Coping with Teacher Training days

[bacon]

I'm new to education, DS1 in reception DS2 19 months old. But this is really going to get right up my nose. Teacher training days tagged onto half terms. 1st one Friday just before the weeks break.

How do mums cope? Ive got something planned - booked months and months ago and have to leave really early and now just checked diary and DS1 is home and I'm paying for DS2 to be in nursery!

Why cant they do these training days in the evenings or even Saturday morning like the rest of us? Why has education have to be so disrupted? Surely with the number of weeks off they get it wouldnt be too much to expect a few days to be put towards training?

Struth, we are self employed here, hubby never hardly gets time off, when we were farming we worked well unto the night, expected to get up at the crack of dawn, 7 days a week, working when completely exhausted and so hanging and no paid holidays!

So many families are struggling with childcare, trying to hold onto their jobs, and then this is slapped in our faces.

Surely this doesnt happen on the continent??

fivecandles - I have been involved in running the after school club that my children attend, and there is no way we could have provided full day childcare 5 days a year for all the parents that would like it. Have you ever been involved in running something like this?

In Clam's post of Sat 23-Oct-10 18:45:07 she higlghted the bits which were bound to get people's backs up.

Wary of dipping my toe into this, but have to say there are no after school clubs or holiday clubs at my school. Is this a primary thing?
(There are extra-curricular activities eg sport after school, but only for a short time and not every day - wouldn't work as childcare).

"Think, depressingly, it's a female thing as well that instintictively women often attack each other when tehy should be supporting."

Ain't that the truth. Oh, the irony!

As a pp said, the people who staff before/after school & holiday provision are often (certainly in my school) TAs, and therefore need to attend the INSET.

Local councils would find it very hard as schools have different INSET days, and although this could change (I can see how some INSET days could be shared) it is then harder to get trainers/speakers etc.

Playschemes often take place at schools, so an alternative venue would have to be found.

As I said earlier, I believe there could be more provision and I believe that it will come as more people like you show there is a demand for it.

However, presuming that it could all be done 'fairly easily' if people just put their mind to it, is as unrealistic as assuming it is impossible.

If a major new change is suggested at home or work, I first assess whether it is a good idea, whether it is needed and then think about how practical it is. Do you just start it straight away without any prior consideration?

Why not TFM? Only involved in so far as my kids go to before school club and holiday club. It's always very popular.

OP also said........ oh, can't be bothered. Off to watch Chezza.

Never heard of TAs providing this sort of service. INSET doesn't take the whole school. No reason why the provision couldn't take place in the school hall or classrooms and/or playground given it would be limited numbers. As I said there's an advantage to schools working together in getting a reduced rate for an outside speaker.

None of these are real problems.

Primarily because the people who work there do so because those are the hours that suit them. They are not available in the morning or early afternoon. They have other commitments - other jobs even. And numbers are limited. Not all the children who have after school childcare go to the after school club. Some go to childminders who are often unable to have them during the day as well.

"INSET doesn't take the whole school"

Erm..yes it does. Frequently. And as many people have said, training prorities are rarely the same from school to school.

priorities, dammit.

You are assuming that someone who currently works out of school hours and holidays would automatically be available during the working day on a term day, whereas they are probably working those hours to fit in with other committments - as I said above, our after school club staff would be at college during the daytime. And the holiday playschemes run by councils are frequently staffed by teachers, who would either be at school or at the INSET day....

You're making a lot of assumptions there TFM. Of course the staff that manage the before school club ARE available in early mornigns.

To suggest that there wouldn't be the staff in this climate is ridiculous.

More problems, problems, problems.

Finding it increasingly bizarre actually.

Feenie, I meant the whole school buildings. OF course it doesn't.

fivecandles You are again judging against your own experience, you were doing it earlier with mrz's posts. Just because things are not true for your school doesn't mean they must be true for everyone.

Oh sod it, I really can't be bothered to go through point by point.

If it is so easy, I suggest you contact those who could put it into practice- schools, LEAs, the government. I am sure they will thank you for your suggestion and begin implementing your ideas.

Playschemes are not frequently staffed by teachers.

"I meant the whole school buildings. OF course it doesn't."

In your school, maybe.

Our OOSC has been set up independently of the school (although it is on the same premises), and uses no school staff. It runs for all inset days. It only closes on Christmas hols and for one week in summer.

Um - I'm making no assumptions, because I am actually on the management committee of our after school club. A TA runs the breakfast club. So presumably she would be free. However, she would be alone. We employ 4 helpers at the after school club. Two of them work in the preschool, which does not do INSET days. The other two are also carers and work earlier in the day. And recruiting staff, even in this climate, actually is not easy. I know this, because I do it. Rather just have it organised for me

So it can be done. Great. But it is not going to be easy to do it in every single school in the country, and it is ridiculous to suggest that it is.

'fivecandles You are again judging against your own experience, you were doing it earlier with mrz's posts. Just because things are not true for your school doesn't mean they must be true for everyone.'

Er... where?

I have been a teacher for 15 years, dp for 20 and kids have been at school for about 8. Between us dp and I have worked in about 15-20 different schools all over the country as teachers, head of department, assistant head amongst other roles.

'"I meant the whole school buildings. OF course it doesn't."

In your school, maybe.'

Well, no.

It is beyond ridiculous to suggest that a school cannot accommodate a percentage of its children as well as the staff when it accommodates all of them and the staff on a day to day basis.

pozzled, it is not impossible for each LEA to organise provision.

stoatsrevenge,it's so nice to hear a positive response amongst all this negativity.

I do wonder how some of these poepel ever achieve anything.

As I say, much more ridiculous to suggest that you couldn't get the staff.

Considering the amount of public (and private) sector workers who are about to be made redundant that is just offensive.

One thing my dcs do is get sixth formers to help out in the before school provision for older children. They get to put it on their UCAS forms and its great for the kids.

"Playschemes are not frequently staffed by teachers."

Well I must have been hallucinating that my DS's teacher was running the holiday club he went to....