% of year 12 lessons lost to teacher absence

[greencanopy]

DD is in year 12 and her lessons are frequently cancelled due to teacher absence. No cover is given, though sometimes the teachers set work. She's been keeping a tally and says the % of lessons cancelled so far is around 5%. Is this reasonable / usual in year 12?

Not unusual.

Sounds like the teacher is present 95% of the time? So misses one day off school every four weeks? That is not great, but perhaps not a complete disaster.

I teach year 12 and have not had a day off this year (but missed lessons once or twice thru other school commitments, e.g school trip).

I thought you were going to say something like 30%! 5% is not a worry. Perhaps they've been ill, or been on a school trip with other year groups, or had to take time off to care for their own unwell child or a combination of those things. Lots of possible reasons and 95% attendance is perfectly understandable. Are teachers not allowed to be ill?
If work has been set, year 12 are old enough to just get on with it. They don't need a cover teacher to babysit them.

That’s only 1 lesson in every 20.
In my a-level subject that would be 1 missed lesson every 5 weeks. That doesn’t seem too bad. Probably fairly standard.

If I have to miss a class for any reason (usually a training course or on a school trip with another year) I always set some work and mark it.
It would bother me if the teacher isn’t in the habit of setting work.

We wouldn't cover y12 or 13 lessons. If it's planned absence, we're expected to leave work (and I'll often try to arrange a lesson swap if I can).
If we're too ill to set work, someone else should. They often don't.

My school don't provide supply for sixth form but I set independent work if we have to miss lessons. I have not had a day off sick but have to run trips so do have days out of school. I am currently covering as many y13 lessons as I can in my lunches and frees for an absent colleague which is killing me but I feel right before exams is the wrong time for them not to have a teacher.

We don’t provide cover but there should always be work set. I haven’t been off ill this year but I do have substantial other responsibilities that unfortunately mean i do miss some lessons, it may well equate to 5% of my y12s. I can’t honestly say i feel bad about, they are well taught and always have plenty to do if I am not around.

5% is not an issue - is it spread across 3 subjects or is it just one subject affected? Either way it's not an issue but even less so if it's the former. Not all teachers will teach A level so covering lessons via swaps is unlikely and other colleagues won't necessarily know what to set that would be meaningful for the group.

If I am ill (v unusual for me) or it's a planned absence for a meeting with external agencies then I email the group some work. As SLT I very occasionally end up in last minute meetings or those that over-run meaning a lesson is cancelled last minute and then work won't be set, or there will be a brief message sent via a colleague (which students will say they didn't get so they haven't done it). This is annoying but occasionally unavoidable and A level students should really be able to work independently on stuff they would have been doing in their non-contact time on the odd occasion that this happens.