Accepted a long term supply role 2 weeks ago, have handover dates booked for next week, starting with them April but want to cancel it all? Is it very evil to tell agency I do not want to work there?

[Sk999]

I accepted this job, its close to me, but I only accepted because I thought i had no other options 2 weeks ago for after Easter? However, I have a few options now in year groups i wanted although further away. I also noticed on the few days I supplied there - its a year 1 class with 1 child who does not listen or respect me at all, 1 sen and few other behavioural issues (mainly boys) and I am mostly left alone for the whole day. I have the TA for 45 mins before lunch last time and that was it, sometimes no TA at all and sometimes 3 different TAs, but mostly no one at all. I cant be everywhere helping 28 kids so most complete with no help. Im scared that I will struggle once i start on long term, because all the planning will be on me, as its one form, there will be marking, updating displays, most of the lessons they teach they prepare presentations themselves except for maths. I prefer the workload of a EYFS class, preparing activities in tuff spots and writing up observations etc. I know i need to come out my comfort zone sometimes but i dont know if its worth it for a supply role.

Why Wednesday? If you let them know tomorrow they’ll have two full working weeks to find your replacement. Also, supply teaching agency staff don’t get the full two weeks off for Easter (at least the the staff at the agency that I work for don’t, I’ve been contacted during school holidays about work several times). Anyway, I reckon they’ll fill your job easily enough.

How come everyone, including teachers could cope with calling them Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays until relatively recently?! Next week is not ‘before half-term’. It is before the Easter holidays surely.

Not many people care about this, I am aware. So carry on!

Are you also offended by people referring to Whitsun as half term?

Of course they are referred to by the full name but people sometimes just say half term too. It's not a big deal.

The Easter Holidays is 6 syllables. Half term is 2. Everyone know what is meant by it. It's just quicker to say and type and no one really cares.

I guess my question is, has this always been the case and I have not noticed it? I only realised from a thread here last year that so many people were calling the Christmas holidays, half-term. I must have been living under a rock!

ETA why do you ask if I am ‘offended’? It’s such a silly cliched question. Plenty of us get mildly irritated by petty stuff; why do you use such an extreme word?

I’ve done several years as a supply teacher. Agencies do not give a toss about you as long as they have filled the vacancy and are getting their hefty cut. The beauty of supply is that you are not committed to any notice period etc and can pick and choose. I have sometimes done a day in a school, discovered it was horrific behaviour-wise and have just told the agency I’m not going back the next day. It’s their problem to find someone else.

And remember - schools drop supply teachers at whim when it suits them, so that cuts both ways. At least you are giving them some notice.

You can’t chop and change too often though, because your consultant will pass you over for good jobs if they think you are too picky, but every now and again it’s fine.

Irritated would probably have been better... I suppose it just seemed odd that someone cared enough to comment. And I hear an lot of people complaining that 'we're' not allowed to call it Easter/Christmas anymore because of some fictional person banning it.

Half term is just easier. For example, a lot of teachers think in terms of the year being Sept - Aug rather than Jan - Dec. My whole life is organised around 'half terms' separated by a break so I tend to think in 'half terms' rather than weeks or months.

Nothing is meant by it. We know which holiday it is. It's just not really a big deal.

Ex education recruitment consultant here.
There are lots of assumptions on this thread that the agency will make a quick phone call and easily replace you. That really isn't the case! A lot of work goes into finding the right candidate to suit the school and it does reflect badly on both the agency and the teacher when a teacher pulls out of a booking.

Also, keep in mind that school business managers and head teachers in a local area all talk to each other about supply teachers - the good ones and unreliable ones.

Nothing pisses primary school business managers off more than supply teachers leaving them in the lurch 😬 Just thought I'd share from the other side!

I've no experience of teaching, but I presume being a supply teacher is similar to full time locums my line of business. They don't have the same stability, job security and conditions of employment such as paid annual and sick leave as permanent staff but they have flexibility and a larger degree of self determination. The employer doesn't have the same obligations to agency staff as it does to it's own permanent employees and the same is true in reverse.
In the days when I was a Clinical Director I would have been a bit irritated if a locum doctor that I'd selected decided not to come at a week or two's notice, but not desperately upset. After all, we could cancel their booking at minimal notice or ask them to leave if they didn't turn out to be suitable and of course it's the same for them. There's a degree of risk on both sides.
As an employer, I would far rather someone pulled out weeks in advance than days, and definitely rather than have someone show up, do their induction and maybe a day or two's work before announcing they are leaving next day. If you are sure this job Iis not for you, and you have other options then I'd cancel as soon as possible.

I manage an education recruitment company.

We would rather know now, than either just before the holidays or worse the day before. There’s lots of time to get that booking re-filled before it starts.

We would also rather know the reason, because if it is that the year group isn’t for you, or that it’s single form, it helps to inform what to offer you next time. We can’t get it right if we don’t know what people want.

They’ll likely not be off for the whole Easter holidays, because that would leave them no time to sort things for next term. We do use the bulk of our holiday allocation when the schools are off (no bookings to fill) but over Easter would usually be in for about half of it, because there’s recruitment to do and last minute changes to sort.

Personally I would say to let them know as early as possible this week, politely explain your reasoning, and then you’ll likely get something else because as far as I know there are more bookings than there are teachers!

I have accepted this a few weeks ago because they kept phoning me and asking me. They sent me there on daily supply following mentioning there was a role. This role wasn’t filled for a while because they had it posted for a while. Not sure why. I know I shouldn’t have said yes but I thought I’d have no other options. What would your reaction as a recruiter be if I phoned tomorrow and said I have to turn down the job I accepted because during daily supply I noticed it’s not for me and I was just scared to share this earlier?

The whole point of supply is that the employer can change their mind. No warning. It works both ways. Children's education is being messed with by successive governments who have failed to address the recruitment and retention crisis. If they did that, there would be far less need for supply teachers. As it stands, supply teachers can pick.and choose. Absolutely no need to stay somewhere that doesn't work for them.

If you already know that it's not for you, phone tomorrow and tell your agency. Far better for them, you and the children that you say this now rather than two weeks into the job. This is the beauty of supply. If the school doesn't work for you, you don't have to work there! Be strong and tell them tomorrow.