'I'm a teacher and this is what we really do on half term – it's not all fun and games'

A teacher has shared what they get up to when school closes for the holidays – and for them, it's not just a break.

For a week each term, the kids are home from school and get to enjoy some quality time with their youngsters – or are left scrabbling to find activities to keep them busy all day. But have you ever wondered what do during their week off?

Turns out, it can involve quite a lot of work. Taking to , secondary school teacher and head of PSHE Mrs Sayer shared an insight into how she spends her days when she's not at school.

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"This is everything I got done today as a teacher who's currently on half term," she told her 99.6k followers. "I know it's controversial to work through the holidays, but I would rather work for a couple of days and then have my weekends free all throughout the term.

"So I just started planning my week," she added, sharing she'd got her planner from the Positive Teacher Company.

She then explained how she had misremembered the students' schedules as they wouldn't be in on Monday, so noted she'd have to readjust her plan. "I teach three exam groups, so during the term time, most of my energy goes into them in terms of marking and that. So I used today to plan my Year Seven, Eight and Nine lessons to get me started."

She explained further how she made a to-do list and planned to do "PPAs" (Planning, Preparation, and Assessment) when she did some more marking. "I'm also head of PSHE (Personal, social, health and economic education) and we currently have the creative curriculum that was brought in for this school year." She said she "didn't love it," so took a five-year curriculum plan from a school she used to work at and adjusted it for her new school.

"So that's what I did from 9[am] to 2pm today," she concluded.

In the comments, people had further questions for the teacher, with one writing: "Do you still get annual leave as a teacher or does half terms count as annual leave? I’ve always wondered, not sure if it’s a stupid question," to which Mrs Sayer responded: "No annual leave! The holidays are the designated time off and they’re unpaid. Our salary is for term time and then divided into monthly payments."

Another teacher further clarified: "You can still take days off throughout the year for certain circumstances but only like a day for moving house or a wedding in my school," while another said their school was much stricter and didn't allow days off during term time.

"THE TEACHER HANDWRITING," said another, while a third chimed in: "She’s so organised."