Teachers being absent and not replaced is an ongoing problem in France and has been one for decades. I remember a biology teacher who was ill every year throughout the ski-ing season. Everybody knew about it but nothing was done until the poor sick man was caught under an avalanche, he survived and was sent back to teach, I never heard of any disciplinary measures being taken.
If you can't put up with your child being shoved into a room with 60-odd others and no adult supervision, the easiest solution is a private school. Still, if you are lucky, your child will get into a good school, with excellent connections with the rectorat and an active principal who can get substitute teachers or at least enough counsellors to monitor teacher-less classes.
I chose a private school.
For short term absence the pupils are supervised by a surveillant, teachers’ contracts mean that they don’t do ‘cover’ in the same way that UK teachers do. For a planned absence, such as training, it is usual for the children to be given work to do but rare for a supply teacher to be employed. Supply staff usually cover longer term illness.
What a nightmare for you and your daughter. Such a waste of time.
This happened at his college as well but now he's at the lycee it seems to be more of an issue because the next few years are so important.
I guess I'm recalling my own school days, some 35 years ago, when an absent teacher was almost unheard of and when it did happen there was a supply teacher and work given to the class. Teachers used to be admired and respected but that seems to have all but disappeared. What a shame.
Yes, both ofour daughters' colleges have the same problem. My older daughter's special needs teacher is off for six week or so with a family health problem. Fair enough. The first day our daughter arrived there, we got a phone call to collect her. She has to get up at six to be collected by a taxi just after seven to be there for 0830, other children are collected on the way. It takes us 45 minutes to get to the school. So about two hours round trip because they insisted, allowing for getting in the school and all the rest of it. One Monday fine, but they got a supply teacher in for next day who then fell ill for the next Monday. This time we kicked up a fuss with the man in charge of special education in Bergerac who got somebody in before midday. So, it is possible if they really can be bothered.
Not happening in the UK! There is a serious shortage of teachers with people leaving the profession. The trouble with what is increasingly happening is that they get somebody in to stand in front of the class. Thus, if a physics teacher is off sick, they get in a supply teacher who may have training in history. Great! Education is falling apart everywhere at present because too many people have found they are bureaucrats who shift a lot of paper around, work double the hours they have contractually on paper for a not exactly fantastic salary and then are expected to give up parts of weekends and holidays to attend courses, seminars and other events. In reality they get a couple of weeks more than others off a year but then are used like coolies the rest of the time. No longer a desirable profession.