Teachers given lie-ins and extra days off

[LaughingPig]

The Guardian is reporting today that state schools are offering perks in an attempt to attract and retain teachers. These include lie-ins, whereby teachers will start later one day a week, a day off each fortnight and even the chance to work from home.

Clearly there is an issue with getting enough high-quality teachers into the profession and keeping them there. However, I’m not sure how these initiatives will go down with taxpayers on the back of successive teachers’ strikes, schools closing for months during lockdown and now inflation-busting pay rises.

Would you be happy with your DC’s teacher arriving to school late after a relaxing lie-in or logging on from home?

YABU- teachers deserve lie-ins
YANBU- teachers should be in class teaching DC

Link

Market forces. People can say how amazing teacher’s have it but; if that were true there wouldn’t be a recruitment/retention issue in England.

I don’t think the holidays are enough anymore. Over half of jobs are hybrid/flexible working. Well all know it’s been an underfunded mess for years. A mess VAT on school fees won’t sort.

No flexibility in term time, expensive holidays, overworked and underpaid. I am not sure the long holidays are adequate for the cycle of burn out teachers go through in term time.

Something needs to be done. Starting with people like the op who think they own teachers and can treat them like shit on their shoe.

OP, you and your partner seem far too over-invested in what teachers are doing! Why is your partner noticing how many cars there are in the car park and reporting it back to you? Why do you care if curtains are drawn? There've been mornings where I've left my curtains drawn because I've been in a rush to go out - I couldn't give a damn if anyone judged me for it.

The teachers didn't close the schools during COVID. That was the government. Many of us continued to work throughout lockdown providing online lessons and pastoral support.

What kind of absolute weirdo knows where teachers live, let alone would walk past and notice their bedroom curtains?

It isn't be we are sick of the same misinformation being posted over and over again.

So you've based your research on DH's view of a car park??

Get a grip and if you think teaching is so cushy, become a teacher!

How have you worked that out?

Also, if they’re walking past at that time of day they’re clearly unemployed, so who are they to judge?

@LaughingPig
Do you actually know how hard school staff work?

Teachers (and in some cases TAs) don’t go home and clock off, they work on lesson prep, marking, catching up with emails, dealing with parents etc, do you think they are paid for that time?

Do you also go to work and get hurt everyday? Because most school staff do, do you get sworn at, spat at, objects thrown at you? Do you ever have to deal with the awful reality of safeguarding and trying to support families in difficult situations, disabilities etc?

It’s not a job for the weak of heart! We put our blood sweat and tears into the education sector and none of us are paid a wage that actually reflects the amount of work we do without mentioning the detrimental affect it has on our own wellbeing.

Well, I’m not a teacher. Just someone who appreciates them and is concerned about shortages due to the pressures they are facing. I don’t think I’m alone in that.

… the YABU is at 77%, there was no Maths involved Miss

I think it’s a crazy idea. I think they do need to sort out recruitment and retention. No one minds a job that is hard work and rewarding. The issue is the job is such hard work, is underpaid and the total lack of respect from parents and the pupils.
Having a lie in will not cure the issue.

The people that teach are NOT your servants.
Same goes for every other role that is government funded.
You seem to have some serious contempt for teachers.
I think teachers are an easy target as in primary especially most are women and you can’t blame them for leaving with how feral children can be nowadays and with the responsibility they have.

You mean a teacher gets to come in at 830 rather than 7/730?
why would i be looking in teachers windows wtf does that??
you do realise that teachers work well into their evening/night and their weekends?
i may do overtime but when i leave the work stays there!
there is not enough money for me to be a teacher!!
i think teachers work hard enough coming from a hard worker.

I can't be bothered to read the whole thread but a couple of points I want to make...

Teachers are often hard working parents

Teachers are tax payers.

Who the fuck has time to notice who hasn't opened their curtains?

Out of curiosiy, how does that undermine dicipline?
In many schools in Europe teachers dont have 'set' times to be in school like UK and can leave if they have lets say a 2 hour gap between lessons, if their last lesson is at 11 they leave at 11 and if their first lesson starts at 10 they come at 10 am. We never had discipline problems becaus some random teacher came to school after us. Literally no one cares what time teachers wake up or what they do behind closed curtains. Why is UK so different?

Teachers can leave site not long after after 3pm, which is not the case for most roles. DH works near a school and says he has counted no cars in the car park at 4pm some days. Equally, teachers do have far more holiday provision than virtually any other jobs.

You and your DH were clearly made for each other, OP.

As sweet as it is that you've found someone who shares your very niche interest in monitoring the comings and goings of local school Teachers, other hobbies are available you know. Some couples take up things like salsa dancing, cook together, or take evening classes together for example.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it must be thrilling when he comes home and gets his little notebook out, tantalisingly flipping through the pages and pages of notes and car park diagrams before teasing "you won't believe how many cars I counted in St Joseph's car park today, darling". Then the long X Factor style pause before the big reveal..."It was 6!! Only 6 cars!! That's even less than yesterday!" Then it's your turn and you're just bursting to tell him "Miss Johnson who teaches Year 4's curtains were still closed at 8.27am today! 8.27 on a Wednesday!! And I know for a FACT that she's not part time because it said so on some paperwork I accidentally saw when I was rifling through her bins". I can TOTALLY see how doing a bit of light stalking together keeps things really fresh and exciting.

It's a slippery slope though, psychologically. So you might just want to consider some activities that don't involve mutually obsessing about the movements of total strangers who happen to work in schools, before you end up being the subject of a True Crime documentary.

Just a thought.

Laughingpig
You do not seem to grasp that the teachers who have gone home will be getting out their laptop in the evening or at the weekend. The job is not and never can be done in school hours. I often don't see most if my colleagues in the staff room at lunch ad they are working in their rooms at lunch or break or on duty.

You aren't alone!

Yes, total bullshit - but so very typical of the lies around teaching. When I trained, I was told that teachers worked an average of 83 hours per week. This stupid idea that they do less than everyone else is very tedious.

Go on, lie-spreaders! If teaching is so easy (“Ooh, ooh, you start at 9 and finish at 3!” 😜 ) then please have a go. Do your training, get a job as a teacher and then let’s see how quickly you change your opinion! Early starts, late nights, weekends, lunch duty, break duty, no time for a coffee, constant pressure, huge amounts of planning and paperwork - knock yourselves out!

Inflation busting pay rise - really! 5.5% after more than a decade of below inflation deals - or pay freezes. Even the 5.5% is not being given to everyone. Sixth form teachers haven't got it yet and might have to strike. If you want good teachers then you have to do something to tempt the good ones to stay.

Pupils attend school at approx 8:45 for registration. Leave at approx 3:30pm. That is a working day of below 7 hours. During which time most schools will have around 1 hour of breaks within it, bringing the working day down to 5.75 hours. While the rest of the country are in for 9 hours if they want 1 hours of breaks a day.

Ok, today I was at my desk at 8 (many are in at 7:30) and left work at 4:45 (then half hour trip home). During that time I took 5 mins to go to the loo and make a cup of tea, then took 15 mins to eat my lunch. Literally every other minute I was in a lesson or a meeting. About to have dinner, then I will do an hour and a half or two hours' more work. I will have barely made a dent in my to-do list.

@LaughingPig

I think most teachers may use the late morning to take their own children to school which would be nice for them. Any other profession you can book time off to take your child to school a few times a year they should be able too, too.

And working from home would probably be on lessons off for secondary school teachers or college lecturers which I have no issue with.

I'd like one late start a week, not to have a lie in, but to take my own children to school so they didn't have to go to breakfast club every morning at 7.45am. Likewise, doing my PPA at home would mean I could pick them up from school one afternoon a week, rather than from after school club at 5.30pm.