake of a twilight inset.

You will be paid for them
I also work as a LSA in a school and work term time only. You are paid your weekly hours for 39 weeks plus 5 training days so 40 x your weekly hours then divided by 12 to give your monthly wage which is the same each month all year round. Twilight comes in to play when you work extra hours, we do 3 x extra 2hours but looks like you're doing 2 x 3 hhours twighlights, your lunch break is unpaid, ours means that we do not go into work on the last training day in July. Hope this helps, it can be confusing!