Survey on primary working hours - are you happy that the word is out?

[pointythings]

article in today's Guardian

A survey conducted by the DfE says it's official - primary teachers work stupidly long hours. Does anyone here think the teacher bashing is now going to stop?

Thanks, noblegiraffe - I can see from looking at the actual survey that you are right.

Feenie I am always saying that primary teachers work more hours than me. I am far too last to be a primary teacher .

I have not always been SLT I have never worked in the holidays.

I am amused that my views are offensive because I offer a different view.

Sorry you said no offence.

As others have said the survey was about teachers hours, not just primary.

I actually think the hours quoted are on the low side. I easily work in excess of 70 hours a week, at times over 80.
However I don't mind doing that because the payoff is long holidays .

I think what primary teachers are saying is that they work the long hours mentioned AND work in the holidays too! It's unavoidable, there is simply too much to fit into a school week and plan for the following term too. ( typed as I procrastinate for a little while instead of completing the 6 hours of marking I have to do today!!) Certainly I don't work anywhere near as much in the holidays ( I do 9-3 for half the mid term breaks and not the other 3/4 days, and 2-3 hours most days in the summer apart from the week I am away).
I love my job and wouldn't work the hours needed if I didn't. But I would like to love my job and have a life too!

But if you keep on doing it, the expectation will remain there.

But if I don't keep on doing it, I will be out of a job!

This is yet another race to the bottom.

I was thinking about being a teacher. I'm not phased by long hours - I do those already and then some.

I am however put off by the amount of shit that is reported about the profession. How can that be right, that their employers (which Gove seems to forget he is) basically drag them through the mud constantly?

No way never would I do that job.

The survey of primary teachers only covered 129 responses, so the results may not be representative. Also based on memory as completed at the end of the week, so may not be accurate.
The figure for before 8, after 6 or at weekend was 14.1 hours a week, so they are saying they work 46 out of the 50 available 8-6 hours 5 days a week.

There is the possibility that the teachers who work longer hours were too busy to fill out the diary so the survey itself self- selected teachers who work fewer hours than average.

I thought the same noble giraffe. I think the returns rate from an already small sample was quite low.