Is the paperwork/admin workload mental everywhere?

[sky1010]

I'm very curious as I am a fairly junior teacher (NQT last year) and did my training in the same school I have been working at since I qualified. I am primary by the way.

I am set to spend every day until the caretaker kicks me out after school this week printing off personalised targets, guillotining them, glueing them on to specific coloured card and sticking them into 120 books.

So far this week I have had collate and print out a few sets of raw data, fill in a massive CPD document (we get these often) and I have a display that needs changing. We have learning walks every week that require self assessment and filing afterwards. I also have to do daily logs for my TA, to make sure they have done everything property.

These targets though...they are refreshed half termly after each assessments, so many will be pulled out in a few weeks. I had a bit of a sulk on when I was sticking the last few down.

It got me thinking, is it like this everywhere?

This isn't really a rant about workload: I know the pressure and accountability is massive everywhere- but are there schools still out there where paperwork is the bare essentials and admin tasks are minimal? A particular sector, or even another country?!?

Our TAs are only paid until 3 and aren't allowed to do anything paperwork related so it does really all fall down to me.

If these mythical schools exist....how do you find them? I am still developing my 'craft' and want to be the best teacher I can be but I spend my life filing and gluing and cutting up things.

It's not even a 'back after Christmas thing', it happens all year round!

grrrrrrrr

can you get parent volunteers to do a couple of hours a week printing and cutting/sticking [no idea if this is even faintly feasible]

Have you got a husband/boyfriend that you can co-opt into cutting and sticking? My DH used to be a whizz with the laminator in my PGCE/NQT years! Or children/nieces/nephews who could do it for cash?

I am no clearer on a Learning Pit
Me neither, and the link just made me literally laugh out loud.
Surely a wind-up like something dreamed up by Viz or the Daily Mash
(Secondary teacher here, late career changer, and find a lot of this bt complete nonsense)
Here's the way to make money - forget teaching as a career, just invent some outlandish concept and market it for gullible fools CPD.

OP I might be barking up the wrong tree here but can you not recycle your lessons into your wall displays? It should be the kids' work up there, not yours anyway. Would that save you any time?

I had someone from the LEA come into my classroom last year and say to me, Mrs xxx, display boards are NOT there for showcasing children's work!' in the most condescending manner!

That's me told then.

Euphemia I am no clearer on a Learning Pit. I had half hoped it was the newest link between outdoor learning and behaviour management

That just made me actually laugh out loud. If that is what it is I am getting one installed tomorrow!!

I'm a secondary teacher and we have excessive amounts of tracking but luckily at my current school they're not too bad at pointless sticking things in and displays.

If I know I'm about to mark a set of book and write very similar targets for improvement, I print off a set of stickers each with a different comment on and then stick the ones that apply in. For some I also write an extra. Could you do that? That way you don't have to do the gluing part. It's quite quick.

I'm in the independent sector and just teach.

Can you stick in a list of all the targets for the year and highlight the ones achieved and the ones being worked on in 2 different colours? Tracking and attainment all in one place and no removing and re sticking..... Also the children can see what they have achieved as well as what they need to do in the future.