Any other secondary teachers really dislike being a form tutor?

[Planningspringflowers]

I’ve been HOD for nearly a decade so managed to get out of this. Had DS last year and so stepped down to classroom teacher. I’m loving only having to worry about my classes but really not loving the pastoral side.

We have to register students in their ‘area’ so of course mine is as far away from my classroom as possible! It’s always a rush getting from registration to my classroom. Then there’s never anything particularly inspiring to do in form time and the students often refuse to engage with it (year 10.)

In many ways it seems a bit pointless. It would be nice if we could just start straight into period one!

Are you me!?
I've been out of it for ages as I've been an HoD but have stepped down and just classroom teaching. I also have a year 10 group. I hate being a tutor! Having to check the uniform and equipment and follow up on their behaviour - takes up a ton of time. Sympathies

Oh yeah and they hate all the tutor activities.

Bit of quizlet/kaboom/blooket always goes down well…I do it once a week and we pick a school subject and look for a gcse quiz on that subject. I figure it doesn’t do any harm. Ask your PHSE lead for short videos on things like cyber bullying, sexting, relationships etc as these are good for discussion. You will need to make sure you signpost, however if you do this. Newsround goes down well as well and again, gives you points to discuss.

Mine hate the tutor activities too. The weekly quiz drives me mad!

Yeah it sound like you got a rubbish deal inheriting a year 10 form. In the absence of being directed to do anything, I'd Stick "form time ideas" website on the board so it's looks as if you are doing something purposeful. The can choose if they engage or not. Or Google earth went down well a former form from hell. Other staff use geog gusset and the kids love it too (not used it myself)

I hated my form last year. I was an NQT and gifted a tricky Year 9 class.

Struggled the whole year with them. Newsbeat and quizzes kept us all sane but it was easily my most hated part of the day.

I'm glad I have found this thread as I honestly thought I was some kind of leper!

I really don't enjoy KS3/4 pastoral at all. This year, I asked for, and was given, a move to KS5 which is so much better!

One of my favourite parts of teaching - I'm a HoD and I would hate not to have a form.

I always get the dodgy groups and I just cba anymore. I'm bored of the same fight every morning over nose piercings, skirt length, punctuality. We teach pshce as well in form and it's an extra period to plan for and mark.

A form you have had from Yr7 is great. A form you pick up in Yr9 or 10 is a nightmare.

I suspect MrsGoodenough has nailed it.

I enjoy being a form tutor, but my form room is also my classroom and we tend to take our forms through from year 7-11.

Picking up a form in Year 9 or 10 always feels like a rough deal unless you happen to get a nice group who have had an effective tutor before.

I used to do documentary Wednesday. Where we'd watch something off iplayer :P

Yeah form period is a total ball ache.
I’ve got a year 10 form who I inherited in year 9 so I have seen them on and off for a year and they are all lovely people but similar to you we don’t have form in our teaching room so you have to scurry back and are always starting period 1 in a flap. And all the form admin is boring. We don’t bother with the form activities usually. They sit and chat/catch up on homework/read and I do my welfare checks. Luckily my HoY is pretty chilled so I get away with it. I do think it’s better to have form time in the morning and not to go straight to period 1 though. We used to go straight to p1 and with some classes there were so many pastoral issues to sort out at the beginning of the day that p1 could be really disrupted.

I ADORED my form from 2015-2020. They were my school children, I was the only form tutor still in the team from y7, and then covid hit and wrecked the end of their Y11. Came back and they had completely changed the way that forms groupings worked for KS5. Still haven't really got over it!