Regret taking leadership role

[partydownseason3]

I left a long-standing teaching job last year as there was no chance of promotion and I was getting stale. It was close to home, I knew what I was doing and pretty low pressure but I was fed up.

I moved on to an inner city school as the assistant head in September. The school was restructuring and was chaotic from day one. The pressures on me were huge, teaching full time plus leadership responsibilities and subject lead. I know many teachers do this but needs of the cohort, their families and even the staff were really high. There were red flags about management and how they ran things that I ignored and was just about keeping my head above water. This came to a head at Easter where my head said she was putting me on informal capabilities.

This really turned me to jelly. It caused a flare up of a chronic illness and I’m experiencing serious anxiety for the first time. I’ve been signed off sick and my head has been unpleasant in all phone calls and emails. My union rep told me I’m being too sensitive and I should go back to work. I’m going to resign before the cut off and look for a non teaching job.

I see now I made a mistake leaving my last school and I was just not good enough for this role. I feel my career is over and I won’t be hired again.

Has anyone come back job wise from something like this? Trying to stay positive but feeling so low.

Thanks for reading.

I stepped down from Hod under very difficult circumstances and took a mainscale post elsewhere. I've since had several tlrs in the same school so it definitely doesn't have to be the end.

I left a school where I was HoD under very similar circumstances to yours - horrible bullying management. I left with no job to go to, took a couple of years out, since my children were still very young then anyway. I fully intended to never go back to teaching, but it was impossible to find a job on similar pay, so I drifted back into teaching via supply.

I now work at a lovely school, the management couldn't be more different, so yes, it is possible to come back from. The biggest hurdle was getting a recent reference - the horrible school wrote a bad one, claiming I'd been put on a disciplinary, which was a load of rubbish - they wanted to and talked about it, but never did, because I never did anything they could discipline me for, even though my every move was being watched.

Fortunately, the supply agency accepted me on their books anyway, I got a job in a school through them, then used that school as my most recent reference.

It sounds like you're very stressed out, but I think you may be catastrophising a bit. You will get a job again, and hopefully one you like. We all take jobs that aren't for us, it happens, and it doesn't mean you're a failure. Keep your head up

Thank you all for your comments, you’ve really helped me out. Agree that I’m catastrophising, think I need some perspective and positivity!

I did two years in a leadership job that was too much for me. I was broken and, like you, thought I wouldn't teach again. I note that now the one role I had is split into three full time leadership roles at the school.

Since then I've done nearly 10 years in a smaller leadership role in a gloriously lovely school and I am really happy. I'm so glad I didn't bail out of teaching altogether.

My advice would be to look for somewhere else that will help you thrive.

I left a leadership role due to terrible bullying and back biting that coincided with the time my mother was pronounced terminal and then died. I was horribly depressed and lost over two stones in weight. I had five months off work and then went back as a UPS teacher. I kept my head down for eighteen months then moved to my current school, keeping my UPS3, where I feel valued and people are kind. It doesn't have to be the end. It's them. It's not you. If you want to teach there are much better schools out there.

I really appreciate your comments, I felt so low today but you’ve really helped me out. Thank you!

I stepped down from a HOD role in my current school. At the time I felt I was being bullied and hated my job. Fast forward 2 years. Same school and main scale teaching and I'm so much happier. The bullies have left and I can breathe.

I stepped back from a DH role in a school that had been great when I joined it, but had a toxic atmosphere by the time I left. A new head had arrived, he employed a friend in a normal teaching role, but the two of them became really secretive etc. I whistleblew in the end as their relationship was having a direct impact on the safety of children. Was all a bit aagh. Took 6 months off, but by the time I actually left the school, I already had a new UPS + TLR job.

It was fine until covid, now things are a bit batshit again. I think I might be done with teaching, but it's not due to having left that last job.

OP, can’t speak from a leadership perspective but some years ago now, I was facing ‘Informal capability’ and knew that there was nothing I could do to ‘pass’ and so resigned. I went on supply. It was amazing. It gave me my confidence back and I literally worked in every local school over the space of a year. Schools asked for me by name and the head where I did a longer stint took the time to find and thank me as well as promise a good reference if I needed it.

Second year on supply I got a job in an outstanding school and stayed the year. And then never left. I have a promotion set to kick in this September and couldn’t be happier.

It was the wrong move for you but it doesn’t have to be final.

Thank you @Icytundra @EnoughnowIthink @RuleWithAWoodenFoot this is all so helpful!