I blocked my Headteacher on WhatsApp this week

There are plenty of people commenting here that do not understand teachers contracts and are commenting as if the OP is a fully qualified teacher, which is not the case.

As an ECT 1 the OP is not a qualified teacher but a student learning on the job. An ECT 1 would not be expected to know all policies and procedures this would all be part of the training provided by the school mentor as part of this 2 year course. The OP is at the begining of this training with another year to complete as an ECT 2 student teacher.

If you didn't have any mentoring in the last 3 months this is very remiss on the part of the school. Teachers can only be directed on 195 days per year for a total of 1265 hours, so no management can direct you to do anything in the summer holidays even though you are still in contract.

As an ECT 1 you would have been entitled to mentoring and guidance about what to do. As an ECT 1 you are not yet qualified so should not be expected to know procedures without the mentoring and guidance you are entitled to as part of learning the job on the job.

Contact your training provider and union about the way forward.

The OPs last working day was the last day of term. On that date she should have returned all school property (lanyard, laptop, keys etc) and made sure she had all of her personal property. Occasionally a teacher who is leaving will arrange to do that the week after term ends, but there is no requirement to do so as only SLT are contracted to work out of term time.

After that time her access to the school should have been cut off. Any digital access should have been revoked. There should be no way for her to get onto the school property, without being signed in as a visitor by senior staff, and even if she re-collected her laptop, she shouldn't be able to sign in to complete the work. Often schools do this relatively quickly as they use external IT staff that don't work normal term time hours. If she can't sign-in to complete the work, she can't just do it on any machine. Also, I assume the school's normal communication route is via email, which she should no longer have access to. The head would no longer be able to message her officially, so is have to resort to an unofficial message route as SLT have dropped the ball on ensuring the OP knew which paperwork needed to be completed and had the support and time to finish it before her time at the school ended.

Any work the OP does during the summer holidays would be for a new school, not her previous school. There are set days in teaching when contracts end, they don't tie up with school terms, but rely on everyone knowing that once term ends you will be working for the new school, not the old one. Again, they can't force you to come in until term starts, and it is irrelevant in this case at the OP is going on supply. If OP was moving to a new school presumably she would arrange visitor access to set up her classroom and start the planning for at least the first week of term, not because she is required to, but as everyone has said teachers often to choose to work on some of their non directed tasks during the holidays to get ahead of the game.

OP you will have no issue getting supply work regardless of anything the head might say, and she'd be silly to try since she's the one who dropped the ball in not ensuring you knew what paperwork needed doing and had time and support to complete it before term ended. September and early October are normally quiet, but after that they are desperate in most areas for any warm body that is even vaguely qualified. I quite often go into a school as a primary supply teacher to find that the person the agency has sent before me wasn't even qualified, sometimes had never set foot in a primary classroom as a teacher before and had been as useful as a chocolate teapot all day. The expectations are ridiculously low, they dropped through the floor during Covid, and if you are qualified, eager and useful the school will be snapping the agencies' hands off to have you back time and time again. It's a different type of teaching, a lot of teachers don't like it - or the conditions, but if you gel with it, then it's actually a brilliant job (pay aside!)

This thread pretty much sums up teaching.
Parents: teaching is like this
Teachers: actually no it’s not and this information can be very easily verified with a quick google
Parents: yes it is. I demand teachers behave in this way
Teachers: there’s actually very good evidence for why that isn’t the best course of action
Parent: NO, YOU ARE WRONG AND AS AN EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL YOU DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THE EDUCATION SYSTEM. Also you spelt something wrong on that homework sheet, why do you hate children?!!

If the right systems were in place they wouldn’t have to ask. Mentors know these tasks need to be completed and should be building time into their support time, SENCOs know and in schools I have worked in plans have been written either in a meeting with the senco or in a staff meeting where the senco is present for support. In a school with proper systems and schedule this would not be allowed to happen.

I’m a primary SENCO….i have just sent a v apologetic WhatsApp to a teacher asking if they wouldn’t mind completing a questionnaire to support an external SEN assessment. I opened the questionnaire myself to see if I could complete it but all the questions were about this child’s usual presentation in the classroom so really it would be more meaningful if the teacher completed it (I have added sentences to say that the teacher really doesn’t have to, if they are, on a beach or whatever- just to let me know). But this is an example.

Ignore all the other replies. They either don't understand teacher contracts or didn't read your post properly.

1. You have learned your lesson about providing employers access to your social media (that includes Whatsapp because it isn't just a text message app) - get yourself a basic, non-smartphone and only ever give that number out, asking for it to only be used throughout recruitment and then emergencies. Or use dual sim cards and/or don't add employers to your contacts.
2. You said you weren't told about the paperwork. You're not required to work during your holidays and especially not on work not previously communicated to you. Teachers only need to do 'basic / expected prep' during holidays to be ready for day 1 of next term, not be given instructions from their employer during 'non-directed time'.

You need to send an email to your former employer, explaining that you weren't told about the paperwork and that this will need to be dealt with by a more experienced and/or senior member of staff who can be directed during their holidays. Thank them for the opportunity to have worked at their school. Give some brief information about your experience of working for the school, as you described in your post, and explain that you now need to rest and recharge, and won't be logging in to your email account for the rest of the holiday. Explain your mobile number is for recruitment and emergencies only, e.g. if you are injured at work.

It's good you're doing supply, maybe if it were required after training, more teachers would find the right fit school and stay in the industry.

In what way?

While I have every sympathy with a parent with a SEND child whose paperwork is incomplete, I do not have any sympathy at all with the emotional blackmailing of teachers to do work in situations that have been managed unprofessionally.

Teachers are such mugs!

But why not say that then?

Why didn’t OP ask to have someone support her with it before handing the laptop back?

Or instead of blocking, reply to the message and explain that she doesn’t know what she’s doing and needs support and to arrange a date to go in and sit with someone.

Blocking your boss and refusing to do your work that impacts a child is incredibly unprofessional.
It also impacts OP as these are the people she needs a reference from.

It sounds like OP didn’t want to do work over the summer period and so handed the laptop back early on and washed her hands of it.

This.
I am the mother of a SEN child and chasing missing paperwork is endless. It could even affect a September placement or EHCP amendment. Do the decent thing.

So you just tell them your abroad untill summer with out any means of compleating the work due to returning your work laptop.

In a few days contact the head and say you are in Australia

No ECT should have any impactful paperwork in their to do list ever

thats fir their first year if that

this is horrible guilt tripping

I think the main point is that an ECT should not be expected to complete important paperwork without support, the fact that this has been allowed to happen suggests that systems and support are not in place at the school, if there were it would not have been missed before the end of the year. The head who is actually responsible is putting their stress of the ECT. All of the this contributes to building a picture as to why the ECT was so overwhelmed at the end of the year. The guilt tripping and blame on this thread is misdirected.

This is direct teaching time, not indirect teaching time.

Basically face to face teaching should be no more than 1265 hours.
The rest should be ‘protected’ hours.

I thunk this is a rarebait post. The OP has not returned.

Teachers can only be directed for 1265 hours per year. They have to complete the rest of the job outside that time.

This is not the job for you. Most teachers wouldn’t be able to relax and enjoy the holiday knowing work was unfinished, especially if it impacts a vulnerable child. Do something else.

Is this true?!? Teachers work 1265 hours a year?! Then what are they bloody moaning about all the time!!

standard full time is between 1700-1800 hours a year once annual leave and public holidays are deducted.

OP is still under contract.

It’s pretty normal for managers to contact employees over the summer as the majority will do some work for the new term.

OP has not completed her work and still has 4 weeks of her contract left to do it.

It’s not annual leave.
A teachers work needs to be completed, they just have a bit more flexibility over the summer to decide when they’re going to do it (I know of a few who put in extra hours in June/July to have a proper break, whereas some go into school during the holidays and do it then).

Welcome to the world of education! I have a work mobile so schools and parents can call or message me (not a class teacher any more) and I have still had SMT contact me on my personal mobile in the holidays.

Completing one piece of paperwork taking up a few hours out of her whole 6 weeks off is going to impact her mental health? She's clearly not cut out for this.

Will you not need a reference for this or word of mouth for whatever profession in the future...perhaps a best way to finish is do so completed.
Surely finish it off and then relax

Former teacher here. You are being totally unprofessional. You are being PAID to the end of your contract on 31st August, so you are currently employed. You obviously feel resentful towards SLT but you are taking it out on a vulnerable child by failing to complete the SEND paperwork. That is a disgrace.

Get off your lazy backside and do the job you are being paid for. It’s people like you who give the profession a bad name. I strongly suggest you go and work away from education if that’s your attitude.