Time off secondary..to say anything?

dizziblonde

susieb wrote: »

I would not mind them being stroppy over time off, if it applied to teachers as well. My dd is in year 8, and last year had cover teachers for many lessons, cover teachers do their best but they dont even follow the work set by the ill teacher.

I'm staying out of the in/out of school thing - but I AM going to take exception and offence at the above statement. I'm one of "those cover teachers" and I work my backside off when I'm in school, where we don't know the kids, often get undermined by full-time staff there and do our damndest to do a good job when the odds are stacked against us from the start.

If there is planning left, I DO follow it, if there's a planning file around - I go through it to try to see roughly where the kids are and try to carry on, if there isn't planning left - I try to guage what they're covering from looking through books. I definitely do NOT just faff about not doing what I'm supposed to like this poster suggested.

Quite often the brutal truth is the teacher's been taken ill over the weekend or overnight, they've got their planning file, books and often the laptop that works the interactive whiteboard at home, quite understandably as lots of teachers plan on the weekends (I never did myself because I hated hitting Sunday and having piles of paperwork staring at me malevolently but that's just me). Of course - a poor "cover teacher" comes in, has none of this stuff (you might get lucky and get some support from a parallel teacher or TA or more than likely you'll get naff all, not even lists of kids with SEN) and gets completely lambasted by parents like this one from the get-go.

What you said about us was offensive - I spend a heck of a lot of my time trying to decipher some of the most illegible, coffee-stained, difficult to comprehend (planning being one of those kind of documents that makes perfect sense to the person writing it and working from it) planning on order to ensure continuity for the kids. I go above and beyond because I take a heck of a lot of pride in doing what I do well (indeed I'm not taking work bookings at the moment because I'm not in a position to do my job well because of horrible real life stuff - and I have no intention of half a.rsing it).

poet123

dizziblonde wrote: »

I'm staying out of the in/out of school thing - but I AM going to take exception and offence at the above statement. I'm one of "those cover teachers" and I work my backside off when I'm in school, where we don't know the kids, often get undermined by full-time staff there and do our damndest to do a good job when the odds are stacked against us from the start.

If there is planning left, I DO follow it, if there's a planning file around - I go through it to try to see roughly where the kids are and try to carry on, if there isn't planning left - I try to guage what they're covering from looking through books. I definitely do NOT just faff about not doing what I'm supposed to like this poster suggested.

Quite often the brutal truth is the teacher's been taken ill over the weekend or overnight, they've got their planning file, books and often the laptop that works the interactive whiteboard at home, quite understandably as lots of teachers plan on the weekends (I never did myself because I hated hitting Sunday and having piles of paperwork staring at me malevolently but that's just me). Of course - a poor "cover teacher" comes in, has none of this stuff (you might get lucky and get some support from a parallel teacher or TA or more than likely you'll get naff all, not even lists of kids with SEN) and gets completely lambasted by parents like this one from the get-go.

What you said about us was offensive - I spend a heck of a lot of my time trying to decipher some of the most illegible, coffee-stained, difficult to comprehend (planning being one of those kind of documents that makes perfect sense to the person writing it and working from it) planning on order to ensure continuity for the kids. I go above and beyond because I take a heck of a lot of pride in doing what I do well (indeed I'm not taking work bookings at the moment because I'm not in a position to do my job well because of horrible real life stuff - and I have no intention of half a.rsing it).

I agree, being a Cover Suoervisor or Cover Teacher is often a thankless task, and always a very hard one.

gratefulforhelp_2

bonty44 wrote: »

Was waiting for a comment like this about teachers

Why are teachers not supposed to be ill? Logically we are more likely to be ill than a number of jobs because of the contact we have with large numbers of children. The number of times I have had to phone a parent to take home a child who has a raging temperature / been sick in class / not been able to get their head off a table, and the number of times said children have told me that they had told their parents how they felt before they got ready for school!!! At the end of the day, we all do our best, don't we? It took a good five years for my immune system to be strong enough to shrug off most of the bugs circulating about the school. Also, it is not the teachers who set the attendance rules.

Hear hear. Also, we are not immune to more serious diseases that affect the non-teaching population.

Colleagues with cancer, for example.

balletshoes wrote: »

We weren't allowed out of our beds if we were too ill to go to school - no tv, nothing to do but sleep. So if we weren't really poorly, it was very very boring at home. I follow the same rule with my DD if I'm in any doubt at all that she's not really too ill to go to school. She rarely asks to stay off school ill .

We have this rule, works a treat!

dizziblonde wrote: »

I'm staying out of the in/out of school thing - but I AM going to take exception and offence at the above statement. I'm one of "those cover teachers" and I work my backside off when I'm in school, where we don't know the kids, often get undermined by full-time staff there and do our damndest to do a good job when the odds are stacked against us from the start.

If there is planning left, I DO follow it, if there's a planning file around - I go through it to try to see roughly where the kids are and try to carry on, if there isn't planning left - I try to guage what they're covering from looking through books. I definitely do NOT just faff about not doing what I'm supposed to like this poster suggested.

Quite often the brutal truth is the teacher's been taken ill over the weekend or overnight, they've got their planning file, books and often the laptop that works the interactive whiteboard at home, quite understandably as lots of teachers plan on the weekends (I never did myself because I hated hitting Sunday and having piles of paperwork staring at me malevolently but that's just me). Of course - a poor "cover teacher" comes in, has none of this stuff (you might get lucky and get some support from a parallel teacher or TA or more than likely you'll get naff all, not even lists of kids with SEN) and gets completely lambasted by parents like this one from the get-go.

What you said about us was offensive - I spend a heck of a lot of my time trying to decipher some of the most illegible, coffee-stained, difficult to comprehend (planning being one of those kind of documents that makes perfect sense to the person writing it and working from it) planning on order to ensure continuity for the kids. I go above and beyond because I take a heck of a lot of pride in doing what I do well (indeed I'm not taking work bookings at the moment because I'm not in a position to do my job well because of horrible real life stuff - and I have no intention of half a.rsing it).

Yep, being a supply teacher is a thankless task.

Teacher bashing, its the easy option:mad:

Gleeful

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

Teacher bashing, its the easy option:mad:

I hear you.

Nobody has yet mentioned how irritating it is when you start the new school year, meet your classes, then a pupil appears a week later who has been on holiday and missed the first week of term. This is all in spite of the summer holidays being a massive six weeks long. You have 25 pupils started on the day's task and have to spend half an hour with the other pupil getting them up to speed. Even worse, I only see some of my classes for the big total of an hour a week.

Spendless

In an ideal world we would indeed none of us ever take our children out term-time. However just like teachers and other school staff have to take their holidays at set times (ie when the school is shut) so too does it apply to other industries and their rules do not always fit in with an academic year. My B-i-l for example works for a large clothing retailer but as a manager in their distribution centre, he is not allowed to take AL in July or December (sale time) or any week in which a BH falls (too busy). That leaves if he wishes to take a fortnight's holiday 3 weeks in August providing my sister can get the same weeks off - 1 off at a time in her office.

Of the few factories that are left here, 1 has 2 seperate shut down weeks, neither week is in school hols, though ironically 1 used to be when I was at school but then the LA fetched holidays in line with the rest of the country and out of sync with other industry.

Mr S is a project manager working on the implementation of a new computerised system. When it is no-one can be off. Unsurprisingly his employers wish the system to be installed at a time when it suits THEM and not a school calendar.

slscarborough

I have never agreed with taking children out of school for holidays. My DS1 is 15 and in his last year off school and has never been off school other than being ill. In fact is has rarely ever ill and most years has received an award for 100% attendance.

I also am unable to take my AL in December, Jan or July. Therefore we go away for summer half term or August.

For most people it isnt that difficult to do.

flea72

Spendless wrote: »

he is not allowed to take AL in July or December (sale time) or any week in which a BH falls (too busy). That leaves if he wishes to take a fortnight's holiday 3 weeks in August providing my sister can get the same weeks off - 1 off at a time in her office

so at the start of the holiday year, you sit down and plan when would suit the whole family best, and get in your holiday requests at work early

the kids are off for 2wks at easter, and in february, june and october, they have a week off too

my OH cant take time off in july/august or december, but we still manage to have holidays. we just work around the school calender. so when there are inset days, you can usually manage a long weekend, or we go away twice, but only for a week at a time, rather than a fortnight in one go

its not an impossible task, it just takes careful planning - ok, i dont get to go away on my actual bday/anniversary, etc. but is a celebratory date that important, that you cant postpone it until a more suitable time - you would think an adult could be grown up enough to accept the situation and deal with it

F

Spendless

flea72 wrote: »

so at the start of the holiday year, you sit down and plan when would suit the whole family best, and get in your holiday requests at work early

the kids are off for 2wks at easter, and in february, june and october, they have a week off too

my OH cant take time off in july/august or december, but we still manage to have holidays. we just work around the school calender. so when there are inset days, you can usually manage a long weekend, or we go away twice, but only for a week at a time, rather than a fortnight in one go

its not an impossible task, it just takes careful planning - ok, i dont get to go away on my actual bday/anniversary, etc. but is a celebratory date that important, that you cant postpone it until a more suitable time - you would think an adult could be grown up enough to accept the situation and deal with it

F

They have a week off in May following the whitsun BH. Cannot have week off where a BH falls. The same applies to Easter where 2 BHs fall. That leaves 1 week holidays for feb and Oct. What I said is IF they wish to take a fortnight's holiday they are restricted to 3 weeks in Augustn outside of term-time. Not the last week which is also where a BH falls. IF my sister can get the same 2 weeks off week 1-2 or 2-3 depending on whether anyone else is off and not as simple as just getting to the holiday planner first, someone might be getting married for example, or having relatives over from abroad.

I used it as an example as why not everyone is able to have the same time off as school staff in the same way school staff can't have their AL to suit a different industry.

gabyjane

Thanks for the replys.

Well as already said dh can't just take time off so thats why it is done the way we do it. The trip has to be the 4 days as this is how long the holiday is.

northern_at_heart

School term is school. Holidays are holidays. Not rocket science is it? If you have kids, you accept that from then on, family holidays are going to be limited to school holidays. Having children is a lifestyle choice, so you should accept these compromises.