Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

Original poster

Where do I stand with Parents' Evenings?

185 replies

Thisreallyisafarce · 30/10/2018 08:32

I am a part-time teacher on 0.6. My school published Parents' Evening dates at the start of the year, four in total for my classes, all on days when I work. I was happy to attend all of them.

The school has now doubled the number of Parents' Evenings, so there are two per year group. Again, these are all on the same day of the week, so, in terms of my working days, I would be expected to attend.

Each time there is a Parents' Evening, DH has to take a day off work to have DD, as the distance from home is such that I wouldn't have time to take her home from childcare and then get back to school for the Parents' Evening.

I have therefore said to my line manager that I would like to discuss attending these Parents' Evenings in proportion with my salaried time (0.6).

Where do I stand?

Thanks if anybody has advice.

OP posts:
TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 30/10/2018 16:02

We’re not allowed to know why the DH has to take the whole day off work rather than pick his child up from childcare at the end of his day like every other working man in the country would Hmm

noblegiraffe · 30/10/2018 16:58

Yes OP, why don’t you go part time, take a part time wage then still work full time?

And your DH can take loads of time off work to look after your DC when you’re supposed to be off, but are actually still at work beavering away for free.

That makes perfect sense.

TheFallenMadonna · 30/10/2018 17:06

I think the STPCD slightly hedges its bets on this. You can be directed to attend parents' evenings that fall on your working day. You could not be directed to attend them on your non working day, so the proportional thing does not work here. You can be directed using the contingency time left in the directed time budget, but you should not be proportionally using more of the contingency time than a FT teacher. If you intend not to attend the parents' evenings, I would suggest getting union advice.

dreamyflower · 30/10/2018 17:11

Could you switch days with your partner teacher just for that week? I imagine the parents would like to meet the other teacher too? I worked 60% of the week also and that's what I did.

TheFallenMadonna · 30/10/2018 17:12

PT teachers in secondary don't have partner teachers.

noblegiraffe · 30/10/2018 17:22

Some part time teachers work every day and so directing them to work every after school event would result in them working over their hours.

NWQM · 30/10/2018 17:24

I'm struggling with why the OP is getting so many questions about her DH. Off the top of my head I've thought of 10 professions who work shifts and can't cut out early.

And even if he could is that the point. It's just context as the OP was clearly right to think she'd be judged badly and needed to add context. She is being expected to do additional hours and it would appear for nothing. It's particularly galling for her as it costs her and her family in loss of other earnings.

TheFallenMadonna · 30/10/2018 17:28

That's why, actually, every PT teacher should have their own statement of directed time. You don't just get to say you're not doing a parents evening though, in a day you work, nor can you be directed to do any proportion of those on days you don't work.

noblegiraffe · 30/10/2018 17:40

You can’t be directed to work outside of school sessions a proportion more than you normally work on days that you do work either.

“The total amount of time that the teacher may be required to be available to carry out duties, other than teaching pupils, outside school sessions under paragraph 51.10, when expressed as a proportion of the total amount of time that the teacher would be required to be available for such work if employed in the same post on a full-time basis, must not exceed the equivalent of that proportion of total remuneration that the teacher is entitled to be paid under paragraphs 40 and 4”

TheFallenMadonna · 30/10/2018 17:47

Yes, but it's not (eg) 0.6 of every individual thing. So not 0.6 of parents evenings, 0.6 of staff meetings etc. It's overall. And you cannot be directed at all on non working days. That why you need the agreed statement.

thebookeatinggirl · 30/10/2018 17:48

52.11.The total amount of time that the teacher may be required to be available to carry out duties, other than teaching pupils, outside school sessions under paragraph 52.10, when expressed as a proportion of the total amount of time that the teacher would be required to be available for such work if employed in the same post on a full-time basis, must not exceed the equivalent of that proportion of total remuneration that the teacher is entitled to be paid under paragraphs 41 and 42.

I think this is the bit of Burgundy Book contractual stuff that applies - regardless of how they vary you directed hours, the amount of time 'outside school teaching sessions' , eg parents evenings, should be in direct promotion, 60%, of a full t8me colleague.

thebookeatinggirl · 30/10/2018 17:49

Crossed post, noblegiraffe!

MissMarplesKnitting · 30/10/2018 17:55

Academies do write clauses into contracts about hours for part timers including parents evenings. You need to check.

I negotiated TOIL with mine as they wouldn't pay me the hours pro rata and I dug my heels right in. Union backed me up and in the end school gave me TOIL which I took at end of term day in summer and set off early for my holiday instead.

Others get paid their hours paid as a half day (3.5 hours) for doing parents evenings on no working days.

You do definitely need to consult the contract.

userabcname · 30/10/2018 18:03

Get in contact with your union. Our school tried to implement extra parents' evenings during the school year once and had to cancel following union intervention.

Original poster
Thisreallyisafarce · 30/10/2018 18:09

Thanks, all, that's really helpful stuff.

OP posts:
Original poster
Thisreallyisafarce · 30/10/2018 18:10

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross

It is very simple, logistical, and absolutely nothing to do with this issue.

OP posts:
GeorgeTheHippo · 30/10/2018 18:20

But you already said he will take time off and that is your chosen solution!

You're being quite difficult about all this.

Original poster
Thisreallyisafarce · 30/10/2018 18:21

GeorgeTheHippo

Pardon me? I think you have misunderstood me.

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 30/10/2018 18:33

Also relevant from the Burgundy book is:

  1. The relevant body should ensure that all teachers employed on a part-time basis are provided with a written agreed statement which sets out the expectations of the school, and the part-time teacher, regarding the deployment of working time. This should encapsulate both timetabled teaching time and leadership and management time where applicable. In addition the statement should also set out the expectations of the school in respect of directed time which is to be deployed beyond the school day.
  2. The part-time teacher should not have a greater proportion of their directed time allocated outside their normal sessions than is the case for full-time teachers, as this may amount to discrimination. In arranging meetings and other activities outside of school sessions, headteachers should try to minimise situations where part-time teachers are subject to directed time either side of a period when they are not required to be available for work on any given day by structuring timetables as far as possible to accommodate working patterns.
Original poster
Thisreallyisafarce · 30/10/2018 18:35

Thanks, Noble.

I really don't want to have to get this formal with them, but I suspect it will go that way.

It's alarming how many people in this thread seem to think I should accept being screwed sideways just so as not to be "difficult", and actually put myself to inconvenience and expense in order to fulfil unreasonable expectations.

OP posts:
TheFallenMadonna · 30/10/2018 19:03

That was the bit I was kind of referring to. I really would urge all PT teachers to get that agreed statement at the start of the year, from experience...

LanguageasaFlower · 30/10/2018 19:56

We do a statement at the beginning of the year for our PT teachers. It doesn't need to be jobsworth-y just ensuring that everyone is clear what your directed time is.

LanguageasaFlower · 30/10/2018 19:58

And you're definitely not being difficult.

Original poster
Thisreallyisafarce · 30/10/2018 20:02

LanguageasaFlower

Thank you.

OP posts:
limitedperiodonly · 30/10/2018 23:01

the teacher-bashers have turned up to comment on what is clearly a very specific issue to part-time teachers posted in staffroom

Don't be so bloody pathetic CuckooCuckooClock . There are many specialised forums on Mumsnet but they are not clubs where only certain people are allowed to speak.

This appeared in my Discussions of the Day this morning but I was too busy to respond until now. I had no idea it was in The Staff Room - it just looked interesting because though I am not a teacher, I supported her in not wanting to do unpaid work and being exploited by our employers.

But I didn't like the way a poster was dismissed by the OP and some others for saying that bringing up childcare was the wrong way to go about this.

She's right. It's a purely contractual matter. Nothing to do with being a mother or a teacher. Introducing the issue of childcare allows people to derail.

The best thing is to consult your union. They will give the best advice and support in the form of legal back up. Canvassing the opinion of others is nice but not particularly helpful. The OP was cocky.

Swipe left for the next trending thread