‘Workload is the biggest issue’ – Ni teacher

But for many teachers, such as Ms. Rolstone, has not been dealt with increasing demands on the teacher’s charge.

“On the ground, this is a teacher and charge that is the biggest issue,” he told BBC News NI.

“We may not be present and work at the time that we have been allocated.

“There are cuts in other services that have a significant impact on schools, meaning that more layers are added to our day -day jobs.”

Teresa Deavalin, Principal of Bridge Integrated Primary, said that teachers now had many more responsibilities and were asked to do much more than to start teaching.

“We can be a consultant, we can be a social worker, we can be a doctor, we can be a nurse, we can be a physiotherapist, we can be OTS,” he said.

“We have all these different hats that we have to wear all the time.

“Add that your main task is teaching, and I think why people don’t understand why the workload has become such an issue.”

Ms. Deavalin said that “actually most teachers will do at least 10 hours a week”.

“So when you have a total of 400 hours of overtime that is unpaid and no one else who is in any other job, is expected to do so.”

There is also there Important increase in number of students with special educational requirements In all schools in recent years.

“In the context of Sen, if other agencies are unable to meet the needs of children, where do they come?” Ms. Rolstone said.

“They have a good relationship with the school, we have an open-door policy, and it is the employee who is then taking those phone calls.”

He said that the employees would never say to the parents if they wanted to talk about help for their child or refuse to take their calls, but all these working teachers were added.

And this meant that even during school day, doing good work in its contracted hours.

“We are entitled to a half -hour lunch brake, if I take 10 to 12 minutes for my lunch, it has its height,” he said.

“We are not a minute-counter and this has never happened in education, but we are being forced by that route.

“Our car park is not vacant at around five o’clock and people take home.”

Paul Scocroft has been a teacher for 25 years. He teaches P6 in Bridge Integrated Primary, and has run a post -school film club.

He also said that there were more demands on teachers than before.

He said, “You have a variety of different types of students and needs within the classroom, you have to plan for those abilities,” he said.

“Sometimes you have to fill the paperwork that goes to social services, or external agencies.

“This adds a lot of time to your plan, as you want to plan a lesson for a class, all of them are going to get excited, they are all going out of everything.

“You have to plan for all varieties of children within the classroom.”

He said that the teachers worked for several hours in the class.

“Often I am taking work home, sitting on the kitchen table whether it is marked or planning or modifying plans or filling in some forms,” ​​he said.

“I often spend most of my time in the kitchen instead of spending time with my family, and I do this because I am professional, because I want to give children the best in my care.”

In a letter to teachers on Thursday night, the teaching employers – in which the schools involved in the council for the Education Department, Education Authority and Catholic included schools – criticized the decisions of teachers to reduce the strike proceedings.

Strike proceedings are likely to influence some school activities such as school meetings, meetings with parents, administrative functions, school inspections, planning and participation in board of governors’ meetings.

The management letter states that lack of strike will have a “corrosive and long -term effect” on students in schools.

It said that by participating in this, “teachers will not fulfill their full constitutions”.

However, this letter has not gone down well with many teachers.

Therefore, when both unions and management have said that they will talk more to try to resolve the dispute, it is unlikely to be straight.