Teacher absence

[m0therofdragons]

I'm wondering how other schools approach this.

Over the past 2 school years a teacher at my dc primary has had periods of being signed off (both times most of the summer term). The school is great at letting dc know who will teach them the following September and does settling in sessions for all years one day a week for 4 weeks before the summer holidays. Dd is in this particular class this school year and as the teacher was off in June / July she had no settling in sessions and has begun the year with a supply teacher.

I completely understand the school is unable to discuss a teachers sickness and it's not appropriate to ask for details but I also have a very upset and unsettled 7 year old and have had zero communication from the school. In cases of long term sick, is it really the case that the school aren't allowed to say anything at all even if to confirm supply teacher will be continuous and work is being set by the other year 3 teacher? (I've no idea who is setting the work).

It feels like we're all supposed to carry on as if the situation is normal but in a small school it's like the elephant in the room.

This time of the year coming after the summer break they would realistically have minimal problems getting a good consistent supply teacher - most supplies are skint, most teachers haven't become ill yet and work's pretty much non-existent!

I've done cover for rolling sickness a lot of the time and the school have just said to me "can you agree to be consistent - we'll keep you as much in the loop as we can" and when I've agreed to that they've sent a letter home saying that the bulk of the cover will be done by Miss X, planning overseen by either myself (I had no issue doing that when required) or a parallel class teacher in the same year group.

I'd be pissed off if I had a child who struggled to settle who was being covered longer term by a hotchpotch of whoever they could muster to be in front of the class that morning - not pissed off at the teacher because teachers get ill... but the management really should be getting something more stable together (and like I say at this time in the year supply work is thinner than thin on the ground so unless the school has a shocking reputation and the class have eaten previous teachers alive - which I doubt at age 7 - even in the most "interesting" parts of town - there shouldn't be much issue finding cover)

@LeithWalk I imagine it's a nightmare for the head.

@LolaSmiles we only have one middle leader role in ks2 - it's a small primary. She's also the sen lead so very busy.

Then that's who you need to speak to about your DC and keep staffing out of it.

If you raise how your DC is feeling and seek support for your DC then that's not unreasonable.

This is a perfect example why overall school ratings are rubbish. This could be an outstanding school but there’s no guarantees the year will be. I’m not sure what the best approach is? Stay and supplement at home? Apply for another school?
Understandably a really stressful start to the school year.

A teacher who is off sick should not be sending in any planning!
Op, perhaps you could make the lack of inside info of who is teaching your dc into a bit of fun. 'Minimother, when you get home tonight, can you describe the teacher you've had today? What was their name, What did they wear, how old were they'
The teachers will be following a timetable and key schemes of work. Your dc will be unsettled anyway going from KS1 to KS2. The school may not know from week to week whether the teacher will be back. Cut them some slack please. Or else remove your child.

When DD was in year 4, she started the year in September with a supply as her teacher was off sick. After two weeks of instability they brought in a long term supply teacher who was wonderful and all the class really loved. We were informed Mr X was well and would be returning in February, all the children were sad to see Long Term Supply leave but understood. Mr X was back in class 4 full days before going back on long term sick, cue random/different supply teachers until the July. Was truly awful, the children were so upset to not be able to have Long Term Supply back (she'd taken another LT job elsewhere) and the instability was upsetting for some of them.

The school doesn't tend to know and is not allowed to ask. Also if a teacher is on long term sick leave then they will not send in cover work. They are sighed off which means off all duty. I know you are frustrated op but unfortunately it is a common situation in schools and the teacher obviously needs the time to recover.

I replied earlier but am replying again as I think that the posters who blames your parenting are ridiculous.
I can't really think of a good adult analogy as we don't tend to spend 6 hours a day with someone that we depend on but the closest that I can think of is that as adults we prefer seeing the same person for medical issues rather than random people each time.
As I said in my previous post class behaviour worsened when there were long-term supply teachers. Children in primary school want to bond with their teacher and appreciate the consistency of a regular adults even if it's the TA rather than adults. Routines help kids feel secure.

even in the most "interesting" parts of town - there shouldn't be much issue finding cover
Trust me, it is a nightmare. Maybe depending on area but in my experience.
I frequently met 6 or 7 teachers for supply roles, I wanted the best for the children in my school.
Supply agencies send you 'anyone' in the hope that they get a 'sale', 20 cv's to go through, after all they get paid regardless. Secondary teachers for primary, non qualified teachers, teachers with no experience, teachers with an obviously poor track record.
I started off with high expectations of what I wanted, finding this was near impossible. Then, I would find an ok supply, but they have already promised another school for two days, so can work in my school for three days, then the other, then return; i arrange a supply, but they have been offered something closer to home so cancel; a supply starts, mixed key stage class, they don't want to return; a supply starts , teaches 'Shakespeare' ( Y8 worksheet) to a mixed year 3-6 class in the morning, then a 'practice cutting with scissors and gluing onto paper exercise in the afternoon' hands in evaluations to say both sessions were 'perfect' and I tell them not to return; the latest supply turns up drunk...I could write a book.

And of course a class needs a teacher, sometimes my highest ideals couldn't be met. Sometimes I'd teach myself, but long term this isn't sustainable whilst running a school.

OP, I think you're getting a hard time on here. I can completely see how this would be unsettling for your DC. Even just playing with friends from another class in the same year would flag that they have "their" teacher when your DD doesn't.

We have KS2 parents evenings coming up in 2nd week of October. It'll be interesting to see how your DD's school handle these for her class.

@SayOohLaLa it's not even just playing with friends in the other class as she as a twin in there so I get a direct comparison (which is possibly unfair on the school but is what it is)