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?!!

Senior management have far more important things to do than supervise lunches.

They are responsible for both the strategic and operational running of the school.

Oh, you're back.

Your posts about your DH's expectations of his teaching staff just make teachers on here want to know where his school is so that they can avoid it. There's an incredible lack of respect for his staff in every post you've made over the years. Expecting them to be cleaners and maintenance and catering staff as well as professional educators is incredibly unreasonable.

Every teacher will find themselves having to clear up occasionally, but actively not employing cleaners and using your teachers to do their job instead, is to have no respect for either the teacher's or the cleaner's role.

And teachers have more important things to do.

Senior management don't have their day rigidly timetabled, so they can take their lunch break wherever they choose, before or after they've spent half an hour in the dinner hall.

There is no way that this is happening in a uk state school. Unions would be all over him like a rash. It must be a private school IF it’s happening at all.

At our school the head teacher picks up the cleaning, maintenance, admin and a shed load of other stuff when things are tight. One
wonders why said goady poster’s husband isn’t doing the same.

There is no way that any headteacher should be carrying out cleaning and maintenance. The role is to offer strategic leadership and ensure teaching and learning is the best it can be, not pick up litter.

Teachers should be flexibly timetabled throughout the day so that some of their time is spent in the classroom, and some supporting with lunch catering or office admin.

Our senior management do hall duty and a shed load of other unpleasant tasks. As others have said they have flexibility in their day. Teachers don’t. Being seen amongst pupils is one of the most important things a head teacher can do .

At my school the TAs get half an hour and cover all lunch duties between them and teachers get their full hour. This suits as us TAs would rather get paid and work more and the teachers get their full unpaid hour!

Teachers in Scotland went on strike in the 1980s to stop covering children’s breaks. That’s why PSAs are employed!

And the HT and DHt cover the dining room!

He must be a shite head if he can’t leave his desk and needs to “ strategically lead “on his backside in his office all day as opposed to being amongst pupils. Our head can multi task, is super organised and doesn’t need to be tied to a desk to “strategically lead” which is the most pompous hysterical phrase I’ve ever heard.

I do miss the laugh emoji.

I'm wondering what type of school this is. A rival to Hogwarts, perchance?

As 20 years as a school governor, teachers are not responsible or required to do cleaning, catering or maintenance. This would be rejected by the governors.

In our health board only clinical areas get cleaned by housekeeping staff. That results in nurses, therapists etc (of all bands) having to hoover, mop and dust their non clinical areas, after finding a member of housekeeping staff to borrow the equipment. I suppose we don’t have to but if we don’t it doesn’t get done!

That's disgraceful.

Would you rather the NHS cut doctors and nurses to fund more cleaners?

I'd rather that they be given a budget big enough to fund both.

Actually, I've had a spiffing idea. It used to be the case that headteacher's spouses didn't actually have a job of their own - they spent all their time supporting their significant other and being involved in the "school family".

We should go back to that. Remember to take your rubber gloves into school with you.

And what if they’re too knackered and don’t clean? Would you be happy being treated by staff spending time in dirty areas of hospitals?

Are you having a laugh

they are paid to teach not to clean and cater

Please don't engage with the poster who is clearly either a fantastist or a general provocateur.

They are paid to support students in any way necessary.

I’ve never encountered this. What a cheek

Because it doesn’t happen in any uk state school.

Not according to teachers contracts

In schools, cleaning staff should clean all areas. Teachers don't do cleaning.

They’re really not.

Technically there’s a whole load of non teaching stuff (displays, even photocopying) that teachers could opt not to do if they were really working to rule. (Not that this is what most teachers do).

Cleaning as a routine expectation though? You wouldn’t really have a leg to stand on trying to enforce that.