Part time teacher attending meetings - advice, please.

[doglover]

I teach 2 days a week - but don't work on the day that Teaching & Learning meetings are held. My HT has said that in September ALL staff must attend these meetings even if they're not at school that day. What's the position on this? Is he correct? I'm frantically thinking about childcare / costs etc... Any advice would be great.

Rubbish. I teach secondary and I work every day except Tuesday - which is when the department meetings are. My HOD grumbles about it but it is my day off, I lose a whacking great portion of my salary for it and I'm buggered if I'm going. I just read the minutes (when I remember!).

If you teach 2 days a week, even if you DID work on the day the meetings are held you would only be contractually obliged to attend 2 out of every 5.

The only things I'll go in for on my day off are Parents' Evenings, GCSE moderation and the odd essential INSET day (for which I claim back my childcare expenses).

If you teach primary it may be different but I suspect your HT is taking the piss.

HTH

Thanks, IHKT. Sounds promising!! :)

According to the Teachers' Pay and Conditions you cannot be required to work on a day that you are not contracted to work. You could have another job on that day and by the sounds of it you do - looking after your own children. I'm assuming you work in a normal state school by the way.

However, your HT may still insist that you do attend so depending how reasonable he/she is you may have a battle or have to involve your union. You might want to think carefully about how to to approach your HT to avoid being seen as a trouble maker.

In terms of cpd, which I'm presuming these sessions are, you have to attend the same percentage s your fte. I'm assuming your 0.4, so you have to atend the same amount. These can be inset days or other cpd. If you are being asked to come in as extra you must be paid. I have asked for our faculty meetings to be moved to a day I work, so I can attend these, but I have missed he whole year of after school cpd as I have attended all inset days as they have fallen on my working days.

I don't think my post has been as helpful as I thought it might! Clarify the situation with your union.

STPCD and your Union would both say that your Head is in the wrong.

True. You might not want to TELL your HT s/he's taking the piss!

Sorry, was responding to greenrock!

Yes, good advice, GR. I need to trawl through the NUT website to find the relevant information. I've no desire to cause trouble - so softly, softly (!) - but don't want to attend meetings on non-working days. I need to plan my strategy!! :)