Reception teacher MIA

[Dalooah]

Hey all

First child has just started reception and I wondered if this was the norm. DC has said that their class teacher hasn't been in school all well. Was missing at the stay and play session last week, was in the next day- not sure how long for but was there are pick up. But hasn't been in since Friday last week. They've had two TA's while the class teacher is off. DC says teacher is poorly and class is going to make cards 🤷‍♀️

Should parents not have been informed? I feel like starting school under covid circumstances hasn't helped as we've not even met the teacher F2F.

Totally agree - kids are distracted and not listening to instructions or story or getting ready to leave - parents seem to think it’s some sort of pay per view rather than actual education

Of course I would consider it if the inconsistency was having a detrimental impact on my child's learning.

We shut our blinds just before hometime.

It has nothing to do with secrecy and everything to do with parents who can't control themselves from waving through the classroom window or trying to get the teacher's attention.

But Southside - firstly it isn't always easy to get an in year admission to a school of your preference and secondly you have absolutely no guarantee that on moving something happens at the second school. How frequently would you move?

@SouthSideSally

Of course I would consider it if the inconsistency was having a detrimental impact on my child's learning.

And if the same thing happened at the next school, and the next? That would certainly affect your child's experience.

Their ‘half days’ are probably the days they’re having their PPA. It’s not like they’re down the coffee shop having a relax, they’re still in school but working on planning and assessments etc.

Have to giggle - at one point in reception, DD2 had concluded her teacher spent her PPA time just having a little wander around the school (she was checking the PE cupboard as PE coordinator I think) apart from the times she knew "Miss was working as she had her glasses on." Class teacher was very bemused by the miniature detective's powers of deduction when I told her.

When I've done supply cover - yes, sometimes the blinds get shut at 3pm but it's usually to stop younger siblings running up and banging on the windows or similar behaviour from parents (they're less likely to pretend to be dinosaurs I've found at least), or because the classroom's been a sun trap half of the day and no one could see the whiteboard - often a TA has gone on the door to dismiss kids - purely because I can't match parents to children (although the children will usually offer some brutally honest descriptions) and it covers my own back that a member of school staff is supporting handing over the kids in the younger age groups. Likewise on a morning I've stood back and said hello to kids as they've come in, and parents if they've asked - and that, "as far as I know I'm covering the class for today, and that I haven't been told the situation beyond that" and the like - but I've let a staff member who knows the families and the kids be the first point of contact.

Usually though I found that whenever it looked like an absence was going to run on anything more than a couple of days, I'd be asked if I was OK to run it indefinitely and then parents would get told that Miss X is covering the class until Miss Y is recovered again - something like that.

As for PPA etc - my kids' old school were buggers for the staff randomly popping in to dismiss kids in the other classes which didn't half bloody confuse me if I'd go to grab DD2 and be greeted with DD1's teacher! I'm not unconvinced sometimes they did it on purpose!

School places are fairly easy to come by in my neck of the woods. I, imagine like any reason for switching schools it would be VERY bad luck to experience the same issue again. There are also other options for learning than just going to a school. In my position I would likely consider homeschooling. Of course my first port of call would be a discussion with the original school - which was my original point. Open communication with parents is extremely important if we are treat pupils as individual learners and if we are not to treat school like child care. I don't need to know why individual teachers are unavailable and I don't need to know about short term absences, but I do expect to know of longer term changes especially if they are likely to involve multiple changes.

@Suprima

As someone who was off on extended leave after my miscarriage and had parents in mutiny at the supply teacher, trying to find me on social media and hanging around where I live (I live locally) - I find all of this panic pretty distasteful and odd.

Teachers going off on sick is a big deal. We drag ourselves in for anything non-contagious, feel insane guilt when we have a stomach bug and constantly talk ourselves out of any sick leave. For the teacher to be off sick 1st week, to the point where the children are making cards- something must be quite wrong.

Your child is being looked after and educated by qualified adults. This is also reception, not your child’s a level class in February. They will be absolutely fine and the school will be able to manage this.

Also, most people haven’t met the teachers face to face. It’s literally week 2 in September.

I would get a grip or this will be a very long year…

This exactly this.

@SouthSideSally

And as a parent I would want to know this so I have the option of removing my child from the school.

and put them where? A school with no staff shortages, no staff turn over and no staff absences? Which planet are you going to find that on?

I can see why a school might not convey minor information and my initial post was more wondering whether it's something I should have been concerned about.

Some of the stories on here are horrifying- I can't imagine parents stalking a teachers home! Ugh.

I'm not concerned about why the teacher isn't in school, but still feel some communication is necessary. Understandably, with it being covid circumstances not all parents have met their DCs teachers F2F but 50% of the year have had their teacher and parents have met them. A large number of children, and thus parents, were offered doorstep/garden visits at the end of last term but we weren't. The disparity is frustrating.

I don’t even tell the other staff the reason for a staff members absence let alone the parents. Sometimes the staff member will put something in the staff WhatsApp but it is not info for sharing with parents. When a colleague had an extended absence last year the class were told that she was poorly but nothing to worry about and would be back soon. She was actually grieving for her husband who had died suddenly - inappropriate to share with a class of 5-6 year olds!

I also agree with PPs about the unreliability of children reporting on their day at school.

I answered the phone late one September to a parent wanting to know “who is Mrs BuggerOff? My son keeps saying this name and says she’s a reacher but she never writes in the contact book and I’ve never seen her at the door”. I said that’s me, I work in the office so have nothing to do with contact books or the classroom doors, your son probably spoke about me as he us currently the “register monitor” so brings me the register twice a day and I always exchange pleasantries with the children and try hard to learn the names of our new starters. I’m not a teacher but the younger children just think we are all teachers. Our reception class has five members of staff, two teachers and three TAs. They aren’t all in that classroom all day every day. That doesn’t mean they are MIA.

No you don't get to hear confidential information about the class teacher's body or medical conditions. Sorry.

If you don't shut the blinds the parents bang on the window or wave. It's disruptive and ruins the end of the day.

It's not unreasonable to want to be told if a new starter is not going to have a consistent teacher for a period of time. Some children don't settle in well and could use extra encouragement and discussion at home to deal with it. No need to say why the teacher is off, just "miss x won't be in school for at least the next week/month etc. The children will be taught by a supply/TAs/existing staff and we will keep you informed as best we can". We entrust our children to the school, so it's not unreasonable to want to know what's going on. It's concerning that so few people have an interest in their child's experience of school. How do you know who to contact if their teacher isn't present unless you're informed of this?!

Staff aren't told why a teacher is off sick never mind parents. Do you want them to tell you: shes had a miscarriage, a breakdown, a bereavement? Covid numbers are exploding where I am just now you will see staff shortages everywhere as covid rips through schools now isolation rules have changed. My sons p1(reception) teacher was off sick she gave permission to tell parents as it was serious, she had cancer. She was young with young children and died. The whole situation was awful for everyone. Teachers are human they can be off for any number of reasons and usually feel horrendously guilty about it. Would you feel better if you knew why she was off, even if deeply personal?! The school can't tell you supply as they won't know, they'll work day to day until they get a long line and hope they can find a long term supply.

Why are people being so unkind - of course the OP is worried about her new starter we have all been there. She doesn’t want to know what is wrong with her body she wants to know if her child is going to have a consistent teacher - sounds like the schools comms has been weak. Parents and children matter as well as the staff member.

@TheYearOfSmallThings

But perhaps they don’t know how long she is going to be off for. And very often they don’t know who they will get to cover.

After a couple of days it's time to communicate something. DS had just started reception, we had been told how crucial all the settling in was, the teacher had visited each pupil at home so they would be familiar... and then every day DS was coming home talking vaguely about "a lady" and asking where Miss X was? I thought he was confused. All the school had to do was let us know the situation had changed.

If my dentist is sick, she just says "I'm sick". If we cancel a clinic or list at the hospital because the consultant is sick, we say "he/she is sick". If another doctor can cover it, we definitely make that clear. And of course we don't always know when they will be better, but that doesn't mean we just say nothing.

And do the dentists patients, or the consultants patients then start contacting other patients to find out what the illness is? Do they hang about outside the surgery and question other staff? Do they phone up the receptionist and the. chief executive of the practice or hospital and demand to be told personal details of the illness and the qualifications and experience of any replacements? Do they stalk the dentist and consultant on Facebook to see what they are up to?

No, because most people accept that other people fall ill, have accidents , family crises and deal with it. However, when it is a child’s teacher a lot of parents take it as a personal affront they they are not given every detail of an absence and won’t take the statement “Miss X is sick” at face value. Yes, the school could probably issue a bland statement, but for some parents that isn’t enough, and it can get very unpleasant.

@viques
You make parents sound like horrors! Most people are good people and I don’t know a single parent who wouldn’t wish all the best for a poorly or bereaved teacher. The problem is that when there is a communication gap it leaves a strange unsettled feeling. Maybe one in 100,000 parents might look a teacher up on Facebook but that is so far from the norm. When children are so little and just starting school and have been talking about their new teacher in preparation and having visits from them, of course parents feel unsettled when there is no communication about who will be teaching. It goes from one extreme (get to know your lovely teacher in all possible ways before they start) to the other (you must not know where your lovely teacher is or who is going to teach you and woe on you if you dare to wonder what the consistency plan is).
I wish this particular teacher all the best 💐and I wish this particular OP all the best with navigating her tiny child through a new life stage 💐

[quote Placido]@viques
You make parents sound like horrors! Most people are good people and I don’t know a single parent who wouldn’t wish all the best for a poorly or bereaved teacher. The problem is that when there is a communication gap it leaves a strange unsettled feeling. Maybe one in 100,000 parents might look a teacher up on Facebook but that is so far from the norm. When children are so little and just starting school and have been talking about their new teacher in preparation and having visits from them, of course parents feel unsettled when there is no communication about who will be teaching. It goes from one extreme (get to know your lovely teacher in all possible ways before they start) to the other (you must not know where your lovely teacher is or who is going to teach you and woe on you if you dare to wonder what the consistency plan is).
I wish this particular teacher all the best 💐and I wish this particular OP all the best with navigating her tiny child through a new life stage 💐[/quote]
Most parents are lovely. But some aren’t. And some are really toxic.

And sadly I think your estimate of 1 in 100,000 parents looking up staff on Facebook is a real underestimate, which is why many schools take the time to advise newly qualified staff to beef up their online security, to be careful about what they post, and not to share personal information with parents.

I agree that the relationships between parents, a child and their child’s first teacher can be very special. But for most people it is a professional relationship and should stay as such, as much for the child’s sake (because the teacher often learns and actually needs to know very personal details about the child) as for the teachers.

@viques I still think you are skewing the proportion of lovely caring parents to those tiny minority who might be toxic. In my professional life I have found most parents to be good people who would care about other people having a difficult time and would wish them well. But all parents like to know that their children are being well cared for and at times of crisis like a planned for teacher being absent that involves good communication which many schools don’t have the funding to train staff in. In crisis communications training firms are taught the maxim ‘the worst thing to do is to say nothing’ and I would say that applies to schools too.