The Sixtieth Republic - One half term to go - just need to survive Sports Day and Activities Week!

[StaffRepFeistyClub]

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. It is meant for school staff only – a sort of room of requirement for school staff to let off steam.

Baiters, haters, goaders, and bashers can jog on somewhere else.

If you are NOT staff and just have a general education query please start your own thread.

Do not give the staffroom password to non-staff as it attracts the wrong sort of crowd.

Other requirements for staff room entry include the ability to find the staff room, the ability to find a clean mug in the staff room, knowledge of the photocopier codes, and the ability to sniff out where the booze is stashed - Thirsty Tuesdays, Fizz Fridays now in operation. Do not sit on the chairs and do wear a mask. Finally, upload your covid test results twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays.

I am penalised for taking no time off (other than mat leave obviously) and never going part time!

And I am penalised for going part time! No TLRs for part timers in my school.

I’m contemplating writing an application today. Job seems perfect for me but apart from the temporary-ish nature of my current contract, I don’t really want to leave. Not sure what to do really and the deadline is midnight.

Just apply, you can always withdraw on the day, nothing ventured and all that!

Yes, applying will give you longer to think about it.

I am one of those maligned folks who bring up "mat leave was max 4 months long 20 years ago" any time someone whines about having to come back to work after a year. But it's actually because I think the current generous mat leaves are bad for women and career progression. (I wasn't teaching 20 years ago, though, but worked in a touring role still.)

Tiring, not touring. I wasn't a pop star/actor

My Head refused to allow me to go part time when asked, so have been full time since coming back from mat leave (she was 11 months) and instead, paid thousands and thousands to nurseries/childminders and although those sleepless nights at first made teaching very hard, kid is 6 now and I am almost back in to the swing of things (but I do miss being able to drop off and directly pick up from school which most of the parents at her school seem to be able to do).

I cannot believe that there are people who comment negatively on the choices that we make and also discriminate when it comes to offering jobs. Awful people.

Such a shame we haven’t progressed in this area but I think we all know that teaching is not the most family friendly of all jobs anyway, despite what the public think.

Absolutely. I had my TLR removed when I went to 0.8 at my old school.

New school? We have HoDs on 0.8 and a female head who gets it. Which will be interesting as I suspect there will be a HoD role coming up soon and I want it!

The only slightly family friendly part is the holidays, but term times are so manic I'm not always sure they make up for it.

I also had 3 months mat leave with the first DC and bitterly regret not taking more now. That school took the almighty piss, I felt pressured to come back and I don't think I'll ever forgive them for a catalogue of mistreatment.

I would apply too Carrie. As the others have said, you can always withdraw later if you decide against it.

I was penalised by my hod for taking mat leave at all. I took 6 months, finishing at Feb half term (39 weeks) and coming back in September. I came back to the year from hell with ALL difficult classes. Each yeargroup has one set that is notoriously badly behaved, and I was given all 5 of those classes. I wasn't allowed to keep the top set I'd had from y7-10 because the mat cover had struggled with them, so that meant I'd obviously failed to train them properly. People regularly told me they didn't know how I could work ft while my baby was so young. I generally replied that it was strange DH never got any of those comments. Once that hod left I don't think anyone has had much of an opinion about me. I sort of fade into the background as a competent teacher who just gets on with things. Maybe I need to make more noise.

Check your mentor drinks /what they drink before giving alcohol. I don't drink much and have a stockpile of various wines/ sparkling stuff that I will never drink . I would like gin, though, because at least that keeps when you open it!

Otherwise, flowers always good or nice biccies. Deans shortbreads do the loveliest shortbread in all different nice tins and flavours. Talking of gin, they have a gin and lime flavour.

Check your mentor drinks /what they drink before giving alcohol I agree with this. I don't drink, so any alcohol would end up being regifted. I would appreciate the thought, but wouldn't get any use or enjoyment out of the gift itself. I would appreciate a box of chocolates more, or some nice stationery, or a book.

If someone gave me shortbread I would assume they thought I was in my 70s Though I admit I could be tempted by a gin and lime flavour
I think ability to cope with being ft and babies must depend to an extent on other support - helpful grandparents for a bit of flexible childcare? A partner earning enough for a nanny? A short commute etc too. A decent dp who doesn't leave it all to you as you "finish at 3" as well.

@Piggywaspushed

On the fag, not the sunscreen, although FWIW , I tan easily! Apart from my scalp which burns, annoyingly, as I hate wearing hats.

I have a Spanish DH I constantly look pale!

name that's amazing! Well done on passing your essay ans getting through. None of our teachers know where they are yet either. As for gifts for children, depends on budget. The works do 10 for £10 books so you could give one each, when I left one placement I bought a few books for the reading corner and gave then a pencil each (they all like stationery!l

Ah, but have you had Dean's shortbread mistress ??!

I have always been ft mistress and none if that checklist applies to me...

I like vouchers. John Lewis mostly. They can be used for all sorts of things.

Someone also once gave me a Ticketmaster voucher, and I even got a Sainsburys voucher once - all ace. When I left one school parents gave me an Amazon voucher that I spent on a pair of boots, and the next school (when I was moving to France for a bit), gave me enough money in Euros (cash) to buy a pair of skis.

Proper good presents, properly for me.

Anyone buying piggy a present would be best advised to get a bag of ice and a loaf of Hovis.

DH likes it when I get given wine because it gets passed straight to him.

It's notable that in my school the women I can think of who have been on the career progression pathway to SLT/headship haven't had kids.

I couldn't have worked full time the first year back after my first. I couldn't really work part time, tbh. I just kind of staggered through the year. He didn't sleep, I didn't sleep, it was awful.

I also had 3 months mat leave with the first DC and bitterly regret not taking more now. That school took the almighty piss, I felt pressured to come back and I don't think I'll ever forgive them for a catalogue of mistreatment.

More evidence that misogyny and discrimination against women and girls is endemic in the education system. I know a few younger colleagues who were guilted into returning before they were ready - by both male and female managers.
I don’t know if anyone has glanced at the women/sport thread but the overwhelming consensus is that sport and PE at school serves only to put the vast majority off. Great bitterness towards some PE teachers apparent (IME PE teachers are binary, either very nice or very horrid, nothing in between, male and female alike.)

I couldn't really work part time, tbh. I just kind of staggered through the year. He didn't sleep, I didn't sleep, it was awful.

Oh I had an awful first year back. Luckily I had a couple of really solid PGCE students that year who mopped up a lot of the mess. I was regularly going to work on 3 hours sleep.

sport and PE at school serves only to put the vast majority off

It needs to be streamed by ability somehow I think. And children given a lot more choice about what they do. If I could have played tennis or gone swimming for every PE lesson, I'd have loved it. There was no need to try and teach me how to be better at running or basketball or throwing a javelin. Totally pointless 'skill' that I had no interest in.

I was regularly going to work on 3 hours sleep.

My main issue was that I was earning a lot more than my partner at that point, but he had a huge commute and was having some quite debilitating health issues. I had to go back for the money (we were SO skint, it makes me sweat just thinking about it now), but it didn't really work.

I found even technology had it in for me when I returned at the start of the summer term in April after mat leave.
SIMs assumed because I had had no covers yet that academic year, it needed to make up for lost time. Coupled with our cover person also being exams officer (who usually has at least some human touch to the process) at that time of year focusses only on exams, so a random SLT person does it for that term and just presses the cover button on SIMs. I was hammered for about 3 or 4 covers a week until a twigged that some, who weren’t getting any, had more frees that I did and SIMS wasn’t playing fair.

No amount of pleading with the SLT person that term, made a difference. What a prick he was!

Something about this article about Lucy Kellaway (adapted from her new book) has rubbed me up the wrong way.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9677899/Lucy-Kellaway-giving-marriage-home-FT-role-teach-Maths-London-comprehensive.html

It feels a bit Pulp Common People. 'I pack my lunch in a Tupperware box and can't go out for lunchtime drinkies anymore because I don't earn anything while going home to my fabulous modern house, earning money on the side from still writing articles, plus presumably the book oh and now I've got an OBE.'

Given that she gave financial advice for decades, she should have a nice pot of money to see her through her hobbyist teaching.

Oh yes she drinks 🙂. If you met our class you'd know why😂. Will do a card but she has been so supportive just all round fab. As has the TA who is also lovely. I'll do biscuits / cake for the staff room.

If I could have played tennis or gone swimming for every PE lesson, I'd have loved it. There was no need to try and teach me how to be better at running or basketball or throwing a javelin. Totally pointless 'skill' that I had no interest in

I would introduce PE for health from year 10 onwards. Instead of doing a god awful competitive sport you already know you hate. Do a fitness class instead. You know the stuff adults do when they want to keep healthy.