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.

@FunPartyIdeas I've been a teacher for 13 years and I think the OP needs to just do the bloody paperwork.

I also think you are letting your own negative experience of teaching cloud your judgement, here.

They are going on supply - not staying in the same school.

If teachers are only paid term time hours and are unpaid for 12 weeks a year, then their wages are excellent, surely? If it's only a 9 month a year job?

ETA that's a starting salary of almost 43k if they had to work a standard year. Not bad at 23.

Not fair on the child because you didn't want to do anymore work because its the summer holidays. You will be contracted until August 31st, you should fulfil your duties. If you need a reference, the head teacher would probably not give you the best one, you let them down.You should never leave any job on a sour note, you have no idea, who knows who, & you may find out at your peril.

Please don’t go to the GP and waste their precious appointment time to get signed off sick just because you don’t want to fill out some paperwork. It’s unreasonable.

Unblock the headteacher and explain honestly why you didn’t do it. It’s only a bit of paperwork; it’s not the end of the world. You’re leaving anyway and it doesn’t sound like you’re bothered about getting another teaching job so it really isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

The independent sector doesn't have the rules state schools have about working hours and workload protections. I am assuming the OP is in a state school of some sort and should absolutely block their Headteacher!

OP should call their union too if they feel uncomfortable or pressured as it is unacceptable to guilt someone in to working unpaid. I highly doubt they would send the same message to a more experienced staff member. Is the headteacher working in the building all summer and modelling this culture? Of course they aren't, and ironically they are the one who doesn't have term time protections on their directed time!

You need to look.for a different career (ir better still a 'job'). Suck it up and get it done ... you are contractually required to do it.

Feel free to look it up:
https://neu.org.uk/advice/your-rights-work/pay-advice/pay-scales/pay-scales-england?_gl=11vwcqvn_upMQ..gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjw1bvTBhBbEiwAzbP8L1vGINF1gq3Lx3UmUdZrSYNWq-cYoEBVQ7dwpAU-AULBAVRNsNNA8RoC5W4QAvD_BwE&gbraid=0AAAAACoi_J0cAQ9SjOe-VpBJV6z2RN0x

Everyone starts on M1 and progresses up to M6. You can then apply to go to UPS scale which you stay on each level for 2 years. All being well, after 10 years you would get to £52k full time and then stay on that unless there is a percentage increase from the govt as there isn't anything higher. If you live nearer to London, you are paid extra. You can also get a TLR for taking on extra roles such as head of department, phase leader, head of year etc. You are still protected by the 1265 hours (195 working days).

If you progress to leadership pay scales, you are paid more as responsibility increases but you are no longer protected by directed time 1265 hours. The expectation to work a lot more outside of "normal hours" is greater (understandable since you are usually paid more).

There is a retention crisis so if this thread encourages people to get in to the profession, great!

There is too much martyrdom in teaching, probably due to ever increasing and unreasonable expectations.
About a year before I left the profession (22 years in primary), I decided actually - I'm going to take at the very least half an hour over lunch! No - not going to supervise children in the classroom for the majority, not going to be on First Aid duty, not going to throw a sandwich down in two minutes flat, not going to bleed through my clothes as a perimenopausal woman as I haven't been able to go the the toilet.
I signed out when the lunch bell went, went for a walk, got a sandwich from a bar across the road, and returned 10 minutes before the kids were back in.
All perfectly acceptable in every profession it would seem except teaching.
Teachers - stop doing it!

Worked in education for over 25 years and every teacher I know, which woukd be over a thousand, did some work in the summer break.

@ByQuaintAzureWasp But they're not contractually required whatsoever.

You are employed at the school until August 31st you have an obligation to fulfill your duties

@ByQuaintAzureWasp More fool them.

Hi OP

I'll be honest. I can totally see why you have blocked and want to be left alone.
However, you will need them for a reference. All supply agencies require DBS clearance and a personal reference and one from your most recent employer. Deeper/safer recruitment.

You do not say if you are primary or secondary. If secondary, most it would be is a comment for that child's next review or comment for LAC. We very rarely get asked to do anything else.

If primary, pending which year group, if it is a questionnaire or report after things put in place that have not worked for said child, please fill it in. The wait times are ridiculous and if you don't, that child will have to go all the way back to the start of the process. It is a nightmare for the parents to have a child "on the pathway" to be told we're waiting and watching and then referrals not taking place.

It can make the difference between a decent pen hold, a CAMHS referral, an EHCP in time for secondary. Please don't make it harder 💐

Finally 🍀 with supply, but be aware it is like <tumbleweed> September and that you see the worst of behaviours on supply. Oh, and do not let the agencies take you for a mug.

’and felt all I was doing was working for most hours in the day.’

don’t most people spend most of their working day working? Or am I missing something?

it sounds to me like teaching isn’t the right career for you. Did you go into thinking ‘what a great career, think of the holidays!’ not realising that there was actually work to be done!

(for context I’m not a teacher, I’m a nurse).

Hope this helps?

No, an Early Career Teacher (ECT) does not have to work over the summer holidays. Teachers and ECTs on standard school contracts are not required or directed to work during school closures, weekends, or public holidays. 1]

Contract Rules and Time Off
No mandatory work: You cannot be directed by your school or headteacher to come in, plan, or teach during the summer break.
Rest periods: The holidays are your personal time to rest and recover from the term.
Transition and prep: Some ECTs choose to visit their classroom voluntarily before term ends in July, but this is entirely optional unless you agreed to a special contract with an official July start date.

This isn’t the career for you. Please do something else.

@FashionVixen I agree. Teaching is a terrible job these days.

How many hours a day roughly do you work unpaid?

lazy

👏 The OP probably worked through every lunch break, every evening, all weekend and throughout every other holiday just to stay afloat. Enough is enough now.

Not if they had left their previous role and were going on supply.

What exactly was the SEN paperwork? If you’re being paid till the 31st, then do it.

How to get a bad reputation

The OP is a trainee and is certainly not the only person who could complete this. The SENCO should have had a pretty good idea of what was happening during the year, and SLT could deal with it- they have access to all plans and records. Teachers are not required to go in over the summer holidays and this is an unreasonable request for someone who left because of the lack of support and mentoring. The head is chancing their arm, and quite honestly I’m surprised that they would want to ask for input from someone who had already been massively let down by the school.
If this was a requirement, it should have been picked up well before the end of term. It sounds as if the school was not monitoring properly and they are now panicking. OP says she wasn’t even aware of the requirement to do this report, it sounds like crisis management to me.
For those worried about the child, someone else could do the form filling, there is no need for concern, someone other than Op could do the report. This is not her job anymore.