Asked to send in work whilst off sick.

[NorthernKnickers]

Not sure if the 'rules' here so would love your advice on this. I'm at a new school and one of my colleagues has been off sick for two weeks. She's still sending in all her planning (for every lesson!) for the supply to do. I asked about this as I've never had to do this at previous schools. I was told that school policy is that you still have to plan for your class and are expected to send these in every day.

Is this reasonable and could I refuse if I was off sick? I'd obviously send in whatever I'd already done, as I'm usually ahead of myself, but if I was sick I wouldn't be spending hours planning!

Do you all have to do this?

@IcanMooCanYou yeah...we would normally expect supply teachers to have 'one-off' stuff with them, or be able to work with the basic objectives from the medium term planning in a primary classroom. I did supply for a year and very rarely had planning left for me. Tbh I prefer to do my own thing anyway...it's hard following someone else's planning I think.

I'm obviously mindful that in secondary schools you are working towards GCSE exams and need to have the course content fully covered, so I can appreciate that you probably need to keep a much closer eye on things. Hence a more stringent need for teachers to send in work.

I'm the opposite. Primary supply for just over a year and rarely had to use my own planning. However I mostly covered for courses or planned sickness absence.

A longer term supply expected a lesson plan when I was stuck in the middle of nowhere having broken down the night before school. There way no way to get to school the next day (200 miles away) and no way to access any planning. This was particularly galling as I wouldn't get paid for that day as a supply and I knew full well another supply teacher would have back up plans anyway.
I did not provide cover work and I did not return to that job!

I am off with a broken ankle (3rd week off now) and haven't done a thing work wise!)

Unheard of in any school I've ever worked in, There would be a major revolt if we were expected to do this . HTs are not allowed to contact staff who are off sick. The member of staff contacts the school to let them know when they will be back.

That was my understanding too @Corneliawildthing Never been contacted by a Head when been off sick...they are not supposed to contact you at all. I've always kept in touch about when I'd be back etc but that's it! I'm going to stick my neck out here then and if I'm ever sick, just give the necessary medical information and leave it at that.

@tinytemper66 ouch! Hope you heal quickly 💐

It was done on a school trip so happened in the line of duty as it were!

I arrange cover in secondary- I would expect lesson info for the first day or two because I would expect those lessons to already have been planned!
Usually teachers have a lesson or two set aside in case of cover.
Beyond that no. I’d expect your HOD to know what you were working on so to work on that.

This is one of the many things that make schools infuriating places to work for staff. No consistency, no overall understanding of what is reasonable or not. Ruled as mini kingdoms by heads and SLTs with little right of input or appeal by the chalk face.
So many teachers quit teaching, when moving to a school with a more realistic management can change everything. As supply, you see so much more in the way of different expectations, and how much is ridiculous micro managing.

The union put a stop to this at BIL school. I had never heard of it before.

When I was teaching in nz this was the norm. Unless it was actually verified that you couldn’t set the work by a doctor. It had to be sent in. By 7am! So if I felt rubbish, I had to wake up, call in sick by 6:30am and send in work by 7am. Didn’t help getting over a bug but meant the class was on track.

Most times I went back in to the sub not setting the work though. Which was a waste of my time and school money!

Not at all expected at my school. We do have to plan in advance and it's shared with the headteacher so he has access to the planning if needed. And we have 2 form entry, so if needed, the parallel class's teacher should have an idea of what they other class needs as the teachers plan together.

Catspyjamazzzz
But I've planned my lessons to be delivered by me so for 50% of them that's no PowerPoint, no worksheets, just me, students, the literature text and my subject knowledge. The lessons are planned, but not to be taught my someone else.

I'm of the view that too ill to work means too ill to provide cover and any sensible HOD or TLR post holder should be of that view.

By law, you are not required to send in any work if off sick.....
However that is not how it works in practice.
I was off sick on Thursday and Friday last week, and sent in the lessons that I would have taught.... (I shouldn't have gone back today, but it was easier that being off and going through the whole thing again).
Some of them weren't taught as I would have done, but that's life. I will catch up and put things straight as I go.
I usually plan a week in advance, as it's not really possible to plan for more than that with any confidence of what the classes will have understood.
I did, however, plan two weeks in advance when I had major operations (where I was off for nine weeks and ten weeks respectively), but that really depended on the cover teacher / supervisor delivering what I expected during those weeks. After that, I considered that I had done enough, and that the school (in other words the HOD) should do what they were paid for and the plan lessons for my groups.

I did supply at one school where I gather the teacher had gone off sick with stress (having seen the behaviour in the class and the head they were working for I understood why by about 9.05am). Head was adamant that "this is the work they'll be doing, I shall be collecting the books to drive to the teacher for her to mark overnight tonight."

I was practically begging to be allowed to mark these books to save the poor teacher's recuperation but the head was having none of it!

At my school (primary) all the planning for the week is on the system and in the class teachers planning folder. Smart boards are also ready. This is done and ready the week before. Of course it might change as the week goes on but it means everything is there should someone need to cover. Amazed it's not like this in some schools!

It’s not like this in some schools because there is no requirements to plan in detail. Much less to plan in detail a week ahead and submit plans for inspection. Fuck that. It’s not even good practice to plan that far ahead.

Plans aren't 'submitted' and they aren't in huge detail. It's not planning far in advance to have the science lesson for the week ready or a sequence of maths or literacy lessons showing the progression and where the children are heading. I already said lessons are changed / tweaked and amended as necessary as the week goes on! It would be bad practice in my opinion to turn up on Monday morning without any plan in mind....

I used to send in work but my idiot hod would either forget what I had said or set. them something which was a complete waste of time even when I had provided work. So I stopped....i don't send in work anymore

You are required to plan in as much or as little detail as you need to enable you to teach the lesson. There should be no specific planning proforma. You do not need to upload your planning. It is for you. Nobody else. Some of the best planners I’ve ever seen were terrible teachers. Nobody mentioned turning up on Monday not knowing what to teach. That would be stupid.

Some of you would have had better working conditions in Victorian times! I send work in, when able to, though this may be as vague as “we’ve just finished topic x and there’s a good dvd about it, and they could produce a mindmap. When I’ve left really detailed stuff I find the cover person doesn’t do it anyway. But I feel I’m going above and beyond to do this, if I’m unfit for work I’m unfit. As a union rep I’d support any member not to put themselves under unnecessary stress like this.

Ok @jimmygrimble. Can't be bothered to argue. Whatever...
Our system works for me and fellow teachers. Glad you are happy with yours.

It's not planning far in advance to have the science lesson for the week ready or a sequence of maths or literacy lessons showing the progression and where the children are heading
I know where the children are heading. I don't need to have weekly planning logged on the system to prove it.
It would be bad practice in my opinion to turn up on Monday morning without any plan in mind....
My plans are in my head and notes in my planner.
We have schemes of work for each half term that we adapt for our classes.

The 'do written weekly lesson planning forms' is something I have only ever heard primary colleagues talk about. It doesn't seem to go hand in hand with DfE trying to reduce workload, ofsted not requiring plans, and schools supposed to be reducing workload.

Today one of my lesson plans is 'recap apostrophes / chapter 9'. I know what that means. Why i would type my plans up (at all) a week in advance only to then say oh I'll change that to apostrophes after their last writing piece is beyond me.

Who exactly benefits from written plans a week ahead for all subjects?

Normal unless you’re critically ill / physically can’t move / signed off sick.

When I had a minor TLR a few years back - in a school I’ve now left for reasons you can probably guess - at one point we had six teachers in my department off sick with stress. I came back (from being off with stress) to find myself setting work for them all. It was horrific!

I think it’s time to make a new normal