Unqualified teacher employed as mat leave cover - can't be right can it?

[Youcantscaremeihavechildren]

Hi, I've namechanged as I'm pretty sure the powers that be check up on us on social media etc...

I'm on mat leave, due back by Feb but had planned to go back by xmas. They employed mat cover who was capable in my hod role but not confident in my other teaching subject role.
She's decided to go a term before I go back. So they are in a difficult position re cover.

I've just been told that they are employing a parent volunteer who came in to get some experience as a technician last year to cover 6 weeks of teaching. Gcse and a level classes included, plus two other subjects.
I assume they'll just ignore the hod role and leave me to sort out that mess along with the rest of it when I come back.
I'm veering from tears, rage, and feeling like telling them to stick their job up their arse at the moment. Hence I won't go on to discuss it until next week, when.I've calmed down.
I really wanted to be able to enjoy my mat leave, I knew it would be hard work going back, but now I feel like I'm going to be left with so much to sort out. She doesn't even have a levels as far as I know, and whilst lovely and enthusiastic, isn't trained in any way. The kids will walk all over her, the exam classes will suffer, it's not a textbook subject, it's one where the themes and skills are set but the teachers experience is relied upon to plan appropriate tasks.

It's a done deal, I know the head and he's stubborn, he won't budge.

What do I do? I'm so angry, I think the expectation will be for my current mat cover to plan all the tasks for her and then for me to use kit days to support. I was planning on using one in October and one in Nov before going back end of term 2 even though I really, really don't want to go back and want to spend days cuddling my baby and spending time with my daughter

I'd informally told them I was planning on Xmas return but there's nothing in writing, I could easily have called up.and said I'm taking the full year, what the hell would they do then, it would be an even bigger mess!?

I need practical suggestions to help me please, and things to say to the head so he understands why this is so wrong, but also to cover my arse when the results are out and its a mess. Or even just a bit of helpful outrage would be soothing at the moment, I can't discuss it with people at work really as it get back to the poor woman they've landed with this, I can't really believe she's agreed to it but I suspect money will have been an issue so it would be appealing.

All I can say is that that is the rule up here.

Classes can only be covered by General supply or non-specialists for 4-5 days then subject specialists must be used.

I do know that they are really struggling to get subject teachers in the more remote and Island regions of Scotland so the Government is looking at boosting recruitment apparently

Errm, since the introduction of academies schools don't have to employ qualified teachers. They can employ anyone they like and pay them on a different, unqualified pay scale. Sad but true. Academies are a crock of shite. I should know, I worked in a school that became one. Over my dead body would I send my kids there. We had a guy teaching in my dept who was half way through an OU degree in my subject and used to get me to read his essays. My Year 10 in my new school are better than he was. I'll get off my high horse now...

Stop worrying about it. Take the full year if you want to. Can't believe they are using an unqualified teacher. And teaching exam classes. Is this even allowed in a state school. Still that's their responsibility and not yours.

Well, thank God we don't have Academies up here Biscuits ... Apart from the schools that are called "X" Academy because they were old traditional academies from back in history and they kept the name.

The School I teach at is X Academy because it was X Academy back in Victorian times and the name is unchanged.

But no, we don't have these new so-called "Academies" up here because all state sector schools in Scotland are run by the local authority education departments.

I teach in an Academy and the only unqualified teachers teach hair and beauty. Schools have always been able to employ unqualified teachers. They used to be called instructors, when I started teaching 17 years ago.