Crosswords24 mins ago
Teachers and Snow Days
Should they get paid?
I managed to get to work - my colleague would have but her little ones school was closed.
I managed to get to work - my colleague would have but her little ones school was closed.
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SHOULD HAVE BEEN BEFORE LAST POST - PART ONE!
I am on the support staff for 4 schools, all of which are shut today. One of them I do on a self-employed basis (so I don't get paid if I don't go in), the other 3 I will be paid by. (I am actually doing some work at home - obviously not at the moment! - but there is a limit to what I can do at home). If (say tomorrow) I am unable to get to a school that is open, I will have to make up that time/take it as holiday. AFAIK much the same applies to teachers, though I doubt that many heads would demand the time be made up if a teacher was unable to get to work, despite Electrochem's claims. I don't see what the problem is with school staff getting paid if the school is shut; it's not as if the school is going to be losing money and (by the nature of the job/business) there's a limit to how much work can be done in the holidays (not for me, alas). It's not the fault of the teachers if the schools are shut, so why shouldn't they be paid?
To answer a few questions: The decision to close is made by the head teacher (possibly with some consultation, and following advice from the LEA) and is based on factors such as safety of staff and children in getting to/from school and how many staff are likely to be available. It isn't taken lightly, as they know that there will be childcare problems. Don't forget that there may also be problems with pipes/heating that we don't know about. Most LEA's publish the school closures on their websites, and the BBC radio station will also broadcast school closures. I doubt that many ring parents, but some use Twitter or other automated systems as well. Those who have people capable of quickly altering them may also use their own websites.
I am on the support staff for 4 schools, all of which are shut today. One of them I do on a self-employed basis (so I don't get paid if I don't go in), the other 3 I will be paid by. (I am actually doing some work at home - obviously not at the moment! - but there is a limit to what I can do at home). If (say tomorrow) I am unable to get to a school that is open, I will have to make up that time/take it as holiday. AFAIK much the same applies to teachers, though I doubt that many heads would demand the time be made up if a teacher was unable to get to work, despite Electrochem's claims. I don't see what the problem is with school staff getting paid if the school is shut; it's not as if the school is going to be losing money and (by the nature of the job/business) there's a limit to how much work can be done in the holidays (not for me, alas). It's not the fault of the teachers if the schools are shut, so why shouldn't they be paid?
To answer a few questions: The decision to close is made by the head teacher (possibly with some consultation, and following advice from the LEA) and is based on factors such as safety of staff and children in getting to/from school and how many staff are likely to be available. It isn't taken lightly, as they know that there will be childcare problems. Don't forget that there may also be problems with pipes/heating that we don't know about. Most LEA's publish the school closures on their websites, and the BBC radio station will also broadcast school closures. I doubt that many ring parents, but some use Twitter or other automated systems as well. Those who have people capable of quickly altering them may also use their own websites.
PART 2
My thoughts: As has been said, a lot of the problem is that people no longer live where they work; my schools are all in a nearby city, but I am unable to drive there (nearby roads unsafe, though motorway OK), the buses aren't running and only one of them is near a train station. Very few of the teachers live near the schools (all in deprived areas, and - contrary to earlier statements - teachers do get a fairly decent wage) so I would imagine that not many of them can get in. As has also been said, many parents see accidents as "nice little earners": at one of my schools a parent is trying to get the school to pay for some of their child's clothing on the grounds that it is wearing out too quickly because the child isn't monitored every second of break times to ensure that they aren't - deliberately - doing anything that might cause excess wear (don't want to go into too much detail!).
Another factor is the change in family life. It's no longer Dad at work, Mum at home anymore - it's not even as if the "extended family" is often close by - so child care problems are felt much more keenly. However, school isn't there to provide childcare - it is there to provide an education.
My thoughts: As has been said, a lot of the problem is that people no longer live where they work; my schools are all in a nearby city, but I am unable to drive there (nearby roads unsafe, though motorway OK), the buses aren't running and only one of them is near a train station. Very few of the teachers live near the schools (all in deprived areas, and - contrary to earlier statements - teachers do get a fairly decent wage) so I would imagine that not many of them can get in. As has also been said, many parents see accidents as "nice little earners": at one of my schools a parent is trying to get the school to pay for some of their child's clothing on the grounds that it is wearing out too quickly because the child isn't monitored every second of break times to ensure that they aren't - deliberately - doing anything that might cause excess wear (don't want to go into too much detail!).
Another factor is the change in family life. It's no longer Dad at work, Mum at home anymore - it's not even as if the "extended family" is often close by - so child care problems are felt much more keenly. However, school isn't there to provide childcare - it is there to provide an education.
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well i have read some crap in my time, trannies bird teaches infants and gets just under £38,000 a year.
can't get into school because of the snow and then goes out shopping to m & s.
if the bakers did not turn up for work or the staff that fill the shelves at the supermarket (minimum wage ) did not turn up what would you have to say ?
can't get into school because of the snow and then goes out shopping to m & s.
if the bakers did not turn up for work or the staff that fill the shelves at the supermarket (minimum wage ) did not turn up what would you have to say ?
Brenmar - teachers can't just present themselves at a school randomly to teach. This myth was started by a hoax phonecall put out on a local radio station back in the early 1980s, and since then schools all have a 'bomb-alert' type secret word to use for contacting the media in closure scenarios. Think about it - CRB checks are needed for every new job you do involving children - and any perv could wander into a school and say they were a snowed-off teacher.
Given the litigious nature of our country now, just imagine the lawsuits resulting from kids slipping and injuring themselves - or staff for that matter.
Lastly, not many jobs paid at the rate given to teachers expect you to both stay up all evening marking, accept abuse from the emotionally damaged, and gaurd them from their own worst selves ('playground duty', 'break duty', 'car park duty').
I feel my degree and postgrad are somewhat wasted when I'm sent to make sure they don't trash the head's car or get reversed over by the catering truck.
Given the litigious nature of our country now, just imagine the lawsuits resulting from kids slipping and injuring themselves - or staff for that matter.
Lastly, not many jobs paid at the rate given to teachers expect you to both stay up all evening marking, accept abuse from the emotionally damaged, and gaurd them from their own worst selves ('playground duty', 'break duty', 'car park duty').
I feel my degree and postgrad are somewhat wasted when I'm sent to make sure they don't trash the head's car or get reversed over by the catering truck.
i'm a newly qualified teacher and our school is closed because
a. the road outide is so awful as the county council haven't gritted it causing a horrendous car crash between 2 parents so obviously not safe to drive,
b. we are in the process of having our windows replaced as bunch of jobs decided to smash our windows over the weekend and therefore the school is freezing with virtually no heating so parents are moaning it's too cold
c. half the parents are refusing to take their children to school because the area is too dangerous.
So it's not like us teachers get a choice whether the school is closed or not, the decision is made by head teachers and governors and we don't get a say in it (so you're taking it out on the wrong people as from my experience teachers actually like to get to work, hence why we all spent at least £21k training in the first place ...)
And if people are too snobby about looking after their children in the first place when the snow and ice is this dangerous then they obviously don't care too much about the wellbeing of their children and should have considered this before they managed to get pregnant in the first place.
If you have a problem with school's being closed when it snows this heavily then please take it out with senior membership figures at the school rather than the teaching staff as the matter is out of our control. The majority of us try to get to work and are turned away the moment we arrive so again, not our fault.
a. the road outide is so awful as the county council haven't gritted it causing a horrendous car crash between 2 parents so obviously not safe to drive,
b. we are in the process of having our windows replaced as bunch of jobs decided to smash our windows over the weekend and therefore the school is freezing with virtually no heating so parents are moaning it's too cold
c. half the parents are refusing to take their children to school because the area is too dangerous.
So it's not like us teachers get a choice whether the school is closed or not, the decision is made by head teachers and governors and we don't get a say in it (so you're taking it out on the wrong people as from my experience teachers actually like to get to work, hence why we all spent at least £21k training in the first place ...)
And if people are too snobby about looking after their children in the first place when the snow and ice is this dangerous then they obviously don't care too much about the wellbeing of their children and should have considered this before they managed to get pregnant in the first place.
If you have a problem with school's being closed when it snows this heavily then please take it out with senior membership figures at the school rather than the teaching staff as the matter is out of our control. The majority of us try to get to work and are turned away the moment we arrive so again, not our fault.
i'm a newly qualified teacher and our school is closed because
a. the road outide is so awful as the county council haven't gritted it causing a horrendous car crash between 2 parents so obviously not safe to drive,
b. we are in the process of having our windows replaced as bunch of jobs decided to smash our windows over the weekend and therefore the school is freezing with virtually no heating so parents are moaning it's too cold
c. half the parents are refusing to take their children to school because the area is too dangerous.
So it's not like us teachers get a choice whether the school is closed or not, the decision is made by head teachers and governors and we don't get a say in it (so you're taking it out on the wrong people as from my experience teachers actually like to get to work, hence why we all spent at least £21k training in the first place ...)
And if people are too snobby about looking after their children in the first place when the snow and ice is this dangerous then they obviously don't care too much about the wellbeing of their children and should have considered this before they managed to get pregnant in the first place.
If you have a problem with school's being closed when it snows this heavily then please take it out with senior membership figures at the school rather than the teaching staff as the matter is out of our control. The majority of us try to get to work and are turned away the moment we arrive so again, not our fault.
a. the road outide is so awful as the county council haven't gritted it causing a horrendous car crash between 2 parents so obviously not safe to drive,
b. we are in the process of having our windows replaced as bunch of jobs decided to smash our windows over the weekend and therefore the school is freezing with virtually no heating so parents are moaning it's too cold
c. half the parents are refusing to take their children to school because the area is too dangerous.
So it's not like us teachers get a choice whether the school is closed or not, the decision is made by head teachers and governors and we don't get a say in it (so you're taking it out on the wrong people as from my experience teachers actually like to get to work, hence why we all spent at least £21k training in the first place ...)
And if people are too snobby about looking after their children in the first place when the snow and ice is this dangerous then they obviously don't care too much about the wellbeing of their children and should have considered this before they managed to get pregnant in the first place.
If you have a problem with school's being closed when it snows this heavily then please take it out with senior membership figures at the school rather than the teaching staff as the matter is out of our control. The majority of us try to get to work and are turned away the moment we arrive so again, not our fault.
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