Hello, Tappsters!
The clock is ticking down now for the summer break – sports days, productions, and transition days are all being packed in before the year draws to a close.
We know you have been super busy – so here are some edu-findings that you might find useful!
1. Moral dilemma
Is it okay to browse clothes online during your PPA? What about using the school printer for personal items? And should teachers take exercise books home for their own children?
These questions started with a tapper message — one teacher had spotted a colleague online shopping and asked: Is this normal?! Naturally, we decided to find out.
But we went a step further.
People tend to judge abstract things like time differently from physical items. You can “give time back” — but once a book is gone, it’s gone. That was our hunch, based on research.
We also added what psychologists call “moral wriggle room.” Rather than a simple ‘allowed’ vs ‘not allowed’, we offered caveats — like “as long as it’s not hundreds of tickets” — to see where people drew the line.
First up: the hard ‘no’ group
🔵 18% think browsing clothes during a PPA is always a no-no.
🔵 13% say the school printer should be strictly off-limits for personal use.
🔵 38% don’t think teachers should take exercise books for personal use.
But give them a little wriggle room, and things shift…
🟠 82% say browsing clothes is okay — but 15% of them only if it’s before school or during a break.
🟠 87% are fine with personal printing — though 59% say it should only be for a few pages.
🟠 62% are okay with teachers taking exercise books — but 52% say it’s only acceptable if the books are genuinely spare.
What do the headteachers say?
As you’d expect, headteachers are more cautious — they’re the ones expected to set the standard, after all!
🟢 40% of heads say teachers should not be browsing clothes during PPA — compared to just 13% of classroom teachers.
🟢 27% of heads say no to personal printing — compared to 12% of classroom teachers.
🟢 56% of heads wouldn’t approve of teachers taking exercise books home — versus 35% of classroom teachers.
2. Not sick-sick days
Over on Teacher Tapp US, we were a little stunned to find that over a third of teachers said they’ve called in sick just to catch up on work. 😳
🌍 That’s MUCH higher than in England, where just 4% say they’ve done the same this academic year.
But are certain groups more likely to take a ‘not-sick’ sick day?
Among secondary classroom teachers, 5% say they’ve done it — compared to 3% of primary classroom teachers.
It’s a small difference, but it might reflect the different types of workload across the two phases.
3. Free School Meals: signals and stats
The good news? Students on free school meals aren’t being put into a different queue in the dinner hall — 0% of teachers reported this happening in their school. ✅
The not-so-good news? 2% of teachers say it is possible to tell who is (and isn’t) on free school meals from the payment system — and that number hasn’t budged since 2022. 😢
But what about the teachers themselves?
How many were eligible for free school meals when they were at school?
🧒 Among teachers in their 20s, around 14% were eligible — and that figure stays pretty much the same for older teachers too.
4. Keeping teachers teaching
If a teacher is timetabled to teach in just one classroom, does that make them less likely to leave the profession?
It’s one of the big questions Teacher Tapp was made to explore — and the answer is… nope! It doesn’t seem to make a difference.
Teachers with just one room are no more likely to feel committed to teaching than those who move between three or more.
So, if we’re looking for a lever to pull to help teachers stay in the profession…
➡️ This probably isn’t it.
Teachers with a day off to write reports
Does commitment to teaching increase if teachers have a day off to write reports?
Sadly, no! Just like having your own classroom, a day off for report writing also doesn’t budge the needle.
So what does make a difference?
Teachers who feel they are a “much worse teacher” than they were last year are THREE TIMES more likely to say they are going to leave teaching in the next three years – something for those leading end-of-year reflections to think about!
Daily Reads
Last week you were really keen readers! But the most-read blog was about making tricky choices.
Have you seen a great blog you think would make a great daily read? Let us know by emailing england@teachertapp.co.uk and we will check it out!
