Inset Days vs School Holidays

IrishRose12

duchy wrote: »

Part of the problem is that training days aren't just for training . Admin like report writing and teacher ta one to ones are administrative tasks and should be timetabled. Everyone loses out because of poor management/insufficient funding by abusing training days by using them for non training tasks.

We are not abusing anything. When exactly are these thing to be timetabled in?? As it's impossible to timetable things in that are required to teach in a school day, never mind anything else.
And we don't have poor management. The board of governors are fully aware of what each day is used for as is the Education board. We are not doing anything wrong in the slightest.


http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/schools-and-infrastructure-2/schools-management/79-school_governors_pg/schools_79_governor-roles-and-responsibilities_pg/schools_79_chapter-18-school-days_pg.htm#exceptional-closures-for-school-development-days_alink

IrishRose12

ViolaLass wrote: »

Interesting. At my school, everyone is expected to be at school on INSET days precisely so that we can do whole school training.

That's not possible here when a lot of courses are in other schools/Education Board centres. The board here sends out details, dates and times of courses that teachers need to attend or have the option to attend. Same as Classroom assistants.

It's also not unusual for schools here having to bring in sub teachers to cover a class for the day so a teacher can go out to a course. The board provided the wages for this cover. However if a classroom assistant has to go on a course they are not covered. I myself have been out 4 days this year, 2 for Behaviour management, 1 for First Aid and the other was an information session for a topic/test we have just started in our school.

That's how a lot of sub teachers are still in jobs here, due to teachers being out on courses.
The teacher I work with could be out class at least 8 days (not consecutive) over the school year. The pupils aren't losing out on teaching as the teachers have to leave the subs work to do with the children.

On staff days where the whole staff is in school it's usually the teachers in the staffroom having meetings regarding upcoming events, 6 weekly note plans, planning in general, meeting with the SENCO and God knows what else teachers have to plan and discuss.

One of the baker days was when the head of ICT had to explain a new computer programme and how to use it etc.
Our Child Protection officer was out for 2 days on a course for that. When the children went home half day for Christmas we stayed on and had our Child Protection session.

Also if you look on the internet there are plenty of reasons for baker days, INCLUDING Admin duties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inset_day

onlyroz

I just wish schools in the same LA could be made to have their inset days at the same time. My kids are minibused to the after school club at a neighbouring school which, surprise surprise, has inset days at different times. This means I have to find cover for the inset days of both schools.

mumps

Nicki wrote: »

Your city friend will earn every penny of it daisy and you will not be in the slightest bit envious of her. I worked in a city law firm for 10 years and was paid very well but the demands were mental and it was not in the least family friendly. I worked from 9am to 1am at least 5 days a week and from 10 to 5 both weekend days. Holidays were regularly cancelled and I was not allowed to start my maternity leave until the day before I have birth to my first child and probably did 12 hours work per week every week of my maternity leave too. Very few women with young families continue in the city as lawyers and the price you need to pay to do so is IMO not worth the salary.

I thought you could start your maternity leave anytime from 11 weeks before due date so long as you gave correct notice.https://www.gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave/notice-period

Did you not give the correct notice?

I am sure as a lawyer you don't need a link but here is one anyway

Nicki

It was made very clear to me mumps that in the absence of a medical reason trying to start my maternity leave before my boss's Christmas holiday would be a dramatically career limiting gesture. Just as it was made clear to us all that refusing to sign the opt out from the working time directive would be career limiting.

The reason why jobs in the city are so highly paid is because you cannot rely on the normal legal protections without a high degree of blowback. They would rather pay you off and get rid of you (in the process making you virtually unemployable with other city firms).

mumps

Nicki wrote: »

It was made very clear to me mumps that in the absence of a medical reason trying to start my maternity leave before my boss's Christmas holiday would be a dramatically career limiting gesture. Just as it was made clear to us all that refusing to sign the opt out from the working time directive would be career limiting.

The reason why jobs in the city are so highly paid is because you cannot rely on the normal legal protections without a high degree of blowback. They would rather pay you off and get rid of you (in the process making you virtually unemployable with other city firms).

Wow, no respect for the law then. I find that really shocking but I think I would have got a medical certificate, that is unreasonable.

lostinrates

mumps wrote: »

Wow, no respect for the law then. I find that really shocking but I think I would have got a medical certificate, that is unreasonable.

The clients using this kind of legal service demand consistency and a twenty four seven service. DH has worked with female colleagues who have worked through maternity leave ( from home) so that they are contactable to clients. This is making the law often as not. Just as the self employed often don't get the same kind of allowances, and in other jobs there are caveats, people in some jobs 'earn' caveats, whether they are pleasant or not.

Contrary to nicki's experience DH has colleagues who are mothers and work in international corporate law and his senior on a deal that's just finished was a mother, who was able to manage her time really well. Dh's met her primary school aged child in the office and shared some home baking with them. Having your child in the office in the evening might not be everyone's ideal of parenting though, but it seems to work for her on the Very odd occasion

There is no work directive, you sign away right, there is NO holiday leave! your holidays get cancelled on way to air port! or even while you are away you can get called back sometimes and you work while away. We have only had two periods of holiday not cancelled in the time DH has worked as a solicitor. ( apart from single days or four day weekends) . this kind of solicitor often goes on holiday to crazy far flung paces not because they want to,. But because they seek places their blackberry won't work and its 'not their fault'. There was a well publicised case a few years ago where a trainee buckled under the stress and killed himself, highlighting the hours and environment that people are often, expected to work under.


The payback is, beside the salary, DH is able to give a considerable allowance of time pro bono ( including in some of the worst rep inner city schools in the past), and they have provided medical insurance to help with my not inconsiderable medical bills, and DH enjoys the quality of work, if not the work load. We live apart weekdays which people think is stressful, ( and yes, it wouldn't be our first choice in an ideal world, but we have found positives in the situation:)) we actually see not much less of each other than when we lived together and there is less pressure on DH who felt an obligation to try and hurry up and get home, and he was finding stress managment at outset of his career with high employer demands and a 'disabled' wife difficult to balance. Now he knows he can work through the night a couple of times a week if he needs to, which often means he can get out early at six on a Friday. . We just enjoyed a FIVE day holiday together at home, which is epic for us, and has been wonderful

gregg1

duchy wrote: »

Indeed you can ....but I *have* worked as a classroom assistant -admittedly at secondary not primary level as you do to judge by your waiting for parents and cutting out remarks. So yes I can compare working in challenging roles in the private sector with working in education using personal experience .Frankly the work load of a TA is nothing compared with a teaching role however- as you say the paperwork is a heck of a lot less-you finish at 3.30-4pm and walk away. But we're not talking about support staff in this conversation - we're talking about teachers. As someone said to Daisy earlier in the thread- No-one is saying teachers work less hard than other graduates in comparable roles in the private sector - going in early, working late, working through lunch taking work home are common there too with holidays are usually only five or six weeks a year. Even allowing for lesson planning at home in the summer holidays etc most teachers will admit they still have more time off for holidays. I do believe the misconceptions about how easy or hard done by people are.....come from both sides. (but I also believe classroom assistants get the best of both worlds so have NOTHING to whine about !!)

You have not worked as a teacher so your criticism is not based on complete knowledge of a teacher's time and workload and is therefore unfair.

FYI, there many teachers (I personally know of quite a number) who have worked outside their field and think that teaching is a the hardest and most thankless job they have ever done.

You claimed in your earlier post that you are not anti teacher. You come across as exactly that. Maybe you don't mean to but you do!

ViolaLass

I thought duchy came across as fairly balanced on teachers (and I am one!). I've worked outside teaching too and while it is the hardest thing I've done, I don't think it's a thankless task. It's just more scrutinised than anything else I've done.

gregg1

ViolaLass wrote: »

I thought duchy came across as fairly balanced on teachers (and I am one!). I've worked outside teaching too and while it is the hardest thing I've done, I don't think it's a thankless task. It's just more scrutinised than anything else I've done.

If you look at the amount of teacher bashing which goes on a lot of time on this forum, it is understandable why many teachers get exasperated by having to constantly defend themselves against the onslaught they get on here.