Primary job-sharers what do you think to this scenario?

[dogtanianandthe3muskehounds]

I'm looking for a new job due to a restructure at my current school. I've been to look around a local school that has a job-share role advertised. It's the same part-time hours that I currently do and the school seems really nice. There was one thing that came up during my visit that concerned me though.

The school uses specialist teachers for PPA cover. PPA cover is on a set day each week so that planning can be done collaboratively with the other class in the year group and can be covered by the specialist teachers. The trouble is that this PPA day does not fall on a day I would be employed and there is no money in the budget to pay me to come in. The job-share would be split 0.4/0.6 with no crossover in school at all. I would be doing the 0.6 part of the role, the 0.4 teacher would get the PPA slot. The HT suggested that we would discuss planning via email and then the other teacher would do the planning during the PPA session. I can't really see how successfully this would work.

For context, I have job-shared with various people over several years in different schools. We have always had the luxury of some crossover time together, although not always very much. I do like to have direct input into the planning as I find it hard to teach from plans that someone else has written.

Would you go for this type of scenario? I know that if you want to work part-time, you pretty much take what's on offer, but it's not absolutely essential I leave my current job at the moment and I worry that the role on offer would end up with me doing a lot of extra work at home.

I've job shared a lot as a primary teacher. I would say it very much depends how well you get on with the other job share. I've had a job share that has left me with the lion's share of work but also a job share that has been so intense and expected me to reply immediately at all times to 11pm emails! I've never had the luxury of any crossover time. As I understand it, the person with the biggest proportion of hours old ultimately will be expected to assume overall class responsibility which is difficult in itself when working pt.

*Will, not old!!

It doesn’t sound very doable tbh.
You are doing the bigger share but they get the PPA time and are planning for you?
Doubt that would work for me tbh.
Would you be teaching the same things across the week or splitting it?

Thanks very much for the replies. I agree Ella, the success of the job-share is so dependent on how well you work with the other person and that's a great unknown when you've never met them! I have no idea how things would be split Monster. In my current job-share we just teach the same unit across a week, but obviously we are able to plan it together. It could work better in this sort of scenario to separate things off.

Of course this is all pure speculation as I don't have the job yet and there is always lots of competition for part-time roles! I'm just wondering if it's worth my effort even applying.

You are legally entitled to PPA time!

What about your own lesson prep, marking and assessment for the 3 days you are teaching? It is a legal requirement that you get 10% PPA for your teaching time for this. It's not just planning.

I don't think it's a workable set-up without you being shafted, to be honest. You will be working lots extra just getting your head around what you job share has planned, let alone working, %wise, more than anyone else as you'll do 100% teaching time while everyone else does 90%.

Tbh I’m a little surprised that you’ve always had the luxury of crossover time with job share partners in previous jobs. Flexible working arrangements shouldn’t create additional costs. In my school it’s always made clear that any ‘additional’ liaison time must not be at the expense of the school. Obviously everyone gets their PPA time and in some cases this is scheduled to coincide with other staff and joint planning can take place if appropriate. But job share partners are by definition carving the week up between them so in my school they aren’t in on the same days, and wouldn’t be paid to do so.

Sounds like the issue here is more that as the ‘main’ teacher on 0.6, it would make more sense for the Joint PPA time to fall in your working hours. Of course there will need to be extra liaison with your job share partner, by email or by perhaps meeting up now and then in your own time outside normal hours. Presumably you would keep some sort of running day to day record for handover anyway to make things smooth?

So, my view is that if you like the school and the look of the job then I wouldn’t be put off by this, because I would think this is the norm and you’ve just been very lucky before to have the luxury of crossover time with job shares. I would ask whether there is any way the joint PPA could be rearranged to fall within the ‘main’ job sharers directed time though- even if not possible mid year this could be sorted for next school year

Thanks for the replies. I can live without the crossover time - I realise that I've been fortunate with that. It's the no PPA time at all that bothers me. I spoke to the head when I looked around and there is no possibility of changing PPA days as it's covered by specialists that only come in on the days I'm not working. The job is to share with a teacher who's currently at the school so I imagine she picked those days on purpose.

Would you bring it up during an interview? In other ways, the school is good for me and I really don't know what's going to happen in my current school, so wonder if I should just suck it up for the advantages (assuming I am even considered for the job!). I worry that if I brought it up it would put them off offering me the job.

Having done several job shares, I would not consider a part time teaching job unless I was going to get PPA or have my salary increased so I was being paid to do it at home. You may find yourself being pressured to be in contact or even go in for 'a quick chat' on the day the other teacher has all the PPA and you will definitely end up doing work in your own time which should be done in PPA time.

Best case scenario, the other teacher does all the planning and you'll be a glorified supply teacher.

I wouldn't touch this job with a barge pole. However, I left teaching a year ago from a job with similarly unsuitable arrangements as it had made me extremely ill. So I may be biased!

Sorry I may have misread your OP... does this mean you’ll get no PPA time at all? If that’s the case then I definitely think it’s a bum deal. If it’s the case that you each get some ‘individual’ PPA time but the job sharer is getting the PPA time that coincides with the other year group teacher, so is better placed for the joint planning, then I still think it’s worth considering. Specially as your current school is restructuring and you’re not sure what’s in store there. It’s impossible really for job sharers to get away with no liaison outside of working time, because the whole point of a job share is that it’s still considered as one post; you’re literally splitting the week between you. If the school was obliged to pay you both to overlap, then they’d be financially disadvantaged and would be more inclined to look for a full timer where liaison wouldn’t be an issue. So I would say, ask a bit more, check that you’d get your ‘share’ of PPA.

I’ve done job shares with no crossover fine, that wouldn’t worry me too much.

But no way would I want to do it with no ppa or at least ppa time paid in lieu.

You are entitled to 10% PPA to Ben taken during the hours you work. So if younwork Mon/Tue/Wed, you should get PPA during one of those days.

I can understand no cross over time but like others, I wouldn't be doing it without ppa - even if that's paid whilst you're at home. I think it's worth a shot and you bring it up at interview - if they want you then they'll sort that part out.
I do spend hours emailing / texting my job share but that's par for the course of a job share imo.
Are you expected to do staff meetings?

You are legally entitled to 10% PPA. Did you say this setup means that she will do 100% of the planning and preparing resources? Because I guess that would take a lot of workload away. What about the assessment and marking??

Agree with most.
Crossovertime is a luxury not usually afforded to most jobsharers, but every teacher should be given 10% of their teaching time as PPA cover. Your job share partner can't be given your time (nor can I see how they can consistently plan someone else's lessons) as if you could plan a week's worth of lessons in your PPA time

Having done several job shares, I would not consider a part time teaching job unless I was going to get PPA or have my salary increased so I was being paid to do it at home

This.

Do you mean the jobshare will get 2.5hours PPA and you will get none? I would withdraw my application and explain why. I wouldn’t trust a head that thinks that’s acceptable-think what else they will try to do!!