PPA convince me it's ok...

[doIhavetoIdontwantto]

I've just been told I'm teaching PPA next year and really struggling to see the benefits. As the thread title says convince me it's ok please...

What do you mean? You're taking classes to cover teachers ppa time?

What do you do at the moment?

I quite liked it for a couple of years. and I have a friend who has done it for years, teaching the science for the whole school as a big part of it. They like the fact they have the whole school for science and can see children develop over the 6 years.

PPA is "bitty" but that also means it's very varied. Maybe less pressure to show progression? Maybe less class teacher admin jobs?

There are pros and cons but I don't think it has to be awful.

I'm teaching Year 3 currently. Will be taking classes to cover other teachers PPA time 😬

How many days? Do you know which subjects? I've done PPA this year and will do it again until December when I go on maternity leave. Pros for me have been getting to know several classes, be nosy in other classrooms and really concentrating on the subject(s) I teach. I've had some fabulously practical lessons that I don't think I would have had the energy or inclination to teach as a full time class teacher.

I also haven't had to do any formal assessment or parents evenings or displays (although I have prepared some). These are pretty huge pros!

I'll be doing PPA cover every day. Don't know what subjects yet as my head told me as I was leaving school tonight. Might be doing either interventions or a maths set in the morning too. To be honest it's totally thrown me as I had never even considered this as a possibility.

I know people who specifically look for PPA cover jobs because:
Less pressure to show progress
Less admin stuff especially when it is report writing time (potentially)
Can take just one or two subjects
Often don't have to teach maths and literacy!
Variety
Good to teach different ages

These may not all be positives to you but I'm sure when you've got your head around it, you'll think of some.

Less pressure, less marking. You get to leave the class and not see them for a week if they're being awful.

My top tips are to make sure you get your own PPA time (and if you have a preference of when you would like it talk to the person in charge of timetabling asap) and negotiate a 'base' for yourself, even if it's just a cupboard so you can keep your resources together. I've found being 'homeless' the hardest aspect I think.

I've done PPA cover and it's generally great. I preferred it by far to class teaching.

Pros: No overall responsibility for class progress. Only bits of reports. Most likely no horrendous maths/English marking. No Pupil Progress meetings. Just a 'presence' at parents' evenings. Your planning mightn't be so heavily scrutinised. If you do all one subject you'll really get to grips with progress and continuity. You'll learn a lot about classroom management if you're prepared to work at it. Fewer display responsibilities.

Cons: loads of names to learn. If you get subjects like music or science you could end up carting equipment about (but if you're organised you can get the kids to do it). No place to call home, keep your stuff, hang your coat up etc.

That's it. I'd embrace it.

I've taught ppa this year and have had a very easy time of it. There is next to no planning and assessment. No class admin.
It can be difficult getting to know so many children and working with so many other teachers and TAs but tbh I enjoy that aspect of it.
Incidentally I'm going back to being a class teacher in September and am dreading the massive increase in work load!

No reports!!
I enjoyed it but missed having my own room & my own class

You realise you don't have to accept this.
I was told last year I would be doing cover instead of taking a class as I told the head I would only be at the school for one more year.
My union said that they can't change your job like this if you have been doing it a while, it would stunt possible career development etc (because of all the 'pros' no reports, liasing with parents, data etc). I wrote to the head saying I was never consulted and don't agree to change roles and they moved things around so I had a class again.

Who was doing PPA last year? Have they been put back in the classroom?

It's good that the school still uses a qualified teacher for PPA-many don't. What is the general behaviour in the school like?

wowbetter

You get to leave the class and not see them for a week if they're being awful

I did think this but couldn't quite bring myself to say it!

I'm moving to PPA cover next year but I've specifically requested it because of al the pros. Lots less general admin

I loved it! I did a day and a half in two classes and a morning and afternoon in the rest. I did teach and Mark both maths and English. I planned with the teacher which parts I would plan and teach. I assessed and mapped progress in these areas. Then I took on topic and taught it across the school. I really enjoyed it and was gutted when put back into class again.

Pick a couple of standalone subjects and teach them through the school, like a specialist. I did this for a couple of years and really enjoyed it.

I did it for a year (part time). RE, MFL and PE. Class teachers were pleased not to have to teach these subjects. I felt I got to do all the fun stuff! Nice job.

I was doing PPA this year after returning from maternity leave (3 days a week). There are pros and cons. As others have said, much less workload than having your own class- less planning, assessment, less display boards and you don't have all the extras to deal with such as parent issues, reports, book scrutinies and target setting.
But we set for Lit and Maths and follow a specific scheme, so I had to pick up where others left off which wasn't always easy and books always had to be marked straight after school, ready for returning the next day. I know others who loved doing it but personally I hated it. My school is very challenging, and I could see how the children responded differently as I wasn't their class teacher ( despite having taught most of them previously). Also I missed the nice parts of having your own class. There was never time for a story or going off timetable, I had to rigidly stick to whatever subject was given to me.
I'm already back in class 4 days a week. Happier but shattered! Plenty I know would have swapped with me though. It all depends on what you prefer.

I did PPA cover for a year, teaching MFL across KS2 and RE in KS1. I loved it! No parents evenings, no reports to write, no assessment data to fill in. Minimal planning (the RE was a scheme and the MFL was new that year, so I just taught the same lesson across the classes that week), and no observations. I actually ended up getting more non-contact time than the class teachers! I was agency-based though, which meant no holiday or sick pay and no access to CPD.

I've been doing PPA cover for the last three years - back in class next year and dreading it.
Pros: no reports, very little if any marking, often get fun stuff to do, no parents' evenings and usually no planning, resourcing etc.
Cons: being homeless is no fun (my stuff has been inboxes cluttering up my home), SLT will often pull me to cover illness somewhere else at literally a moments notice, if the person I'm covering is disorganised I can get barely 10 minutes to get my head round what I'll be doing for the session (one teacher hands me resources and planning 10 minutes after I should have started and I've had to do filler activities) so sometimes feel I'm doing little more than babysitting the class.
I think the pros have outweighed the cons for me - I've been teaching a long time and have lots of tricks up my sleeve and can wing things if I have to, which has made it easier. I've enjoyed the variety and would have carried on if HT hadn't decided to put me back in class as teachers are leaving and they are going to cover PPA with LSAs.

I love it!

It is the best of all worlds, you get to know the kids (so not the same as supply) but don't have the same burden of planning, assessment, reports and parents evenings. It is lovely!

I do this as I work part time. It works very well for me as I am essentially my own boss and plan and work just for myself with no real reliance on what others have done or not done. Less stress as less responsbility if you aren't a class teacher. Possibly no parents evenings and much less report writing.
It suits me very well.