Where do I stand with Parents' Evenings?

[Thisreallyisafarce]

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.

Ah OP, you know I did wonder if it was me, but actually, you have just gone on to clarify that it's not. It's most definitely you.

people are not unnaturally fascinated by this scenario

Eh?

People really need to get out more.

OP, sorry, don’t give a shit what your DH does, but do hope you get this issue sorted with the school. Don’t let them take the piss.

I am O.4 in a primary setting. We have 2 parents evening per year, but spread over 2 days, so 4 evenings in total.

Out of these 2 are on my ‘normal’
working days and 2 are not.

It is written in our school staff handbook that all part time staff attend all parents evenings.

I have no problem attending, but it’s tricky when it affects childcare.

I had no choice but to find a way around it.

@leccybill - Pilot, Cabin Crew to name two. I can think of loads more that are probably the same, but I would be guessing somewhat. Not everyone works 9 - 5 in an office.

I'm more surprised that the school has suddenly doubled the number of parents' evenings and yet all your colleagues aren't up in arms.

I've read whole thread and can't see that you've answered if you are Primary or Secondary, but IME, at Primary there is an expectation the school offers either 2 or 3 PE per year (in some school spread over 2 evenings so potentially 4 shorter evenings rather than 2 longer ones), and in secondary you offer one per year group, so 7 in the unlikely event you teach all 7 years (tho 6th form often held together).

Now, you say you've gone from 4 to 8 so I'm trying to work out if you are secondary and teaching some year groups or Primary and covering different year groups - a language teacher or maybe a SENCo.

That makes a difference to possible scenarios for solutions.

Overall though if you work PT, you should work that % of directed time, so they can insist you come in for all the PEs as they are on your working days, but you then get to miss other directed times things such as staff meetings. I think (if other staff aren't protesting at the doubling of number of PEs) your best bet is to offer a solution that means parents feel they aren't missing out, that works for you.

@chchchchanger Appreciate your response. Of course I understand many don't work 9-5 office hours.

So in the case of pilots, airline crew etc - what happens when you need a brief medical appointment, funeral, child's Sports Day etc? Is it always a full day of leave needed? That must be difficult.

@leccybill I guess that depends if you work long haul or short haul, and who for. But, as someone who works long haul, the only way to guarantee time off in the way that the OP needs, is to take a days annual leave. Medical appointments are slightly different.

And yes, to guarantee to be off for any of the other events you mentioned, a days leave would be required. Obviously we do get days off, but these aren't known in advance. I would love to be able to take a half days leave at times, but it's not possible!
I'm sure there must be lots of jobs that are similarly restrictive.

BackforGood

Perhaps not, and I am not going to. Like I have already made very clear, I didn't come here looking for creative solutions. I can do that myself. I came here with a question, and whether or not I teach primary/secondary or what my DH does for a living have no bearing.

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross

You can ask all you like. I am not stopping you. But it's none of your business and I am not telling you, so you are wasting your own time by keeping on about it.

I think you would be better off getting advice from your union, than strangers on the internet. I admire your professionalism on always attending regardless of whether or not it is your working day but I’m unsure where you stand now that your school has doubled the allocation...

QueenDoria

Thanks, I will be doing so also.

siakcaci

What's me?

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.

This. Teachers are conditioned (I found the same when I worked in the third sector) to roll over and be absolutely taken the piss out of. A pp mentioned earlier it's similar to asking Jenny at Tesco's to work an extra 4 days unpaid each year and when she queries it, slamming her for not sorting her childcare properly!

FFS ... and I'm not even teacher 🙅🏼‍♀️

People really need to get out more

😂 Anyone on MN, by definition, needs to get out more! And yes, I include myself in that. Love that you said it without a hint of irony though.

You can ask all you like. I am not stopping you. But it's none of your business and I am not telling you, so you are wasting your own time by keeping on about it.

I can vividly imagine the kind of teacher you are now.

I can vividly imagine the kind of teacher you are now
I never get digs like this. As if somehow someone being firm or even a bit short online possibly punks to their professional ability to teach.
Up there with 'I'm glad you're not my child's teacher' and 'well aren't you a delight no wonder your pupils probably dislike you' aka you disagreed with me and now I'll speculate about your ability to do your job.

A full time teacher has 1295 hours if directed time inclusive of lessons, meetings, parents evenings etc.

If you are 0.6 you should do 60% of that allocation.

You could do all parents evenings but I would then expect to not have to attend things like meetings or other directed time allocations.

You should have a budget showing you where your directed time hours go. If not then ask for it. It's perfectly reasonable for you to put to your management the hours you will do for after school commitments such as parents evenings based on 60%.

1265 hours, Grace.

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross

One who likes not to have their time wasted?

MaisyPops - interesting how you choose to interpret the quotation I used plus my neutral statement in response to it. Note it was you who read it as a “dig” and a speculation about her ability to do her job. Can you point out exactly how what I actually did in my post is either of those two things, in fact? Where, how do I say that someone being firm online is a bad thing? Where do I question her professional ability to teach?

The fact that you read it as such speaks volumes about the kind of teacher YOU think the OP is, not me.

One who likes not to have their time wasted?

Yes - I can hear you saying that to kids so clearly in my head I sounds very similar to me telling them not to come to me with the problem (of their own making) but to come to me with the problem and how they intend to resolve it...

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross

I didn't come to you with a problem. I asked a question of fellow professionals, as I said.

I have resolved the problem.

For those people who are curious, the reason my DH couldn't take a partial day off is not that he can't, in theory, take a half day. He can. It is that it wouldn't have helped, because his location vis-a-vis our location (my school) would mean he wouldn't have been able to get our DD home. We only have one car and he commutes in the opposite direction to me.

My school have been reasonable. I won't say the exact agreement because it could be outing.

Thanks to all who helped.

I didn't come to you with a problem.

I didn’t say you did? I said that in my head, the way you “said” your post that I quoted sounded exactly the same as the way I speak to kids who come to me with a problem which they haven’t tried to solve - I was feeling like we might be quite similar in the classroom after all, but clearly I’ve just pissed you off even more, so never mind.