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Original poster

INSET DAYS...

224 replies

poppiesinaline · 20/02/2007 13:42

please tell me why they can't be held during school holidays?

I mean... teachers get enough time off after all...

I don't mind too much.... its quite nice having one off without the other... but for those parents that work, it must be a PITA.

I had this discussion with a friend of mine who is a teacher and she was at my suggestion that she should have to 'go to work for a day or two' during one of her many weeks off.

Discuss...

OP posts:
Hulababy · 20/02/2007 15:00

I have no idea why your child's school decided to have INSET this Friday? Ask them! They may have a valid reason for it. The placing of INSET days depend on training needs and requirements of indivudal schools. They may have a guest coming in to do some training - maybe that is the reason for ir being Friday, rather than the Monday after the half term? I don't know!

And INSET days are published at the start of each year, so parents have plenty of time to sort arrangements for that day should they need too.

Olihan · 20/02/2007 15:00

Ppoies, the kids holidays didn't get longer, ours got shorter!!

Original poster
poppiesinaline · 20/02/2007 15:00

Cod you were meant to be on my side!

traitor

OP posts:
FluffyMummy123 · 20/02/2007 15:00

Message withdrawn

fizzbuzz · 20/02/2007 15:00

Tra la la la la....we are teachers not babysitters.
Remember a parent having a go at ME, because the school was shut for a "Snow" day! She was moaning that her child had nowhere to go, despite the fact that the whole area was 3 ft deep in snow. I didn't decide to shut it, it was a higher brain than mine

FluffyMummy123 · 20/02/2007 15:01

Message withdrawn

hana · 20/02/2007 15:01

teachers in london have a london weighing ( worth I think abotu £3k?? don't know exact figure) so yes, they're paid a bit more, but still not on an equal footing for someone so qualified

(not moaning here, I did chose to be a teacher)

Hulababy · 20/02/2007 15:01

INSET couldn't have been last week - that was the teacher's unpaid holiday time! They have to have the INSET in paid time!

FluffyMummy123 · 20/02/2007 15:02

Message withdrawn

percypig · 20/02/2007 15:02

And again poppies - we are not a babysitting service! I understand it is frustrating for parents who work, but education has to be the priority. Part of the problem comes from different schools, or even different groups within a school (eg KS1/KS2) doing different things. My school tries to coordinate with other local schools where possible.

FluffyMummy123 · 20/02/2007 15:02

Message withdrawn

julienetmum · 20/02/2007 15:02

Dh has a second job. He has to pay basic rate tax on it which is a huge chunk, then wait until the end of the tax year to claim it back.

He is thinking of doing marking this year, anyone know what it pays?

Hulababy · 20/02/2007 15:04

I don't know why I am even bothering TBH. I am not even a teacher anymore!

percypig · 20/02/2007 15:04

Really Olihan - what subject? I'm an English teacher in the North Eastern Board area.

katzg · 20/02/2007 15:07

julienetmum - i think its about £3 a paper depending on the level have a look on the exam board websites

Olihan · 20/02/2007 15:12

Percy, it's to do with the Year 7 Learning to Learn, project based curriculum they're looking to brin in. The NIEB are introducing it into 13 schools from September.

julienetmum · 20/02/2007 15:17

Teachers have to keep up to date with all sort od stuff to do with children. Your dh could probably do with updating himself with a knowledge of certain child related legislation in his job. Maybe he should take a day of his holiday entitlement to do it sohe doesn't risk breaking ther law.

fizzbuzz · 20/02/2007 15:19

I've done marking, it was moderation of coursework scripts. It was about £800 for about 200 scripts. Exam marking pays more though.

kslatts · 20/02/2007 15:57

I work full-time and don't find it any more difficult to arrange childcare for INSET days than I do for the holidays. The school publishes INSET days months in advance so it's never really an issue.

blackandwhitecat · 20/02/2007 17:59

I am a teacher and a mum. In both roles INSET days can be a right pain. As a teacher you sometimes have to give up your time which would be better spent teaching or preparing or marking to listen to some idiot spouting on about something they know little about. As a parent I cannot stay at home to look after the kids when they have INSET days so they come to work with me and sit at the back of the classroom.

Having said that sometimes INSET can be fantastically useful and motivating and important for teachers. Maybe your friend was saying she liked INSET because she got the chance to sit around and drink coffee because this is actually a big deal for teachers (I didn't even get time to wee today let alone drink coffee and marked while eating my lunch boo hoo so I could bring less marking home tonight). Yes, INSET is a chance to sit down and maybe you can have a coffee while working. THese are both things that don't necessarily happen ordinarily for teachers although they are taken for granted in many other jobs.

As for paid marking (examining) don't you see this as part of the job of teaching which you can choose to apply for or not just as you can choose to take on other paid responsibilities. You have to be a teacher to examine. Without examiners there would be no education system as it currently is.

As for tax. Teaching is like any other work in that you are taxed according to your earnings. If you do other work on top of your normal teaching job (I have a friend who does bar work during holidays to pay off her debts and I earn money from freelance educational work) you fill in a tax return and get taxed on this money the same way you would get taxed if you did any other kind of work. Examining is taxed at source. I will be examining this summer (£4.50 per script, a 2 hour AS paper, 2 essays, it will probably take me about 45 mins to mark each paper inluding or maybe not the admin - WOW great money - I could probably earn more at McDonalds BUT I can fit it around childcare AND it's actually really valuable to my teaching skills).

beckybrastraps · 20/02/2007 18:06

I think it might be too late to apply for marking this year. I've had my contract already.

And haven't read the whole thread, but yes, teachers get long holidays. And they are great - one of the best things about the job.

And as has been pointed out, they are technically holiday time. But I actually can't see why they can't be taken at the beginning/end of a term, so the holidays appear longer for the childre (and parents). That's how ds's school does it.

blackandwhitecat · 20/02/2007 18:08

Oh, as for holidays, in any other job you accue holidays during maternity leave but both my maternity leaves coincided with the 6 week break. When I asked whether I could get this holiday back (in time or money) I was told that I couldn't because it wasn't classed officially as holiday time it was just 'time when the school was closed' so I couldn't. This meant I was earning nothing during the 6 weeks when my colleagues were on full pay. Also means teachers aren't officially allowed holiday except for the statutary time off for Xmas etc because in theory and according to your contract you could be asked to come in to work at any time. In practice there is just a tacit understanding that all teachers will do some work during their holidays which mostly they do.

beckybrastraps · 20/02/2007 18:09

Yes - I will have to claim back my tax from marking as I'm a SAHM and therefore am well below my tax-free allowance.

cece · 20/02/2007 18:09

I don't know if this has been said already but the 5 INSET days were originally part of our holidays. When they were introduced they took 5 days holiday away from teachers.

Califrau · 20/02/2007 18:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.