Am I precious pregnant lady? School.

[ZovutZovut]

I'm 31 weeks and blessed with a pretty smooth second pregnancy, however I'm starting to feel the need to protect myself from work impacting on it. I don't think I'm being precious, am I?
I'm deputy head/ senco/ ppa cover/ nqt mentor and cover... and pretty much anything else going. If it needs doing it seems to revert to me.
I've put my foot down on playground duty this week. tbh honest I could just about manage my own (though not great) but everyone else's cover is really impacting on my tiredness and weeing/ eating needs. I'll get in early with the surprise of covering a class (having arrived a little late due to ongoing sickness) 20 min later only to have gate duty dropped on me for the 15min before school starts. Stress. I'm a good teacher but not wonder woman able to pull out a lesson plus resources from any year group from nursery to year 6 on the spot. Then I'll be stuck in class unable to wee with no TA and high needs, only to have break duty and have to some how hold it from 8.45 until noon. I think this has caused a recent kidney infection as I end up drinking less to manage. So I get headaches too. Also, it may be seen as precious, but I don't want to have my bump in the middle of rowdy playtime football/ races in a tiny playground. The kids mean well and are lovely but accidents happen (and parents fight at pick-up but that's another story...) Nor do I like swollen ankles. I know people stand a lot more in their jobs but I'm shattered, I'm desperate for a tea/ loo/ 5 min of silence. If my colleagues were more considerate I'd wing it, but 'SMT' are the enemy whatever you do- last week I had to actually had to shout to get someone to cover the playground for 1 min while I went to the loo as I was about to wet myself in desperation (shivering didn't help) and no one would pop out when I asked nicely. I'm the only bloody SMT member at the moment (the Head is at a neighbouring school, just directing more and more cover/ delegating from afar)
I'm hormonal but I feel like everyone's dumping ground, even when I was off for a few days ill (kidney infection and the only time off) I have loads of emails along the lines of 'where is x' 'you didn't do y'.
I feel like throttling someone and I'm way to close to the end of my tether where I have a hormonal rant/ break down at someone. In assembly today I was acutely aware of boring 240 kids shitless en masse because I was so tired and un-animated.
I'm snappy with the kids, forgetting things and it's all piling up around me. Plus our SEN needs have exploded and Im trying to pass through a million and one things before I go off and am struggling with paperwork relating to referrals, statutory assessment (think paperwork an inch thick) etc whilst dealing with amazingly difficult chats with parent whilst nearly being too tired to focus on them. Or dealing with behaviour issues (rarely those of the children though!)
I'm sitting with my own (not done) risk assessment because what's the bloody point in it being created when no one will look at it. Plus trying to arrange maternity cover for myself whilst everyone carping on about the budget (PM me if you know someone who will do my job for under 10k and then they'll be happy in the LEA....)
Everyone else seems to be on the view it's business as usual when pregnant, and I've pretty much managed it. And yes as someone muttered, I'm pregnant not ill but I feel like being a precious hormonal pregnant woman now and just going over the edge. Everyone has the view that management have it easy anyway, but during my previous pregnancies I did have a class and I didn't feel so stressed.

Is it me not coping? Is it school that's the issue?

Sorry, pressed return too soon.

But even so, anything that can be done to make your life easier should be. For my colleagues there's nothing that can be done, well everyone puts up with it. Maybe if someone kicked off they would do something.

But in your situation, making sure you are able to go to the loo at break, not on your feet at break would help.

OhZov - We all feel for you. But really, you do need to step back and insist that others start to take over repsonsibility, as in a few weeks they won't have a choice. As someone suggested, can you meet with the head and maybe go over the points you made in your opening post?

And get your husband to pull his weight.

It's not spineless to feel like crying in a stressful job, never mind when you're pregnant! Half term soon though so hopefully a bit more rest than normal. (I know you probably have lots of paperwork, etc but still better than going into work).

I found I needed to take mat leave earlier than planned 2nd time round, I think I lasted til' 36 weeks before I found I could no longer cope with school. I'm secondary though and only had my own classes and 2 duties a week, so not so full on as yours sounds. Have you spoken to your head about this at all? Is she/he supportive? If you've had a kidney infection due to not drinking and peeing enough then that a health and safety issue you need to make them aware of.

FWIW despite having a smooth pregnancy without too many issues, I found my 2nd exhausting. It was when I stopped growing, although scan put baby in normal size, that I decided enough was enough and started my mat leave early. It was bliss to have 3 weeks with DS1 at childminders and me at home alone (oh, happy days!!).

OP, you've said several times things that suggest the other staff are not supportive, seeing SMT as 'the enemy'. This doen't sound like the sort of school where the Head is seen as successful enough to be shared with another school. Is the HT aware that the staff are unsupportive of you? I can't undertsand why a HT would go to another school if the team wasn't strong

It sounds as though the Management team definitely needs increasing.

The Primary school I'm a Governor at, has a MT of 6 now.

1 Head
1 Deputy
3 Assistant Heads

Mind you, there are over 900 pupils all in all.

Harsh to be out on your own at break times. At my school tas must be out with teachers and snas out every break time. What's the procedure if there's an accident in the playground? Do you send a responsible child to get a member of staff to come out? Could you arrange to do that if you need to break? Sorry I know that's only one of your issues but it's one that jumped out at me. I stopped all playground duty once I was heavily pregnant. I do think it's important for you to get this sorted as this stress can't be good for you or baby. You need to try and find a way for someone to realise that this situation needs to change.

Maybe to organise a meeting with some members of staff to say if this doesn't change you will need to go off sick and then everyone will have to pick up this work anyway? Go in with some clear requests as to which tasks you want to be relieved of and how many breaks you need. If you're very clear about the need to sort this out otherwise you will need to stop work i.e you're doing this to be able to continue to work and not to slack off, surely you'll find a way for your needs to be met.

It doesn't seem fair to me that it's your responsibility to find your maternity cover? Or am I being naive?

1. Raise your issues with the Head

2. Get your union involved if problems not solved

3. Pay for some supply to cover the classes

4. Get GP to sign you off sick

amistillsexy, that's what I did when I was class teacher. Our TA cover is at the moment at the point with no junior TAs at all (1:1 cover only for very high need children). I don't get 'no', but low level procrastination which is harder to confront, 'I'll be there in 2 min'...vanish....and repeat

The HT is the head of another school and 'supporting' us as we haven't managed to recruit. Their own school is high-need. She says 'yes' to most things, then does the opposite. It's like having someone there to give orders but not actually get involved. A lot of issues on contradicting my decisions if staff complain (eg when I tried to give everyone an extra break duty once every 4 weeks to cover mine)

I'm probably the baddie as we've had a lot of issues from OFSTED results to budget difficulties and the impact is linked to me as I'm SMT.

I understand you have many duties to fulfil but can the person due to cover your maternity start earlier? Or can you ask your head to use supply to cover absence, leaving just the child protection and SENCO stuff for you?

I am going to sound harsh, but as a fellow teacher, my advice is to either go to your GP and get signed off or start your mat leave early. There are no prizes for martyrdom, and your guilt at the thought of leaving is misplaced. You are not indispensable. You need to look after yourself and trust that the school will manage without you. If you are not the HT, then it's not your problem. Getting ratty with your colleagues will not help. Getting other people to do your job will not help. Your duty is to yourself and your unborn child. School WILL cope without you.

It sounds chaotic to be honest

Have you spoken to the Chair of Governors?

He/she could raise this with the Head and the LA on your behalf.

Sorry I was unclear, it's actually the other school's head with us. Not our Head supporting them. We had OFSTED the same week I started as I started which led to further issues including recruitment ones.

I am not in education so don't really understand - do you have to do all the playground duties whilst the other staff sit inside drinking coffee? And if so, why?

I think all I wanted from this was to rant. It's gone the wrong way, maybe I am doing it all wrong, but I'm really honestly trying. I've obviously bottled it up and it's come out not very well.

Can I admit people are right and just leave this thread behind?

It is difficult to get your true feelings across with words on a screen. Don't go.

You need to go off sick.

I know that doesn't sound particularly helpful, but the situation cannot continue and they will be without you when you go on ML anyway. Have they already recruited your ML cover? When are you supposed to go off?

As a compromise, you could inform your head that you are unable to carry on coming into work/classroom but you are able to work from home, so dealing with some of the SENCo responsibilities and delegating to other staff members to attend the relevant meetings.

Either way, it's clear that you can't continue. Without meaning to sound callous, nobody is indispensable- not even you

The weight of this mess is on your shoulders.

Having read more of the situation you're in, I agree with EvilTwins. Get out, as soon as you can. The children will be fine. The LA (even though depleted!) will be able to sort things out WRT SENCo work, and Child Protection stuff. The Head might just have to spend more time on your site, and actually tackle some of the staffing problems and their attitude problems.

I would try and get signed off sick for as long as you can before starting Mat leave, so it doesn't eat into your mat leave on the other side of the birth, if you see what I mean. You have to look after yourself and your baby.

You can't be compelled to begin ML until 36wks BTW- that is to say, if you are off sick (pg related) after 36wks your ML will be triggered automatically. Up until 36wks, sickness absence is treated the same as if you weren't pg.

You're obviously not coping with the normal demands of your job, so why not get signed off or start your maternity leave?

You're not indispensable; few people are and they will cope just fine without you.

That's what I was getting at, Tethers. I couldn't remember the dates around Mat Leave starting.