Would you pursue this with the school?

[Cristall]

I found out during the Easter holidays that DC’s teacher left suddenly a fortnight before the holidays started. Nobody was informed until the email arrived earlier this week. The teacher had only worked there since Christmas. There’s a replacement teacher taking over after the holidays.

I’m concerned that the teacher left so suddenly. My thinking is that if nothing was amiss the school would have made him work his notice, at least until Easter. The fact he left so suddenly makes me think he’s been sacked for some unknown incident.

Would you ask the school for clarification? Do I have the right to demand it? At the very least I want to know if he quit or was sacked - and if he was sacked, why.

This is a prime example of why schools won’t tell you anything even if they could

The poster did not say she was friends with a paedo teacher. She said her friend’s husband was arrested.

Quite a big difference really.

if the school is an academy burgundy book rules don’t apply so notice periods could be different. If he wants out quickly and is not happy, would you want him teaching because he was forced or would it be easier and better for school to release him early (I’m supply and I’ve seen this happen twice this year in 2 different schools already!) If he’s only been there since Jan then he was probably on supply and can leave whenever he likes - personally unless I’d had a seriously better offer I would have waited until the Easter holidays for the children’s sake, but that’s just me. It’s really difficult to sack - more likely he would’ve gone on long term sick while there was an investigation anyway.

You are jumping to conclusions. There could be many reasons. No you have no rights to know. If there was any suggestion of your child being harmed you would be notified. A teacher leaving is not a sign of this at all.

Your child did not lose two weeks of schooling. If an HLTA was covering the class, they will have been following the curriculum and the planned lessons set in advance by the teacher, or by the head of year.

If a teacher is being accused of misconduct, the process is they will be suspended pending an investigation. If it involves any children, the parents of those children would be notified.
You have been notified that there will be a new teacher in the classroom after Easter. That is all you're entitled to know.
Reasons why a teacher leaves:

1. resignation. Schools very often dont tell parents about this until the last minute
2. serious illness. A sudden cancer diagnosis will mean a teacher may need to have long term leave.
3. promotion (see 1)
4. dismissal (see above explanation)
5. death (no explanation needed)
6. redundancy
7. retirement

Its not all about you - stop being so bloody nosy.

Recruitment in schools is dire at the moment. Your child was taught by a TA for a couple of weeks, they have a replacement teacher after Easter. I would think yourself lucky, some children are being taught day after day by different supply teachers / TAs / being taught in combined classes etc.

He may have gone off sick for those last two weeks of term - do you expect the school to inform you every time a teacher goes off sick?

The kids couldn’t have been impacted that much as it seems no other parents found out and discussed it during those 2 weeks - you’ve only found out now.

When I was pregnant with my DD I was literally in school seemingly fine (from the kids point of view), and then off sick the next day (throwing up constantly - it got to the point I couldn’t work) I was only about 7 weeks pregnant, had no intention of telling my students. Initially my lessons were covered by other staff and supply, but when it became clear I was going to be off long term the head of department rearranged the whole timetable to ensure my exam classes were covered by subject specialists. It was only at that point that a letter was sent to parents to explain that I was off and what the plan was. Still no mention of WHY I was off. I found out when I returned at 24 weeks pregnant that they’d all thought I’d died or had some serious illness. Thankfully they hadn’t jumped to the conclusion I was a paedo and had been sacked. They cheered when I walked in with my obvious pregnancy bump. Although the school actually kept the timetable with the changed teachers for continuity as I’d be going off on maternity soon anyway.

So my point is, you have no right to know why this teacher has left. And should be grateful they’ve recruited another one for after the Easter hols.

I think you should email the Headteacher and ask for a meeting asap Op

Someone upthread has already said they were friends with a paedo teacher, who was sacked and the parents weren’t informed that their kids had been taught by a paedo. So clearly schools do cover things up.

The school would have to follow the police guidelines in that kind of case. They would not be allowed to state the teacher had committed a crime unless they had been found guilty of an offence. Iirr the pp who posted this says it has not yet gone to court.

That isn't the school covering it up. It will be the school having to follow legal instructions and they'd find themselves in a whole heap of trouble if they went against this, and potentially lead to the case falling apart before it went to court,

If they did know in advance, they covered it up and didn’t tell parents. They should be keeping us informed instead of hiding stuff.

Again, this isn't covering it up.
You have no right to know unless it is something the reason is something that has directly impacted your child. As you have not been spoken to this is unlikely to be the case.

If the leaving teacher doesn't want parents informed as to the reason they are leaving - if it's their choice to leave - then that is their right.

As a parent you have no right to know personal information about the teaching staff.

Please do but only if you update the thread.

You've already said you'd feel much better to hear if the teacher was leaving due to a sudden family emergency. Maybe hearing they or a family member had a serious illness might make you feel a lot happier. Maybe discovering they have a family member abroad who is terminal would make you feel a lot more cheery today.

There is a retention crisis in schools- in all likelihood the teacher was on longterm supply, didn't like the school and left.

Yes, actually hoping that something serious has happened to/in the life of another human. Vile.
Well op, my friend had to leave her work suddenly when her husband in his 30s died of unknown cardiac event, how selfish of her not to update all her class parents and think of her and her child's distress. People like you should be forefront of everything and everyone.

but what makes you think they knew he wouldn't be coming back? maybe he was ill? Maybe he had caring commitments.

here are some reasons I have come across for staff leaving suddenly

Loss of hearing
child admitted to hospital
new job, leaving teaching
didn't like the way head spoke to them
flu, which ran over the end of their contract
property management issues in another country
cancer
broken ankle, which ran over the end of their contract
personality clash with line manager
lied on CV - was asked to leave
lied about absence - called in sick when attending another job interview- was asked to leave
suspended for an investigation - this happens, but really is no big deal. Not locking away exam apers correctly was one reason, not admitting to the school that they were a type 1 diabetic was another, false allegations quite regularly - people come back from those if they want to, but of course they might not want to, and can often get quite a big payout from the school instead.

mostly the member of staff went for personal reasons - working your notice only really applies if you have a long term contract and want to stay in teaching - outside of teaching, lots of new employers won't let teachers work their notice.

Two who left for lying, both were very minor lies, one said his GCSE results were a bit better than they actually were, one was leaving teaching anyway - and of course school saved money when they discovered the lie, but asking him to leave straight away- which suited him - he would have said no if he had wanted to stay.

YABU

Seriously OP. This is Mumsnet. A place where everyone worries about their kids' schooling. Where they come to complain when something goes wrong at school. Where people are not slow to moan about teachers or schools' failings.

Yet not one poster has agreed with you. Doesn't that say something?

You are beginning to sound unhinged, OP, So many times you've been told it isn't your business but still you whine on.

When I was in hospital having a miscarriage a demented parent hammered on the head's door demanding to know where I was. She got told (politely) to pisss off. And so should you.

I think the fact that a new teacher is starting after Easter, and must therefore have been employed before February, means it is extremely unlikely that this departure was suspicious, sudden or unexpected.

OP you are a nightmare and the reason I (and many many others) are trying to leave education. You are also the creator of many of your childs issue now and in the future. I wish you all the best, not even going to try and change your thought process. You have decided you are right, even though you have no idea what you are talking about.

Wow.

So a teacher left at Christmas, they couldn't get a new permanent teacher to start until Easter, and they got a supply in for a term. Said supply might already have had a holiday booked for the two weeks before Easter.

I'd forgotten this possible scenario, yet I was that supply teacher a few decades ago. Only difference was that it was the summer term. That was a really lovely job, actually.

I’ve known a couple of teachers be “escorted from the premises” and never seen again, but it was never anything to do with students, or that would even have affected students, so no need for parents to know anything (and even the rest of the staff knew only the very bare bones of what went on).

True.

Infact, a more likely scenario, based on the timings:

Teacher 1 - left at Christmas for new job
Teacher 2 - long term supply but with a pre-booked holiday in of term time [one advantage of being supply]
Teacher 3 - new teacher starting, having been employed by the school during the last term, after Easter

The missing two weeks - couldn't get a suitable supply for those two weeks and the TA was perhaps actually a HLTA or cover supervisor working under the guidance of a teacher or SLT.

No worrying issues. No real need to inform parents as to why the middle teacher isn't in for the final two weeks.

Exactly this!! No wonder teachers are leaving in droves. The teacher or school doesn't have to explain themselves to you. I once left a post as a teacher as I had something traumatic happen to me. I didn't want the world and their wife knowing so I just asked the school to put on the newsletter that I'd left.

Exactly.
Perhaps the teacher had a pre-booked holiday they were going on and wasn't intending to stay for the final term.

You have jumped to a really ridiculous idea of why a teacher would have left before the end of term.

The least likely situation is that your child has come to harm from a teacher in her class. Classroom doors are usually open and definitely accessible to other adults at all times. It is close to impossible that something untoward would happen in a classroom setting during a school day.

Most likely is that the teacher was only based there temporarily or the teacher wasn't a good fit for the school and has left.