The continuous schedule breaks up teachers
The advancing continuous schedule in primary education puts pressure on teachers' breaks. "It seems well organized on paper, but it doesn't work in practice."
Image: Pixabay
Teachers Bernadette Wouters and Jacqueline Dufils think back with nostalgia to the time when they had an hour break at noon. “Just eat a cup of soup with your colleagues in the staff room, when the weather is nice, go out for a short walk or have the things ready for the afternoon at your leisure,” says Wouters.
Since the introduction of the continuous schedule at their school De Zevensprong in Best, now three years ago, this is hardly possible anymore. Pupils eat in class for XNUMX minutes and then have a half hour break. Teaching staff who are not in front of the classroom, then supervise, together with parents who volunteer to do so. Dufils: “It seems well organized on paper, but it doesn't work in practice. We are often called in anyway because fires have to be extinguished in the schoolyard and that is at the expense of your break. ”
It looks good on paper, but it doesn't work in practice.
The fact that teaching assistants have to leave the classroom during school hours to watch the square is also a pain for the two teachers. "Because you don't have them in the classroom, your options as a teacher are more limited and the workload increases."
Picture: Type tank
Learning rhythm
The continuous schedule is on the rise in the world of education. More than half of all primary schools now use a system in which pupils receive consecutive lessons with no more than 2018 minutes break. Figures from Duo Education Research from January 14 show that four in ten schools work with a continuous schedule with Wednesday and sometimes Friday afternoons off. Another XNUMX percent of schools use the five-equal-day model where students go to school from roughly XNUMX:XNUMX am to XNUMX:XNUMX pm every day.
Reasons for schools to switch are diverse. Still, a few stand out. For example, pupils would stay in the learning rhythm better and it would be more practical for parents because they do not have to make a stay arrangement and do not have to take care of their children at home at lunchtime. What often remains underexposed is the effect of the introduction of the continuous timetable on the working day of teachers. A survey by CNV Education from 2015 showed that more than 80 percent of the teachers on the continuous timetable do not get a half hour break.
“That half hour break is desperately needed,” says AObsector manager Anton Bodegraven, “especially when you consider that a quarter of teachers have to deal with burnout complaints. Education demands a lot from a teacher, you really need a moment to relax on such a day. ” The provision that teachers between ten and two hours are entitled to a half hour break or two fifteen minutes has been deleted in the most recent collective labor agreement. Teams must now make agreements about break arrangements within the work distribution plan.
Hang-iron
At the Johannesschool in Amsterdam, the break arrangement had been a hot topic for years, says director Annelies Verkade. “As a school, you have to deal with the Working Hours Act, which states that every employee is entitled to a break of half an hour during a working day. At our school we work with a continuous schedule from a quarter to nine to a quarter past two. Until recently, the teachers also supervised the students' recess, and then they only had a break after school. But in practice they didn't take it, because there was always a parent standing with a question or because something needed to be checked quickly. ” In addition, according to Verkade, the team missed a joint moment of the day to discuss anything other than education. "That is not healthy for the individual and not good for the cohesion of the team."
In addition, according to Verkade, the team missed a joint moment of the day to discuss anything other than education. "That is not healthy for the individual and not good for the cohesion of the team."
When last year the Johannesschool team had to determine how the workload funds would be spent, a majority was quickly found for engaging an external party that would arrange the in-between-school care. “It's an expensive joke,” says Verkade. “But we are very happy with it. It's money well spent. ”
Yet she sees some drawbacks herself. For example, for that half an hour, staff members are hired who do not always resolve conflicts correctly. "When teachers walk outside themselves, the break is a lot more relaxed." Arno Roelofs, director of dalton school De Dolfijn in Heino, has also considered hiring a company to guarantee the breaks for his teachers. “But there is no staff available for that. Only five thousand people live in Heino and everyone works. ” That is why Roelofs called all parents together and appealed to them. Together they agreed that from now on, parents would walk the square twice a year for each child. "That does not save everyone, but in that respect there is a lively barter trade with parents who want to do an extra turn for a reward of a bunch of flowers or a bottle of wine."
Incidentally, during the break at De Dolfijn there are always non-teaching staff who supervise. "It's my turn today, so if you don't mind, I'll hang up now."
Picture: Type tank
Square guard
At the school of Bernadette Wouters and Jacqueline Dufils, it is also parents who walk the square guard. They notice that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find people willing to do so. "As a result, coordination also takes more and more time," says Wouters. Nevertheless, Wouters and her colleagues do not want to finance lunchtime care with the workload money, as their director has sometimes suggested. "That doesn't feel good," says Dufils, "as an employee you just have the right to a break, it is crazy for words that you are going to use resources that are actually intended to relieve the workload."
AObdirector Anton Bodegraven advises teachers to raise the problem with the supervisor and to raise it during the consultation on the work distribution plan. And what if you belong to the minority that has problems with it? “Then try to get colleagues along. Young colleagues may not have a problem with it, but the need for a break may grow stronger over time. Then point this out to younger colleagues. ”
If a good solution is not possible, you as a school can always decide to reverse the introduction of the continuous timetable. Then you must first consult a parent and the participation council must agree to the new timetable. Bodegraven does not know of any schools that have opted for this solution. “I fear that it will be difficult to get parents into such a situation, because then you put the responsibility back on them. And also the costs of the remainder, by the way. ” Incidentally, the AOb monitor and evaluate the details of the agreements in the collective labor agreement on the division of labor. "Any problems will certainly come to light there and they can be discussed at the collective labor agreement table," said Bodegraven.
I really experienced the continuous schedule that I had to deal with in recent years as a kind of marathon. You were on all day.
Anne van 't Wout from Scherpenzeel does not wait for that. She worked at various primary schools in Amersfoort for seventeen years before making the switch to secondary special education this summer. “For me, the lack of breaks was an important reason to make the switch,” she says. “I really experienced the continuous schedule that I had to deal with in recent years as a kind of marathon. You were on all day. Sometimes you had a break for XNUMX minutes, but then you often still walked in the schoolyard. Now and then I even have an intermediate hour in VSO so that I can catch my breath. Delicious! ”
