Sharing classes

[MumofSpud]

I have a long running issue with having to share a class with a colleague but they won't communicate with me what they have done on class
For example I teach p/t and I last had the class on Tuesday, they have had 2 more lessons since then.
I next have them on Monday.

We are doing a text but I do not know where they have got up to.

I am an ECT and I have not reached the point where I can go in and wing it (wouldn't want to either!)

To make it more awkward my colleague is 3rd in the department and I have complained about this informally in meetings / spoken to HoD with constructive info about how other departments deal with this / complained in writing to HoD but nothing has changed!

Colleague says she is 'disorganised / doesn't do email'.

I have reached the stage where I assume it is personal!

This sounds so difficult.
Which age group are you teaching?
Is there any planning to show what they are covering in each lesson?

Do you not have planning which tells you what should be covered in each lesson? I understand that things don't always run to plan/time but that would be a starting point.

You need to have a frank conversation with them, politely explaining how you can't go on working like this as you find it very stressful.

If they don't want to email, at the very least they need to leave a post-it note on the desk to let you know where they're up to, if it differs from what is on the plan.

Good communication is a fundamental, basic expectation if you're part of a job share. You would not be unreasonable to raise this.

Split classes are a nightmare for this. I’ve had this this year but did train the other teacher to email me and say where they’d got to, eventually!

You’ve complained formally to the HoD and nothing has been done? Is the HoD your ECT mentor, or can you try that route?

Send an email every week saying ‘Please can you let me know where you got up to with 9B?’. It’s not acceptable for someone these days to just say they don’t do email, and if you are ever criticised for not being up to speed with this class, you need to show that you’ve tried.

Do you ever meet to talk about what you’re doing? Even a five minute ‘right, you get to Act 4 scene 1 by the end of Friday and I’ll pick up from scene 2 on Tuesday’ would help you plan.

Thinking about workarounds (you shouldn’t have to but needs must…)

1. Can you persuade the teacher to at least leave you a post it note saying where she’s got to?
2. If you’re just reading a text, there shouldn’t be hours of planning. You can plan some recall questions/activities to start the lesson with based on what you know they have previously covered and then read on. Make this first lesson you see them your ‘easy’ one because you know you will be hindered by the other teacher and be on the back foot.
3. Prime a student to come and tell you where they got up to.
4. Carry out a spy mission - is there a bookmark in the other teacher’s copy of the text, or can you see from student books where they have got up to?

This sounds like something has to be done or you will end up getting ill and / or leaving. Arrange to meet the teacher first and explain something needs to change. If you get no joy, I would go and see the Headteacher. Explain that the children are also missing out here as you dont know where they have got to with their learning. Perhaps, the Head needs to give that teacher 10 minutes out of class to email you? Copy the Headteacher into your emails and show how you haven't had a response.

If you're secondary, absolutely do not copy the head into your emails!!!

Speak to your induction lead and ask them to help you to speak to the hod again. I work with two people like this and it drives me mad. If it can't be resolved, you should be teaching something different to avoid this nonsense.

I actually am leaving - this is one of the reasons
It has got to the stage where the only reason must be personal so I am voting with my feet!
I am glad that people are agreeing with me and thanks for the advice (unfortunately no LM or mentor meetings this year but that's another thread!)

Mentor meetings are specified in the statutory guidance. Have you raised that with your AB?

What's an AB?

@MumofSpud the appropriate body which authorised your ECT induction

No I haven't, I did say in my exit interview so hopefully another ECT will have a better experience !!

You need to report it to the AB. They're not meeting their statutory requirement

Oh god I feel your pain. I had this in my training year except it was the HOD. I had to ask her personally where she had got to but wasn’t always easy to catch her due to timetabling. Then there would be snow days/interviews/sickness and she wouldn’t respond to an email to say what I was to teach.
I get so utterly sick of the politics in teaching. There are many delightful people, where do these others come from?

If this recurs, split the units, so instead of both teaching topic or text A and then topic/ text B, one of you teaches A and the other B.