Struggling

[ApolloRain]

I was hoping for some advice. So backstory...when my youngest started school I applied for a TA job at the school and made clear in interview that I wanted to ease back into the workplace after 6 years out but with aim to progress back to teaching. I then ended up doing lots of cover whenever asked and lots of days in school during first lockdown, including doubling my hours when more children returned in June. I was ok with this as I obviously want progression. Roll forward to September and I was asked about doing intervention teaching as so many children need to catch up which I was pleased with as it was a step in the right direction and at the time implied I would be coming out of class. Then a teacher decided they wanted to step back and take HLTA so I was then offered the job formally as afternoons which wasn’t ideal but I accepted. I was told we would both be paid the same for this and would be same job/temporary contract etc due to the lockdown funding. I then did the job until we were not allowed to mix bubbles in November and then ended up having to stay in my year group but did interventions for them. Then roll forward to January lockdown, we are two form entry and doing alternating week in/week at home for all staff to manage key worker children and home learning and reduce staff in. On week 3 of this I get called in and told they are suspending my afternoon contract as we cannot do interventions so it will waste the money. I asked after the other member of staff to be told that they have a family to support and as it’s their only contract they won’t he suspending that one. (This member of staff is also covering in another year group not actually doing interventions) I was a bit miffed at this as it seemed unfair. I signed a fixed term contract so was expecting that money until end of current academic year. Then fast forward to this week and the new rota comes out and I find that I am on it for both weeks now as they want me in to do my hours due to the other class TA shielding and then inviting extra children in. But other staff across the school are still alternating including SLT. This means I now have to take my children to school every morning. I am extra nervous atm about covid as my mum was seriously Ill with it at Christmas and my grandma died from it on Boxing Day. My husband also has a very high risk job. I find it hard as I took a job I am overqualified for to not impact my children and now I am having to massively. Which I appreciate is not my employers problem and I wouldn’t mind as much but most other staff are still alternating weeks and with the recent pay cut I am now taking twice as much risk as everyone else but for half as much money. To add insult to injury we have now been told we are ramping up interventions and doing ones for children at home, which is basically what my afternoon job was. I just feel really uneasy about it all as I feel singled out but also know I am still grieving (my grandma was more like a second mother to me) so would like some perspective/feedback/advice. Oh I should add that I am a qualified teacher and also that the other HLTA role it turned out that they had in fact given him a permanent position which is why they are able to cut my hours.

'I asked after the other member of staff to be told that they have a family to support and as it’s their only contract they won’t he suspending that one.'

This stuck out for me. It's just outrageous.

Can I ask some questions?

Your fixed term contract: how many hours is it for and at what rate of pay?

Has the number of hours you are now doing/rate of pay changed from that contract?

When you changed roles (to HLTA),
was your contract re-written?

Sorry, I really should have said that I'm so sorry for your loss.

It must make everything so much worse. 💐

Thank you, I have been very emotional, I worry it is making me less able to think rationally. My initial TA (range3 payscale) contact is 15hrs across 5 mornings. The HLTA one (range 6 payscale) was 10hrs across 5 afternoons. I have two separate contracts, the morning one is permanent and is to carry on as normal, the afternoon one is temporary linked to catch up funding and is now 0 hours until they decide to resume it. Yes I found that hurtful too, even more so as the other HLTA is male. This may not be relevant but it made me feel silly and like my job was just a hobby.

Right, so the school set up a second contract with you (the HLTA one) and just terminated it? With how much notice? Surely you both have a fixed term before that can be terminated - on both sides? Usually something like 6 weeks or longer?

And the first contract - are you now working 15 hours across 5 mornings?

What hours, and what rate of pay are you now working?

I think you need to contact your union. And join one if you're not in one.

I know nothing about the legal aspects but your employer seems to have discriminated against you on the grounds of sex - you and a male colleague, with equal qualifications, have not been treated the same. And the conversation ... 😮

I've no idea about the legal situation surrounding the suspension of the second contract in and of itself, without reference to your colleague, but that also seems odd.

As regards contract number one - are you being treated substantially different to other colleagues - on similar contracts - there as well?

What would be your preferred outcome to this situation?

I can see why you want to talk it through before proceeding, there are several things going on:

You're worried about risk.
You're job has changed.

These two things are what a lot of people are going through and you'll have to think hard about how you feel about the job now.

But in addition to this, the school seems to have acted in a discriminatory manner and gone some way to diminish your feelings of being an employee with equal value.

The latter diminishes your goodwill and the former ... .

So you probably really have to think what your preferred outcome would be and definitely talk it through with someone from the union.

I really hope someone else will answer, with a little more insight around employment issues than me.

I agree with thecatfromjapan. Please contact your union or citizens advice. You also have a family to support!

If you're not a union member the the NEU are helping new members with covid related issues. You can join as a TA.

This definitely sounds like an issue for your union. I'd also potentially be looking for another job after being treated so shoddily.

I think that's straight up sex discrimination that they kept his contract because 'he has a family to support'. They clearly think your job is less important because you are female. I think you should definitely speak to your union. I highly recommend the NEU, if you aren't in a union already.
I am do sorry for your loss

Thank you all, yes it does feel really iffy to me but my emotions are so high atm it is hard to see if I am overreacting. So the afternoon HLTA contract has been suspended as they want to save money, they told me that, and very much made me feel like ‘you wouldn’t want to take the money from the vulnerable children’ but again when it is one rule for me and one for the other HLTA it doesn’t sit well. Also we have just this week had a real push for interventions with the plan to deliver them over zoom so I could in fact be doing the job. (The other HLTA isn’t doing interventions but is covering a class). I have been told that the contract will resume once school goes back and that I will be focussing on R/1 phonics and the other HLTA in Keystage 2. This is also irritating as we are both Keystage2 teachers.

The morning contract of normal class TA will resume as normal but until last week I was going in for one week full time and then second week working from the second week, this is what all staff have been doing. Now as of Monday my contract will be 15hrs Not 25 (15TA and 10hlta) weekly and they want me in school every week. Now this is not working more than my contracted hours but nearly all other staff are continuing with week in/week at home, including SLT. Two other TA staff have requested to come in as they are unable to work from home due to knowledge of GoogleClassroom etc. When the new rota for next two weeks came out on Thursday, I emailed Deputy and said is this correct as it’s still alternate week staff, we have a class per year group in and two form entry so easy to alternate. Then yesterday I got called by both Head and Deputy who were like tough basically, one of the TAs from your year group is shielding so you will have to do it. I said I was uneasy for several reasons, that it is quite disruptive to my children to go to school for mornings and that it seems I am now taking twice the risk as the full time staff for half the money where I will be in everyday. They just got very irritated by me and more so when I said I have not received any paperwork or anything to sign regarding pause to contract, I wanted to know if there was a time frame on it, how it works for pension contributions and as my contract is fixed term, is it added to the end or just a break from it. The head then said it was only ever extra money to me! I said with all due respect I signed a contract and expected that money until end of academic year. They then brought up the other HLTA again and said he wouldn’t have money at all if they did it to him which although I can understand, is not actually my problem. I don’t want it to happen to him, I just don’t want to be treated unfairly.

I hope this all makes sense. I am feeling very down about it all.

OK.

They are asking you to act with good will during the pandemic.

But they aren't treating you with goodwill.

• You are being treated differently to other staff in a comparable situation (you're not on the week in; week out rota.

• You are being asked to do a job you were doing for HLTA pay for TA pay.

• You have had a contract summarily terminated (is that even legal?).

• You have been tested unequally on the grounds of your sex.

• The school have not treated your concerns as to the impact of changes to working conditions with empathy (maybe that's OK, but considering they're asking you to go the extra mile, have empathy, be kind, for them, that rankles. Plus they took a colleague's family into consideration.

It's all very poor.

Yes - the NEU, I think,

But think hard - what outcome do you want?
Basically, you are more likely to be successful if you know what you want.

I'm sure one thing would be to be treated with respect ..

Sadly, that's a bit nebulous.

So, spend an hour working out what you want/need.

You are a qualified woman, who has plans and ambitions. You are worth giving yourself the consideration of thinking about this snd following through.

And don't feel bad. Perhaps they don't know that you want to be taken seriously. Perhaps they will be quite happy to slightly exploit you if they think you're OK with that. Maybe they're quite devious (less likely, people are a bit too stretched to be devious at the moment).

The 'why' doesn't really matter, though.

The focus should be on securing what you need from this job. Because you're not getting it right now. This really isn't what you signed up for.

You signed up as a professuonal, to work as a TA - with conevenient T and C - befor re-entering teaching.

You didn't sign up in order to altruistically do this, that, and the other, be treated any which way, for some hazy abstract ideal ('the good of the school').

It's a job - not apprentice sainthood.

As for feelings, though:

Acknowledge them. Work out what your worries and anger are actually about. (And, yes, accept that under this is a degree of worry and anger.)

A great technique is to write everything down and to keep pushing at what lies beneath each.

I suspect, strongly, underlying some of this is lack of confidence about going back into teaching.

Just acknowledge the underlying feelings. Once they are acknowledged, you can deal with them practically and in small steps.

(Eg. When things ease up, is working as a TA, in this school, gojng to build the confidence and skills you need mid to long term? Working as a Supply teacher might well give you flexibility, more skills, more pay - though you'll have to think about childcare...).

You can also separate out worries about

• not being with your daughter
• worries about health

And grief.

so ... acknowledge your feelings - then you can deal with the real issues behind them.

And you can be a bit ruthless and self-interested.

Is teaching phonics so bad? It's a vital skill, with little marking. I'm guessing you've been asked to do it because you'll do it well.

But, a final thought:

You've been rather messed around.
It's all wrong that you have been inconvenienced but you're the one feeling bad.
That always says that your happiness and comfort have been sacrificed to make other people's lives easier.
And that's all wrong.
You don't need to feel bad about this.

Thank you so much, you have very much hit the nail in the head. I am uncertain about going back into teaching, when I applied for the TA job there was a part time teaching vacancy at the same school (funnily enough the job that the other HLTA has stepped down from). I went for a tour of the school with both jobs still in mind but the deputy said teaching has changed dramatically in 6 years so I applied for the TA role.
However once I started again I instantly thought what am I doing? And welcomed teaching opportunities and have said yes to everything that has been asked of me. (In hindsight too frequently) with regards to a teaching job I have come to realise it is the interview process that terrifies me more than the job. But also that I’m not sure if I actually do want the stress of it at the moment, taking into account the pandemic and bereavement (I also lost my grandad in September) Also my husband is in the police and currently on a large job which involves evenings/weekends so a lot more is currently down to me at home.

I never had the intention of working full to me after we had children, certainly not while they are both still so young. So when the job was proposed to me as moving out of classroom TAing and several full days doing HLTA intervention groups/covering classes while teachers do ones they want to, it sounded great and very much a step in the right direction.
However when it then became just the afternoons, as they didn’t want to take me out in the mornings (In hindsight why would they want to when they have a teacher in the role who they can use to cover when needed) it was instantly less appealing. I was then there all day, unpaid at lunch obviously, for not much more money/job satisfaction. The job was then 8 small phonics groups, recapping/teaching the same sound back to back for 2 hours. So in hindsight it was not as I hoped or a step in the right direction at all.

Added to that I got given the KS1 role, which might be just chance but as we are both keystage2 teachers and male/female, and what has happened since, it feels a little insulting. But then I did do well with the phonics groups and we achieved the highest phonics screening we have had, although this irritates me in itself as I was not made aware of this until the year 2 teacher told me.

I definitely think I am anxious to leave my children since the death of my grandmother. And how Ill my mum got with Covid has definitely impacted me. I know this is not my employers problem but I also feel guilty/resentful that I took a job I am overqualified for that wouldn’t impact my children and now it is massively impacting them. As I said my grandma was more of a second mum to me and a grandparent to my children so they have also been hit hard by the loss. I also worry that I am having negative thoughts about the job as the minute I started work again I was unable to spend quite as much time with my grandma, although my husband insists I am overthinking this as it is because she isolated from March until she died so I wasn’t actually able to see her anyway. I definitely feel guilt/sadness about this though.
I’m really not sure what I want to achieve now, I think even writing this is making me address feelings that I’ve been suppressing from being in ‘survival mode’ for the past few months.

I think I am worried that due to my own emotions atm, I am overthinking what has happened and building it into something it isn’t. But also that it does not feel right and as you said legal even with regards to contract so I feel I need reassurance that I’m not mad and have been treated unfairly. It’s where I go from here that I am struggling with now.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me, it is very much appreciated.