school fines for out of term holidays?

pollypenny

duchy wrote: »

That's fine but had you twilighted it -the kids could have had that extra day off when weather was better (you obviously missed the point about a training day midweek disrupting the flow of the academic week) ...or even ...here's a novel idea -twilight ALL training days and NOT disrupt the kids at all -Teachers wouldn't miss those few extra hours working -just like people in industry work late to ensure projects are completed to time. Unpaid overtime is a fact in many professions now -why not teaching - Is there any good reason why "teacher training days" can't become teacher training evenings and only disrupt the teachers and not the parents ? The number of working parents vastly outnumber the number of teachers after all so it would benefit many more than it would penalize.

Teachers to start unpaid overtime! :eek:

Tell that to my OH and kids who thought I lived in the dining room with a pile of books.

Person_one

pollypenny wrote: »

Teachers to start unpaid overtime! :eek:

Tell that to my OH and kids who thought I lived in the dining room with a pile of books.

Yeah, had to smile at that. Teaching is probably one of the worst professions for taking work home with you, I thought that was pretty common knowledge.

pinkshoes

Person_one wrote: »

Yeah, had to smile at that. Teaching is probably one of the worst professions for taking work home with you, I thought that was pretty common knowledge.

I've already managed 15 hours so far in the hols, and at least another 10 to go! Teaching pay is rubbish for the hours you actually work, if you average it out.

pollypenny

Christmas holidays = report writing:language and literature for two GCSE classes!

Thank god for retirement !

maman

I always tell myself I'm not going to post on these threads as they invariably end up as 'teacher-bashing' but I read a few of the posts where some were desperately trying to stick up for schools and I just have to put my 2p's worth in. I suppose its always going to happen as long as some parents value the childcare aspect of school more than the learning.:(

WestonDave wrote: »

However, what is clear to me as a parent (can't speak for teachers) is that schooling works best when school and home work together.

For example our 6 week summer holiday is a hangover from the days when farming dominated and all hands were needed in the fields for harvest.

I can speak for teachers and of course it's best when school and home work together. That's why IMO it can't be good for children if some parents are implying that holidays take precedence over work, that it's OK to flaunt rules if it suits you, that education doesn't matter and even worse that it's OK to lie and say you're ill when you're not. That's a brilliant preparation for the adult world.;)

Dave, I do take your point about the need for reform but as no one noticed that schools no longer have a 6 week holiday in the summer? It's been 5 weeks and a few days ever since training days were introduced. As pollypenny said, training days are holidays just arranged differently to accommodate training. I did wonder whether it might be an idea to open the school late one day a week for training like some shops do or start a little earlier each day and close every Friday at lunchtime like many workplaces so that teachers could get on with their planning then. I'm sure that would go down like a lead balloon?:rotfl:

duchy

I can see all sides -as a parent but also from working in education.
It's understandable teachers get riled at the comments about the length of their holidays....however... all but the least experienced or most disorganized teachers non contact hours away from school simply put them on a par with the rest of the working population and their 30-35ish working days holiday a year. The time spent working is very similar just in a different format. Moving training "days" to say two evenings 4pm-7pm wouldn't affect the time spent training -but I'm sure the schools who already use the twilight format would have the teachers up in arms at losing a "day off" and delighted parents at not having to cover the daytime closure when the teachers weren't there anyway.

Training days are a pain for most working parents anyway and most parents would prefer to see them tagged onto the beginning or end of term -or half term anyway but when schools take the mickey like the school I worked at by closing the school when the training is done at other times anyway so there is no need to inconvenience vast number of parents with a closure then the whole way of doing things should be re-examined. Teachers keep very quiet about these kind of training days as they are only too well aware how parents would feel about them if they were generally known about. It smacks of hypocrisy to fine parents for absence when some schools are up to this kind of shenanigans which is as disruptive to education as a day off for any other reason -especially if the day falls midweek.

Indie_Kid

Isn't the fine normally less than taking the same holiday during the holidays?

I have to admit I have very little sympathy for parents who do moan about the fines. Your children don't "need" a holiday. They get enough time off school as it is.

Some of us do take holidays during term time to avoid children too.

Spendless

maman wrote: »

Dave, I do take your point about the need for reform but as no one noticed that schools no longer have a 6 week holiday in the summer? It's been 5 weeks and a few days ever since training days were introduced.

This isn't true of all areas. This year my kids broke up on Friday 19th July. The 1st day of school hols was Mon 22 July (not a training day). The school holidays finished on Friday 30th August exactly 6 weeks later. One of my children returned to school on Tues 3rd September as Monday 2nd was an inset day, the other returned a day later on Wed 4th Sept as both Mon and Tues were inset days at his school. My kids were off a full 6 weeks before inset days were added on.

bestpud

sh1305 wrote: »

Isn't the fine normally less than taking the same holiday during the holidays?

I have to admit I have very little sympathy for parents who do moan about the fines. Your children don't "need" a holiday. They get enough time off school as it is.

Some of us do take holidays during term time to avoid children too.

We take advantage of cheaper and quieter term time holidays too, but really, we should be the ones paying more as we aren't queuing for everything and putting up with the hustle and bustle of school holidays.

Really, you have no right to moan as you are getting a bargain on the back of all those parents paying full whack in the holidays. It's a bit cheeky to want it all ways, don't you think?

Indie_Kid

bestpud wrote: »

We take advantage of cheaper and quieter term time holidays too, but really, we should be the ones paying more as we aren't queuing for everything and putting up with the hustle and bustle of school holidays.

Really, you have no right to moan as you are getting a bargain on the back of all those parents paying full whack in the holidays. It's a bit cheeky to want it all ways, don't you think?

eh? I'm not moaning about anything.