Told my agency I wasn't going back to this school, feel guilty and unprofessional

[Cheeseburger43]

I only had 5 days left but couldn't face that.
I did post about it on here and received a lot of good advice.
The behaviour was disgusting, it felt very unfair on the good students and I made sure they were rewarded.
I've inconvenienced them as they'll have to get another supply for next week now. But I'm sure anyone would be better than me.
The noise levels were a joke, and I had older classes were 75% of them spoke to me like dirt.
I'd tell the class something and they'd all start shouting/screaming at me in protest, all at once. I couldn't hear myself speak.
What gives them the right to talk to me like that?
I followed the behaviour policies, it helped for some students but sadly not many. They just saw it as another detention or head of year speaking to under their belt.
They'd literally not look at me and just talk loudly to each other like I was invisible. I just didn't matter at all.
I'd stop talking, sit/stand and wait, just put instructions on the board, move seats etc. But some of them just didn't care.
I had a student tell me I looked like I had cancer?
One threaten me that there'd be consequences if I gave him detention as his family were well-known in the area.
Told to shut up by an 11 year old. Called a bitch.
A lot of the books as a result were not beautifully presented as the teacher had requested and I feel bad for this.
On my last day I tidied up the books I did have

I just emailed the agency and explained why I wasn't returning. They did understand, were apologetic and said they'd report it.
I gave in my lanyard at reception and told them I wasn't coming back.
I'm looking for a new career path for different reasons, I feel that I let the school down.
Honestly feel that the only teacher who could get those classes to listen to supplies is somebody they're afraid of/intimidated by, which is sad.

I was once longterm supply in a specialist behaviour setting which would have been fine (I had a background in this field) but I got no support, no supervision (to talk through violent or very upsetting incidents), hardly any PPA time and a million other issues. I started seeing wild, rabid dogs snarling at me every time I closed my eyes and knew I couldn't go on. I just quit one day. The head teacher called me to say he knew he hadn't supported me properly and that he was sorry.

I then started doing supply in mainstream schools. One morning I turned up to cover a staff absence and was doubled over in agony soon after I got there. I had to leave and got a train home. Someone called an ambulance for me at the train station and I was brought to hospital (turned out to be a kidney infection). I felt so bad about that but that couldn't have been helped.

The beauty of supply is the flexibility. You did the right thing. Why would you put yourself through it for the sake of a school that doesn't respect its staff enough to tackle behaviour properly. Well rid!

I'm not sure I'd have gone in the next day after hearing that.

I completely agree with this. If our children behaved this way in my primary school there’d be hell to pay! They know that all adults should be treated with respect, and as adults we model that and treat the children with respect. Our supply teachers love coming back !

My last school was.

That's the beauty of supply you just don't need to return to difficult schools. I am surprised that the school was willing to pay you for inset training - like a pp said I don't think I would have returned the following day. Try a different school.

You have made numerous threads about this
You are clearly not made out to be a supply teacher
Forget it and move on.

Stop worrying about it.

Once showed a supply teacher to a classroom when he me he quite enjoyed working at our school "quite a few of us supply teachers point blank refuse to work at x academy or St. Whatshisface anymore".

So you're definitely not the first supply teacher to blacklist a school.

Don't feel guilty. My dh, who had an obvious leg injury, was on supply at a primary school and one child kicked him on his bad leg. Other kids spat at him and generally misbehaved. The direct superior more or less said "just get on with it". I begged him to leave and even the agency told him to just pack it in after they did a surprise visit and witnessed just how bad it was. Unfortunately, he felt he was letting everyone down and stayed, resulting in him having a breakdown. He now no longer teaches and our lives are much happier.

Some schools are like that forever. They get a new head/ new leaders. Who stay for a year or so and go. Or they have no head and no stability and no one wants to work there. Sad.

Oh yes, and when supplies get to cross paths on occasion - we do compare notes and there are certain schools where multiple supplies will refuse to go back to.
Often it's not always the "rough" ones either - I used to regularly go to some of the really deprived areas of town because, although things were tough there - the staff would support you... compared to some very affluent areas where the school management would rip you to shreds and feed you to the parents at the slightest chance.

OP, I have read both your threads and I really feel for you. I’m not a teacher although I certainly have a lot of the makings of one (subject knowledge, presentation skills, organisational skills) specifically because I have concerns about discipline and my ability to
handle the kind of situations you describe.
It speaks volumes that you feel so committed to the school and that you feel you have let them down but, when all’s said and done, you won’t be any good anywhere if you are ground down to a snivelling, quivering pulp so you were right to get out.

I have twenty years’ experience including as a Deputy Head. Poor management from senior leadership is what causes behaviour in schools to deteriorate to this level. No child should ever feel that they can tell a teacher - or any member of staff - to shut up without serious consequences. You were in a school where so much of this was tolerated that it was utterly impossible to keep on top of it all and punish pupils for low-level misbehaviour. What happens then is that telling teachers to shut up / back chatting results in nothing and they literally have to tell you to fuck off before a parent is called. I worked in two particularly good schools for a total of seven years and didn’t issue a single detention in that time, nor did I ever hear a pupil swear AT ALL in front of me, never mind directly at a teacher. They didn’t do it because nobody else did it. The standard was set. The difference was that the second it had ever happened, SLT were on that pupil like a tonne of bricks. Calls home and consequently very clear warnings to other pupils.

You are a teacher, not a saint. You owe the school nothing at all now. Walk away with your head high, knowing that you tried to make a difference to those children but it was largely a one-way effort. Take your skills and professionalism where they are appreciated.

You did the right thing walking away from a school that has serious discipline problems.
You shouldn't be saying "anyone would be better than me" though. Please don't let this experience destroy your confidence.

Unnecessary comment. Sounds like a place any teacher would struggle.

I wouldn’t feel guilty for one second. Schools don’t care about supply teachers. You’re just a warm body. I hated supply. It was even more grief than permanent classroom teaching and less money

It is a tough job and very different to being a permanent teacher

not always, you can be in a school years and still get dreadful behaviour from certain groups.I was in a school 3 years once and a year 9 class were awful to me, I had them in year 7 too which undermines the myth that if you have them in year 7 they'll always behave for you.

I don't know your circumstances OP but the only advantage to doing supply is that you choose where you go. Supply work in September is usually scarce unless it is a vacancy that could not be filled or an unforeseen sudden staff absence (jury service/health issue etc).
If you want to, you tell the agency you won't commit for longer than a week, until you have spent a day there with the pupils. The agent will try to convince you otherwise to make their "teacher days" ratio and to get the booking, but if it is a very difficult school they will probably end up sending you anyway.
You look at the schools in your radius, check their current Ofsted rating, see how far away in terms of wear and tear on your car, make mental notes on how you were treated by the supply coordinator, the head of dept, the kids and the staff room and keep a spreadsheet. You then vote with your feet.
I will not go to one school I only spent one day at, as there were KS4 classes who were wholly indifferent and KS3 classes who already had a feral element. I am not prepared to put myself through a tough gig, when there are other schools out there, actively dealing with these extremes.

What happens then is that telling teachers to shut up / back chatting results in nothing and they literally have to tell you to fuck off before a parent is called

I have being told to fuck off in schools, reported it and nothing happened. I wasn't supply either. I had objects thrown at me, reported it and again nothing happened-again was not supply.

Was called a cunt by a year 9 boy in front of hod,nothing happened. Was sworn at and verbally abused in front of assistant head-nothing happened, she just went back into her office. Again in none of these instances was I supply.

My colleague had her phone nicked and told slt who did it, the boy sold it for drugs-nothing happened. Somebody put pins in her drink-again nothing happened. It never ceases to amaze me how much bad behaviour gets swept under the carpet in schools, mainly because those who are supposed to deal with it got out of the classroom so don't care.

I think if people could see what schools were like there'd be a lot less teacher bashing.

8

You are being very hard on yourself. In any other context being deliberately ignored, called names, willfully disrespected would be called abuse and those who return to have that behaviour done more than once - the definition of insanity.

What is this though is a situation- that is the day to day reality of many teachers in classrooms up and down the country.

You may feel that this a personal failure to you. I can assure you it is common. It pays no heed to experience or expertise and it is culturally tolerated and enhanced by shaming professionals as ‘unable to cope’ and the other gem ‘doesn’t happen to me’.

If you want shame and blame it is not on your door - you have placed boundaries for yourself for how you will or will not be treated. Be proud of yourself, look forward and do not give this another ounce of your emotional energy.

^^ this

At my child’s school if they misbehave for a supply teacher the punishment is doubled. So anything that results in a 24hr removal room becomes 48. Whether it’s short or long term supply.

Dear god. I'm about to start supply tomorrow. This isn't encouraging! And I'm itching to know where in the UK this was.

If anyone feels like giving me a few top tips, I'd be very grateful!
www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4630288-new-to-supply-teacher-advice-wanted?reply=119880186

The problem with supply is as follows:
You are not known by the kids, so they will test the boundaries from the off.
There is now often a set of consequences, designed to keep the disruptive pupils with you as opposed to a proper 3 strikes system/decent on-call in place.
The head/staff of a failing school will happily denigrate you, dubbing the dubious quality of supply the problem, as opposed to dealing with the issue of embedded poor behaviour. Yes, there can be supply staff out there who give the job a bad rep - but the majority are trying hard in a situation where they are often set up to fail (work left not fit for purpose, no resources, no backup).
Neither the agency not the school necessarily want to invest in you as a person: you are just another pair of scrubs to them. Agents lie to get the booking. Schools, paying through the nose, expect you to grit your teeth and get on with it. Pupils, subjected to a string of temporary staff, see it as a bloodsport.
Given how many supply staff have been replaced with cover supervisors or higher level TAs, given how the daily pay rate has not properly increased over two decades or leaves you to haggle, given LA pools no longer exist, given how many supply were treated during Covid, it amazes me that there are any of us remaining! (Disclaimer: I only do a few days a month now on known terms).

Thanks. I think.
I am not sure how long I can hack this, but needs must.