Genuinely, how many hours do do work?

[EndlessJob]

I think I've lost sight a little since moving into the independent sector.

SMT, so take home more work, but:

School day 8-5
Meetings or prep for one hour after 2/3 days
Saturday school 9-1

But
17 weeks holiday

Take work home every day, usually 3-4 hours per day. Work all Saturday afternoon, only 3 ish hours on Sundays.

This works out at about 80 hours per week, but for only 35 weeks a year. I probably do part time hours for about half of each holidays, so about 30 hours per week for 8 of the holidays weeks.

80 x 35 = 2800 term time hours
30 x 8 = 240 holiday hours

So, 3040 hours (give or take, fairly conservatively) per year, which is 58.5 hours per calendar week averaged.

Is this normal? Is this the same in the state sector? Or other private schools? It just seems too much. I can't do this until I'm 68!

[C0untDucku1a]

At the moment im 8.30-5.30 and take some marking home. I supervise chuldren every lunch so never get a free lunch break. nor do i get paid for that supervising

After half term until may it is more likely to be 8.30-7. Last academic year i timed leaving school with making sure i was in the car in time for the archers.

I mark one set of books at the weekends.

[MrsPeel1]

I was working this out today. I reckon about 50 hours a week. 8.15-4.15 x 4 days. 8.15-5.15 x 1 day. Then about 10 hours at home. I work through break and lunch to keep on top of things.
In bad weeks it could be a lot more.

[Lanaa]

I'm in school 8:00 - 5:00 I take a half hour lunch break. I don't work at home. Ever. O used to do crazy hours and only succeeded in making myself ill. I was so tired that my teaching was rubbish, and I couldn't understand that it's a vicious circle.

To achieve the no work at home rule I: mark in lesson where possible and I use half an hour over lunch; chn peer and self mark; I plan pen/appear free lessons at least once a week. Always make sure lessons for the next day are planned/resourced before I leave. Then I forget about school the second I walk out of the door. It's taken a few years to get to this point but it's manageable and my job is once again enjoyable.

[SheilaHammond]

SLT in primary, work FT.

In school for 8am, leave about 6pm. Work through all day, except for cup of tea and a sandwich about 3.15.

One staff meeting a week of 1 hour. We're strict on time-keeping.

Work two evenings at home about 3 hrs each but only on nights when DH and DC out at evening activities.

Don't work at all at weekend. Never check or send emails outside 8-6 Mon-Fri. I find that is really intrusive both for me and staff who work for me.

Have evening meetings about once a month for Governors or parents.

It's manageable.

[ClassicHummus]

Secondary teacher. NQT + 1, no additional responsibilities.
In school for 7 each day, typically leave about 5:30. Don't work in the evenings on principle, but a substantial number of hours marking each weekend.

Definitely not as much as some people, but equally, won't be sustainable for me long term.

[Piggywaspushed]

This is ridiculous. Schools need to keep gates shut til 7.30am.

I have heard of a school that throws staff out at 5pm.

[samlovesdilys]

Just worked out I am at 59 hours already this week (incl Sunday) it's been busy but that's excessive even for me...sofa tonight, definitely!

[NearlyEaster]

I get to school late and generally leave early.

We have one staff mtg per week at break and one per week at lunch so those times are gone. I do interventions one lunch a week too.

In school 8.30-4.30 on average. Don't often take longer for lunch than it takes to eat. And that's usually punctuated with work chat. So 7.5 hours per day x 5 = 37.5.

Usually two hours per evening Mon-Thu, if marking tests maybe 1-2 more - so 8/week extra in the evenings and 36 more per half term (215 / year).

Probably 6 hours on a Sunday.

Reports and grade cards add on extra time. Three times per year. An extra 6 hours per class per year. 54 hours more over the year.

Parents evenings - twice a year per year group - three more hours - 24 more hours. Open evenings - 8 more hours.

TLR role - 3 x 3 x 5 hours - 45 more hours.

60h / week averaged out over 40 weeks of the year. ML with two TLRs in core subject. Do some hours in the holidays too. Two whole days for results plus hours of planning. Some evening meetings for TLR plus twilight INSETs too.

[poppypopsicle]

I work in a 6th form college on 0.5 contract which is 10 hours contact time over 4 days (2 classes). We mark minimum 2 assessments a half term. I will do on average 2 to 3 hours marking a week which I slot in on my days off. During observations and mocks I do a lot more.

I haven't worked in the holidays for nearly a year now but when the specs change again it'll be busy busy and working most evenings to prep resources.

Most ppl here who aren't management seem to have a pretty good work life balance. Just waiting for it all to change tho.......

[Rainuntilseptember]

I don't work in the holidays, maybe a bit of course related reading that's it. I don't work at the weekend and wouldn't do work at home more than once a week. I still work longer than I am contracted to work.
I am not unusual in my school. If there isn't enough time in your working week to mark one class' work, then that work should stay unmarked till the following week. I know this is easier to say than do but you have duties to yourselves and your families as well as to work, and it will not help your students when you burn out and leave to do some other job.

[Piggywaspushed]

A new app called TeacherTapp just asked teachers what time they arrive at work. 35% arrived between 7 and 7.30 and 35% between 7.30 and 8. Much earlier than Joe Public thinks we do!

There was a strong correlation between the earlier the arrival, the higher the dissatisfaction with working hours!

I totally agree with what rain says.

[Rainuntilseptember]

My union did an app for a while to log all time spent on various tasks for a month. It was scary - and eye opening how much time went on things that most of us would think of as less valuable - filling in data returns etc. I don’t mean to sound glib about reducing hours but really you cannot get blood out of a stone and people will not be thanked for these countless extra hours.

[IchFliegeNach]

English HoD, state RI school:
1 day 7-7,
3 days 8-5
1 day 7.30 - 3
Usually 2 hrs at home one night a week.

So about 60.

This year am sticking to this and being super disciplined. No working AT ALL at the weekend and no thinking about work after those allocated hours. Have taken emails off my phone, etc. Until now I worked many more hours than that and was constantly thinking about work but it was getting unsustainable.

Happy with these hours and enjoy my job immensely. Feels like I have my life back this term.

[pfrench]

Deputy on leadership payscale, work 0.8 contract, SENCO.

8.15 - 5.30 x 3 a week, 8.45 - 7 x 1 day a week, including 2 after school meetings. I work through lunchtime almost always. I work the two evenings before I'm in class, probably 2 - 3 hours each. I currently don't do any work at home at weekends. Approx 45 hours a week. Feels ok - lots of others work longer, which is insane really.

[Yourownpersonaljesus]

Currently about 50. Around 70 in my previous job - one of the reasons I left.

[Yourownpersonaljesus]

Been teaching for 7 years in primary btw.

[MsAwesomeDragon]

I'm in school 8:30-4:30 each day. Most nights I work a couple of hours at home either marking or planning. I try not to work too much at the weekend, but honestly this year I think I've worked every weekend for at least one day. A lot of this is the new A level, where I've got 2 classes both doing different parts of the course. And the GCSE classes where we're trying to fit far too much content into too little time.

A couple of years ago, before the new GCSEs I was managing to do most of my planning and marking in school, but I didn't teach A level that year which freed up a lot of time (I did have some hideous behaviour from some classes lower down the school so swings and roundabouts)

[leccybill]

In school 8.15 until 4.30. Approx 1-2 hrs a night.

I'm in an academy for the first time this year and I'm shocked at some of the expectations but reading on here, it seems some schools are much worse.
It makes me sad and angry to go against everything we fought for so I'm glad to be leaving at Xmas and will choose my next school carefully.

[Piggywaspushed]

I do it on 7.50 - 3.30 most days. Marking if needed maybe 40 mins once a week (I'm a fast marker) and lots of email faffing which probably equates to an hour a day. Max an hour at the weekend, usually nothing. I have DCs and DHs to tend to! I don't understand how some of you lot can be mums, I must say!

When I was a HOY In had not a moment to myself but now actually stop for lunch! (which is half an hour)

Meeting once a week, Plus open eves , parents' eve etc.

Average week is possibly 42 hours...

No one considers me lazy. I am an English teacher. I know some idle fuckers who are in school for hours but they do that to be seen. Very clever. The old owl jacket on the chair trick.

I genuinely think this is in the lower end of normal for most teachers of my generation. I should write a book on how it can be done!

[Badhairday1001]

I work in a SEN school and have a TLR. My average week is 8.30am- 4.30pm plus 1 hour for meeting/training once a week, I usually work through my lunch. I don't work on an evening and might do an hour on a Sunday to get ready for the next week. I rarely work during school holidays.

[Areallthenamestaken]

SEN here, too. I work directed time only and take my whole lunch hour. No week nights or weekends. Never work in the holidays.

Completely different story in mainstream though and I ended up very unwell doing 60+ hour weeks.

[physicskate]

So it seems our friends in SEN have something sorted! What are we doing so wrong in mainstream? Not sure I can sustain this for the next 5 million years until they let us younguns retire! (currently in my early 30s).

[switswoo81]

Ireland here like posters on first page. Teach reception equivalent. Arrive school 8:30. Children leave 1:30 I leave 3:00. Approx 1-2 hours planning for week ahead on weekend. Our reception is very different children only play for 45 mins the rest is whole class teaching. 26 children only adult in room. Shocked at the hours here. There is no way I could do them and then teach.

[FlameOutTeacher]

Too many. So many I'm on the verge of leaving the profession.

I was out for a while (6 years) and missed it so went back. Things have changed though. We have a new head who is an egomaniac with a Mother Teresa complex. She brags about her own (feral) children, who she's presumably neglected in order to prove her undying commitment to the job.

I'm tired of the constant and excessive demands on my time. I'm not prepared to neglect my own children for other people's anymore.

[Badhairday1001]

physicskate from experience it is the volume of children and a realistic SLT that make the difference to the amount of hours I work. My current class has 5 pupils, they have complex needs (ASC, SEMH and SpLD) and display very challenging behaviour but it is still so much less demanding than a class of 30! I love the pupils and get to know all of them as individuals. I don't have piles of books to mark or hundreds of resources to produce. I also have 2 amazing TA's and much more than the average PPA time. I couldn't go back to mainstream teaching, it would break me.