Resigning at Easter, help please

[conflicted14]

After much agonising, I have decided to resign from my teaching job and leave at Easter. The school I joined a year and a half has changed so much and the changes are not good.

The school went into Special Measures about 6 months after I joined. Since then, it's been insane. I tried to resign at the end of my first year to leave in July, but the Headteacher convinced me to stay until Christmas as they were having problems recruiting and didn't want to lose me. I agreed and now, post Christmas, I'm still here. That Headteacher has since resigned and a new one started in January.

It's been really difficult since the new Head started. She has been carrying out ruthless observations and we have all been told that if it's less than Good, we may be subject to weekly observations and capability procedures. There is a culture of fear in my school. I have always been judged as Good and I know it's not me that management are targeting as they've said positive things about me. It's horrible to watch some of my colleagues and friends be told they're not good enough and go through these procedures.

My partner teacher resigned and they couldn't find a replacement, so we have constant supply teachers which is difficult for planning. My Head of Year has resigned to join the senior management team and she is not being very supportive.

I feel that the management team aren't working with the teachers. They seem to want to threaten them and in meetings, some of them are rather rude and abrupt. Emails are ignored and I don't feel like I can approach any of them. The last straw that made me want to leave was being told that a group I really enjoy teaching (and have had for 6 months) are being taken away from me and given to one of the management team to teach with no warning or discussion. I believe this is so this person will look good when Ofsted return. I recently got a 'Good' grading after being observed teaching this group so I am feeling quite sad about it. I have made such progress with these children, who were very unmotivated in September.

There are other reasons that I won't go into here but I need to leave. I am going to apply for some maternity covers so that I can hopefully finish the year in another school.

I feel guilty for leaving my class and I know the parents will be unhappy but I can't take any more of this. I feel that I am punished all the time for being conscientious and trying hard and I get no recognition. I feel tearful most evenings because I am overwhelmed with no support.

I really don't know how to tell them so I have 3 questions that I would appreciate your support with:

1. How should I tell the Headteacher that I'm looking round other schools and leaving at Easter? It won't go down well as lots of teachers have recenty resigned and nobody is interested in the vacant posts.

2. What should I put on my letter? I would like to leave when the Easter hols start but I know they are legally allowed to make me return and work until 30th April.

3. What can I say about my reason for leaving to the Headteacher? I can't really give the real reason- which is that I'm unhappy and feel completely unsupported by the management.

Any help would be appreciated.

Forgot to add, I was at another school for about 2 years before this so when I said 'first year', I don't mean NQT year. Just to clarify.

Ask for a meeting with the headteacher and take your letter with you. I don't think you need to go into details with the headteacher about your reasons for leaving beyond feeling that the time is right and that you'd like to gain experience in other schools.

Although my school isn't in special measures, the culture is the same. Half of the teachers left in the summer and the exodus continues. Only fear of jumping out of the frying pan keeps me there.

Good luck, OP. It sounds as if this is the right decision for you.

I agree with jerry that it isn't appropriate to say anything to the Head. You never know when you will meet colleagues again in the future (or want references from them). Leave with dignity and don't say anything you might regret.

I am in a not dissimilar situation. LA Advisor has decided that when Ofsted come (not due before October and our data is good, but who knows) we will be in serious weaknesses. Lots of reasons why some aspects of school are less than good, some of which nothing can be done about. But now lots and lots of pressure with weekly learning walks, book scrutinies, new policies & expectations each week. Worse still, I'm doing a maternity cover as deputy head for an absent colleague, so I'm the one having to do all the monitoring and pass on the new expectations to colleagues.

I have an interview this week so I hope to be giving my HT a resignation letter before Friday. In my case I will say it's that I've got a new job closer to home. But for you, I don't see why you have to put any reason at all.

Dear HT
Please accept this letter as confirmation of my resignation.
Thank you for the experience of working at X school, which has been invaluable. However, I now wish/the time is now right for me to move on and apply this experience in a different context/ to work in different settings.

If you want to put more than a 1 liner "I'm resigning."

Why not tell the HT that you are tearful most evenings and so are leaving while your mental health is intact - you know that if you continue to work in the way that you are you will end up going off long term sick with stress which is definitely not in the best interests of the school. And why not tell the HT that the pressure has become so much so you're going to have a break for a while?

You have definitely done the right thing in deciding to leave. Now you just have to stay strong and carry it through. Just think how good you are going to feel once you've done it!

I agree with toomuchicecrem for your resignation letter. You don't have to give a reason for leaving. If the head gets annoyed when you tell her, then you'll just have to tough it out, and just say it's either leave or go off on long term stress.

As for leaving dates, do NOT put down the beginning of the Easter holidays. (They may try to talk you into this, they may even lie about the law on this, do NOT believe them). Put down the very last day (I.e. The Sunday, I assume) of the Easter holidays. You will then leave at the beginning of the Easter holidays but will get paid over Easter. They can make you work until 30th April, but if they are clueless, they won't realise, and you might get away with it. If they say you must stay until 30th though, I'm afraid you'll just have to suck it up.

If it gets very nasty, then get your union involved, you are not a slave, it is within your human rights to be able to leave a job if you wish, with dignity and grace, as long as you stick to your contractual obligations as to leaving dates.

Yes. do resign.
But do not include anything about stress, tearfulness or your mental health in the letter. You don't need to give them any ammunition, and head teachers, SLT and teachers do chat and gossip to staff in other schools.
You could find a random snippit being twisted and used against you at a later date.
Bright, breezy and positive is the way to go. And brief.
Good luck next term.

Resign! Don't give them the room to persuade you to stay on again! I wish I'd gone when I first felt I couldn't cope, but I felt guilty leaving a sinking ship and stayed until my mental health was very badly damaged. I am now working on a temp contact in a lovely school (who approached me to work for them - it did my self esteem a lot of good!) near home having shed my management jobs and am really enjoying just teaching! It's made it a job again.

Put the last Sunday of Easter hols and see what happens... I went in with letter in hand and told the head that family circumstances meant I needed to leave (too scared to tell him the truth). I also used this as an excuse to look round for more 'convenient' jobs, no senior management and more local. To be honest they didn't care as much as I did and were happy to let me go. Good luck!

Just resign, you don't need to give a reason or get into any discussion about it.

There are reasons why so many posts are being covered by supply teachers! In this way, the staff get to work in teaching, and get pad, but don't have to deal with anything like so much crap. More and more teachers are resigning from permanent posts to do short term supply. In my last school there was only one full time teacher left in the department!

It is a perfectly valid choice to make, it is not you that is letting down the children, it is the educational system. It is highly misguided to sacrifice your own family life, and mental health in an attempt to shore up the failing system.

Go-and don't tell them the real truth as you'll want a reference.

They won't be surprised!

'There are reasons why so many posts are being covered by supply teachers! In this way, the staff get to work in teaching, and get paid, but don't have to deal with anything like so much crap.'

vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/epicrapbattlesofhistory/images/1/1e/HappyTigger.gif/revision/latest?cb=20141101051958

Yup yup yup!

Definitely resign and get out of there. Don't feel guilty about the children you're leaving behind - you've got to put yourself and your health and happiness first. Just say you are leaving and leave it at that!

Dear HT,

I am writing to inform you of my resignation, effective from (date).

Yours sincerely,

(That was mine, word for word, did the job)

Thanks for your replies so far.

If I wasn't me, I would definitely tell myself to resign but as Monday draws nearer, I'm getting anxious about telling them. I'm worried they'll make life extremely unpleasant for me. I'm also thinking of all the kids in my class and the parents and feeling guilty. It's ridiculous because I know they'll move on in no time! What is it about this job that makes leaving so difficult?!

I've just got to think of myself and recognise that I've worked hard all year and done the best for them but now is time to move on.

The fact that you're concerned about how unpleasant they might be is all the more reason for resigning.

And you can always do what I did, which was to say in my letter: I'd like to thank you for all the support you have given me."

It was the truth, I'd like to but I couldn't because the HT gave me no support. :o All the satisfaction of saying what you think in a perfectly polite way they're too thick to work out. Bazinga.

Good luck, OP.

How did you get on OP? Did you leave at the Easter? Did you have to work until the 30th April or just until the end of the Easter holidays?