AIBU to ignore GCSE results queries during holidays before maternity leave?

[LilyGreenJade]

Currently 38+5 pregnant. Teacher and so fortunately finished for the summer as normal in July. Had it not been the summer holidays, I would have taken maternity leave at 37 weeks anyway. DH and I have also been ill for a few days this week with a fairly bad stomach bug.

GCSE results’ day yesterday. Only Heads of Department and senior staff expected to be in school/contactable on the day, which I am not. This is stated in contract.

Received an informal Teams’ message from Head of Department yesterday saying they needed to speak with me regarding a particular student (a simple case of organising a remark which only HoD can do anyway) and could I let them know when I was free to talk. I felt really annoyed that firstly I was being contacted during the holidays, secondly that they are fully aware I am close to my due date/would have been on maternity leave otherwise, and thirdly that there is nothing I can do to help. HoD has form for passing on work which is their’s to do. I ignored their message. I then also had several students sending me messages on Teams late last night regarding remarks. I very briefly replied to them saying to speak to the HoD.

I emailed the HoD and Deputy Head Academic this morning explaining that although I had seen the overall results, I was not really in a position to begin analysing paper breakdowns, discussing remarks, and contacting students/parents. I said I was happy for any remarks to be processed. As of tonight, I have had no reply.

YABU - results are important and you should be involved as their teacher.
YANBU - You should not be contacted during school holidays as per your contract, and especially given the proximity to your due date and that you would have been on maternity leave anyway if not for the holidays.

Teachers cannot "book" annual leave, it is specified by the school/LEA/Mat that they work in.

Have any teachers on here said that only teachers work 60hours per week?

I don't know. Being able to delay the start of maternity leave until the last minute because you are on holiday anyway sounds like quite a perk to me.
OP, as pps have said, you are either still at work or you are not. You can't delay ml to maximise pay/time off then complain you are not being treated as if you were on ml.

Why can't you just let them know when you will be available and find out why they need a quick word?

It would take 30 minutes and a phone call.

She is pregnant, not chronically ill.

I'm not being a martyr. I'm being a teacher. I spend 2 years teaching a GCSE class so their results are important.

She won't be reviewing whole papers the day after results though will she, they won't have been requested and returned in that time frame (unless I'm missing something?).

Surely more likely 'do you think it's worth requesting X's paper/a remark?' 'checks spreadsheet and replies.

This is what I was assuming. The HoD might not know the class so if Johnny's mum is requesting a review, the HOD might want to check whether they need to manage mums expectations that what he achieved was actually in line with his level.

As others have pointed out, saying she could be on maternity leave is irrelevant. She could have chosen the week before GCSE results to put as the start but I guess is hoping to get paid for longer rather than starting on maternity pay.

Perhaps once she has the baby she might also understand how parents feel about things that are important to them and how a teacher that is responsive and helpful is so valuable.

I was reviewing papers on Thursday evening.

In my school, it’s the hod that does this, SLT would have no involvement unless a student went to discuss it with them. I was there as subject lead and sought out a few students after having scanned the results to see if anyone was close to the next grade up. The students were not aware of the process unless they spoke to their teachers despite the form with review of marks being in their results’ envelopes. Grade boundaries were posted all over to help them decide, but my school usually only agrees to reviews of there’s a difference of 2 marks.

The HOD is responsible, I don’t think the subject teacher needs to be involved, necessarily. I certainly didn’t ask to discuss it with the other teachers in my department, I know the kids anyway and what would be the point? It’s fairly black and white.

You either take 30 mins to answer a couple of emails or you don't.

Actual GCSE whole papers? Or component breakdowns on a data system?

Component marks were looked over by 8.30 in the morning.
Actual papers.

Actually it isn't. Only SLT can be directed to work during the holidays. Teachers do it out of good will so maternity leave or not she doesn't have to work

You should have logged out of Teams if you’re on leave. Irrespective, it isn’t your job to organise remarks so no idea why that colleague felt the need to bother you.

Fair play to you then. Our exams officer processes requests on the Friday morning after the dust has settled on Thursday. I'd argue that would be far more typical?

I was asked if it was worth remarking a kid that was 3 marks off (we have six components). I said it was, due to their handwriting being difficult to read (and then declining their WP during the exam period!), but you wouldn't know that as a HoD if you hadn't taught them. I'm assuming that's the kind of conversation the OP is talking about. If the OP ever comes back maybe she'll clarify.

I’m a teacher.
The problems here are that the OP has already been ‘working’ by checking her Teams messages; by responding to HOD messages and by thinking she’s already on mat leave when she really isn’t. I think there’s a whole world of difference between being asked to write a scheme of work or set up a new classroom space in the school holidays and being asked for some info regarding possible re-marks for students whose results may not be what they expected.
It’s deflecting to say ‘well she could actually be in Labour/ had baby early / be visiting Machu Pichu when none of that is true. I’m a massive believer in teachers not being exploited and if the OP is really unwilling to speak to the HOD then that is absolutely her right. But I’m also a massive believer in you scratch my back… . This might be a 30 minute phone call that’s doing someone a favour. The OP may well want a return favour when she finishes mat leave!

OP, all the time you’ve spent here writing about this issue you could have spent phoning your hod back!

Had to reread this a few times. You’ve broken up from work and about to go on maternity leave and remarks are HOD responsibility, not yours. So yes you’ve done everything correctly by acknowledging your students and redirecting them to the HOD. You are not supposed to be working now, so I don’t understand why HOD would need to speak with you?! If it’s their responsibility and they’re on hand for remark requests why do they need you?! I thought they got paid extra for this level of responsibility?

Bob in y11 was on it within seconds of me asking him to call his scripts back - I expected nothing less of him!

So I had his almost before I'd made it home.

Teachers are not actually paid for all of the school holidays. They work a set number of days per year (195?), but their salary is split into 12 equal payments for ease.
So unless they are receiving additional payment or have a different contract (as may be the case for SLT), teachers are not obliged to do any work during the holidays.

Of course, a lot of teacher do prep for the coming term. There's not enough time to do all the marking so that often spills over into holidays.

Personally, I would reply to pupil emails and direct them to the appropriate person to assist. This is a massively stressful time for kids and I would feel invested in their outcomes and would want to reassure/advise.

What I wouldn't he doing is getting into the nitty gritty of work, since that is HOD job.

As you're not officially on maternity leave yet (just taking advantage of the school summer closure - something not available to people outside of teaching), I don't think a short phone call would have cost you anything.
Honestly, but the time you'd sent that email back and written this fairly long post, you could have probably got the whole thing sorted.
Personally, I'm a primary school teacher, so we don't have the summer holiday exam results issue. But I do think that secondary school teachers should take results day as a "I may be required to do something" and be ready to offer a bit of assistance.