Teacher lunch hour!

[everychildmatters]

First off, I am glad I left primary teaching last year after 20 years in; things are only getting worse. I feel for the colleagues I left behind.
It is now becoming a common expectation that, for many different reasons, teachers are now being expected to supervise children over the lunch hour.
I used to avoid this by taking the time to which I was entitled but in order to do this I had to physically leave the building - go for a walk etc. In reality of course this was only for about half an hour or so as I wanted to be back in time to prepare my afternoon lessons.
AIBU to think teachers should be entitled to a lunch break?!!

I know from a governors meeting that our school has tried and failed to hire lunchtime supervisors.

Its not enough hours for a job. You used to get reams of women who did it for pocket money, who's going to do it now?? No one wants a job that only provides about 5 hours work. Its not even enough to make you eligible for benefits & its slap bang the middle of the day so it won't fit around other work.

The things you cite are reasonable but not cleaning or making the lunches

Absolute horseshit. I've taught for 30 years in both state and private schools and I've never heard such nonsense. Assuming you're not making it up, I find it hard to believe your husband would find any teachers willing to work in his school (especially given the dearth of available teachers), unless they are absolutely awful and can't get a job anywhere else.

All teachers should be entitled to their (unpaid) lunch break. I'm assuming you get a lunch break if you work?

Teaching really isn't unique in this. Ive worked in loads of offices where hardly anyone takes lunch, they just eat at their desk. I'm often cramming mine in in between meetings. I've certainly not taken longer than 15 mins or so in years!!

@Peridoteage Yes but the main difference being that you are not in loco parentis of children whilst you eat that lunch.
The fact that you can't recruit lunchtime supervisors should not mean an expectation that teachers supervise children over their lunch break.

Teachers must carry out any reasonable instruction from the headteacher. That can absolutely include ancillary tasks if the head wishes.

That’s not actually true

So you'd ask someone responsible for the exam results for the school, who affects the school's OFSTED result, to hoover and clean the tables, rather than carefully planning lessons and marking?

I'd prefer to hoover frankly. It's a lot easier. But I wouldn't do both after a full days teaching. Take your pick. You could always ask the cleaner to sub for a couple of classes. They cost less than teachers.

In my day.. 60's and 70's there were lunchtime staff on duty so the teachers could have a proper fag break from us little shits

Have you heard of unions?

Poeple who volunteer to do lunch duties and are paid for them (lunch is unpaid and not part of our directed hours). As well as senior leaders because their pay is increased and extra duties are in their contract.

'Reasonable'.

Yup - the apostrophe is in the wrong place.

Please do show me where anyone said this was unique to teaching. I honestly have no idea why people insist on thinking that teachers mean 'no other jobs do this' when they mention anything annoying or difficult about teaching.

@MagicLoop Give me an example of a job in which one is in loco parentis for multiple children over their 15/20 min lunch/loo break?

Show me that in a teacher’s contract - it doesn’t exist - the unions wouldn’t agree.

It's not a race to the bottom and just because some people agree to shitty working conditions doesnt mean everyone else should too.
Most of my friends in private sector by the way have a full lunch hour they can chose to do while working, most don't, some go for a jog or to the gym. The ones who work like dogs throughout lunch usually do so because the environment is toxir and/or because people dont unionise or cant unionise to fight for something better. But this should not be a gold standard we should aim for as a society. Know your worth!

Can you tell me WHEN are we supposed to do all those other tasks? Or maybe we could do them instead of marking, planning lessons, meeting parents, sending and responding to emails, planning trips?
I feel sorry for the teachers at your husband work, I bet the turnover is high and they all hate working under him.

@Peridoteage re: my last post. I see that you were actually responding to a poster who did say 'I assume you get a lunch break if you work', so you have a point! Although not taking a lunch break isn't the same as not being allowed one.

Reducing ancillary staff frees up money to employ more teachers, which directly benefits teaching and learning.

It also allows the senior management team to be appropriately rewarded and incentivised- commensurate to the skills and experience they bring to the school. That means a much higher standard of leadership and strategic vision.

Some schools spend hundreds of thousands a year on office and cleaning staff, which is not a good use of resources.

Not sure it was actually me you meant to quote there. I'm a teacher and I wholeheartedly agree teachers should have their lunch break!

@BeachLife2 I'll make it simple for you.. TEACHers are there to TEACH (the clue is in the name. We can apply the same logical rule to CLEANers who are there to do...guess what?!! ADMINistrators are there to do... you get the idea?!!

Every teacher’s contract will state that they must perform any reasonable duty as directed by the headteacher.

Staff at academies and free schools are also often on contracts which allow them to be used in an efficient, agile and innovative way.

Every teacher’s contract will state that they must perform any reasonable duty as directed by the headteacher.

Staff at academies and free schools are also often on contracts which allow them to be used in an efficient, agile and innovative way.

At any schools I've been to there have always been separate lunchtime supervision staff. In primary they were external ("dinner ladies") and in secondary they used some office staff, who I assume had their lunch break either before or after the kids.