To not go on the residential?

[Youthiswastedontheyoung]

I've just started a new p/t teaching role. Towards the end of the academic year the whole year group go on a residential which is about 3.5 hours away, for a full school week.
I have a just-turned 4 yo and other academic commitments outside of school.
AIBU to say I can't attend the residential?
As an aside, my mum (love her) thought teachers got paid for any additional hours regarding this. She was surprised to learn I'd just be getting my standard pay!

Police officers are paid overtime. Nurses are not regularly expected to work over their hours for no pay. Neither are ‘fire people’.

For a start the carers are men and women. They do it because they know their clients won’t get the experiences they would like them to get if they didn’t. There is NO money in social care hence being paid minimum wage and there is definitely no money to take clients on residential trips and pay the staff for extra hours they put in.
I’m not saying it’s right but it’s not exclusive to teachers.

I presume OP won’t ever be sending her child on any residentials, attending any activities or parents evenings out of school hours throughout their education.

Personally, I love residentials, it’s integral to my teaching role because I teach MFL, but going on trips is strictly voluntary. Our heads of year have issues recruiting staff, it is stressful and full on and inevitably, there’s always someone who doesn’t step up during the week. Then there’s the sick/homesick child, the medication to distribute, the checks, the collection of passports/EHICS, the meetings with parents, Visas for non UK/European students. Ultimately, I love doing them, but I would not expect anyone to give up their time to accompany me.

The social care system can’t be allowed to run on free labour and goodwill. If it can only function with volunteering, that needs to be made clear and not covered up by people working for well under minimum wage.

And no travelling for work isn't the same as you do get some down time and no responsibilities etc.

Yes, but when we're working on these trips, we are actually working (meetings, presentations, etc.), not "being on call in case something happens". Swings and roundabouts, innit.

Like I said, it was a bit of a misrepresentation. I never saw anyone touch the alcohol, even from a different LA - it’s a bit of an anachronism, like going to the pub on a Friday lunchtime! Very 80s/90s.

The biggest stand out for me is that your are P/T and therefore F/T staff will be paid more for doing the same hours.

I get you have to attend some trips as it’s part of the job, but you should at least have your hours bumped up to F/T for that week.

If I’ve missed that apologies as I confess I didn’t RTFT. At least not beyond the first few replies.

You are a nurse/other listed?
My policeman Godson regularly has to stay after shift because of thee nature of the job. This is NOT official overtime and is not paid
Nurses (personal experience) same
Fire-people do not drop their hose at the end of their rostered shift; again, not classed as 'overtime'
In such professions, overtime is generally only paid when it is agreed, e.g., you work on a day off, not when you work 3 hours past your shift end, or your office hours because it's end of year accounts

I’ve had lots of jobs where travel is required and stays in hotels / conferences / one-off trips and there’s no extra reimbursement or paid hours it’s just part of the role that you occasionally have to do extra. Surely with a lot of jobs you don’t just do your exact 9-5 without some flex

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Most of us would occasionally do a work trip away for a week, yes. Probably wouldn't describe it so dramatically, though.

I’m not disagreeing the OP said only teachers do this they don’t. Oh and I should these carers only get statutory sick pay and work 365 days a years nights weekends over time when staff don’t turn up or residents are having me,downs and God knows what else.

I wouldn’t do the job.

I switched my vote to unreasonable by this post.

OP - if you can't find childcare or your 4yo would find it distressing, then you don't go. The concept of people doing additional hours, including but not limited to travelling away for work, is not unusual in other professions. It is not limited to teachers, it is not a unique hardship, and it should not be unexpected to you. Residential week has been a "thing" for decades at least, that isn't new and I'm quite sure you did it too as a child. If you don't want to be a teacher, then do something else, but moaning about normal expectations just makes you look a bit silly.

@Jessie3 I mean yeah don't get me wrong before I'd ever been and I was being told I thought I was being pranked but nope it all appeared! I was much more excited by cheese and cracker snacks 🤣

The food is marvellous 🤩

I don't do any residential trips, so yes you are entitled to decline and don't feel bad either.

Portions the size of my HEAD incredible!!!

Maybe the government would stop expecting schools to be run on goodwill, and actually pay staff for the hours they do.

No professional jobs are paid by the hour. Teaching is a professional, salaried job. In these types of jobs, we all work a bit extra. It's not considered "goodwill", it's part of the expectations of a professional, salaried job.

I did it many times when I was young and childless, and worked full time. We usually did Monday morning to Friday afternoon so at least I had the weekend to recover.

• we were responsible 24/5 and definitely couldn't drink alcohol
• we had activities in the evening with the children
• we were the point of contact/ responsible overnight so the children came and got us if someone threw up, was homesick, had an argument in the middle of the night
• we sat in the corridors the first couple of nights to stop kids running between rooms
• the days were full on with activity and exercise
• all meals with the children
• very little downtime

There are many pros, it's really fun, you get to see a whole other side to the children. In no way does it compare to the work conferences my DH does where he attends meetings and networks in the day but then does what he likes from 5pm - dinner with colleagues if he chooses but no responsibility for anyone else, let alone loads of children.

No way would I do a residential trip once I had children. The pp who said that means teaching isn't for the op, the majority of teachers never get asked to go on a residential. And if not enough teachers agree to go and the trip can't happen, well so be it. They're not vital.

My waistline thanked me for only staying three days 🤣

@Youthiswastedontheyoung I only got as far as your post at 23.56. The word is incredible, not incredulous.
You say you are a teacher?

Do that, you are not likely to be the only one who can't go and no doubt many have been unable in the past, for the same reason.

I wouldn't have gone, not for a week. It's unnecessary.

Don't worry about it.

I’d decline, and go when your child is older, seems fair

Do you do this on top of working a 60 hour week?

Don't start on the "60 hour week" for teachers. Every time this has come up, it's been, "I'm a teacher, and I leave the house at 7am and get home at 7pm, therefor I work a 12 hour day", and then insist everyone else only works a 40 hour week.

My friend, the rest of us don't count in commute and breaks into our working time. If we all just put in the time we leave the house to the time we get home, not subtracting any time for our breaks, then most of us would be able to describe our working weeks as such. Similarly, lots of us do some work at home in the evenings. But to teachers, the rest of us just work a 40 hour week.