Part-time teacher and Ofsted call on non-working day, what is expected?

[YellowDaisies123]

So im going back to teaching in September, 3 days a week (wednesday-friday). My school is due Ofsted anytime. We will get the call on a Monday which is a non working day for me. I'm going part time because my little one is under 2 so I have childcare commitments as well as choosing to be more available for her.
I have a feeling it'll be an expectation that ALL staff will be required to attend once the call has come in both on the Monday after school and the Tuesday. My husband works and is self employed but doesn't work from home so going in at the drop of a hat is a no no for me on a Monday - I cant just leave my daughter and have nobody to just pass her to at short notice. I can however go in on the Tuesday as my husband can take it off if he's aware the day before. My question is, has anyone else been in this situation? I know I'll be made to feel guilty for not attending on the Monday but what do you do? Any experiences and thoughts would be highly appreciated! Just to also add, im not SLT and my partner teacher is a paid trainee apprentice who has 50% responsibility and teaches Monday and Tuesday.

when my husband was part time he had a different job on the other days (he was a music teacher & worked for a performing arts organisation too) so it was impossible for him.

If there is discussion about the ofsted call, you say that Mondays are non negotiable, but happy to get updates if needed

Repeat again when it happens.

And forget about it til it happens. If your school gets requires improvement, it wont be just from your performance. Its how the management deal with the staff.

Yes I know it is expected to contorted yourself in this situation but you will have to have set boundaries

It’s a joke that they expect you to go in. The true reflection of the school is that you are not there on a Monday and Tuesday. Any inspection/audit should be a true reflection of what happens on that normal day with the allocated staff. I would speak with the SLT and advise that Monday will be impossible for you, unless they want you to bring the 2 year old.

You cannot be directed to attend as it's not your working days and any Headteacher expecting staff to attend a meeting about Ofsted on their non-working days is not an effective leader. The outcome of the inspection will not be due to you missing a meeting on a day you aren't paid.

I’d speak to the head and just say that it’s not workable and it’s been bothering you and they at you’ll work with your Jobshare to make sure everything is as prepared as it can be as you know the visit is soon.

out school got a call on the Friday that they were coming the following week they emailed parents as they wanted volunteers to speak to the inspectors I think they came the following Tuesday and Wednesday I can’t remember now.

Would they be flexible with you? Knowing schools, the answer is no. So set the boundary and dont waver.

You have to be a bit hard nosed. They wouldn't think twice abiut saying you couldn't take time off for a wedding, or something similar. They dont get wracked with guilt. So.....

Geronimode I would probably ask my partner to take a parental leave day - assuming he's a contractor or freelancer I know he won't get paid but either that or you use this time to get comfortable with someone who can be a short notice childminder for future times too - appreciate this could be an outright no when they’re so young and you can otherwise manage.

It’s tricky, you don’t have to, and you shouldn’t feel obliged to, but it could be in your interest to. These all hands on decks moments don’t come around so often and your job share is inexperienced.

I get why you say this, but HELL NO. Management always put the pressure on the teachers when infact it is the management that need to worry more. People whip themselves up on this but at the end of the day, as long as you generally teach a well thought out lesson on a normal day, there is nothing to worry about. Management are the ones paid to work all nighters!

I was a part time HoD last time we had Ofsted. I didn't go in on my non-working day - this wasn't even a consideration for me. When they requested to meet with me, I just said it would need to be on day 2 of their visit, when I would be working

You are worrying about a problem which may never arise. OFSTED will most likely be given a timetable which will show you are not available on the days you don’t work. Stop worrying or you will make your life a misery. Friend of mine had her school go through two OFSTEDs- she was on mat leave both times!

School can not expect you to come in on non-contracted days, OFSTED or no OFSTED. You could make yourself available via phone/zoom if anyone wishes to discuss any prep with you on the Monday (lesson plans for the Tuesday etc) but that would be entirely your choice if you wished to or were able to support colleagues in this way on your day off, while juggling your daughter. They have to understand you do not have childcare on a Monday and Tuesday and are therefore unable to physically come in. If you're that worried, speak to your headteacher on the first week back just to outline your worries/make it clear you won't be able to do this. It will ease your mind, knowing you've made your position clear and neither side will get a nasty surprise when the time eventually comes and you're unable to drop everything at the turn of a hat.

Ofsted want to see school as it is anyway. What exactly would you do if you did go in on the Tuesday? It's your partner teacher's turn to teach (and will likely destroy their confidence if the school were to ask you to step in and have the class that day, as if they don't trust them). The class will be wondering why it's different too. Rule number 1 of an Ofsted visit, never do anything different to the norm. The kids will always give it away that this isn't the norm!

Ofsted will be informed that your partner teacher is a trainee and will treat any observations/chats with them accordingly. Are you their mentor? If you are, your school will be expecting you to adequately prepare them for Ofsted, but only on days you work. Is Wednesday a crossover day? If you're not their mentor, you're worrying for no reason as it's totally someone else's responsibility to prep your trainee colleague.

Good luck for whenever the time comes but it could still be a long way off, even if you're technically in the window. Don't even let it cross your mind for the rest of the holidays as it's just not worth the stress. Have that conversation with your head, in September, and then carry on with your role as normal.

I work Thursday and Friday in my school (Wednesday in another school in our trust). Thought I'd escape Ofsted but they rang on a Tuesday after the bank holiday 🤣
I didn't work on the Wednesday but was in for the Thursday.

What would you even do if you went in on your days off? You will be off timetable on those days so it’s not like they could observe you. But the call doesn’t automatically come on a Monday, it could come any day of the week. IME the schools that hand wring over ofsted and dramatically summon all staff and make them stay late planning etc are the ones who don’t do so well and the ones that just take it in their stride tend to know their stuff and do just fine.

I work in a different profession but still Ofsted inspected. My manager was of the view that if they saw extra staff coming in on their non working days, they would be likely to question why we felt unable to show our best with our typical.working pattern, so she was very against any extra days being worked. Could you suggest to SLT that it may raise a query?

Just tell your Head you are unavailable on Monday and Tuesday as is your entitlement under your employment contract.
That should be enough. The Head does not " own you". As previous posters have said, you could have another job at that time or you could choose to go on holiday.
Some Heads try to trot out " the any other hours deemed reasonable " clause in the Teachers contract as a justification, but that's just bollocks. They can only direct you on a day where you have paid sessions of you work under that contract.
Don't let them guilt trip you either. If it's a well run school you not being there shouldn't affect the smooth running of the school.
At my school , part time staff are just kept in the loop of when OFSTED will be in via email just so they know. No extra meetings though and no expectations for them to do anything different.

Secondary, but when we've had inspections in the recent past the part time staff worked their normal days (we did make sure they knew what had been said/done on day one though so possibly more message contact than a normal day off). We had people off sick- we just made sure they were covered by school staff rather than getting supply in. It's meant to be a visit around normal school life and any SLT that tries to circumvent this is a bigger red flag than Ofsted tbh. Of course part time staff may volunteer to be in and that's all good, but what would they actually do on the day that the kids wouldn't flag up as being weird/not normal process?

Calls only come on a Monday now (unless after Bank Holiday) or no notice one (and school would have more to worry about then not just whether OP is in or not)

OFSTED are now more open for people to have support around them, so not be on their own during an inspection, so I assume OP could be in the room but not be actively involved.

Pupils and parents are quick to tell inspectors if something isn’t the norm though!

They only call on a Monday now (or Tuesday if the Monday is a Bank Holiday). It's been that way for the last two years or so. The only exception would be a no-notice inspection. Routine ones take place on a Tuesday and Wednesday now (or Wednesday and Thursday in the weeks of Bank Holidays).

Thanks for all these posts, very helpful!

They cannot expect you to go in on a non-working day, full-stop. If you are willing to go in on the Tuesday then they may be very grateful (presumably, if nothing else, it is helpful to be able to cover teachers involved in "deep dive" interviews with regular staff), but they cannot require it. Most senior staff with half a brain will be aware that you are unlikely to have childcare at the drop of a hat; they might actually be pleasantly surprised at an offer to go in on Tuesday with less than 24 hours notice.

If you really are willing to go in on the Tuesday, you could use that for a pre-emptive conversation, explaining that you could offer to come in on the Tuesday, even though it is not a working day and you know they can't require it, but you will need to know by 2pm the day before in order that your husband can book the time off. That will hopefully make them realise that Monday is a no-go.

(Make sure you mention about "you know they can't require it", for the sake of any other colleague who is part-time, and isn't in a position to flex.)

We had the ofsted call whilst I was in school and I had actually swapped the next day with my job share, so even though it was technically my working day, i wasn’t expected to come in as I had pre agreed cover. It was never suggested I would either. If you don’t work on that day, you may as well not exist, I wouldn’t worry.

It's against UK employment law to be required to work on a non working day. They can ask, you are free to say yes or no, but if you agree they have to pay you or give you time off in lieu.

That’s not correct, it all depends on the wording of your contract. (As long as the extra hours don’t take you under national minimum wage)

I am a headteacher and I wouldn't expect you to come in (unless you were also on leadership scale pay for). Unless the school is in real trouble, it shouldn't be an 'all hands to the pump' scramble.
I would expect you to ensure that anything you were responsible for was completed as it should have been (e.g. marking or planning); and that if it were a two day inspection you made sure you were informed as to the first day's feedback.
If you volunteered to come and support I'd be very happy, but probably wouldn't want you around on the day as your presence may raise questions.
Basically, I represent my school in its best light and expect colleagues to support this. If you are not in on an inspection day and I am happy this working pattern is OK for kids, why would I suddenly decide otherwise?