Phewww

Well the term is well and truly in full swing and the work is piling up like the Himalayas around me. There is a small relief in the fact that work experience for Yr11 is in two weeks and that will free up a bit of time and the school has finally appointed a member of staff to cover for a colleague who has had to go part time and that has taken a few lessons from me as well. This year has presented a few new opportunities for me as I am mentoring the new teacher in the department as well as the student teachers when they come into school and leading a group of teachers in continued professional development! This means I have to show new teaching techniques but sadly they are not new and everyone already knows them so you come across as patronising. However, taking on the extra work all counts towards whether I cross from normal to upper pay scale at the end of the year so all is worth it. Generally classes seem harmless with the odd strange character here or there but the timetable is arranged so that I get the worst class on a Friday Period 5 and no non contact (free) periods between Monday Period 5 and Friday Period 3 so I have to be super organised which I am not. My main gripe is that support staff and management seem to pursuing their own objectives and making decisions which don't help the kids.