Holiday revision sessions - new HoD and I seem to have annoyed everyone

[MrsCarroway]

Just wondering how it works at other schools and why people seem pissed off. At our school (been there years, only been Hod since Sept) we used to be paid for them and now are not. As a result, nothing is said by SLT, but obviously a lot of people still offer them.

This year people start asking me whether I would want them in for sessions. This made me feel a little because obviously it's not for me to say I expect people to give up a day (or more) of their holiday. I absolutely do not expect it but it felt like people were leaving it to me to direct them, or not. Also a couple of teachers said they were away for the week, so that made it worse as I would have had to say if you're not away you need to come in, which I obviously had no intention of doing.

I said that I'd offer a session but that I certainly didn't expect others in - our school doesn't get a great turn-out for these things anyway, so one of us was probably always going to be enough anyway. But still, for reasons I don't get, people kept mentioning it and asking what I wanted, verifying I didn't want them in etc.

Then a part-time member of the team announced that she would come in with me. I said great but there's really no need, but she was insistent. This then prompted others to ask me even more, and I repeated what I had said. It seems people felt guilty (totally unnecessarily) for this woman coming in when they weren't, but not guilty enough to just come in, which they shouldn't have to, but continued to put it onto me to tell them whether to come or not. I repeated there was no need.

The day was yesterday, and in the morning I received a couple of texts from people saying they weren't coming - I hadn't though they were, but fine. The part-time woman came, but spent most of the time we were together complaining about everyone who hadn't come, complaining about her childcare she'd had to pay for to come, and explaining how all her family had asked why she was doing it and how she'd told them it was for me and not the school . It was like a back-handed compliment, but I don't understand where it came from. I swear I didn't ask her to do this and kept telling her not to. I'm mortified if she has incurred costs because I've given her the impression she had to come in, but I'm sure I didn't.

I know this is the most boring pile of shit anyone's ever written, but if anyone has any advice as to how I could avoid this bad feeling next year, I would be so, so grateful.

I would call a meeting and explain that as people are not being paid there is no expectations that any of them come in. Tell them when you will be offering a class for pupils on XXXX day at XXXX O'clock. They are welcome to join you if they wish but there is absolutely no need.

Then they fully understand the situation.

They are being unreasonable and sound like they enjoy being workplace martyrs. Sadly, teaching does seem to attract a sub group of people who push to do lots of extra, complain about how busy they are and then bitch about anyone not doing a million extras. Leave them to it (and keep it in mind next time people are volunteering to do things because they'll probably offer to run trips but then whine about having to run one etc).

You sound like a very grounded and sensible HOD.

I’m primary and to be honest, if you were asking me to work out of my contracted days, I’d be expecting you to pay me the going supply rate for it. That’s one way to handle it!

Is this a standard thing in secondary?

It sounds like you made it clear that she (and the rest of the team) did not need to come in but she chose to do so anyway. I wouldn't feel guilty if I were you.

jubbabub yes! I was in running revision sessions during easter, my DH has been in this week. When I started teaching (10 years ago) we got paid to do them. We don’t any more.

'shall we come in'
'are you getting paid
'no'
'there's your answer then'

In management you have to sometimes say no. And that is ok.

jubbabub
But the OP wasn't asking people to come in. Thry opted to and then started complaining.

We have the option of running them but thr line from SLT is there's no pressure, you can invite who you want (so no expectation of a whole class) and you get paid. Around 30% of staff will do something in either Easter or June. I did a morning this half term.

Unions need involving here.

Holiday isn't directed or directable time. No teacher can be told to come in, and if they do they legally, should be paid as they are working outside their contracted 195 days.

HODS collectively need to grow a pair, get unions in and say 'pay staff or these sessions don't happen'.

It won't go like this because SLT will have a hissy fit, have a go at staff for not being dedicated/think of the results/make vague noises about performance management and everyone will be too scared to stand up for their legal rights.

And then people wonder why teachers are leaving.

You shouldn't be going in nor should you encourage anyone to come in which is what you've been doing in a very roundabout way. Sounds like you've been really passive and it would piss me off tbh. No one should come in and offer unpaid work. What a slippery slope. You need to assert yourself and be assertive on behalf of the team you lead. If you don't value yourself and the time you offer, no one else will. You're the leader and more you've got a fractured team who are bitching to you about one another. Unacceptable.

You shouldn't be going in nor should you encourage anyone to come in which is what you've been doing in a very roundabout way
OP - I said that I'd offer a session but that I certainly didn't expect others in - our school doesn't get a great turn-out for these things anyway, so one of us was probably always going to be enough anyway. But still, for reasons I don't get, people kept mentioning it and asking what I wanted, verifying I didn't want them in etc.

I said great but there's really no need, but she was insistent.

I swear I didn't ask her to do this and kept telling her not to

SLT haven't asked staff to run them (but some people opt to)
The OP made it pretty clear they are not expecting anyone to be in over the holidays.

I'm not sure why the unions should be involved here at all.
Member of staff is told repeatedly they aren't needed, keeps pestering about coming in, opts to come in despite being told there's no need, no direction and no expectation. Member of staff bitches about it.

I'll be honest, it sounds like OP has been promoted internally to HOD and is now finding members of her team she has worked with for years are actually quite childish, bitchy and calculating.

OP I would make an announcement in meetings about revision sessions, state they are not expected, nor are you directing anyone to do that and then make sure that's in the minutes which are circulated to everyone.

@Maisypops, don’t you think though, if your HoD says that they’re going in to do the session during the holiday, then you would feel obliged to do it?

I think you handled it well. PP’s are tight make an announcement in your next departmental meeting so it’s minuted and next year send an email out saying what you already said this year so they all have it in writing to refer back to if they are somehow still confused

jubbablub
Not at all.
I would think they are paid more than me to start with and if they were opting to do a session unpaid then that's their call. Then again a HOD opting to do a targeted session so staff don't have to has been quite common in many schools I've worked in, a bit like HOD picking up intervention with tricky students to ease pressure on the team.

This member of staff has opted to come in after being repeatedly told it wasn't needed. Combine that with the fact multiple staff kept asking the same question about coming in, then texting to say they weren't coming in (the OP wasn't expecting them) leaves me with the impression there's some drama llamas and mood hoovers in the department.

Being more cynical, I'd wonder if one of the drama llamas also wanted HOD internally and didn't get it so there's some childish bitchyness too.

No one should be going in to run revision sessions, including the op.

@MaisyPops
I think that's a naive assumption and that's how insidious pressure accumulates. Actually just being told that you don't need to come in isn't enough, an example needs to be set by all teachers not coming in so that SLT are unable to offer sessions and teachers' time and skills are valued. Imagine a few surgeons just popping in during their hols to do a few ad hoc surgeries for free. Unthinkable as they value their skills and are heavily unionised. The more teachers who do this the more complicit they become. Even more nonsensical to say that others don't need to do it, that's just abdicating responsibility.

But that wasn't the question Carrie.

For what it's worth, I think genuinely optional but paid if you do it is the correct approach.

Either way. What any of us think about revision sessions is irrelevant.

SLT didn't ask or mention it to staff.
OP made it abundantly clear on multiple occasions she wasn't asking anyone in.
Despite this, one person decided they would do it anyway and other drama llamas in the team started texting her to let her know they wouldn't be doing a revision sesison that she hadn'r asked for, wasn't expecting them in etc.
Now people are bitching

The cause of this situation is staff who can't get their head around the fact that a HOD saying they do not expect staff to be in means they are not expecting staff to be in.

It's not rocket science. The image i have in my head of the person complaining is a fairly typical whiny martyr teacher, who probably spends a reasonable amount of time chatting in school only to go home, work with the telly on, make super fancy powerpoints and then come into work the next day telling everyone how tired she is because she was working until 11pm last night.

I haven’t run any in the holidays. We did run 3 Saturday sessions unpaid to cover the course-we won’t need to next year so won’t. Our school have come up with an intervention timetable. I said my department would prefer to focus on quality first teaching not teaching extra lessons every week. You haven’t done anything wrong but I think you need to email next year making it clear you don’t expect them to come. We do sessions the morning of each exam and it has such a negative effect on my other classes I hate it!

ourkid
It relies on people having a spot of common sense and owning their time.

This half term I was paid overtime for a morning to do an A Level session. There is zero pressure or expectation in my school to do it. The culture is good. I haven't done a GCSE one because i don't see the point, but A Level have been on study levae and I want to see them before their exam.

I didn't do anything at Easter. Others did and were paid accordingly.

If people repeatedly ask if they should come in, are told no, keep going on about it and then still turn up then that's not on the HOD I'm afraid.

You've been clear to your department. They are being very weird about it. Fwiw I don't think it should even be allowed to do unpaid holiday revision sessions. If some people offer them, that guilts everyone into thinking they should offer them. And hey presto - SLT get extra hours of work out of all departments without having to pay them. Totally unacceptable.

I have no problem with teachers getting paid for their time, fill your boots for every day if you wish.
What I have a problem with is a leader working unpaid and telling others that they don't need to and it's purely voluntary. Then being surprised when it causes ill feeling particularly in a school where teachers were paid but now are not. I also find your caricature of the teacher total bs btw.

Haven't read all the thread but I thought it was normal for teachers to work outside the teaching hours and that the idea that they get school holidays as holidays is ridiculous. That what they always seem to say on Mumsnet 🤷🏻‍♀️

Haven't read all the thread but I thought it was normal for teachers to work outside the teaching hours and that the idea that they get school holidays as holidays is ridiculous. That what they always seem to say on Mumsnet
It is normal to work outside the school day.
That is not the same as doing unpaid additional lessons.

I've enjoyed my holiday, done some prep for next half term well, done a paid revision session and will be marking books this afternoon. All very reasonable.

Anyway, you miss the point of the thread. The OP has explicitly told staff they do not need to attend unpaid lessons. Staff opted to and then complained. That's on them.

ourkid
There are many teachers like that. You may say it's a bs picture, but most people have seen them.
Ones who spend their PPA chatting, largely complaining about how much they have to do whilst not doing much.
Ones who will go to Poundland and make their room into a set for something and then make sure everyone knows that they spent all of Sunday afternoon making bunting for their rooms.

There are systemic issues with workload. That doesn't mean people shouldn't take responsibility for the bits they can shape.

My impression of the department is of teachers who are fearful that they will be judged for doing their job according to their contract and not going into work during their leave. The op was unreasonable in going in herself. Now she has caused upset in her department.

Haven't read all the thread but I thought it was normal for teachers to work outside the teaching hours and that the idea that they get school holidays as holidays is ridiculous. That what they always seem to say on Mumsnet

Doing marking and preparation takes up a lot of non-directed time, yes. As does report writing, creating resources etc. That is not the same as being expected to go into school during holiday time to hold revision sessions (which are probably intended to pacify SLT by trying to boost the results of lazy disinterested kids who won't come to them , but are largely attended by the diligent few kids who don't need them.)