To think that this can't be right

This is bullshit 🤣😆 don't give legal advice when you don't understand the law!

OP you can take any job you want, there's no central repository of 'black marks' stored anywhere for employers to check before offering you a job FFS. You can absolutely accept a job offer and then change your mind and accept another job, it happens all the time and nothing will happen, it won't affect your future career at all, except maybe if you applied at the school again where you dropped out but only while people who work there may remember you as GDPR requires all applicant data to be deleted after a period of time, usually 3-6 months. Go for it!

No one has said there is an actual secret list.

TAs often pull out at my school after being given the job as well as quitting after a few days when they realise the job isn’t for them and leaving mid-term. These things wouldn’t be done by teachers, the employment expectations for teachers are very different than for a TA. Teachers shouldn’t agree to take a teaching job if they still plan to interview and potentially take another job as it’s not the done thing to pull out after accepting. That’s because teacher interviews tend to be a long process, they disrupt lessons as the teacher will usually be expected to teach a short lesson to a group or class and every schools teaching jobs tend to be advertised at similar times so if a teacher pulls out it’s not easy to refill as the other candidates may have already taken other jobs and starting the interview process from scratch is time consuming for the school. This is why the job tends to be offered on the day of interview, because otherwise there would be a risk the candidate would have another interviews lined up and they’d miss out if they waited. Once a teacher has said yes it isn’t expected they would pull out, certainly not due to finding another job.

TA roles are not the same, TA roles tend to come up year round, there isn’t the same need for qualified staff and rarely do the interview processed involve teaching a class or group so they’re not disruptive to the school. It’s not going to be such a big deal to say yes to the job and pull out and also it’s more likely if you ask for time to consider it after offering they’ll give it to you. It’s also not going to be disruptive or expensive if a TA post is still empty at the start of the year compared to a teacher post and so the rules don’t need to be as strict.

So are people really saying that there is some secret list recording the names of people who change their minds about a job before they have signed a contract?

Pretty sure that's illegal.

No one is obliged to start a job you are offered, even if you verbally accept it. Even in teaching.

I have recruited for various positions in schools.

If you accept then later reject the offer it will be inconvenient for the school but it won’t put you on any “blacklist”. However, if the school is part of an academy chain and they do recruitment centrally they may remember should you apply to them again in future!

Your best bet is to be honest with them and tell them you are also waiting to hear if you have been offered a permanent role. The risk is they will withdraw the offer but unless you are asking for many weeks thinking time they will probably be fine.

It is difficult to find the right people for many school jobs so if they think you are a good fit for their role they are more likely to give you a little time to answer.

If is different for teachers because they have to give notice at specific times whereas a TA is not bound by the same rules.

In order to take action against someone who has accepted an offer and then changed their minds, the employer needs to show that they have suffered a financial loss as a result of the employee's breach. That is highly unlikely.

Really? I think it’s far more concerning that the U.K. relies on staffing schools with lots of unqualified teachers, to be honest. You don’t get that reliance in schools overseas.

It’s absolutely not the same for TAs as it is for teachers.

A TA could feasibly hand their notice in over the summer holidays and not return to work in September, schools are used to dealing with situations like this.

I would just tell the school asap if you are turning the job down.

Good luck with your interview tomorrow OP. 🤞

It’s fine to turn them down at this stage as it’s still a provisional offer on their part as it’s subject to DBA checks and references. Therefore, neither party has entered into a binding agreement at this point.

So ignore your sister who is simply mistaken but means well or a little bit jealous and trying to sabotage things. Only you know which scenario is most likely in her case.

Maybe predictive text or a typo but slightly concerning that you wrote “ I aren’t allowed” as a potential TA.

A

I am a teaching assistant, I’m also a SEN Mother so I see it from both sides. Yes it’s not great to mess the school around as it’s the children that suffer. It’s also devastating for a parent to be told that they have an assistant and then that they don’t and have to start looking again. I personally wouldn’t leave after accepting the job but I am a 1-1 assistant. Would you be a general assistant? Just the teachers helping hand or a specific child’s helping hand? The after effect is a bit different depending on this.

Ok thanks that makes sense. I do think though with teachers and TA's becoming so difficult to recruit, blacklisting someone just because, for whatever reason, they reconsidered a previous job offer is really shortsighted, plus as someone else pointed out possibly not even legal. People can change their minds about a job offer for all sorts of reasons, often due to personal circumstances, it doesn't make them unemployable or unreliable.

It's frowned upon in most industries/ situations but it happens. You may get a reputation for it if you do it a lot which would affect your chances of getting further work.
A one off temp TA role, morally it may be wrong but I don't think it would affect your career

While it’s not entirely correct, it’s not actually rubbish. An offer letter is a formal job offer which is an invitation to enter a contract rather than a binding agreement. However, when you accept a job in writing you enter into a contract between yourself and the employer.* *This means you could be sued for breach of contract if you withdrew from it. In OP’s case a verbal acceptance would be all that was necessary at the offer stage - she won’t be asked to sign a contract until reference/DBS and any other checks are completed.

Take the best job for you. Believe me schools have no loyalty towards teaching assistants. Underpaid and undervalued.

It really is how things work in schools. Heads talk. If you mess one school around they will tell others.

No, it starts from when you sign. I know this as a member of staff has just done this at the school where I work. She was a TA who qualified as a teacher this year. There were no teaching positions at our school so applied for jobs elsewhere. Accepted a job elsewhere and then a last minute position became available - as she hasn’t signed anything she was able to change her mind about the original job.

That school isn't going to care about me, when they have a department reshuffle etc. People are expendable, I've learnt this the hard way. You can be as loyal and reliable as possible, but that school or employer is not going to care about your rent and your bills when their circumstances change.
I wouldn't want a vulnerable child to suffer. But that is down to funding and recruitment practices. I would also add I'm not TA and don't work with vulnerable children, but people have to look out for their own interests. I have my own vulnerable child to feed and clothe.

'@combinationpadlock
if you accept the first job you have entered a contract, and if you then take another job you have breached your contract, which can be actionable. And they might or might not.'

Nonsense.

If the school makes an offer it will first be subject to references and other checks anyway and nothing is binding until the OP has signed a written contract.

Back to you OP: you have to do what's best for you. If they offer you the job tell them you would first like to see a written confirmation of a job offer highlighting the conditions, pay and so on because you can formally accept.

In the meantime continue to interview for permanent roles.

There are different scenarios that might happen.

It might be that the people shortlisting (who also interview) using the anonymous applications recognise the potential candidate’s employment history and identify this as the person that pulled out previously.

Or, they could shortlist anonymously, liaise with the business manger about who they are inviting and at this stage are alerted to the names and remember that person.

Other people will also have interviewed for the job. If OP turns it down they just move it the next best interviewee.

People accept and then have to decline jobs for many reasons. No offense @Houseflower but you are not vital to the first school 😉. If you accept and then turn down the job the education system won't crumble without you, despite what others might think.

Accept the job.
You may not get offered it.
You may not get offered the others.
Deal with what is in front of you at the time without looking to future potential hypotheticals.

Sorry don't wish to derail thread but I am confused about this, if applications are anonymous and they weren't shortlisted how would you know they had applied a second time?

What a ridiculous comment. The job is literally supporting vulnerable children with SEND. Do you think schools have funding to randomly employ surplus staff just in case someone who has accepted a role pulls out? I can assure you schools are in the midst of the biggest funding crisis ever seen.

You need to think about yourself here, and your job security. A school is only just another employer. You do your job, you get paid, you don't owe them any more loyalty than that, especially if it would affect your life outside of work. Also, blacklisting is illegal and very unethical (not only from a GDPR perspective!), so would be shocked to find schools would go as far as this.