Compulsory CPD outside working hours - please help!

[katewitch]

I work as admin in a school on a 25 hour contract. We have just returned and been told we will have to do compulsory CPD after school every Monday from 3.30-4pm (I finish at 2.50pm to collect my son from school and have no one else that can get him on this day every week).

It was a group meeting so didn't want to make a fuss but said to my line manager that we would need to discuss it, which they waved off, but I want to be armed going into our 1-2-1 meeting about it so could use some help.

Googling hasn't been especially helpful as compulsory CPD in schools seems to be different to everywhere else! Essentially this school has "collapsed" its Inset Days to do this instead. I can't just say I'll do my CPD on the Inset Days instead as there is a requirement for all-staff training that will be on this day after school every month or so.

Has anyone got experience with this that can help? Can they force me to do it? I don't want to make a fuss but equally I just can't do it!

What fraction of fulltime do you work? Say you are 2/3, you only need to do 2/3 of the CPD.
There will be some you will HAVE to do at the right time - I'm thinking sitewide safeguarding etc, but between not needing to do them all, some being unsuitable for office staff (you don't need the one on upcoming changes to the curriculum!), you might get away with only having to do a few in the evening slot, some totally skipped, and some could be done on an inset day, on your own? Couple you find childcare for the occasional monday?

I would absolutely not be doing this! It is not within your contracted hours and you are not a teacher whose contracts are different. In one job I got my contract changed so that I didn't even have to do inset days, obviously pay was slightly reduced. As long as you've done your safeguarding, KCSIE, and Prevent, which are normally online.

You do not have to work outside your contracted hours. If they talk about how you're paid, get them to change pay. Last resort say you will contact your union.

School support staff contracts are often for 40 weeks working and holiday.

Term time is only 39 weeks and then 5 inset days so pupils are in 38.

It's very common that that 25/30 or whatever hours a week you work (25 in your case) will need to be made up and usually this is an extended day once a week.

The contract usually states that that extra week will be on time directed by employer.

So before you go in check how many weeks you are expected to work for the 25 hours and how many you are currently doing. Check your contract!

Because they can make you work those extra hours if you are being paid for them and your contract says about it.

You only have to do the proportion of cpd equivalent to your contract eg 0.5 contract=0.5 of cpd hours. 1/2 hr bloke of cpd seems like utter madness too, you’ll get nothing done!

I don't think you can be expected to work outside your working pattern.

@LionessesRules it's 25/37 so yes 2/3 essentially. The issue is less the big one off ones and more an admin only staff meeting "to keep up to date with each other" once a week at the same time and it's been heavily implied that I should go every week or at the very least every other week!

@Darkness22 thank you, I won't be but need to have the knowledge to stand my ground! I am in a union if it comes to that

They have to accommodate part time workers. Can't remember the legislation.

And they can't discriminate against part time workers.

If you're contracted and paid to work the INSET days, and the Monday afternoon slots are disaggregated INSET days (with extra days off in lieu), then they'll expect you to be there.

Have you checked your contract yet?

It's daft to keep taking advice from people who are telling you what you want to hear rather than based on your actual contract.

As I said support staff contracts aren't straight forward due to the termtime nature and you can't argue a fact without knowing the facts!

My contract says literally nothing about CPD hours...

You can't do training outside your contracted hours. Contact acas and your union. Contact hr and tell them this and get your inset days cut back.

Your contact probably said plus 5 days. They've changed that. Did they consult with you? No? You can't just change an employees working pattern.

I thought it would but it actually doesn't which is weird, it talks about holidays and being tern time plus holidays so 44.3 weeks paid per year, but absolutely nothing about CPD!

I need to do a 3 day course that will also count towards my CPD hours so with that and the occasional all staff training would be more than enough, so surely she can't also make me do weekly team meetings after school?

I will send my contract to my union to look at, but its just so frustrating!

We had an issue in issue in an old workplace with lots of part time staff. There was a compulsory team meeting for a whole morning once a month that all staff were required to attend. Staff would take TOIL, but one or two of us had childcare arrangements that didn't always fit in with the meetings, which we would point out were outside of our contracted hours. The ceo used to like express sympathy for our childcare issues, but we would always correct and say they aren't issues, they are arrangements made for working around our contracted hours.