Job share Y1 primary class teacher- impact on children

[Orangepink5]

Just after any thoughts from primary school teachers. My daughter is going into year one and will have two teachers- one for 3 days/week and the other for 2. Any thoughts from any teachers among you whether this is good or bad for the children? I’m worried about the lack of continuity and whether there ends up being one ‘main’ teacher and the other just fills in for the 2 days. Thoughts?

I have a concern that DS will have this next year. His class are wild. His current teacher is fab but mega stressed.

Asked a friend who is a primary teacher and she is adamant it's possibly a better option for his class given the stress they've put the teachers under. The teachers can play to their strengths.

and the other teacher has young children.

because when you’ve got young kids you’re not quite as focused on your job as before you have children- your priorities change

Your kid could be being taught by a TA like other primary kids. Or different supply teachers every week.

And your issue is that one's the Dep head and one's got children?

Bloody hell.

I don’t think you’re in the right place if you’re suggesting that people with young children aren’t going to be fully committed to their job.

@Justalittlebitduckling
I’d have thoughts it was pretty obvious that life pre kids is a lot easier. The hours I worked pre kids would be impossible now so I know I definitely wouldn’t dedicate as much time to my teaching now as I did in my twenties. I would do my best but at the end of the day my own children are my priority and I will be back to read them a bedtime story and take days off when they are ill- i wouldn’t blame anyone else for doing this

So what do you think all of the teachers on here who are pregnant or have small children should be doing?

Just out of interest, would you rather your child had a full time teacher with young children or a part time teacher with young children?

Do you think flexible working should not be available to teachers?

Worked well in the years my two had this set up, I think a bit of a reset mid way through the week worked well for my younger who was finding school a challenge at that point.

In our case each teacher did some of the English and Maths, but seemed to split the other subjects between them, so the same teacher would pick up where they left off for the most part.

When one was off the other teacher to was often able to cover some extra time rather than having an unknown supply teacher.

No need for the aggressive tone, I’m just working out what is best for my own child. It’s not a race to the bottom in terms of primary school teachers.

I am just interested in everyone’s opinions, I’m not passing judgement

Yes, we should definitely try hard to emulate Victorian values. Bit of a misogynistic view, really.

@Shinyandnew1 i am a teacher with 2 small children. I would be a better teacher without small children. Maybe that’s just me who can’t juggle it all effectively.

Flexible working should be available to teachers (I work part time) otherwise there would be very few teachers, but I think it’s for the teacher’s benefit, not the kids’. Maybe that’s just my opinion, I realise it may be unpopular though

@LilacSorbet i’m not saying it’s wrong that teachers prioritise their own children, it’s just a fact of life

You're worried that teachers won't be committed to the job because one's SLT and one's got kids.

You are pre-judging their commitment before your kid has even set foot inside their classroom.

You used to teach sixth form English. What if one of the parents came on here and said they were worried in advance that you were going to be a shit teacher because you had kids?

Not a teacher but a parent. DS has had a job share (2.5 days each) this year in year 3 and it’s a really positive thing. The teachers’ energy is maintained at the same level through the week and there’s a change of face half way through so the kids stay interested and engaged. It’s been great for my DS’ class although I appreciate this is anecdotal.

I’m just working out what is best for my own child

So, if you decide that a full time teacher is best for your own child, what will you do about that?

I'm the two day in a job share and it works really well for us & the children. We're similar but not the same and the children are all very clear on who is in when. I am part time so I can maintain good mental health and give enough time to my wonderful but tricky son & daughter. I work very hard on my two days and an appropriate amount of time out of school hours.
Communication is the key to a job share so if they've got that sorted, all will be well.

@Shinyandnew1 its a big 4 form entry primary so if I had received lots of replies from people saying it wasn’t good for example for their shy child, then I might have asked to meet with the teacher to talk it through and see if a different class may be better. Sounds like I needn’t be concerned so I won’t waste the teacher’s time with a meeting

DS had 2 teachers in year 2 and it worked perfectly. When he was flagging mid week new teacher would come in and park them up.

DD is starting reception in September and it wouldn't bother me at all.

It means for shared areas of expertise. For example the teacher who is better at music will teach music while the teacher who can speak French teaches French.

@Jayneisagirlsname very helpful and reassuring, thank you

Primary teacher here, but have also worked in secondary.

At primary, you have so much contact time with your class that it's difficult not to get to know them and their needs really well, and their strengths and their weaknesses. I'm sure at secondary, it's harder sharing a class because you see less of each student anyway.

A jobshare may be better or worse than a sole teacher. It depends on the teachers involved.

Surely there nothing you could do anyway? It definitely wouldn't be a good reason to move them to another school.

Every class in my sons infant school has this. It's not been at all difficult. It's all we've known till year 2.

We had a job share in p2 and it was a real challenge. The two teachers had very different styles one was quite shouty, very conformist, the other never raised her voice. Kids struggled it became a very difficult class. Lots of behavioural issues. The non-shouty teacher completely lost it and shook a child. Both teachers retired. They were very experienced older teachers. I suspect it might be easier with teachers who have more flexibility in their teaching methods.

Christ what have I just read.

@SittingNextToIt i’m impressed you managed to work at the same level- I’m not able to juggle work and my 2 kids as effectively as you are

That's a really good point. I'm no artist but am musical so we each take the lessons we are strongest in.

Generally it works fine and only time will tell if the teachers are on the same page. Many classes have a job share in them at some point and Y1 is often one of the ones as (stupidly) it's classed as not such an important year.

I had two job share partners in KS1, one was very similar to me and that worked fine. Another one was very stressful and the other teacher was the opposite of me and the children and parents noticed and would say 'oh I'm glad it's your day today' etc... which wasn't ideal.

Honestly it's going to potentially happen at some point or you'll have maternity leaves come up, teachers leaving, etc etc and it's something you just have to deal with.