Teachers: what’s the protocol for you when you need to leave site in an emergency?

[darkskybrightday]

Difficult afternoon. Got a phone call from DD1’s primary school that she’d been sick Luckily it was my lunch time, so I could take the call. However, the kids were literally coming in from the playground / field at this point.

Our system is: go to HR office and get a form. Then get your LM to sign it then the HT or the DHT, then back to HR. Lots of frantic running about, couldn’t find HT, one of my colleagues on PPA went to find him for me when I taught. Finally got cover ten minutes before the end of the lesson and got to DD maybe fifteen minutes before the end of the school day. Don’t think they were impressed.

It’s such a stupid system. What do other teachers do?

Primary teacher here. I every school I’ve worked in, it’s been get a message to the Head either by leaving the TA with the class or sending the TA or at a push sending a responsible child with a note saying urgent.
In one school we all had walkie-talkies so could call for support. What would the school do in the case of a teacher or pupil falling ill in class and needing urgent help? If needed, I’d be phoning the school office and asking for urgent help!

I have to speak to my HOD and cover supervisor and then leave. In reality it could take a while for cover to be officially arranged but someone else in the faculty (of Performing Arts) would usually step in and combine 2 classes until things were sorted. Someone else would also set cover work if necessary (each subject specialist has a drawer full of stand alone lessons available to dip into as required).

Wasn't exactly urgent though
Your child wasn't gonna die.
but your system sounds crackers. At ours we just get verbal permission and go

Yup. For things like this.

anc now my folks are older it's good too.

No I get that but he’s only little and being sick is horrible. Plus, the teacher on PPA lost a lot of their PPA staying with him, so I did feel bad about that too although she was lovely!

But presumably if they didn't get through to mother they would phone father? I would actually have assumed most teachers wouldn't have their phones on them while teaching

I have a couple of friends who switched their numbers on the forms to force the school to speak to dad 😂

The databases schools use like Sims and Bromcom and so on do quite clearly state which parent is no. 1 contact.

Most teachers do have phones on them because a) where else would we leave them (not all schools have lockers and you're lucky if you get allocated a desk not in the classroom); b) school IT is often shonky, so you need it as back-up; c) classrooms often don't have phones or the phones don't work. An Apple watch or similar is a common solution.

Sorry I didn't mean phones not with them but I would have assumed on silent in a bag or drawer and that you wouldn't routinely be answering your phone as a teacher

Especially if the kids' phones are banned

They definitely have priority call. This imagined sexism is nonsense

I did explain it was lunch time.

I don't think I've ever had to leave unexpectedly during the day in 20+ years, thinking about it.

This is a big fear though. Single parent with hour each way commute.