Job Worries

[dalekwalker]

Hi,
I am sorry to be a major nuisance again. I have read about the recent pay increase and then we are due to have a new PM as well and read reports that if taxes are cut then public spending will need to be cut. I was wondering if you think there will be job losses because of this? I am absolutely petrified due to how my parents lost everything when I was a child and so scared this will happen to me.

Thank you.

Redundancies are likely, yes. Class sizes will be bigger. Niche subjects will be cut. Support staff will go.
But you're borrowing trouble. Are you currently employed? In a core subject? In a school with a stable intake?

Thank you for your help. I am in a core subject and HOD, which is why I worry due to being expensive.

You're probably in a better place than most, then.

Thank you. Could I ask why as I thought I would be the first?

When a position is made redundant, it can't be refilled for a specific period. So you can't make HoD maths redundant because they you couldn't employ a hod maths.

I think there will be cuts/job losses e.g. support staff or subjects which are very small.

As @MrsHamlet says, as HoD of a core subject, you are probably fairly safe.

Difficult I know, but try not to worry too much.

Thank you for all your help. I am absolutely frightened as my parents were made redundant in the 80s and saw what it did to them. Do you think I could get another teaching job if worst case happens? I am worried sick.

It is highly unlikely as a HOD of a core subject that you would lose your job. The first cuts i school are pretty much always to on teaching roles. How long have you been there? If you are on a permanent contract you are hard to make redundant. Staff on temporary contracts will go first.

Are you in a union? If you are really worried then make sure you are n a union. They will help to make sure that any redundancies are done to very set proceedures.

I really think you're borrowing trouble. There's always a risk but there is risk in getting up in the morning.
As a PP says, your union will support you if the worst comes to the worst.

As HOD of a core subject, you’re about as safe as it’s possible to be. No head would make their head of maths or English redundant as they are so crucial to the school - and couldn’t be replaced.

Thank you for all your help. Another big worry is change of PM and whether they will do more spending cuts.

I am sorry for being a massive pain. When I saw my parents go through redundancy as a child, it has made me worry about going through the same.

Almost certainly there are more cuts to come.
You're not a pain but worrying about things you have no control over is not healthy.

Thank you for all the advice. If there are more cuts to come, do you think that they would cut a HOD? How will a school decide what to make redundant? I am dreading next year now.

@dalekwalker do you perhaps suffer from anxiety? You're in a very safe position actually.

I think I do suffer from it but it is due to my parents losing their jobs in the 80s. Could I ask why I am in a safe position? I hear about job losses all the time and frightens me in case it happens to me and can't get another job.

PPs have explained. If they made you redundant they'd have to go a whole year without a HoD in a core subject. That's hardly desirable for any school, is it?

Several of us have explained why you’re safe. With kindness, can I suggest you speak to your GP or the Education Support charity about your anxiety? (www.educationsupport.org.uk)