any teachers out there? How do you manage?

[Carameli]

Hi,

I am looking at going back to teaching in Sept. I have a few possibilities but I am just wondering how you all manage about getting children to nurseries etc early. In my last school I was usually in just after 8ish but cannot imagine how I can do that and get DD to nursery etc etc.

Also do you manage to get things done at school. I will be teaching KS1 if thats any help. My Dh is usually a fantastic help but he has just been posted on a wonderful new project meaning he is away 3 or 4 nights a week so I am going to be on my own during the week and a bit worried about how I'll cope.

If any of you are single parents I admire you SO much for doing all this parenting stuff on your own and would love advice.

I'm a secondary school teacher and teach PT 3 days a week. I have one DD aged 2y 3m. I'm married.

I have to nip off for dinner now, but didn't want to go without replying. I will be back later tonight and will reply properly then.

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Hi Carameli
I work ft as a teacher and have a 10 yr dd and a 2yr ds. I have to be ultra organised in the evenings, looking out clothes, preparing lunches etc. I drop them off at childminders at 8 and am in school for about 8.30. This is going to change in August when ds will be starting nursery 3 days, but they open at 8, so we'll be in the car park just around then.

I no longer 'take' a lunch break and spend the entire time ( 1 hour) in my class, getting organised etc. I tend to leave marking for taking home and make sure that everything else is done in class time.

Like you my dh is away a lot, and he is a great help too. I find that I am actually better organised when he is away, cos then I am in complete control!!!!saddo that I am

Also forgot to say that I stay only for an hour after school, so total spent each day for prep, marking etc in school about 2 1/2 hours, and get through most things in that time.

I'm a teacher but only work 1 day a week. DD's nursery doesn't open until 8, so I'm there at 8:01 and then race to school. I get there at 8:45 and luckily on the day I work the students have an assembly so I have a bit of time to get myself sorted. I work through breaks and lunchtime and usually stay for 1 hour afterschool, then leave. V hard on a Friday when colleagues have left at 3:30!!
I have an understanding head (re: getting in just before the day starts) but I have no choice.

Childminders will take them earlier, when I was working full time I dropped dd off at her cm's at 7:30 and that was much better. I've put in a lot of hard graft at this school so I don't feel so bad about being a bit late now.

Before dd came alone I was always at school by 8 ish and what a difference.
Are you going to working part or full time? Organization plays a big big part in it. Becuase I get in really late I have to get everything ready the week before (handouts, tools/equip for investigations, etc - science - which can be tricky if someone else needs them too. I sometimes tell my support ( what would I do without her?!?!) what we'll need and she'll get it all ready the day before)

I have DS 3 and DD13 months I currently work 3 days (finishing at end of term for no 3)mine go to nursery which opens at 7.45 which makes a big difference I couldn't do it if it opened at 8. To be honest I found doing it when I had 1 fairly straightforward but have found 2 more challenging. I only mark at school so no carrying books etc. Do planning at home. My DH is a doctor so is on call in the hospital approx 1 night a week -I agree with whoever said they were more organised when DH wasn't there to help!

Back again!

I teach at secondary school 3 days a week. 2 days a week my 2y 3m Dd goes to day nursery, the other day she goes to her grandparents (my in-laws). Both nursery and PILs ar similar distance away from school.

My school starts at 8:30 for registration. My DD's nursery is quite close to school - about 10 minutes drive. I drop DD off at 8am (it does open at 7:30 but costs another £2.50 a day for that) and I am generally in the staff room by 8:15am.

I do the majority of work in school time, making full use of morning break time and, as I don't have a form, the 30 minutes registration time in a morning. I then generally do up to an hour after school - eithe rin a meeting or in my classroom. I also get 2 free lessons a week (I normally manage to keep one of them) in which I do work too. But I do also take some work home with me - but not as much as I did. I now normally do up to an hour on each school night, and maybe 1-2 hours at the weekend. I do not work on my days off at all.

I still send DD to nursery (but not PILs) in the holidays and I get a lot of long/medium term planning done then, as well as bigger assessments or reports.

My DH is fantastic and helps with houseowrk and with DD. He agrees that my 2 days off are to be spent with DD - not doing school or housework wherever possible. DH helps with both the morning and evening routine with DD which makes life a bit less hassled at those times.

I think you have to make prioties when you work when you have children, and for me work did take a back seat. I think teaching is one of those jobs where there is always something you could do, but you have to decide what is and isn't important, and what can wait a bit.

And as of next year even primary teachers are supposed to be getting some guaranteed 'free; time within the school week to help with planning and marking, etc. All schools have to build this in to their timetables from what I have been told.

Are you planning on doing FT or PT?

Hi carameli, I'm a secondary teacher and work full time. I never thought I would manage it either. DP kept saying that he wasn't sure he would be able to help etc. etc. so we put ds's name down for a nursery that opened at 7:30. But as I'm usually at work by 7, that would have been a nightmare. After ds was born everything changed. That nursery wouldn't have suited him, so we swapped to one that opened at 8. DP loves his time with ds in the mornings, and he cut back to 4 days a week to spend more time with him. This is the career driven man who wasn't sure he wanted children!

I no longer take any breaks at school. I work solidly from when I arrive at 7am through until 4:30pm. I could work later - until about 5:30 - and still make it back to nursery, but I think that's unfair on ds.

It is difficult, but it is well worth it. I love my job, and I love the fact that I am back at 100% commitment and drive (I found I just couldn't be bothered when I was pregnant!). And as everyone has said, you do find a way.

PS don't begrudge having to pay for holidays if that's the way it turns out - because term time is so frantic, it is good to have some time completely to yourself in the holidays. See it as finally taking your lunch break and go and sit in a cafe with a good book for a day!

thanks for all your messages, I really need to have a good think about whether to go FT or PT. Great to know that lots of others manage ok.
Lots will depend on the interviews I am going for and what they offer me as well.

I must check out that free time during the school week more. It would be a great help if they are doing it in primary schools

I'm a secondary teacher and work 2 days a week. Drop dd (20 months) off at childminders at about 7.45, get to work about 8.25 (12 miles away. Tend to leave school asap after 3.30, and take my work home with me to do at weekend. Childminder suits me much better than nursery as I can drop her earlier and don't have to pay for holidays (and dd LOVES her childminder!).

Hi What2do,

why don't you have to pay for holidays or am I missing something. I thought you did have to pay for holidays with a childminder? That as one of my problems with comparing nursery childminders. Cannot find a 7.30 nursery with spaces and what would I do if a childminder wanted to take holidays outside out the school holidays?

Hi Carameli
Nurseries tend to charge 'to keep the place open' which is why you have to pay even if you can't use it. Childminders are able to be more flexible and set own agenda more. My fantastic lady has 4 school age children of her own, plus she looks after up to two other school age boys during the hols as their mom works full time. So she fills dd's slot with other kids IYKWIM. You may find things are different in your area/LEA, or that a childminder you speak to has own arrangements for hols. I pay 1/2 fee for bank hols and for 4 weeks annual hol for childminder. She does have occasional hols during term time, but always gives me loads of notice and I get family to help out then.
Hope this helps you...

I work full time, well 80% timetable, in secondary. Both of my chhildren will be in full time school come September. They are in a private school that has a pre school creche and an after school creche. A friend takes them to school at 8 and I get in for 8.30 briefing. I finish at 3.00 and they finish at 3.00. So in theory I can pick them up from school. In practice I often run a little late and they get 10-20 minutes to play with their friends before I pick them up. I work after they have gone to bed, and dh takes them swiming on Sunday morning, when I do my lesson plans for the week.

It works well for us, but I only live 3 miles from their school and 3 from where I teach.