to believe that teacher's children should be treated in the same way as other pupils

[MillyR]

At my children's primary school, there are a number of teachers working in the school who have children who are pupils in the school and sometimes even in their class. I believe that unless it is essential (because you live on a remote Scottish island), you should not teach your own child as it is unprofessional and almost impossible not to show a preference for your own child and the children that they get on with.

I work 10-7, so I do the morning drop off by public transport. I then stand outside school with my children, sometimes in very unpleasant weather. The children who come on school transport are also stood outside unsupervised. The teacher's children can be clearly seen playing in the classrooms.

Recently, I arranged to go in and speak to a teacher about my child after school, which I then had to take time off work to do. During this meeting, her children were in the classroom. There have also been times when one of teachers has walked past me with her daughters, the older daughter's best friend, and they have all gone in to play in the classroom while the rest of the children had to stay outside. They are also often in the staff room or using other school facilities that are out of bounds to other pupils.

There is out of school club available in a building nearby. My children go to it after school. I think the teacher's children should also have to go to it or wait outside like everyone else.

If a teacher wants to part of her work at home and supervise her kids there, then I am not going to moan about that. But I think it creates a bad atmosphere and sense of unfairness for pupils to be treated differently because their Mum is a teacher.

There is also a huge amount of repeating of confidential information because the teachers tell their friends things, but their friends are the mums from school!

AIBU or is this common?

But MillyR - some children surely come in cars and don't have to stand outside in cold either. Is that unreasonable of their parents?

Lots of teachers start work at about 7, in the schools I have worked at so those kids would have to get up earlier, but then some kids whose parents work in other professions would also have to get up early I suppose.

Twinset, are you a secondary school teacher? I think that is a different situation. There are usually a lot of alternative primary schools, but there is rarely an alternative secondary school. I think it is completely acceptable at secondary level, because the school is a lot bigger and they move around to different teachers all the time.

I think I am, in life, borderline unreasonable, but I just attempt to keep it to an internal monologue most of the time.

Maybe your child could pretend to be a teacher's child for a week, Milly, and see how they like it.

I would say they probably wouldn't, tbh.

Amateurmum, no of course not! but some random parent is not paid to treat my child equally and is sitting in their car on their own time.

Unless of course, their car is actually a police car or an ambulance, and it is within the parent's working hours. Then I'd be annoyed.

It is though, my own fault for not having a car.

YABU -teachers are much harder on their own DCs. Teachers are there at the crack of dawn and their poor DC is there with them-I don't think it is a privilege! They go out when there is a teacher on duty-if your DC is in the playground a long time before school starts they are there too early. Teachers DCs are left hanging around after school waiting for their parent to go home. Nothing of a confidential nature should be said in front of them. You should be pleased, if the teacher is happy to have their own DC in the school that they teach at it means they have every faith in the school! It makes sense for a teacher to have their DC at the same school.

Scienceteacher, but if the teacher's child doesn't like it (as you're saying, and my child doesn't like, and some of the other children don't like it, who is it serving for teacher's children to be in the school when they could get the school bus to other nearby schools?

Despite my ranting, I can see most people don't agree with me. So I am likely to be in the wrong.

Yes I ackowledged it is not quite the same with secondary, not sure how I feel about primary tbh but do understand why teachers want their children at the same school and I would see it as a positive as a parent.

I think scienceteacher is saying that sometimes it is hard being the child of a teacher whether they are at the school or not.

Us teachers can be a funny lot, my dd is always rolling her eyes at me and saying "stop being a teacher"

But Milly, I do agree with you about the breeches in confidentiality.

It isn't only the convenience that makes the same school a good idea, it means that they will have the same holidays and the teacher will be able to see her DC in a play or at sports day etc. If it is a different school they miss the lot!

I still thik you are being unreasonable with regards a child sitting in their parent's classroom. before and after school. It really is IMO no big deal.

Or, as suggested before, would you prefer your child's teacher to simpy turn up to school just in time for school to begin? That is, after all, generally when the teacher's paid employment hours begin. Maybe this would suit you better.

I agree the confidentiality issue is clearly a real problem. The issue of a child sat in a classroom, probably helping the teacher out, is not IMO and IME.

I am the child of two teachers, and I have really benefitted from it, so I really hope teachers aren't beating themselves up about it over their own kids. It is really nice in lots of ways and I was (and am) very proud of having parents as teachers. it gave me a real love of education.

The other alternative schools may not be as good?

I personally wouldn;t want my primary school age child on a school bus without me, especally in infant years. So, that would rule out that alternative for me.

Many areas do not have suitable alternative primary schools with out f school care lengthy enough to enable the teacher to get to her/his own school in time, and back again after.

Lot;s of reasons.

My DD has a little girl in her class whos Dad is the class teacher and her Mum is also a teacher in the school and teaches the class for a couple of lessons each week.

It never really used to bother me tbh but this little girls mum and dad are also both drama teachers and run the drama club after school.

DD has been going to said drama club for about 4 years now and was really hoping to get a main part in the play this Christmas. About 6 or 8 weeks before Christmas, DD's classmate suddenly started attending the drama club and then it was announced that she was to have the lead role. DD was really sad that she did not get picked after she'd worked so hard for so long, and I was a bit and tbh.

Unless she has a lot of childcare support it is impossible for the teacher to get her DC to school and be at work for 7.30am, it makes sense to take them with her. Very often the DC is in the school first, the Head finds out the parent is a teacher and so they start doing supply and maybe go onto maternity leave etc-it just evolves.

The children should not be present for confidential discussions.

All the teachers i know that have children in the school where they teach are really hard on their own kids. Hence, I don't want to teach my own children.

In some cases teaching your own children is unavoidable.

Some of the teacher's children are at school from 8am until 6pm. At primary age that is a long day, but a committed teacher.

Often teacher's cannot access all the materials they need for preparation at home, so sorting out at school is necessary. Teachers are contracted to be in school until about 4.15pm, apart from for meetings.

Hulababy, teachers are paid to work full time, so why can't they play for childcare which is available at their place of work? There is no need to turn up at the last minute when childcare is freely available. The teachers in question are not poor (one just moved into a 500,000 pound house).

To be fair, the new head has tightened things up, because the teacher's kids used to sit and play games on the computers in the morning in the computer room, and they have been told they can't any more by the Head as the governors weren't happy about informality of staff in general. I know both the senior teachers have complained about the division/unfairness caused by teaching of own children and 1 teacher was moved to a different class as a result. But that is really about the treatment of the children during school time, not the before/after school thing. I really shouldn't know any of that either.

When Ofsted came (years ago now), there were no children in the classrooms out of school time and the school bus children were supervised from 8.35.

Well I have never known a classroom teacher able to afford a £650k mortgage on a teaching slaray - but that is beside the point.

Whatever the reason a teacher doesn't use the childcare option is not your business IMO. I personally think you are being unreasonable on this issue. It really is a non-issue IME. I guess we have to agree to disagree. It really wouldn;t bother me in the slightest - and TBh 6y DD would just accept it happily once I explained such a situation.

If they really are taking advantage of such privleges however, such as pupils in authroised areas or accessing confidential information, it is up to the head to sort it out.

Sorry, it isn't freely available. It is expensively available. What I meant was that it is not a hassle as it is on site (building next door).

It can be very difficult being at a school where your parent is a teacher. Even worse when they are your primary school headteacher - like my mum was when I was little.

The other kids - and some of the parents - assumed I'd be given preferential treatment and were quite snotty at the start. When they realised that my mum was tougher on me than on anyone else, the comments stopped!

I suppose she had to avoid accusations of favouritism, but it did seem a bit unfair when I was six. And yes, I did spend some out-of-hours time in various classrooms if one of the teachers needed some help to sort out books, paint trays etc but I would never have been allowed into a meeting.

I do remember an awful lot of hanging around before and after school when the other kids went off home or to friends' houses - headteachers work very long hours - and tbh it didn't seem like much of a privilege...

I'm in the same position as SugarBird.
My dad was my primary school headteacher and he taught me for three years, as it was a small school. He was much harder on me than he was on the other kids.

My mother was my headteacher, and I was never given preferential treatment - in fact, she was much harder on me than she was on other kids. I know I was never able to win competitions or school honors (such as 'house leader') because she was worried that people would complain. It was pretty tough tbh, I was quite isolated as a result. I spent a lot of time in the school before and after school since her school days were so long, although I was turfed out if other kids were around and not allowed inside.

I'm actually quite shocked that the practise of teachers taking their children into school happens and seems to be accepted as normal. They are supposed to be in work, other working parents have to find childcare why dont they too ??

oldraver teaching is very different to other jobs though, you have directed time, the time when the kids are in, parents evening, meetings, etc. and clearly inappropriate to have dcs around during these hours, but planning and marking also needs to be done and is pretty much done in your own time, you could do this anywhere you want, but easier to do it in your classroom, so I see no reason why not appropriate to have dc's with you when you are at work in your own time.