It's only day 3 and I've cried already.

[Theoverstretchedmultitasker]

A bit of background: I qualified at the end of 2016-2017. I teach a core subject and a different subject (which I'm passionate about) at A level. PGCE is in the core subject only. I was on mat leave for 6 months in 2018-2019. I came back four days. I was told (without a hint that there was even an option to say no) that I would be teaching KS3 lessons in two subjects I am not familiar with. I was not given any guidance with this, save two meetings with department members and the reassurance that all the lessons have been planned already. This means that my timetable is roughly as follows: 25% new subjects at KS3, 25% core subject at KS3 and 50% A level. My contract is for the core subject and the A-level subject. I don't feel at all equipped to teach these new subjects. One of the groups is SEN only and the needs are extremely severe: students with reading ages of 5 and/ or no ability to apply, non-existent memory functions. To add to this, I don't have my own classroom and several of the rooms I teach in are very poorly equipped, because nobody "owns" them, and the IT is extremely flaky. Each day I am in at least three different classrooms and there isn't a single group I teach in one room only, so I am forever lugging books around. Because I am now in three different departments, it is also completely unclear who my line manager is, so I don't know who to even speak to about these issues (technically it would be the HoD for my A level subject, but they do 6th form only and it would feel strange to discuss lower school issues with them). After being on the go and extremely stressed from the moment I got to work at 7.50 until I sat down at lunch (by which time I had done form, three lessons in three different subjects in three different buildings and a playground duty) and feeling like I had no clue what I was doing I just burst into years. This set up is seriously affecting my ability to do my job properly and to give the students the quality teaching they deserve. It's also affecting my enjoyment of the job, to the point that I am considering resigning, which I wouldn't have dreamt of two weeks ago. It's not me is it? This is pretty shit isn't it? Or is this kind of thing commonplace and have I just been lucky so far? These aren't the only issues bothering me, but I don't want to go on and on.

You have my sympathy as a teacher who is also teaching new schemes out of my comfort zone in several rooms.
Have a look at other people's timetables to see if there are any swaps to be done to minimise movement.
Have you a "new staff" link person? They could help.
Can you take ownership of one of the rooms and make a "base"?
It sounds really tough. Even the A level being your subject- that's still pressure.
I do hope things settle. Nearly the weekend!!

I had a similar situation. I ended up off with stress and then left to become a SAHM. 50% of the staff left over an 18 month period in a school that had previously had a low turn over of staff. The head apparently is still shocked and does not understand why people want to leave when people hand in their notice to him.

Having done supply I feel for you OP And I have mobility issues so the different rooms can be an issue.

I'd go to the A Level head for your subject and say this is impacting on your teaching of A Level. That is the last thing any school wants.

For the SEN class do you have a TA or other support? You may find you have an expert in SEN in the form of a TA.

Can you afford to cut back to three days a week?

Part time teaching in a secondary can be utterly rubbish. You pick up the odds and ends of timetable that nobody wants, people assume you've been told things you haven't been because it was said at staff briefing the morning you weren't there and all the full-timers envy your 'easy' life.

Worst of all is the shuffle from room to trashed room manhandling crates of resources and having to repeatedly log in.

My top? You're four days already and they're probably getting full-time value out of you: look for a new job and go full-time. You'll notice the difference financially and in people's attitudes and you'll probably be less stressed and much happier!

I worked .5 for a few years when mine were small and the first year they gave me a lovely timetable with a whole day on, another off and three half days. By the third year I didn't have a clear half day anywhere and had non-working non-paid chunks within days when it wasn't worth going home. I resigned to go on exchange with DH at the end of an Autumn term and they hastily re-jigged my timetable for Spring term because "We'd never recruit anyone once they saw that!"

I never went back and I never looked back.

We'd never recruit anyone once they saw that!

I’ve seen this too. Teachers quitting over a shit timetable and the school suddenly realising that they’ll be hard pressed to find someone who actively wants to teach 3 different random subjects or come in for P3 when they’re not teaching the rest of the day. Baffles me that they think experienced teachers should just suck it up.

So my line manager was much more sympathetic and at least listened to me, which made me feel a lot better. Had a day from hell yesterday (child sick, husband sick, no transport, five period day) and still felt stressed when I woke up today :( There is no way in the world I'll last beyond (or even until) Christmas if things don't drastically improve PDQ.

We had CPD in which we tried out the software the kids will be using to choose careers. It suggested several teaching roles for me but also a few other things which I will be looking into. I wasn't joking when I said the head would be regretting this when faced with a two inch stack of resignation letters by October half term.