Full-time teaching and caring for dependants

If you are balancing the demands of your teaching job with those of looking after dependants, it’s sometimes difficult to stop yourself getting stressed and burnt out.

If you have pre-school age children, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to drop them off much before 8am at the childminder or nursery, meaning you won’t be able to arrive in school as early as you might like or as early as other teachers who do not have family responsibilities. 

Don’t feel guilty about this, because everyone understands that you have little choice in this matter. You may, however, be advised to ensure that other teachers are not taking on additional tasks to cover for you, because resentment may then build up.
Similarly, if you find yourself having to leave after-school meetings early in order to collect a dependent family member, apologise politely and go. Your headteacher will accept that you have other responsibilities and the chances are there will be other staff that also have to leave at a certain time as well.

If you are asked by your headteacher to take a school party on a trip over a period of several days, it is reasonable to say no if you don’t feel you can leave a family member. Talk to your ATL school rep or branch secretary if you feel you are under pressure to go.

 

Applying for promotion

If you have very young children or specific care responsibilities, you might decide that you simply don’t have time to apply for positions involving extra responsibility and workload. Although this may mean that younger and less experienced colleagues may ‘leapfrog’ you and become more senior, remember that you are prioritising your family. When the time is right for you, you will be able to apply for promotion. When you do apply, you’ll be able to cope better with a demanding role if you aren’t under so much pressure at home.

 

If you have to take time off work to care for a sick family member

Most headteachers are fairly understanding if you have to take time off to care for a dependant who has a short illness, say of two or three days. If the illness is more serious, you will have to discuss the matter with your headteacher and consider taking unpaid leave. 

Some LAs allow you to take a few days off each year to care for dependants – this is ‘compassionate leave’ and can be used to care for any family member, not just a child. 

For more information, see ATL’s publication Family, work and you or talk to you ATL rep or branch secretary.

 

A final word

Finally, get your priorities right. You come first, then your family, then your work. Look after yourself by getting enough sleep, eating properly and making some time in the week to relax. Use friends and family as your support system, and consider hiring help such as a cleaner or a babysitter so that you aren’t doing everything yourself. If you start feeling as if you can’t cope, take action before the problem gets worse – see Stressed, exhausted and burnt-out.

 

Help and support

For further advice on this issue, ATL members can speak to their school rep, their branch secretary or their regional official. They can also call the London (020 7930 6441), Cardiff (029 2046 5000), Belfast (028 9078 2020) or Edinburgh (0131 272 2748) offices or email info@atl.org.uk

For out of hours enquiries, call the out of office hours helpline on 020 7782 1612 (Monday-Friday, 5-8pm during term time).

If you are not a member, join now

Resources

• Family work and you, Pdf document, 365 KB