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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Teachers help please

61 replies

Oaktree1952 · 27/12/2021 15:53

Please no teacher bashing I'm not strong enough at the moment.

What am I doing wrong? I seem to have so much planning to do for next half term and I'm sure there must be a quicker way. I work in a job share in a mixed year group class. It's a small school so we're the only year 5/6. I have three kids of my own, (7, 5 and 3). I plan maths and job share does English. Then foundation is split between us. I seem to spend so long planning it is getting ridiculous. Does anyone use things like Twinkl? Or Hamilton? I know some like them and some don't but I can't keep inventing the wheel so to speak. I'm not new to teaching (15years) but this is getting silly now. Im not sure if it is my school or just me. How to full timers do it? Generally I have no idea how you manage a life and plan?

What's really annoyed me is my friend complaining about the overtime he's needing to do and it's less than I'm doing and he gets £60k! My annoyance isn't with him complaining but with the pay discrepancy. If I was working full time my pay wouldn't come close.

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SadSplinter · 27/12/2021 16:00

I feel your pain! I have so much to do to prepare for the new term.

RandomDent · 27/12/2021 16:04

What maths do you use? We subscribe to White Rose which means no need to plan extra but I think mixed age is trickier with them.
I think anyone planning in detail for more than 3/4 sessions ahead is on to a loser. You have no idea how the children will respond and end up redoing lots of it anyway.
Obviously it depends on your school but I do a medium term plan for maths, science, English and “the rest”, so 4 sets of planning. I use Twinkl to base my science on although it’s tweaked a lot.

RandomDent · 27/12/2021 16:06

How do you and your job share feel about only planning for what you teach? It’s awful planning for others, you end up putting far too much detail in. I’ll bet you hate following other people’s planning too.

PotteringAlong · 27/12/2021 16:08

Can you manoeuvre yourself into secondary? My friend is a primary teacher and I will hold my hands up and say she seems to do far more work than me. I work hard in term time - I reckon I work in the evenings Sunday - Thursday every week. But I don’t work in the holidays and my planning, when things like GCSE schemes are in place, is tweaking rather than from scratch.

DolphinFC · 27/12/2021 16:25

If you work in a 3 form entry school, the year group planning is split 3 ways.

I worked in a single form entry school once - never again!

Original poster

Oaktree1952 · 27/12/2021 16:27

We do use Whiterose but as said it is trickier with mixed ages but not impossible. It certainly helps.

I'm in two minds about planning what you teach - I prefer planning a unit of work or else I think it would take me much longer and I fear there will be loads of meets if we're doing half a unit each. But I do agree I write much more because someone else is looking at it.

Hats off to secondary teachers - secondary kids scare me 😂

OP posts:

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 27/12/2021 16:32

@DolphinFC

If you work in a 3 form entry school, the year group planning is split 3 ways.

I worked in a single form entry school once - never again!

This. I work in a two form entry school and I’m full time. I work endlessly and I would be completely incapable of working in a one form entry school.

I’m planning Maths and foundation next term. My partner teacher is doing English, Science and Reading. She chose how to split it.

Soontobe60 · 27/12/2021 16:38

We use twinkl for the majority of foundation subjects, we use a maths scheme that requires no planning at all, so the only subject that’s planned from scratch is English.

BeingATwatItsABingThing · 27/12/2021 16:45

Meant to add:

We use Power Maths and spent whole days planning our English and reading units a couple of years ago so it should just be a bit of tweaking each term to make sure it works for the current class. However, I moved year groups and the planning handed over was so atrocious I had to change it.

Smartiepants79 · 27/12/2021 16:57

Use twinkl as a basic and tweak and add to suit you and your teaching style. There is nothing wrong with it. I find it astonishing nowadays that anyone still plans from scratch.
White rose/ class room secrets are both good for maths.
Concentrate your efforts on key lessons for the week.

RandomDent · 27/12/2021 16:58

I’m personally not a huge fan of Classroom Secrets but they have lots of mixed age planning for maths & English that might help.

KerryLopez123 · 27/12/2021 17:06

I'm also not like class but I made always happy when I remember this incident.
One time
In English class, a teacher asked all students to assume they are in war and write an essay on their experiences; I was sitting idle and the teacher walked up to me.
TEACHER: Why are you not writing?
ME: I was killed immediately the war started 😂😂😂😂😂

Bellsandsnow · 27/12/2021 17:15

Use twinkl as a base. I use twinkl for science and foundation subjects but add in my own slides and change activities. I'm in a job share too and we tend to plan what we teach. I tend to spend my working evenings planning and Sunday eve. The rest of my non-working days are mine. I'm also pretty antisocial at work- I mark at lunchtime in my classroom and I don't walk around and chat to anyone after school. I'm friendly but I don't chat (something I did l the time before having my own kids). I do work late into the night on the evenings I work but because I keep my non-working days free, I don't feel overworked. Do you take marking home? When do you work best? I get in super early (6.45am but leave by 4.15pm). I work much better this way and tend to do lots of resources in the morning.

KerryLopez123 · 27/12/2021 17:31

Well you are doing a great work bell..

icklekid · 27/12/2021 17:34

Hamilton have great mixed age maths planning but it’s not mastery approach…

ViceLikeBlip · 27/12/2021 17:36

@Oaktree1952

We do use Whiterose but as said it is trickier with mixed ages but not impossible. It certainly helps.

Hats off to secondary teachers - secondary kids scare me 😂

I'm secondary trained but I did a bit of prinary supply a couple of years ago. Never again- secondary is definitely MUCH easier!

PotteringAlong · 27/12/2021 17:38

Hats off to secondary teachers - secondary kids scare me 😂

Original poster

Oaktree1952 · 27/12/2021 17:39

@BeingATwatItsABingThing

Meant to add:

What do you mean by using Power Maths. I have the power maths books and use white rose. Do the children use the text books? Or do you photocopy the sheets? Is this the only maths scheme you use?

OP posts:

GetTheGoodLookingGuy · 27/12/2021 17:56

My school (I'm currently a TA, but starting teacher training in January) is 3 form-entry, so planning is shared. We also try to reuse as much planning from last years as possible, even if it means starting with last year's lesson as a base and tweaking from there to fit the current cohort. Our teachers also have a full day out of class towards the end of each term (all three from a year group together) to plan for next term. I think they usually use this mostly to get things losely mapped out, particularly with foundation subjects, and also thinking about trips and end of topic celebrations.

We also use White Rose for Maths. I think they have specific mixed age group planning. I had my own maths set last year (Y6 bottom set, working at at Y3/4 level) and found White Rose useful for planning especially for non-four-opperations things (but most of my focus was getting them secure in the four opperations). I would sometimes use the snipping tool (an absolute game changer) to pick specific questions from the worksheets, and then the children would cut out each question, stick it in their books and do the workings underneath. I also remembered lessons from when I worked in Y4 and would find the powerpoints from a couple of years ago on our school shared drive and adapt them for my set. It usually took me an hour and a half to plan and resource a week's maths lessons (I was given time out of class for it), but I imagine I could get quicker with more practice, and also with having lesson plans/powerpoints to draw on from previous years.

twirly52 · 27/12/2021 18:05

I am a parent not a teacher, but I want to ask, do all teachers use online resources such as Twinkl…
My son at nursery got homework from there, to be fair I was shocked as I thought this was just a print out of work handed to my child.
I don’t remember ever having print outs in primary school..
it reminded me of my little brothers ‘private school- faith based’, everything was printed out apart from the “faith based subjects”.
He started to fail at the school because everything was printed out.. whereas as mainstream state school he was in the top classes.

I feel as these academies truly are money making businesses if my child is going to get printed sheets..
When I went to school we had a lot of interaction and homework made by the teacher, maybe I’m ‘too old’ (not really) to understand the ‘new’ education system.

Sorry to rant but, One thing I am really annoyed at is how my child only learns nursery rhymes and dancing. The other nursery group actually learn educational stuff.
My son couldn’t understand what the number 1 is and what the number 2 is, although he knows how to count. It really has me wondering..

Please could someone help me and tell me what my child should be learning?
Thanks

Bellsandsnow · 27/12/2021 18:27

@twirly52 I personally don't use twinkl for sheets, I use it for PowerPoints and planning ideas. I hate worksheets and we are not allowed to use them regularly due to paper usage etc. Your child is in nursery though so I would expect a more hands-on approach. Lots of play and learning through play. Once he gets into reception, he will start learning formally. It is amazing how quickly they learn! Singing and dancing is a great way to learn- especially number songs etc. Don't worry too much at that age. Playing lots is key.

Bellsandsnow · 27/12/2021 18:29

@31KerryLopez123 not sure if you're being sarcastic? The OP asked for strategies. Those are my strategies. I work hard at school to ensure free time with my two young children. It is super difficult and I have to box and prioritise all the time.

PotteringAlong · 27/12/2021 18:33

I agree with your strategies @Bellsandsnow - work early, work at lunch, box clever with marking and, ultimately, appreciate that there will always be more to do and sometimes you have to accept that good enough is good enough.

WhatHaveIDone21 · 27/12/2021 21:04

Are you in a new year group? I moved years in September (a big jump!) and have found the planning workload hard. I try to plan my foundation subjects in the holidays and then plan maths/English weekly.

I tried to get as much done before we broke up which meant late nights but it means I've got less to do now. I haven't done anything yet but will set aside a few days towards the end of the holidays and work full days then. But once I have this year planned I will be able to re-use it next year.

I have used Plan Bee for foundation subjects and have found it really useful. I don't necessarily use everything but it's great as a starting point.

Make sure you have a rest over the holidays though. I felt close to burning out when we broke up so am definitely switching off until the new year!

friedeggandsauce · 27/12/2021 21:24

@twirly52 so if I need children to work on addition (for example) I can't print a sheet out for them to go over at home? What would you suggest?

I rarely use them in lessons but find them great for homework (e.g sending a picture home for the children to write sentences, adding adjectives, maths recap)

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