Maths teacher leaving before end of year

[Absentadditive]

Hello, a friend has sent me here to see if someone might be able to help.

My child is sitting Advanced Higher maths this year but their teacher is leaving at the end of this month. The school only has one other maths teacher qualified to teach at this level but they have not taught the course for many years and also I have been informed is not available for the full timetable of classes.

My child will most likely be asked for their advanced higher maths as a condition for some of their university offers. Is there anything I can do here? Mitigating factors sent into universities etc. It feels like a bit of a bomb being dropped on my child's future. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thank you

The point of the year's contract (irrelevant to this thread and the teacher in question) is that people leave after a year. This creates high staff turnover.

You'll be happy to hear I have been at the same school since 1996.

You could read this

https://www.reddit.com/r/TeachingUK/comments/11tyxsz/oneyear_contract_for_permanent_positions/

Look at the teachers saying they would swerve the school- not because they want to leave before a year is out which seems to be your misunderstanding of the issue. Hardly anyone leaves after less than a year (it's exceedingly rare )

This.

You really do have your knickers in a knot about this don't you.

You can "advocate" all you like but in this case employment law is against you.

I have no problem using "foul language" on a forum that allows it (maybe MN isn't for you if it upsets you that much), I do have issues with posters calling someone unprofessional for abiding by the rules and then laying on the emotional blackmail and teacher guilt to try and get what they want with no indication of caring about the mental health and wellbeing of that person.

I have tried to explain resignation dates.

I have tried to explain the porblem with yearly contracts.

You don't seem to get it.

So I give up.

It. Is. Not. Relevant.To, The. OP.

I have been in the same school for 25 years but I still might get a new job that meant I left mid year (my bad) or in May (common in my area and viewed as the best time as it goes) or July and be in the middle of a two year course for many of my students. You are confusing length of service to a school in total with the date someone might leave. In the annual, fixed term contract you get teachers who stay in a school for only one year. That is high staff turnover and is not good for the profession, the pupils or the parents. There are no easily available stats on this because no one has measured it although various FOI requests have enquired. That reddit thread doesn't have whining teachers : it has teachers saying they would not work in a school with a one year fixed contract, so perhaps you struggled to read that far or grasp their point, based on their inside knowledge. Even private schools don't have contracts stipulating teachers stay til the end of July. It is sometimes more convenient to a school to advertise early and for staff to leave, for example, at May or Easter.

I assumed from your name that you were a tecaher yourself but your disdain and lack of insight does suggest otherwise.

I have offered helpful (I hope) advice to the OP upthread so there are no flies on me. The massive derail came from you.

Over and out.

Are you paying? 🫣

If as you say hardly anyone leaves after less than a year (it's exceedingly rare ), than what is the problem of a contractual obligation to complete the full year (unless there is an emergency situation?

Because job that you want doesn't always turn up at the end of the year.

*All they are interested in is they must be able to leave anytime they like with a short period of notice, including going on sick leave during the period of notice even if they are not sick.

Absolutely no concern for the interests of their students.*

I'm a teacher. Of course I am concerned about the interests of my students, but my first responsibility is to me and my family. If that means that I have to leave mid year, I'm afraid that's what I'm going to do.

My Ds sat Advanced Higher Maths at a different school, he was taxied to the school twice a week for 2 full afternoons, I would ask if this can be an option.

Also a good online resource my Ds liked was Mr Thomas maths.

OnlineMathsTuition

Teachers have been saying what will happen for years, you (I suspect) and others have accused teachers of whining (you have done so on this thread) and if they don't like it they should leave.

Teacher's have taken this advice and done so.

Your response to this isn't to try and fix what is a broken system to encourage people back to or join what should be the greatest profession (IMO) it is to penalise teachers further by wanting to not even allow them to leave in the middle of the year at the time specified in their contracts with some of the longest periods of notice.

As for Form teacher FrippEnos's immediate advice was "Find a tutor".

Yes it was, well done, you have never said why you don't like this idea other than to have another dig at me, So why is this a bad idea?

Why on earth should teachers have to give nine months notice? In what other profession would that be expected? Teachers are human beings with lives of their own. They are not 'owned' by the school , the students or their parents.

There is never going to be a good time to leave. In a secondary school there are always some students mid way through a course. Lots of schools start GCSEs in Year 9 - so when I was teaching I always had 5 year groups doing exam course - GCSE up to A Level.

I taught in my school for 30 years. I left in the December - broken by a system that I had given everything to. If I had been forced to carry on until after the A Level exams I would have been damaged beyond repair. Yes, bloody selfish me! I could not work for two years. Now I work in a non teaching job and oh my God the difference it has made to my life!

The fact that the school could not replace me in my A Level group was entirely the fault of the school management. If they had not pushed me out (too old, too expensive), had they not cut my subject down to the bone, had they recruited other subject specialists when members of the dept left, then there would have been someone there to step in. They did none of those things.

There is already teacher recruitment and retention crisis: making them sign up to indentured labour is not going to make the profession any more attractive.

Teaching is a job. People can leave jobs. There should not be any emotional blackmail involved. Yes, sometimes it is inconvenient (have 3 children, this has affected mine). But that’s life.

People in all kind of jobs leave randomly during the year, at very short notice. Teachers have to tell their HT before they even apply for a new job, give at least half a term notice, one full term in the indie sector and now they have to feel sorry for some kids who have no Maths teacher?

Why do some of you think that teachers own some random kids their life?

@Absentadditive in case nobody has mentioned it already, Dr Frost covers the Scottish Advanced Higher course, and is free: https://www.drfrostmaths.com/courses.php?coid=871

This happened to us in 2020. The teacher left at Christmas to do an archaeology course ( the school allowed it😮). She was replaced by a student. My ds had applied for medecine and didn’t get in, even though maths has always been his best subject.
It might be almost four years ago but the wrath is still there. Don’t assume all will be well, which is what we did. Fight your corner!

How would you expect the school to stop it?

‘The school allowed it’ because the teacher presumably handed their notice in by October half term and could therefore leave at Christmas. Why are people so shocked by this?

The school "allowed it"?! Teachers are not prisoners 🤣

Yeah those teachers should be chained to a desk take no prisoners

Ffs