Teachers - day off at the slightest sign of snow
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It tends to be the unionised semi civil service professions that cannot get to work eg teachers, civil service and train staff etc.
Coincidence?0 -
As an aside point.....in my experience the VAST MAJORITY of teachers do not live in the area they teach in.
This is simply because they wish to be able live their lives out with school without constantly bumping into parents! Having lived in the same street as a school I worked in for one year I can fully appreciate their reasoning!"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" (Douglas Adams)0 -
There is also the fact that while at 8.30 in the morning, it could just be a light dusting, they have no idea what its going to be like later in the day.
If the buses stop running, how are the kids going to get home? Some schools don't have catering facilities on site, so if the school dinners can't get in, then how do they feed the kids?
What about if it gets worse during the day and the parents are stuck in traffic, how long do the teacher stay at school to look after the children until they are all picked up, then they have to attempt to make the journey home themselves.
The thing mentioned about the CRB is correct, teachers cannot just rock up to the local school and expect to be allowed in, unless they are checked for that school, it sounds stupid, one CRB should cover all, but it doesn't. The padre at the local air cadets had to wait for his CRB before he was allowed near the cadets, even though he had one for the church, one for the school and one for a playgroup.
And of course you have the kids that will want to play out in the snow, as soon as little Johnny falls over and hurts himself, you can bet his parents will be suing the school, and if they are already struggling with staff levels, how can they spare another member of staff to go to hospital with him? (providing an ambulance can get to the school and there is one available)0 -
PinkLipgloss wrote: »It is not as straightforward as this.
Firstly - some teachers (for example myself when I lived in Scotland) do not live within walking distance of a school nor have access to a car. Should I be penalised for this?
Yes. It's your responsibility to get to work in the morning, the same as it is for everyone else.
Properly extreme weather conditions are something else but weather like yesterday's will happen repeatedly most years. It's not acceptable to simply say you'll have a free day off everytime it happens.0 -
Oooh this makes me think back to when I was in school, ours was the only one in the whole area that would stay open, when other schools would close up. I used to hate it as you'd be sat on the school bus seeing all the other kids playing snowballs, and even asked my dad to switch school!0
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PinkLipgloss wrote: »It is not as straightforward as this.
Firstly - some teachers (for example myself when I lived in Scotland) do not live within walking distance of a school nor have access to a car. Should I be penalised for this? Should other teachers have to work whilst I stay home because of this?
Secondly - Who will pay for these extra disclosure checks? Also who will manage this? It will require regular management given that teachers change schools/move homes, not to mention the situation with supply teachers! Do you have any idea of teacher/support staff work loads? Should we add extra "in-service days" to manage this scheme to cover a couple of potential snow days? (Thus reducing teaching days)
Fourthly - is it acceptable for teachers records (e.g. criminal record checks, photos etc) to be lying around the office of their "local" school. If it is stored securely who is to access such information when said teachers turn up to teach on the snow day? Who is to say who will and will not be able to make it to school to access said records?
Also - there are serious health and safety implications. Are there going to be enough teachers living within walking distance of every school? I doubt it. Also - are these teachers supposed to "magically" know about allergies/medical conditions of these children whom they have never seen before? Are they also supposed to know which children cannot be picked up by certain parents (e.g. in cases of parental separation)? Are they supposed to know which parents are "potentially violent" and should not be approached? (and before anyone asks YES this has been a real issue for me over the past couple of years teaching). Overcoming this would, yet again, be a serious administration burden to someone. It is highly sensitive information that cannot exactly be posted on notice boards in classrooms! Not to mention a nightmare for those poor teachers!
I could go on - but I think I have made my point.
Call me a pedant but are you really qualified to be a teacher if you can't count to four ??0 -
The CRB checks are paid for ( and presumably owned by) your employer so that might be one reason why they don't share them with other employers.
When I was a kid in central Scotland and it snowed things just kept on working and nobody went on about it.. In fact I only recall seeing snow on the news if it affected London!
Since I moved to the deep south, snow's always treated as unexpected freak weather.
And I always deliberately chose to live in places where I wouldn't bump into my students. I've met teachers whose students' parents turned up at thier doors at the weekend to deal with school issues.
Stuff that for a game of soldiers!:DThere is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker0 -
Call me a pedant but are you really qualified to be a teacher if you can't count to four ??
Whooops - typo there.
I will fix it.
Yes I am a fully qualified teacher. I am more careful when I'm preparing lessons - honest! :rotfl:"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" (Douglas Adams)0 -
At one time this might have been an option.
Given that the situation now is that all adults in a school, whether paid or volunteers, have to have a CRB check SPECIFIC TO THAT SCHOOL 'random' adults turning up at the nearest school are not going to be able to get anywhere near the children.
This really gets on my nerves. Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with the whole people working with children and the vulnerable should have criminal record checks but the system has turned in to a money making farce.
If I have a CRB check done then it should be MY CRB which I can take with me and it should be valid wherever I go. Going to a school 15miles up the road, they are not suddenly going to find out some shady past which wasn't there previously.0 -
The CRB thing is in BAD need of updating - we live in a digital age after all! You'd think they could be more efficient!
Furthermore - people place too much trust in it IMO. All it means is that you have not been CAUGHT doing a criminal offence - not necessarily that you have not been involved in criminal activities!"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" (Douglas Adams)0
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