The school day whizzes past in the blink of an eye. It is therefore important to be intentional about every second of that day, including how you have your lunch.
Lunchtime is my free time though, right?
Kind of. Technically you can please yourself at lunch. In reality, however, there are a lot of things that need to get done to ensure that you have a smooth running afternoon.
The length of lunchtime can range from 30 minutes in some schools to one hour in others. My “enough time for lunch” sweet spot is 45 minutes. This allows time to prepare my room and lesson resources for the next class, take care of any errands such as visits to stationery or the photocopier, take a natural rest break, get lunch (fridge / microwave / canteen) and eat lunch.
In the schools I’ve worked in where it was less than 45 minutes, I have had to be super slick with my time management. I have had to eliminate or minimise as much as possible such as errands and getting lunch.
I won’t be asked to work at lunchtime right?
Technically no. Early careers teachers should not be given any duties, asked to run clubs or have any meeting scheduled during lunchtime.
There should not be, for instance, a regularly scheduled arrangement with your mentor, to meet at lunchtime for feedback on lessons. You may, however, have to be flexible on occasion. Adhoc meetings may crop up which are, for instance, time sensitive such as regarding an incident from an earlier lesson. Lunch time meetings tend to be informal so you can most likely take your lunch with if you attend one. Err on the side of professionalism however and always double check that it is okay.
Lunchtime can also be used to have restorative conversations with pupils. Don’t do these by yourself in your first year, always have support from a more senior teacher.
Should I spend lunchtime hanging out with colleagues?
It depends. You will figure out with trial and error what kind of a lunchtime you need.
Some teachers (usually art teachers, unsurprisingly) love their classrooms. They are happy to eat their lunch there by themselves or with others. Remember, though, that if you do stay in your room everyone can find you and interrupt you there.
Some teachers need to get out of their room for lunch. They will go to the staffroom or canteen to have lunch with others. Eating with others is a great way to check in, get some encouragement, catch up with colleagues and / or have a mini midday decompression.
Some teachers eat in the canteen with the pupils but this is rare unless they are on duty. Some schools mandate this on a rota basis as one of the duties assigned to teaching staff.
If you do decide to eat with the pupils at lunchtime, your best bet should be to eat with Year 7 pupils. They are the most likely to be receptive to teacher chit chats. Remember, however, that a lot of clubs take place at lunchtime in schools so the pupils may be rushing to eat up before they head to their own appointments. Keep it friendly but not personal. Use it as an opportunity to speak to them in a low stakes (not teaching them) environment. It’s a great way to get to know them as individuals and not just a faceless student body.
All by myself?
Some teachers prefer to eat lunch alone. They don’t want to break the spell of the school day so they are happy to eat in solitude while they gather their strength for the afternoon.
Some teachers find a secret hiding place. Larger school sites are perfect for this. The teachers need the guarantee of a lunch that is not interrupted by either pupils or other teachers.
How not to lunch
It is ultimately up to you how you lunch, but there are some hard and fast rules about what you should not do.
- Do not pop into someone’s room and expect their undivided attention. If they are alone in their room it is by design. They might be fine tuning their next lesson, having a quiet lunch away from the hubbub, catching up on emails or none of the above. Only if you have had a specific invitation or have developed a close relationship with a colleague should you assume that you can just drop in. Obviously if you need urgent help / advice / equipment go to the person’s room, get what you need and then leave. Also expect that you might be sent away without the help you need as they may be too busy to accommodate you.
- Do not make phone calls home at lunch time. You may get caught up in a convoluted conversation that you may struggle to end. What you may have planned as a two minute chat may be a 15 minute rant from the parent. This is especially tricky in schools where you have to log every interaction with parents on the database. You may also have information shared with you that you need to immediately flag to the pupils form tutor or head of year. The best time to call home is at the end of the day. You can talk for as long as they need and you can do any follow up admin immediately after.
- Do not go hang out with a teacher on duty. The purpose of duty is to be always actively watching the kids. Consider it the same as if you started chatting to a teacher during their lesson. In some schools teachers are not even allowed to be on their phones while on duty unless it is an emergency.
So how do I lunch?
Ask yourself what you need at lunch – peace, quiet, decompression, banter, rants, gossip? Provided that you note the “how not to lunch” bullet points above you will be able to find a style that suits you. Bon appetit!