Teachers - do I get a say in how I'm deployed at work?

[Nonie241419]

I work 2 days a week as part of a job share in KS2. I have a permanent contract, which states I'm a 0.4 but doesn't specify days (I don't think, I haven't looked at it for a long time). My job share has decided to retire in summer, so I went to ask the Head if I could swap my days from one end of the week to the other. I hadn't anticipated a problem, but she was surprisingly cagey and said it wouldn't be up to her (she's also retiring in summer).
I mentioned her being non-committal to the SENCO this week and she said that senior management hadn't discussed recruiting a new job share for me at all, so perhaps I was being being earmarked for providing cover instead (currently done by a TA and 2 supply teachers). I hadn't considered that option at all. I've always been a class teacher, either full time or in a job share. Do I have to change role if I'm told to?

I'm not sure but yes, I think you have to teach what the Head asks you to.

Yes, you do, I'm afraid. A good Head will ask opinions, but they decide where everyone goes ultimately.

I am not entirely sure, have been out of teaching for a while but I know that I was told by a previous head we had to take the year group we were given during a 'reshuffle'. A colleague was given the role of 'floater' (ppa cover etc) and was told she had to do it.
We were all young and nervous of the head so he could have been taking advantage of our lack of knowledge/experience rather than actually being right.

No, he wasn't - Head can arrange staff how they see fit.

Oh heck! I have been so looking forward to changing days and now might end up with a different arrangement, not to mention the stresses of being the cover teacher :-( .
Still, at least it would get me out of writing reports .

I know it's not quite the same, but when I was job sharing I remember being told that if my job share left the head had to firstly offer me the full time job, then advertise for part time to job share if I said no, but if they could not get anyone part time I could be asked to be full time or leave....

Yep I'm afraid they can deploy you, up to .4 where and when they like. You can make requests but they don't have to honour them (although a decent school would at least try!).

Your contract is with the school, not a specific year group and you so cannot stipulate where you work. Our part time staff have had to adjusts from being class based job-shares to PPA teachers who teach across the whole school. Another has had to drastically change their year group to pair with another job-share when each of their "other halves" left and the school preferred to replace one fulltime teacher rather than continue two sets of job-share classes. Obviously we all have areas we prefer, but the head needs to look at the big picture when deploying staff and can listen to your preferences but can't always accommodate them.