Part time teaching. What are the possible problems

[mamerin]

Having taught full time at my present school for the past 4 years I have now decided that I want to go back to work part time. The union advised me on what to ask for etc and the head agreed after making me stew. He did however point out that the governors aren't happy about it. In a meeting i had with the teacher who'se sharing my job my Head of department kept coming up with negative quips and she's trying to get me to attend over 70% of meetings and ALL parents evenings despite me only being 40% (2 whole days).
She's coming up with problems already- one of her reasons for both job sharing teachers to be at the parents evenings is that we can discuss any parental concerns about the classes being shared. Surely that's her job, or even the head's. To make matters worse other classes are being shared by staff who aren't part time because of timetabling- bet nobody complains about those classes. I envision great problems next year (I've only done it for a year initially but have said that I'll probably ask for it again next year- this way it's just a variation to my contract and I've got a full time job to go back to at the end of the period.)Wonder if anyone else has any similar experiences

A friend of mine has just gone back (4 days) and she has dicovered that she's really only being paid like a supply teacher (although not such good rates obviously!)e.g. Because she doesn't have atutor group, she doesn't get paid to come in for tutor time and so on. She had thought (on asking LEA) that she would be paid 4/5 of normal mainscale teacher but she's not - so watch out for that. For parents' evenings, you can discuss with your job share - you don't both need to talk to the parents - that's what job share is about! Also, with my governor hat on, I can't really see why they would be "not happy" about it - loads of people work part time. Get your union person to go with you to talk to the head. Good luck

The meeting issue is non negotiable apparently (I've agreed to it because I had intended to go to the meetings in the interest of the kids)so I have said fine but it's coming out of the meeting 'quota'. Am just fed up cos they're trying to bully me. As for the governors the head says that they don't like sharing classes between two teachers- they've never done this before, well they've shared classes but never done a job share- that's the problem- spoken to other schools in the county who say it's not the problem he's making it out to be. Head's also worried about impending inspection- which has now been postponed as they can't find anyone to lead the inspection team- I pointed out that being progressive was a good thing surely. Anyway am prepared to fight for my rights next year and at the end of the day the worst case scenario is that I hand my notice in and go and do supply for a couple of years. Teachers very scarce in this area.
As for your friend being cheated of time she should go to her union- NASUWT agree and will fight for various issues- one of them being that you are employed for 'whole session' ie am or pm and 'trapped time' should be avoided. pro rata non contact time should also be provided and pay should be pro rata 4 days is 80% of the current pay scale point. Tell your friend not to take this lying down and to contact her union. If her union aren't doing anything I'd advise her to change to NASUWT

Mmmmm - the governors are probably just agreeing with the head. I can't really see that sharing classes and job share are that different. In many ways, job share is better because you're not just doing your own thing. Good luck with this. BTW when I said a "friend" of mine, I should have said "someone I know" - I don't really see her much anymore but I just heard from someone else. I'll pass on your advice!

Hi,
I am about to go part time, from September, and am reading all of this with dread. IN fact my new contract arrived today for signing. I will be sharing a class with another girl, and we are also shairng a management point. Which we both had prior to our maternity leaves. Am a bit concerned how it will all work in practice, but my head has been fine about it and has bent over backwards to enable us to do it, alhtough he already has 2 other classes with job share so he has done it before. Anyway good luck!

So tricky. Whoever said teaching was a good profession for mums with young children was lying!

I can't go part-time as I am a head of deparment (well, I suppose I could job share, but I am too bolshy for that!).

As a head of department I think that I would sit down with you sometime soon and talk through the parents evenings. I would assume (and tell you so) that as a committed teacher you would of course want to be at the parents evenings of every class you have contact with, but I would also know how hard it would be. So we could work something out together between you and the person you ar sharing with - and give you the opportunity to talk to your partners/babysitters before a decision was made. You could do things like provide notes for one another, or get someone to cover more senior classes so that you could take out students one by one to give them feedback and set targets. Or you could be covered/have protected non-contact in order to make phonecalls to the parents you most want to see. In other words, you work creatively around it.

I write a programme for department meetings each August. It outlines what we will cover each meeting throughout the year. We only ever focus on teaching and learning and inset in dept. meetings - I circulate a weekly update for admin matters. If your HoD operated a system like this you could then pick and chose which meetings were appropriate to you (and so could your HoD). I do this with senior members of staff who are too busy to get to every meeting.

Would your HoD be open to this kind of suggestion? Try it. I have to say that I can be a truly crap HoD, but if a colleague comes up with a suggestion that will make life easier/happier, I am all for it!

You dont have to attend parent evenings on the days you're not working. I have to stay on Monday until 5pm as there is a meeting and so had to work this day as well as 2 others. I have a part time timetable (60%) and share a Year 11 Tutor group with another parttimer.

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I work 0.8 (4 days a week) lecturing in a FE college. Fortunately my boss is a woman with 4 children so it has NEVER been a problem. Staff meetings are always on a Friday afternoon, so there is no issue with it, all part timers work Fridays. Any other meetings or parents evenings I am paid extra for.

As long as you are organised, sharing classes can be positivly beneficial to the students. They get the experience of two teachers, and inevitably you are going to connect better with some of them than the other teacher and vice versa. My suggestion is you make sure before the teaching starts that you have established some method of regular communication with your job share colleague. We use a system of short meetings (5 minutes is often all you need), email and reporting slips for any untoward behaviour and a common course folder. As long as it's documented ( and it doesn't have to be alt all formal), the inspectors will love it. All you need is one positive comment from the inspectors about the level of communication/organisation/benefits to the students from the job share and your head will have no grounds to complain next year. Good luck.

Regarding meetings HOD has made sure I attend by making Tuesday (meeting and parents eve day) one of my work days. My HOD has said she's going to create a schedule of meetings and SHE will choose which ones I attend but as she is very disorganised I cannot see this happening. in fact i know it won't. Have got a planner to communicate with jobsharer in, going to leave that on desk but I keep getting comments reminding me that I've got to put more in because this is only a temporary arrangement and I'M the permanent member of staff. Have also had snide comments along the lines of- can't give you a top set as the parents will complain and the bottom sets will get confused changing teachers so you've got the middle sets...
I'm just keeping quiet about it all safe in the knowledge that I'm home 5 days a week which is what I want. What's really upset the apple cart I think is 2 things- one, we haven't got a second in dept any more so HOD under immense pressure- 1000 pupil school, 5 staff in dept and no SID any more plus she's not a very good HOD and I've done a lot of work which covers her backside- since I've been on mat leave holes have started showing and she's very bad tempered these days- think she was looking forward to getting me back. the second bugbear is that because i thought i couldn't have kids(another story) I'd totally devoted myself to the job- along comes little miracle and suddenly the hardest(not bragging -I am saying hardest not best) working teacher she's got who has carried her for a while is going part time. There are also issues between her and the head in that neither of them respect or like each other so our dept is always bottom of the pile for dosh etc- into the middle of all this I go and throw my request for working part time

In my experience there are pro's and con's. I went back as HOD on 0.6 after birth of DS1. My biggest prob has always been getting a decision on which days I work and making sure that it is 3 full days so I can sort out childcare. More recently the deputy (male) has been much more sympathetic about these issues than the head (female) so I've just communicated with him. Parents evenings are a pain i've always been expected to attend whether its a day I work or not. Some years i've shared a tutor group others got away without one (although I did academic mentor some 6th form). This arrangement just about ticked along with one child (did take him and DH on residential fieldtrip at one point!). When I became pregnant with DD recided to take full year off which was great. I returned at easter this year, have found working with 2 much tougher and was also pregnant again, now on maternity leave again and not planning to go back. School have been fairly good considering I will have had 2 maternity leaves and worked one term in 2 years. Not sure my colleague is so impressed but this is largely down to the fact that the school have failed to recruit qualified cover for all 3 of my maternity leaves leaving a lot for him to do.

mamerin - I can't beleive how unprofessional your HoD and the Head have been. What they have said and insinuated is tantamount to bullying! They should be bloody grateful that someone as conscientious as you wants to work with them at all, if they're going to be like this!!
I've worked in a secondary school 0.6 since 5m after dd was born. I spose I'm lucky in that our Head is very supportive of working part-time mums and knows that people like us should be looked-after.
I share a few groups with another part-timer and we have negotiated between ourselves who attends the parents' evenings. As long as one of you goes that should be fine. I think your HoD is trying to lay a guilt trip on you. You DO have to attend meetings on your working days but you don't have to go to any meetings or training days if they don't fall on your working days. Your directed time (non-contact lessons, duties, meetings and parents' evenings) should be proportionate to your hours.
As far as giving you middle band groups goes, officially it's up to the HoD how the allocation within the dept is done, but the way she's doing it is not very good and doesn't make for good relations! Sounds like she's under pressure, like you say, and isn't handling it very well. One advantage about part-time is that you can remove yourself from the day-to-day politics a bit and not get as bogged down or stressed as the full-timers.
I know our schools sound very different in their attitudes, but I've never regretted working part-time one tiny bit. Life's too short!
FWIW, I also think the Head was out of order saying that the Governors 'didn't like it'.

Moomin- the head has told one of my colleagues that this arrangement is only for this year and if i ask for it again next year i won't get it! we'll see!
As for the meetings the union tells me i have to attend 40%- my HOD has quoted directed time at me and says the head has worked it out- HOD didn't even know how much the directed time is- I had to tell her! If they get funny I'll speak to the union and see if it's discrimination when he doesn't make anyone else attend the amount of meetings in accordance with his 'directed time' i.e I should have to attend 40% of the amount of meetings that other classroom teachers attend. To be honest I think HOD's worked it out and maths not being her strongest subject has come to an answer and then I've buggered it all up by saying it's wrong. At the end of the day I'll attend as many meetings as the union says I have to and the way i feel at the moment no flippin more! I was going to attend more but we've had this nonsense now and I feel very angry.
I know my rights, I just didn't want to have to fight for them especially when he lets male members of staff work part time and job share because they're seconded to other educational agencies. I get so cross, I feel that I gave everything to the job for so long and now that I want a little something back all I get is stress As you say though at the end of the day I am only there two days a week and I've got to let this stuff wash over me. I'll give them enough notice for next year, go to the union if they refuse and fight if the union say I've got grounds. If that gets me nowhere I'll go and do supply for a couple of years. DH has agreed to this line of action so long as I do try and fight for it.
Do you know what gets to me though- if it was any other job there would be no problem, especially in the civil service. DH works in the civil service and he tells me that in his sector they bend over backwards to accommodate p/ters. Other schools in the region are also shocked at attitude of head. I'm worried that they're going to be awkward to make this fail and then they can justify refusing me next year. we shall see- I'm not giving in as being at home with dd is far more important to me, esp after recent news reports.

absolutely - you stick to your guns! If i were you, although it does sound a bit sinister maybe, I'd write down all the things your head and hod have said to you so that you can quote them verbatum if you need to speak to the union. Also mention what you said about the male seconded members of staff, as this would seem to prove that they are being prejudiced towards you and your own reasons for working part-time.
They really are being very short-sighted and they may live to regret the way they have treated you, both on a personnel level and on a wider scale of the union does get involved.
As you say, you could always work supply, esp as you say teachers are scarce in your area and you may be able to be a bit more choosy about which schools you go to. Don't let your hod/head get you down. They will be the losers in the long run.
You could also look on the dfe website and see what they say about flexible working maybe? They could be stuff there that you can quote back to the head if you need to.
TBH, I'd get in touch with the union anyway, asap, because you've been bullied already. They will give you the corect advice for proceeding and even if it doesn't coem to anything official, it may be enough to put the wind up your head and make him and the hod realise that they are totally out of order.

do you really think it's bullying- which bits in particular do you think i should seek advice about?

Sorry - have been off for a few days.
I might be wrong but I think any situation which is sposed to be in a professional environment should not result in narky comments and insinuations like the ones you've had. You've have acted properly throughout and in return, your line managers have made life uncomfortable for you, and only because of their own shortcomings. I think because they have actually voice their opinions they are in the wrong. Funnily enough I read something today about the new law called something like 'Dignity in the Workplace' which is designed to weed out bullying at work. I wonder if it would cover people being awkward like you've had?

Desk planner is not enough! Get yourself organised at the beginning of the year. Get a ring binder folder, put the scheme of work in the front then file each of the lesson plans chronologically after that. Create a simple form that you can put after each lesson plan with a few boxes in with something like: how the class went, behaviour issues, notes for next lesson. You don't need to write much, a few sentences at most, then get into the habit of filling it in after EVERY lesson, it shouldn't take more than 3 or 4 minutes.

Once you've set the system up, as long as both you and the jobsharer fill it in religiously, it runs smoothly and impresses the hell out of the inspectors.

HOD has insisted on separate schemes of work for both of us. I have to do certain GCSE work and jobsharer has to do other plus KS3 we've different schemes altogether, different assessments everything. My personal SOW's are very thorough and can be worked through lesson by lesson and I had hoped to use these but HOD has her own ideas and wants us to work separately- as if we're two separate subjects I spose. I'm just keeping my head down and doing as she wants- it's easier
Moomin- thanks for comments- I do feel pushed but realise why so I spose I'm just going to play it by the book for this year and see where we go from here. I am going to keep notes of everything that's said though, just in case things do turn nasty. The funny thing is that regarding me not being given a top set I had actually asked HOD not to give me top GCSE set next year because of the workload and wanting to be with baby so I'm getting what I wanted but had to have nasty comment, that's what gets me. I couldn't even be bothered to remind her of that.
Am going to keep detailed notes of comments and incidences though.
Do you know what happens if they can't find a jobsharer next year? Does he have to find me part time work elsewhere in the school?

I had a quick look on the NAS website last night. If you're returning straight after maternity leave you're in a stronger position and they have to accept you're working p/t and find you something suitable. However, if you're requesting p/t hours NOT after mat leave, even if it's so that you can work more 'family friendly' hours, they have to consider it but they are not actually obliged to provide it.
here's the link

sorry, I made it sound worse than it is though as you'll see, they have to basically prove it won't work, which we all know it does in most schools, so you should have a reasonable case.

Thanks for that moomin-don't know why I'm worrying about next year yet- just sense that they'll make it hard next year- one issue that there will be though is the shortage of teachers in my subject and the remote area that I live in making recruitment for a job sharer difficult. anyway wait and see, cross that bridge next year, concentrate now on dd