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.

This.

The thing that caught my eye about this thread, part from the posters who still do not understand directed time is the school having WhatsApp as a communication channel between the HT and staff. Utterly bizarre.

Every school I've ever worked in since general access to emails was enabled has a dedicated email system, password protected, which is only for school correspondence. Anything within the state system would insist on it. It is entirely separate from staff personal emails.

I can see that the OP would be outside the system, having resigned, so
the HT, in my experience, would have messaged via the OP's phone, very apologetically, saying they would phone at X time, or phoned directly.

'I wonder what people’s views would be if a doctor refused to complete a similar request for a patient.'

First and foremost a teacher's responsibilities don't equate to that of a Doctor.

That said, the fact that you believe a Doctor who has gone on holiday would return because of an issue with a patient has given me a chuckle.

Can’t you just do the paperwork now?

Teachers pay and conditions exists. It’s not up for debate. I think we can all just agree with one another endlessly on this. My post is more widely about the discussion on the thread and the profession. I wish the OP all the best in their career.

It’s a wonder. And you’ve read it as 2 statements of fact. You are entitled to read it how you like, I guess!

I wouldn't be a teacher for all the tea in China. I've seen what the teachers at my DD's school are like - they are stressed up to their eyeballs. I know it's a vocation for some - but god, they all seem to have so much on their plates. It's not just teaching is it - they seem to dream up new responsibilities & paperwork for teachers every day.
The teachers I know seem to do it because they genuinely the kids and their subject - but there's so much else on top of that.
I'm not sure you should do this work OP - but maybe message back saying you're away and unavailable to return to the school. Covers your back.

Was it a Connor’s questionnaire or something like that?

It might be a kind gesture to complete it (if you know the child and can do it). Were you their main class teacher? Primary? If secondary, surely someone else or SENDCO could do?

However, if it meant a child got support quicker, I’d probably do it for them.

Workload is horrific and you do just want to run away. I’m going back as supply (after 25 years FT) supply too as life is just too short for the demands of the workload.

Could you ask HT to forward request to you and then warn you’re unavailable thereafter.

For those saying OP is contracted until end August, may I remind, yet again, that teachers’ salaries are divided into 12 to cover school children’s holidays but we accrue the equivalent hours plus many more during term time.

HT shouldn’t have contacted OP. For the sake of child she could complete the task but it’s shoddy that she should have to.

Give a gift to your future self by making some excuse about computer problem you've been having, unblock the headteacher and go and do that work. A reasonable reference is a good thing and you may struggle to get another position post summer if you have left work undone. For practical purposes, it doesn't really matter whether they told you or not or should have told you and so on. Life is hard, don't go out of your way to make it harder.

Exactly this. Whatever you think about your HT and handling of your role, ultimately you are there to help the children.

Just do the work.

Teaching is a small world, that level of behaviour is unprofessional. You have demonstrated a lack of communication, professionalism and problem-solving.

Op this can not be real.

You’re being rude to block your HT, who was polite to you.
You're being unprofessional not to complete your contracted work.
You're being heartless to the SEND child/children you are disadvantaging further, assuming you were the one best placed to do the paperwork.
You're being unfair to whoever ends up having to do this, your work, on top of their own work.
You’re being naive and short-sighted if you don’t realise that HTs speak to each other and give private untraceable references.

Your mentor was wrong not to do their job properly but that’s nothing to do with the point in question. You should have complained about that at the time.

YABU. Go and get it sorted.

Many posters seem to have missed the detail that the OP has had to hand her work laptop back in; that’s a pretty strong signal that the expectation to do any work for that school is over. No she can’t do the SEN paperwork on a different machine: GDPR nightmare! The school has fucked up, not the OP. The head teacher is on a sticky wicket 1. For not presiding over a culture where ECTs are supported and therefore do not want to leave the profession 2. For not holding the SENDCO to account for ensuring all essential SEND paper work was complete by the end of usual work period (ie the end of term) 3. For contacting the OP over WhatsApp in her holiday. So as far as the reference is concerned, I wouldn’t worry as you are not in the wrong here and, sadly, if you’re wanting to go on supply personal experience has taught me that many schools and agencies will literally take any warm body as there is such a lack of good staff.

Edited to add: don’t leave teaching until you’ve tried another school. The culture at this previous one sounds toxic and we need good people to stay in the profession xx

‘Hi ms -, really sorry but I seem to have blocked you in error. Will get that done and back to you. Sorry again’.

And go do it. Op someone needs that paperwork done, sorry but it’s one more thing then you’re done

Motherofacertainage

They told her to come back in for the laptop though? It doesn’t matter either way, there’s a child at the end of all of this that needs something done

But they shouldn’t have done. It’s their error not hers. There is ALWAYS a child at the end of a piece of additional work and this is the reason that many teachers run themselves into the ground. We don’t even know tbf what the paperwork is. More children will benefit long term if more teachers hold their professional boundaries and stay in teaching for the long haul.

I’m sorry that you really struggled last term. I would however just do the work. You could ask the head teacher to courier the lap top to you?….

Did you know you had this outstanding piece of work before finishing at the end of term? If so, its unprofessional to just leave your post without either completing the task or arranging handover of the work to a successor.

Only if they’re doing so in September and paying for her time. Shes left the job. The school had the chance to guide OP to do that work during her working hours/ non holiday time. An excellent time for this conversation to have happened was during the hour long protected weekly mentor meetings that OP was legally entitled to (and the school had received funding for) during the last 3 months of her employment when she didn’t receive them.

Not the OP's problem. Her mentor, SENCO or head should have told her to complete the paperwork before the summer holidays. 100% their issue. For all they know, she could have flown to Australia the first days of the holidays for the entire summer holidays. She'd have every right to do that and has every right to not be available for the 6 weeks. She has done all her contracted contact days.

This guilt tripping about the child is how teachers continue to be run into the ground and leave in droves. She's not the only one that will know the child so someone else can do the paperwork or they can pay her to do a supply day in Sept to do it.

It would be the same thing as someone in another profession being hounded by the CEO to do paperwork during their annual leave. People are allowed their holidays.

But they shouldn’t have done. It’s their error not hers. There is ALWAYS a child at the end of a piece of additional work and this is the reason that many teachers run themselves into the ground. We don’t even know tbf what the paperwork is. More children will benefit long term if more teachers hold their professional boundaries and stay in teaching for the long haul.

Well she’s done and gone so they won’t be putting more on this, it’s one thing and in the future she can say in an interview that she went above and beyond to help out a child that needed something submitted.

I am sure she can already say she's been above and beyond dozens of times. One task does not change that. One task that should have been clearly allocated before OP's annual leave and before she was asked to hand back her IT equipment.

Whether or not you recall being told to do it is irrelevant. You need to do it. And with an apologetic, “of course - I’ll have it completed before the end of the week” if you want to avoid future regret at how you’re behaving.

Remember as an ECT she quite possibly needs support to complete the paperwork, it’s not so simple as just doing it. This should all have been done in July, I would suggest it’s definitely a failure or school systems and procedures ? I can’t think of any SEND paper that is not built into our calendars. Reviews are checked by SENDCO and ECTs would complete them either with the SENDCO or their mentor, and any questionnaires would also be completed with the support of the SENDCO. I know it needs to be done, but without knowing what it is can’t suggest a solution, but the blame definitely does not lie with the OP I’m afraid, and I know how overwhelming teacher workload can be, especially as an ECT, it’s doesn’t sound like you have been well supported at all. I think the head is being pretty unprofessional actually using WhatsApp in the holidays.