I blocked my Headteacher on WhatsApp this week

[jsty]

To make this post as short as it needs to be.

I am an ECT who decided not to renew my fixed term contract at the school I have been working at this year, my contract ends on the 31st August. On the last day of work I handed in my work laptop and lanyard/fob before I left the building. Fast forward to now, I received a text message from my headteacher this week. Basically I have not completed some SEND paperwork, that was due before the end of the term. The headteacher was claiming it was essential to be completed. The message was worded very politely and wished me the best of luck for the future but they basically asked me to come into work, collect my work laptop and complete it before the end of the summer holidays, preferably as soon as possible.

I do not recall being told that this needed to be completed. The last half term I found so overwhelming and felt all I was doing was working for most hours in the day.

I responded by not replying to the message and blocking the headteacher. I have felt unsupported during my time working there from SLT. I have gone 3 months working there without a single meeting/observation from my mentor.

I probably have responded in the wrong way and dread what my reference from this school could be now but I just want to enjoy my summer holidays in peace and relax.

I am going back on supply in September to decide whether I want to stay in the profession or not.

I am a teacher. If a teacher fails to complete a necessary task within their directed hours, then of course they have to complete it within school holidays. Teachers are hardly lacking in holiday time, so we really don't have cause to be precious about it.

The OP said:

"I do not recall being told that this needed to be completed. The last half term I found so overwhelming and felt all I was doing was working for most hours in the day."

which, to me, suggests she (or he) missed the communications about the deadline, which is no excuse at all.

Unblock her and do the work.

As it is you are now stressed anyway.

Doing the work is the right thing to do. You say you were overwhelmed so perhaps you were asked to do it and forgot - either way it is your professional responsibility to do the paperwork.

Also, head teachers talk to one another so this could jeopardise your future career prospects

How old are you? This isn't how the world works. Your contract hasn't yet finished. Most professionals work more than their contracted hours anyway, capitalism is a bitch. You'll need this reference no matter what your next job is. Don't you need to work to pay the bills? You choose to be a teacher and now you're putting a day in the sunshine ahead of a child with additional needs. What will that missing paperwork mean to them next year? What additional help might they miss out on? Maybe you should find a job where other people's wellbeing doesn't rely on you doing the job well

Re leaving teaching - absolutely do it if you can! Best decision I ever made and should have done it sooner (22 years in primary).
The career frequently sucks the life out of you (and your family) and the expectations are becoming increasingly more ridiculous.

As SLT in a primary, this paperwork should have been completed way before the end of term. It should have been checked and flagged by the SENCo and bought to your attention. Also, as an ECT, you should have been supported better as you say you were unaware of what you had to do.
I would just do it, but if you can't face going back you really should message and explain rather than ignoring. It really isn't very professional and unfair on the child.

No. sometimes schools take the Mickey. I once left in Dec and was asked to complete reports due in Feb. I did not reply to email and just left. no repercussions.

Wow YABBVU. You are still getting paid until the end of August, get off your backside and do the work . You are definitely not suited to teaching!
Incidentally to answer a previous poster a HT can ask you to complete work during the summer holidays. When do you think schemes of work are written, sets assigned etc etc ?

It is one task, apologise for lack of contact, finish it out, do it for the child in question.

This!

@Mushypeasandchipstogo May I ask what experience you have personally of the teaching profession?
Genuine question...how much of a teacher's summer holiday do you feel should be spent working?

Definitely take a stand, OP. You were unsupported and are now justifiably angry at the head teacher. Time to make that clear by punishing a disabled child, and delaying their access to support. That will teach the head teacher, too bad about the harm to the child, it can just teach them too.

Honestly, I can’t even fathom your approach for a few hours work. If someone randomly came up to me and asked me to spend a few hours doing a task to help a child then I’d absolutely do it. But yes, best to make a stand at the cost of a disabled child

"How old are you? This isn't how the world works."

These were, pretty much word for word, my first two thoughts on reading the OP 😂

I'm an experienced teacher.

You are contracted to the school until the 31st August. However, school holidays are outside of directed time and you cannot be directed to come into the school during the holiday periods. Your HT will know this perfectly well.

However, I would imagine your HT would not have asked you to do this paperwork if you weren't leaving - if you were going to be at the school in September, you could have just done it on your return. But you have left a key task outstanding on leaving the school, and this leaves the school and a child in the lurch.

I appreciate you don't recall being asked to do this and you had a difficult time of it at the school. However, ignoring the request and blocking your HT is highly unprofessional. Having worked in education for 15 years, I can tell you that it is actually a surprisingly small world and wherever you go, you'll find someone who knows someone you taught with somewhere. You really don't want to burn any bridges.

I am a militant supporter of teachers' rights but in this case I do think you should just go in and do the paperwork. If the HT has contacted you to get it done, it must be urgent and if you don't do it, then support for the child in the next academic year may be delayed. That's not fair on the child. It is part of your job, you should have done it last term, and as you won't be there to sort it in September, the HT has no choice but to ask you to do it now.

Legally, do you have to? No. Morally, should you? Absolutely.

It's clearly weighing on your mind and I think you already know you haven't behaved correctly, otherwise you wouldn't be on MN asking people's opinions. Just pop in tomorrow for an hour and then it'll all be over and you can move on with your life.

I'm a primary SENCO and think this is completely unreasonable, as are most of the responses on this thread. Whilst it might be easiest for you to fill certain forms in, you will not be the only person who can do so. What if you were signed off sick? They would have to work round it then. If it was so vital, it should have been checked in terms time. Your union will back you up on this. The head is chancing it that you'll just do as you're told, they'll know that.

I can’t imagine what SEND paperwork an ECT, not the Sendco or Head of department, needs to do that couldn’t be completed by someone else. It does sound like you have been unsupported in that school and the head should also be concerned that you haven’t had the additional meetings/ support to which you were entitled. For all they know you could be away and unable to get into
school as it’s holiday time. I would probably unblock but ignore the message, certainly until September - it’s not really appropriate for the HT to contact you via WhatsApp anyway.

No, a HT cannot ask you to work during the holidays (unless you're SLT/HoD/HOY of course, who will have different contracts to factor in needing to be present for exam results, extra inset days, etc). Holidays are not included in directed time.

Teachers can - and mostly, do - choose to get planning and marking done over the holidays, because it helps us manage our workload during the rest of the year. But our HTs can't ask or demand that we do this. The union would have a field day if they tried!

So, there's children involved that you're planning to leave high & dry? No matter what axe you have to grind with the system, do what you should be doing. Your conscience & contractural obligations will be clear then. Good luck for your future.

Jesus, would it of killed you just to nip into school and finish the paperwork that you only need to do in the holidays because you didn't do it when you were meant to! This sums up the countrys attitude to work these days and why we're in such a bloody mess!

This isn’t some insignificant piece of paper that’s easily managed without, it’s something to help a child with SEND. How would you feel if it were your child ?

@Crusttt My gut feeling tells me those vociferously shouting at OP to "Just get it done FFS!" and "You are a crap teacher if you don't" are those who have no direct experience of teaching whatsoever.
The demands of the job (above and beyond this example) are now ridiculous and my life (and that of my family) has become immeasurably better since I left primary teaching after 22 years.

Go to GP and get signed off with WRS for the next 4 weeks. And then reassess whether teaching is for you. You will need to use your HT for a reference whether you work in supply or your next role whatever that is, so keep that in mind if you do decide to take this route.

I think the problem here is the blocking

I think you should have replied politely explaining why it can’t be done. But blocking is bad. And she will know it’s a block

@middleagedandinarageAre you a teacher?

@FunPartyIdeas . I retired early from teaching after teaching secondary school level in England for 30 years ! (10 years as a HoD)
Secondary school teachers are certainly expected to do some work during the summer holidays and, as a HoD, I was required to be in school for results days.

I would contact your union for advice.

I think teaching does rely a lot on goodwill. Someone has dropped the ball in not checking this has been done but if it's something you could manage then I would do it for the sake of the child.
People do talk, depending on where you want to teach if you have limited amounts of schools then it's not only staff that might make remarks but also parents talking to parents at other schools that might get you off on a bad foot. If you got a long term supply one parent might say to a friend about their child having a temp teacher, next thing you know is they say oh my child had them, didn't do their job properly (remember the school might now blame you come September if the parent is angry it hasn't been done) and next thing you know the rumours amongst parents are that Mrs Smith wasn't very good and to keep an eye on if she follows up on things.
Teaching is brutal so you are wise to reconsider it.