Primary teachers. Honest review of the hours you work each day

[StrumpersPlunkett]

Any the breakdown.
I am starting teacher training in September and know having been a TA that the teacher does masses more than the classroom work but how much is that?

My teacher has said she works most evenings but does have commitments 3 nights a week and she limits work to one day each weekend.
I will ask more detailed questions next term but what hours do you do? What element of that is lesson planning? Other admin or teaching.

Thanks.

I'm at work for 8 and I leave at 5pm. I take no marking home but will sometimes spend an hour or so looking for new resources or planning if I'm in a new year group or we've changed the topic which both reduce the ability to reuse materials I've already found and made. Otherwise, no work at home and very little in the holidays.

Primary.
I used to work 8-6 in school, work 2 out of 5 evenings marking for a couple of hours and then planning and resources and paperwork on Sunday for 4/6 hours. Some weeks were much heavier.
Depends a lot on your school and team.

Thanks in that 8-5 time what balance of your work is planning /prep and time spent on other admin?

My husband gets to work
At 715 - rarely home before 6 works 730-930 every evening (sometimes more) and most of Sunday
I feel like a single parent other than Friday night and Saturday
Holidays he's worked 3 days this half term (for about five hours each day so not full days)

I do 7.30 till 5 ish
Lots in holidays, some at weekends, not much in the evenings.
Spend ages marking and assessing but not loads of time planning- year 6 though so don’t need many resources.
I do extra sessions out of school hours though.
Meetings three days a week after school.
I nearly always have a lunchtime.

Bear in mind that most schools have a staff meeting and a unit/key stage meeting every week after school.

My general day:
7:30 - Arrive at school
7:30 - 8:45 - Lesson prep/resource making/occasional last minute marking/grouping of books
8:50 - 3:15 - Teaching hours
3:15 - 4:00 - general admin/parent meetings/liaising with other teachers or TA
4:00 - 5:30 - Marking & Planning the following day

I sometimes spend an hour or two making or looking for resources on a Sunday evening. I also devote 1 hr per week to an after school club.

As an early years teacher I didn't take marking home but did a lot of research for topics and there was endless updating of data systems at home. I got in to school at 7.30 and usually left about 5. I am retired now but my old school became an Academy just after I left and hardly anyone I knew is still there as the workload became unbearable.

I arrive at work at 7.30 and leave at 5.30/6. Then another 2 hours in the evening and all of Sunday afternoons.

There is a staff meeting once a week (4-5) and a phase meeting.

How come some teachers work every evening and others only work from 8 till 5-6 ish? Does the workload depend on the age group?

You won’t have a teachers’ timetable for a while- you’ll have uni work, lesson planning and review paperwork. Lesson planning will likely take you ages as you’ll need to go over it to the nth degree.

You should expect to work every night for at least three hours and you will have more to do at weekends.

You need to go into this aware of the workload.

I work a 0.6 contract. I work approx 8.15-5.15 in school to accommodate pickup/drop-off of my own DC. I work 4 evenings a week doing prep/marking, usually around 2 hours per evening. I manage not to work at all most weekends because I am part-time. I never make evening commitments during the week though, because I know I will always have work to do.

Workload is dictated by school expectations and experience.

It varies because there isn’t a fixed amount of work. Like other professional jobs, you work until you are done and ‘done’ means different things in different schools and to different people.

Some schools schedule more meetings or require more paperwork. Some people are more efficient or more experienced or more meticulous than others.

I get in at 7.30 and leave around 5. I work through lunch. I have no other responsibilities and try not to take work home. I probably spend 1-2 hours per week at home looking for resources/ answering emails/ on admin.
I have been in the classroom for almost 25 years so am pretty efficient.
Almost all the other teachers in my school are there for longer.

Agree that if starting out you need to expect to work several hours each evening and prob a day of weekend. And you’ll probably feel there’s more you could do.

One of the things teachers find hard is the fact that really the work is never done. You could always make more resources or improve lessons or mark more thoroughly. Most decide what they are prepared to do in terms of time, but often simply have to work more to meet the absolutely must do requirements, never mind doing things to the best standard.

I’m an experienced teacher. I work in school 8-4.30 and have meetings every lunchtime and eat for 15 mins. I expect to do marking 3 evenings per week of 2-3 hours and most weeks have a parents eve or other after school meeting. I dont usually work weekends except near to exam time when marking increases. I’m extremely efficient and controlled about what I do and don’t do but it’s still a long week.

It depends on your school’s expectations.
I used to spend hours planning but I learned to do it quickly. Now I spend lots of time in meetings instead!
Your second year in a year group is usually better too. Although the curriculum changes every few minutes so that’s not always the case

Owing to caring responsibilities I spend relatively short hours in school; 8-4. This means that I do all my planning, marking, admin and data at home, so easily a couple of hours every night after DC are in bed and a long evening on a Sunday.
In the holidays I usually spend the equivalent of one or two days working either at home or going into school.

Some schools have very fixed annual topics and schemes of work, already planned and laid out, resources already prepared to match. Teacher tweaks to fit own class. Doesn't take long, but very little teacher autonomy or creativity.

Other schools have no fixed annual topics or schemes of work, and work from National Curriculum objectives, building on current children's interests. All planning and resources done from scratch. Very time-consuming but lots of teacher autonomy and creativity.

Some schools expect weekly planning to be v detailed, almost script like, with information on how you are supporting/extending different groups and individual children, pre-teaching, precision teaching, SMSC, EAL, EHCP plans, differentiation etc, for every session, all on a set format that is handed in weekly. Others don't ask for any weekly planning, and leave its format up to individual teachers.

Some schools have very detailed, complex marking policies which see teachers marking 5 x 30 pieces of work everyday, with written comments, next steps, highlighted bits etc.
Other schools have verbal feedback policies designed to cut workload and free-up time for other things.

Some schools have lots of after school meetings, booster groups to run, club expectations. Some don't.

Some schools expect you to write reports and meet with parents every term.
Some schools do it once a year.

Workload varies HUGELY from primary school to primary school.

I work a 0.6 spread over five days. I’m in 8.15 til 1.30 everyday then probably an hour in the evening and a couple on a Sunday.

I have a 45 minute commute so leave home at 6:30. In school 7:15-5/6pm, leave at 4pm on Fridays. 30 minutes for lunch, which includes both eating and setting up for the afternoon. Meetings 3 times a week. Spend a couple of hours twice a week working in the evenings, plus half a day at the weekend. Have been teaching a long time and am very efficient with my time. My first five years I was working most evenings and large parts of the holidays.

Thebookeatinggirl is absolutely right.

I'm an NQT in a primary school. I'm in school and at my desk for 7.30pm and work in school until 6pm every evening except Friday. I work for an hour or so most evenings at home and one day (at least every weekend). I work a few days each holiday too. I reckon I work 60-70 hours a week during term-time. My school is pretty good too- they don't overly scrutinise/ require my planning except for a medium-term plan each half-term by subject.

That should be 730am obviously! I have an hour lunch but only ever take 30 minutes at the most.