Teachers get it handy!

[maggie]

Thanks for the clarification. Back to a full week tomorrow regardless. Enjoy.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Her arguement centred around which of the two boxes we ticked back in the original letter they sent out. App one of them said u would still DT and cover/duty etc. She said we were in breach of our contract if we didn't do it. As I couldn't remember what the letter said, I just listened.

In fairness, it was a pretty one sided argument.

Right. She must have thought it was an either / or choice.

We still have to do our planning though. we can decide whether we do it at home or in school. Means that some will still probably stay on in school to do it but you can now walk out at the end of your teaching day .  early morning duty and bus duty remains as well.

I know of one school who were due to start an inspection tomorrow. They were all geared up to spend xmas holidays in school preparing for it. The boycott of inspections  put pay to that though.

Why would they possibly be spending Christmas in school to prepare for an inspection? Surely given the dedicated nature of staff in our schools, teaching standards are always at the requisite level and there is no need to put in hours of additional effort to get things up to scratch once every four years when they get news of a pre-planned inspection?

[Tony Baloney]

Her arguement centred around which of the two boxes we ticked back in the original letter they sent out. App one of them said u would still DT and cover/duty etc. She said we were in breach of our contract if we didn't do it. As I couldn't remember what the letter said, I just listened.

In fairness, it was a pretty one sided argument.

Right. She must have thought it was an either / or choice.

We still have to do our planning though. we can decide whether we do it at home or in school. Means that some will still probably stay on in school to do it but you can now walk out at the end of your teaching day .  early morning duty and bus duty remains as well.

I know of one school who were due to start an inspection tomorrow. They were all geared up to spend xmas holidays in school preparing for it. The boycott of inspections  put pay to that though.

Why would they possibly be spending Christmas in school to prepare for an inspection? Surely given the dedicated nature of staff in our schools, teaching standards are always at the requisite level and there is no need to put in hours of additional effort to get things up to scratch once every four years when they get news of a pre-planned inspection?

You would think that! Instead you get a heap of back-dating and creation of lesson plans, policies and schemes of work that should be in place as a matter of course to ensure our children receive the best possible education as funded by us taxpayers

[Gaffer]

I know of one school who were due to start an inspection tomorrow. They were all geared up to spend xmas holidays in school preparing for it. The boycott of inspections  put pay to that though.

Why would they possibly be spending Christmas in school to prepare for an inspection? Surely given the dedicated nature of staff in our schools, teaching standards are always at the requisite level and there is no need to put in hours of additional effort to get things up to scratch once every four years when they get news of a pre-planned inspection?

It s the way things are with inspections and has been for a long time. The standards expected from the inspectors are so high that teachers need this time to prepare. The detailed written planning, the wall displays, the differenciation in each lesson to cater for all abilities in the class, the detailed marking of books, the actual planning of lessons, the detailed policies of each subect area etc etc.  All this work has to be done outside of normal teaching hours and despite the fact that teachers try to keep on top of it as best they can during the normal school year once the inspection comes it takes over their lives for the period . As I say,  the standard expected is so high the this time is needed to get ready for it and impossible to maintain once the inspectors have gone !

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

I know of one school who were due to start an inspection tomorrow. They were all geared up to spend xmas holidays in school preparing for it. The boycott of inspections  put pay to that though.

Why would they possibly be spending Christmas in school to prepare for an inspection? Surely given the dedicated nature of staff in our schools, teaching standards are always at the requisite level and there is no need to put in hours of additional effort to get things up to scratch once every four years when they get news of a pre-planned inspection?

It s the way things are with inspections and has been for a long time. The standards expected from the inspectors are so high that teachers need this time to prepare. The detailed written planning, the wall displays, the differenciation in each lesson to cater for all abilities in the class, the detailed marking of books, the actual planning of lessons, the detailed policies of each subect area etc etc.  All this work has to be done outside of normal teaching hours and despite the fact that teachers try to keep on top of it as best they can during the normal school year once the inspection comes it takes over their lives for the period . As I say,  the standard expected is so high the this time is needed to get ready for it and impossible to maintain once the inspectors have gone !

So what you're telling me is that the inspection system is a farce? (To be fair, I knew this, hailing as I do from a long lineage of educators)

[Tony Baloney]

I know of one school who were due to start an inspection tomorrow. They were all geared up to spend xmas holidays in school preparing for it. The boycott of inspections  put pay to that though.

Why would they possibly be spending Christmas in school to prepare for an inspection? Surely given the dedicated nature of staff in our schools, teaching standards are always at the requisite level and there is no need to put in hours of additional effort to get things up to scratch once every four years when they get news of a pre-planned inspection?

It s the way things are with inspections and has been for a long time. The standards expected from the inspectors are so high that teachers need this time to prepare. The detailed written planning, the wall displays, the differenciation in each lesson to cater for all abilities in the class, the detailed marking of books, the actual planning of lessons, the detailed policies of each subect area etc etc.  All this work has to be done outside of normal teaching hours and despite the fact that teachers try to keep on top of it as best they can during the normal school year once the inspection comes it takes over their lives for the period . As I say,  the standard expected is so high the this time is needed to get ready for it and impossible to maintain once the inspectors have gone !

So what you're telling me is that the inspection system is a farce? (To be fair, I knew this, hailing as I do from a long lineage of educators)

Or teachers don't put the hours into fulfilling the roles they are handsomely rewarded for. Last I checked they have all summer to keep up to date with the requirements of the post.

[ONeill]

Ach it's human nature. You might keep a clean and tidy house but if your ma said she was coming down to visit you in your house for the first time you'll be polishing under the stairs.

[Gaffer]

b]

Why would they possibly be spending Christmas in school to prepare for an inspection? Surely given the dedicated nature of staff in our schools, teaching standards are always at the requisite level and there is no need to put in hours of additional effort to get things up to scratch once every four years when they get news of a pre-planned inspection?

It s the way things are with inspections and has been for a long time. The standards expected from the inspectors are so high that teachers need this time to prepare. The detailed written planning, the wall displays, the differenciation in each lesson to cater for all abilities in the class, the detailed marking of books, the actual planning of lessons, the detailed policies of each subect area etc etc.  All this work has to be done outside of normal teaching hours and despite the fact that teachers try to keep on top of it as best they can during the normal school year once the inspection comes it takes over their lives for the period . As I say,  the standard expected is so high the this time is needed to get ready for it and impossible to maintain once the inspectors have gone !

So what you're telling me is that the inspection system is a farce? (To be fair, I knew this, hailing as I do from a long lineage of educators)

The school during an inspection is like a woman dolled up for a wedding. Looks the part for the day but when the big day is over she revrerts to her everyday mode of hair tied back, no make up and tracksuit bottoms showing off her big hole !

[Gaffer]

]

It s the way things are with inspections and has been for a long time. The standards expected from the inspectors are so high that teachers need this time to prepare. The detailed written planning, the wall displays, the differenciation in each lesson to cater for all abilities in the class, the detailed marking of books, the actual planning of lessons, the detailed policies of each subect area etc etc.  All this work has to be done outside of normal teaching hours and despite the fact that teachers try to keep on top of it as best they can during the normal school year once the inspection comes it takes over their lives for the period . As I say,  the standard expected is so high the this time is needed to get ready for it and impossible to maintain once the inspectors have gone !

So what you're telling me is that the inspection system is a farce? (To be fair, I knew this, hailing as I do from a long lineage of educators)

Or teachers don't put the hours into fulfilling the roles they are handsomely rewarded for. Last I checked they have all summer to keep up to date with the requirements of the post.

Eh?, Who works during their holidays?

[Tony Baloney]

Ach it's human nature. You might keep a clean and tidy house but if your ma said she was coming down to visit you in your house for the first time you'll be polishing under the stairs.

Ach I know. I baited the line but few nibbles tonight!

We have customer audits almost every week but when the government inspector comes every two years there are weeks of prep to ensure everything is in place as it should be. Walls get painted, floor gets swept and the mugs get washed. We sometimes ensure the quality system is complied with too!

[Gaffer]

Ach it's human nature. You might keep a clean and tidy house but if your ma said she was coming down to visit you in your house for the first time you'll be polishing under the stairs.

Ach I know. I baited the line but few nibbles tonight!

We have customer audits almost every week but when the government inspector comes every two years there are weeks of prep to ensure everything is in place as it should be. Walls get painted, floor gets swept and the mugs get washed. We sometimes ensure the quality system is complied with too!

We know you too well Tony. Weren't you complaining a while back about the Mrs having to do all the marking and planning at home.

In other words, you were having to make your own dinner !!

[ONeill]

Some change in SS2 during our recent inspection. Every morning he stood in the foyer shaking the hands of pupils he didn't even know, hair slicked back, new shirts, smiling and laughing heartily with his workmates. The same hoor hasn't even smirked since they left.

[trileacman]

Ach it's human nature. You might keep a clean and tidy house but if your ma said she was coming down to visit you in your house for the first time you'll be polishing under the stairs.

You don't know me at all. I try to mess the place up a little, fall behind on the housework, just so she will have something to do when she lands in.

[Tony Baloney]

Ach it's human nature. You might keep a clean and tidy house but if your ma said she was coming down to visit you in your house for the first time you'll be polishing under the stairs.

Ach I know. I baited the line but few nibbles tonight!

We have customer audits almost every week but when the government inspector comes every two years there are weeks of prep to ensure everything is in place as it should be. Walls get painted, floor gets swept and the mugs get washed. We sometimes ensure the quality system is complied with too!

We know you too well Tony. Weren't you complaining a while back about the Mrs having to do all the marking and planning at home.

In other words, you were having to make your own dinner !!

Aye there seems to be a desperate amount of fannying about in teaching now, not helped by curriculum changes all the time. When I was a school the same dog-eared overhead acetates were fired out every year!

[The Worker]

Teachers will get 90 weeks salary to retire early

The education minister has revealed that teachers taking redundancy will be able to leave with up to 90 weeks pay as part of their severance package.

John O'Dowd has allocated £167m to make the offer to teachers taking voluntary redundancy from August onwards.

The offer is three times as much as the average statutory redundancy package.

The Northern Ireland Teachers Council (NITC) welcomed the announcement and said it would "permit schools to manage their staffing costs more effectively".

Mr O'Dowd told Good Morning Ulster that the offer was an "invest to save programme" that would "re-profile" teaching staff across Northern Ireland.

The money will be used to encourage teachers in their 50s to take retirement before they reach pensionable age. The 90 weeks severance pay is designed to bridge the gap.

"We recognise that, despite the significant amount of money agreed with the executive last week, we are still going to be facing redundancies going into the future," said Mr O'Dowd.

"Yes, staff will be leaving the service but there is a significant number of staff who are coming close to retirement age.

"They don't want to go too early because that will have a negative affect on their pensions.

"I want to allow these staff to be able to leave the service with dignity and recognition of their service to education.

"That will allow us to re-profile our educational workforce going into the future."

Spokesperson for the NITC, Tony Carlin said: "The announcement of improved severance arrangements for teachers will enable them to leave their chosen profession and would also permit schools to manage their staffing costs more effectively.

"The NITC congratulates the minister on securing the additional monies and giving commitment to manage the staffing reductions through voluntary means where possible."