Part-time role - which days?

[HashtagPenelope82]

Advice needed please!

I have a new part time teaching job lined up for the end of my Maternity leave, which I'm really excited about. They've got in touch to ask which 3 days of the week I'd ideally like to work, as they are starting to write next year's timetable.

Annoyingly we don't have childcare firmed up yet and won't be able to until closer to September, so effectively at this stage I could work any of the 3 days.

Any recommendations on which 3 days would be best? I'm thinking which days would childminders/ nurseries be most likely to have vacancies, and which school days are nicest to work! Or should I just say no preference? Thanks for any suggestions!

I would advise clustering your days so that you have more continuity. Ie work mon through weds, tues through thurs or weds through Friday. I used to work Monday through weds and managed to get nursery covering those days. I loved finishing on a weds psychologically it felt like a treat when others were there all week. Sadly now DD is older I work longer hours.

I did Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday which I loved. Never more than two days at work consecutively and long weekends. I miss it a lot!

If it's Primary you need to do them in a row I think. I've done it where my PPA was at the start of the three days so you could maybe ask about when that is likely to be.

I do Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which means I have four consecutive days off which I like. Might be easier for your baby to have blocks rather than changing from day to day. Just make sure they don't try and spread it over more days if you are paying for childcare, you may find yourself paying out as much as you earn. Get clued up about what inset days you need to work and what evening events you are directed to attend. It is illegal to treat part timers worse than full timers. I have had to fight my corner on several occasions.

How do they work bank holidays? Some employers pro rata them, some only pay you for them if you would normally work that day. My last employer did the latter so it worked best to work a Monday. At my current employer the holiday entitlement and bank holidays all get lumped together and pro rata'd (it's phrased as "x.x days including bank holidays). So you get more bookable holiday if you don't work Mondays. Hope that makes sense!

Yep, if bank holidays are pro-rata them the end of the week is much better to work. It seems odd but it works out better for you if the bank holiday is a 'non-working day' and there are more bank holiday Monday's than other days (Easter and Christmas being the exceptions.

Thank you for all the advice, lots to think about. It's secondary so I don't think they mind too much about blocks of days.

I'm a bit confused about bank holidays to be honest - I gather that standard practice is I would have 0.6 of them if that is one of my working dats, but not sure how that works in practice?

@SarahMused do you only attend 60% of evening events/ Inset? Is it planned for you in advance or do you have to calculate it yourself and propose it to your line manager? Sounds like a minefield!

I work 0.6 in primary and have done both Mon-Wed and Wed-Fri. For me it hasn't made a big difference, apart from all the 'fun' days (non-uniform, end of term, Red Nose Day etc) tend to be Fridays, so I missed out on them working Mon-Wed.

I don't think bank holidays are such an issue for teachers - FT teachers work 195 days/year, so 0.6=117, of which 3 should be INSET. However, I've always just worked on 'my' days, so if a training day is on my working day I would attend, and if not then I wouldn't. Staff meetings are always Mondays at my school, so for a while I attended all and for a while I attended none. Parents evenings are another thing to work out. Would you be sharing classes with another teacher? Would you need handover time with them if so? (Might not be relevant, but this was important with class-share in primary)

If secondary I would find out when meeting days are and work this day. In my school parents evenings happen on same day of the week as meetings so it's not much of an issue to arrange a slightly longer childcare day. You may not have to be there for all meetings but you may want to be there.

I work Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

I had my union CONFIRM with my school that I do not attend TT days held on Mondays and Tuesdays. Their reason? Because they are my days off AND what would happen if I happen to have another job on those days? (which I very nearly did!)
I can attend TT days IF I am paid or have a day in lieu - the latter I am happy to do.

I tend to get all the parties, events held on Fridays (comic relief, children in need etc) which is nice because I feel like I get to let my hair down with the kids.
Downside is I end up no better off on early bank holiday monday (like this week). Also kids get tired by the end of the week and I am all geared up so sometimes our 'enthusiasm to learn' clashes! Parents often see me as the 'supply' or the 'stand in'. One parent last year got me a teaching assistant card! I have been at the school 12 years longer than the teacher who does the beginning of the week. Not always isolated to parents. A member of staff always asks if I am working in 'xxx class' to which I always reply 'Yes! it's MY class!'

I would do Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. All our Inset Days are mainly at the beginning of the week which I have to got to. My days are Wednesday-Friday so at the beginning of term I end up going in all week (for no extra pay).

golden you should not have to do that. It can be tricky if that's what you've always done, but if you're going in on days that you're not contracted to work, you should be getting paid or a day off in lieu as PP said. I'd encourage you to talk to your HT about this. If they insist you go to the training day, you should insist they pay you.

When I was a job share I was wed-fri and we did each other's PPA so we both wangled a full timers quota. Wednesday morning for me was PPA before taking over after lunch and Friday afternoon was golden time so only one full day of teaching

Check when the staff meetings are, and include that day. It might sound nice, avoiding them, but you'd be amazed how much you miss in terms of what is going on.

In schools, the Bank Holidays allowance is different from 'normal' jobs, as you can't work them at other times, etc. they are calculated as part of the 195 days. Generally it's good to have Monday as one of your working days as you get more off

When your LO goes to school (it will seem a long time away now) then it's good to be at home on a Friday, as Primary schools generally tend to have things you'll want to attend with her on Fridays (special assemblies, etc). A higher % of PT workers tend to have Fridays off, of shops, and places you need appts like hairdressers or dentists are busier at the end of the week.

OTOH, there is something really nice about the Sunday night feeling of knowing you are NOT going in to work on the Monday

I do Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. It breaks it up well but I could see the benefit in having the three days together.

I do Weds, Thurs, Fri and I like it because;

1. I have a 4 day weekend
2. The "fun" days i.e. Non uniform days, red nose days, Christmas fairs etc are often if not always Fridays.
3. No Sunday night / Monday morning feeling.

My colleagues say they like to see me because they know it must be nearing the end of the week

However the teacher I job share with gets all the Bank Holiday Mondays off.