To be tempted to pull a sickie?

[ofthelandandsea]

And yes it’s morally reprehensible but …

Work in a school, so can’t take annual leave or anything like that, and it’s my DDs first school play Friday.

My school won’t let you have time off for anything like that; they just won’t, it’s just no, no, no. It’s similar if a teacher needs to leave the site during the day, you just can’t get out.

I really am tempted to say sod it and say I’m unwell.

I’d absolutely be pulling a sickie, you don’t get this memory back at all, they are never this age again. Absolutely phone in sick.

Highly unlikely as many schools don’t like recordings for various reasons. One being safeguarding but another also being the license of the material being performed.

I think it’s ridiculous that somany primary schools just assume that all parents can get time off work to attend events like this during the day. Too late to kick up a stink now probably, but you and other parents should raise it with them and ask them to consider putting stuff like this on in the evenings.
As long as you haven’t already asked for the time off and been refused (because in this case they would know you pulling a sickie) then I would go for it.

Go the play. It’s a cliche but if it’s most unlikely that you are caught out, you won’t think back in ten years time and remember what you did that day, but you will remember the play.

And I hope you find a new, more flexible role too. I doubt you are the first or last to “pull a sickie” with such an inflexible policy in place.

Enjoy the play.

I personally would risk it. It’s my son’s first play this year and luckily I’ve managed to get the day off (not a teacher) but I’d be gutted if i couldn’t. I’ve agreed to go in on my day off next week for a few hours so one of my Colleagues can nip out for their kids play too (I couldn’t swap the full day with them unfortunately).

My friend is a teacher (secondary) she’s got D&V one day next week 🙈🤷‍♀️. Her husband is also a secondary teacher but works at a school where they bend over backwards to try to make it so you can go to school events for your own kids.

A emergency dentist or doctors appointment is better if you feel guilty 😝 go in after ‘the appointment’

If this is little kids, the evenings would probably be too late for them. Tired, over excited and not to mention those whose parents won’t be arsed to bring them back in.

For the teachers, why on earth should they have to give up an evening? And potentially have to find childcare for their own kids? Providing they give ample notice (ie get it in the school calendar (available to parents) before the end of the previous school year and send out notices in September), most families would have someone who can attend. For some the parents, for other wider family and friends. And if there really is no one else, the parent has three months or more to make other arrangements. Perhaps the school would allow them to watch a dress rehearsal.

If the school doesn’t give ample notice, then I agree, a day time play is too much to ask in a lot of cases and causes stress at an already busy and difficult time for many.

I’m not a teacher or within education. But I’m a full time working (single since youngest was a few months and oldest was 6) mum of 4 who knows the struggle all too well.

That wouldn’t be authorised.

I can see from replies there’s a mix and I’m still undecided, to be honest. If I thought I could just get out in time to see her performance I’d go in for the morning but that won’t happen. As it is, DD2 isn’t 100% so the problem may solve itself; we shall see.

Do it. No one will know. I was actively (under the radar) encouraged to take sporadic sick days when teaching and if I hadn't, I would have cracked up much earlier. Your son is the most important thing.

And then find a different school because there are definitely heads who would let you take time out for this. I found a school who would have done and loved it there.

Yes absolutely do it!! Why should you miss these things every single year when this period of their life is so short. I hate jobs when they don’t even have the human decency to allow a couple of hours off for such events. It doesn’t encourage employees to work well at all!! Do it, we work to live not live to work. Kids come first your own kids that is!!

But how are you handling these situations going forward, are you going to do this every time DD has something on? School play, nativity, sport match, piano performance…at some point this will get obvious.

What an unfortunate set of circumstances - a primary school that doesn't have an evening performance and you working in a school that won't authorise any sort of term time leave. Do they give you time off for funerals?

Can you consider changing schools? You're going to miss SO much.

Of course! I wouldn’t even have second thoughts. I don’t work in a school but I have taken sick leave to go on holidays etc. many times. Put your family first, you are not going to loose your job for going to see a school performance!

Well, this is one of the reasons I’m not planning on working full time, even when DD2 starts school. Of course, I’ll sometimes have to miss something, but I do think that first nativity is quite special to be honest.

You’re most likely to be spotted by a parent who has a child at primary, and an older child at your secondary.

If you really want to do it, I would arrive late and leave early, to avoid mingling.

I would also call in sick the day before with something like a sprain, that you can be ‘recovering’ from by the end of the next day.

Daughter of 2 teachers, my parents weren't able to come to school events. My grandparents usually came. I understood, even aged 4.

I did love having them for the holidays.

No, I won’t be @Wobblylegs1 . Don’t do that MN thing of assuming every primary is like yours and every secondary, too.

The two schools are twelve miles apart, the catchment of the primary is nowhere near my secondary and each have a very different clientele for want of a better word.

I wasn’t making any assumptions, I was just pointing out the potential for being recognised.
If you think it’s risk-free then crack on and do it.

I think if you don't go you will be kicking yourself and also just imagine your child's face when they spot you in the audience compared to if you didn't go. Feck work its your child's first school play you got to br there.

Imagine bringing up a child after you had been fired...

Sod them. I work in a school and they let me have time off for this kind of thing.
Do it.

But Op will. I think that's rather the point. If she was my colleague I would have her back do the cover for her, and tell her to go.

I would 100% go.

There are eleventy-million days of work and only one first Christmas performance.

Have a brilliant time!

It's deranged to choose work over your child's play.

Because she’s taken a job / career in an educational setting. She must have known the ins and outs of time off during term time before she joined, and if she didn’t, she should have looked into it. It’s a job like everyone else’s and she’s getting paid to do it.