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?!!

Our ‘hour’ is 30 minutes but now the bell for the last lesson goes after 20 minutes in an effort to improve punctuality. In reality, the conscientious students now turn up early and those who are always late are still late!

Going back to the original post, how many non-teachers posting here have working conditions where they can't go for a wee at any time during their whole working day?
This is the reality for teachers who is lose their breaks and lunchtimes for extra duties.
That's why it's actually illegal for management to either direct, guilt trip or flatter teachers into extra duties in that time.
I wish teachers would stand together on this. For each individual that has a bladder the size of an elephant and sets a precedent of working over breaks there is another poor soul who is being made physically ill by having to hold their wee in.

Well they are entitled to a lunch break. They need to use their big voices and say.....no.

Do you work from 8am to 3:30 without the opportunity to drink a cup of coffee, go to the loo, eat a snack or lunch? No, thought not. So why should we?

Not primary, but I have a colleague who goes and reads a book during their lunch hour to make a point that he won't be working during that time as he is not paid to do so.

Agree with this and what about a female teacher who is having a period? There are initiatives around period poverty for younger women and universities often provide free sanitary products in the toilets for students. Teachers need to be better looked after.

@fluffythecat1 Absolutely this. I struggled with this throughout my career as a teacher and would often bleed through. It was even worse when I was miscarrying one of my pregnancies but I felt I had to "keep calm and carry on."; I didn't tell anyone as I was just before 12 weeks so nobody knew and I never took any time off but not being able to visit the bathroom for hours on end was hard. I can't imagine I am alone in this, unfortunately. A teacher who is off is never just "off" - lots are still expected to send in planning etc.
I am pleased I'm not teaching now for many reasons, but this is another one as I'm peri so bleeds are often heavy.

High quality teachers are by far the best asset a school has. Idiots pushing pens in offices and congratulating themselves on high levels of leadership bollocks whilst never setting eyes on a child sounds like the worst kind of school and as far away from a school I want to work at or I want my children to attend.

I had the same. Problems all the way through - worse with peri, but also miscarried at work (very early on, after being punched - during break, as it happens, whilst trying to get my lesson organised for next period).

I think that people often forget that teaching staff are expected to teach, manage crowd control, police when necessary...

It's not a combination required in many lines of work.

@WearyAuldWumman I am so very sorry this happened to you; that is simply devastating. Were there any consequences for the student who punched you? Was it a mainstream setting? Not that any setting should result in being punched, of course. Is this now commonplace? It's scary.
I've worked in a primary PRU where violence was an every day occurrence, but made the decision I absolutely would not contemplate a pregnancy whilst working there as there was a very strongly likelihood of being hurt.

Mainstream secondary.

Police were called, but 'lost the statements'. He was referred to SACRO. I was waiting to take a second pregnancy test when it happened - very early and had only a faint line. (I've outlined this elsewhere on Mumsnet.)

I was in my 40s and felt too embarrassed to tell the police that I thought that I might be pregnant. (No, I can't explain it.) Thought my period had started the next day and then saw what had come away.

Once I realised that I had been pregnant, like an idiot I wanted to spare the boy from the guilt of thinking that he'd killed a baby. (Daft, I know.)

The boy had chased another boy into my room. Both S3/Y10. The perpetrator later claimed that he was the victim.

A senior pupil saw what had happened and ran for help. The two male teachers who came were also punched. At the time, we still had a Home Link Officer (Truant Officer). He was ex-police and was (I later found out) rather more robust in outlining consequences to the boy. (Said gentleman is now deceased, so I can put this here.)

Police took statements from all of us...Then took no action (having 'lost' them) apart from referring the boy to SACRO.

I got a phone call from one of their workers. He informed me that - according to the boy - he'd been the victim of a homophobic attack and I'd got in his way. (Nope. I was trying to keep my stomach away from him.) The boy was really sorry and wanted to see me to have a restorative conversation. I declined.

A few years later, I found out that this grown man was boasting to my latest cohort about the time he'd punched Mrs Weary in the stomach.

The thing is that those who don't know what's happening in schools witter on about how easy the job is, how short the hours are... (Ha!) They have no idea of what teachers do.

One of my male colleagues quit teaching. He was punched by another pupil in the same year group and the parents tried to have my colleague charged.

This was some years ago - I'm now in my 60s - and it's getting worse.

I did my last supply stint last year. In the same week, I was hit stopping a kid from being assaulted, a young woman in the same department was hit because she happened to be in a corridor where a fight had broken out and a visibly pregnant classroom assistant was hit in another department.

I was merely a supply classroom teacher, but found myself constantly having to deal with kids vaping in the toilets opposite my classroom. (They were escaping from other departments and congregating in the open plan toilets.)

Yes, I did phone for SLT back-up, but they were usually dealing with other matters.

I'm trying not to out myself, but some of the parents actually went to the Scottish media to complain about bullying in the school. Another school in the same LA featured on Scottish news following the filming of an incident. (The other school was supposedly a 'good' school.)

I have former colleagues who have moved further north and have found things much easier than working in the central belt.

So many of these issues would be solved if there was an appropriate level of support staff around. Every teacher should have a teaching assistant. I used to go to the toilet whenever I needed to when I had a TA. She was a consistent face in the classroom, knew my routines and expectations and so could easily keep the kids' heads down with a task while I emptied my bladder.
Not to mention the impact they had on the children's learning.

The landslide of TAs came about after a certain EEF report a few years ago which stated TAs had little impact on children's learning. Aside from that being ridiculously false, they never took into account how much TAs help teachers, not just the kids. In so many ways.

Anyway, rant over for today.

@WearyAuldWumman I really am so sorry; you sound like an incredibly considerate and courageous person and nobody should have had to go through what you did.
I am 44 but left teaching last year and it was the best decision I ever made, especially in terms of my MH.
@FletchFan Totally agree, but very rare that classrooms now have a full-time TA. TAs are now often expected to teach.
I don't think people generally realise how bad it has got in schools. I am so relieved I got out of primary last year after 21 years in.

Which is why they have such a problem with bullying being allowed to go rife and also the kids walking out the school at lunchtime causing havoc in the local areas

@BeachLife2 there are a lot of crazy/stupid/jumped up posters on MN but you genuinely win across all three categories. 😂

My consideration went out the window the minute that I found out that he'd been boasting about the punch. He now knows what he did.

I figured that if he was a grown man and able to boast about punching a woman, he was grown enough to take the guilt.

He left the area. I believe he's now working in hospitality in Aberdeen.

Break times and lunchtimes tend to go better when SLT are hanging around. When I was at secondary school they were constantly on the corridors during break time/lunch time.

@WearyAuldWumman I dont blame you - I'd have been livid! He sounds dangerous. Violence in schools is unacceptable but becoming more and more common by the sounds of things. I have had to get in the middle of Yr 5 and 6 lads fighting before and that is scary enough, let alone secondary kids.
I hope you have a lovely and peaceful life away from the classroom 💐

Primary is definitely getting worse. I wouldn't want a young relative of mine to go into teaching.

I am a teacher and I have never been asked to supervise children during my lunch break. I always stay in the staffroom to chat to colleagues. I have occasionally kept children in for misbehaving over break but that would be my choice.

As a teacher, I would never be expected to attend a meeting for the whole of lunch.
There are also no classes during lunchtime.

Yes. I've taught in many schools in the UK and it's always lunch time staff who supervise. Teachers would never be expected to do this. Otherwise, when would they have their break/eat?

Yes but they do often do this as well as lunchtime supervisors.

Teachers are professionals and, much as you may not like it, that is never going to happen. Some HT will do cleaning up lunch halls but I've never met one who would dream if asking a teacher to do.it.

In education and in the NHS, cleaners are employed to fulfill this role.