Am so angry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jmum6]

Apologies now because I'm going to have a rant and a weep.
I'm due to go back to work in september after taking a year off. I'm a teacher and I took the councils half pay maturnity leave which means that I have to go back to work or I'll have to pay the money back. And we can't afford to pay it back so it gives me no choice at all.

However I had hoped to go back part time. A colleague and a friend of mine whose baby is 6 months older than mine has just gone back to work. She applied for part time but was refused on the grounds that our head doesn't believe in job share and that she had no-one to do a job share with and that he'd have to advirtise. However if i applied and put her down as my job share partner then we might be able to.

So I was fairly happy that this was what would happen.

But yesterday she rang me to say that she's just found out she's pregnant again, and the baby would be due in october - which means she definitly won't be coming back to school in september. She absolutly hated going back full time and said she wouldn't be going back at all even if she wasn't pg. I'm not angry at her at all. She's a good friend of mine and I fully understand how she hasn't been able to cope with a full time teaching job abd bringing up a baby so I've no hard feelings at all about her.

But it does mean I probably will have to go back full time or have no job, no money and owe the council thousands of pounds.

I've done nothing but cry since I found out yesterday and didn't sleep a wink last night. I really really don't want to leave my ds with a stranger just because I have to go back to work.

The irony of it is the deputy head only teaches about 2 days a week and the rest of the time has various supply teachers in to cover her 'very' disruptive class. If I were to be that cover thenthe children would have a much more balanced and structured education, but my head has made his views known and when I've said I think my ds deserves to have his mother for a much as possible he said

'well there's always the holidays'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I hope ds does all his mile stone bits during the hols, when I'm not planning, assessing, doinging records, writing reports or preparing then.

Right I've got my meeting at school tomorrow regarding flexible working hours when I return to work.

I talked to the union and they were supportive, my dp is coming with me as he deals with these issues all the time in his company, and my friend has told the head that she's pregnant so it's all out in the open now.

Wish me luck!!

Good luck jmum6 - I hope it goes well.

I'm a teacher too and am appalled at your head's attitude.

Just as an extra point - if things don't go the way you hope re. part time working, you are within your rights to return to work on the first day of the summer holidays which means that 6 of the 13 weeks will have been done by the time you actually start work in September. Actually, even if he agrees to a part time contract from September, you can still go back to work at the beginning of the holidays, but it may have to be on your new part-time contract.

I went back to work part time (having previously worked full time) on July 21st last year!

Also, have you checked with the council about needing to go back and work for the same school? A friend of mine who works in Birmingham went to work for the LEA instead of returning to school at the end of her maternity leave and it didn't affect her maternity pay.

Oh Little fish, I automatically assumed that I'd have to go back to the same school. It might be worth giving the LEA a quick ring to see if I got a part time job in another school it would be ok re: mat leave money.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Had already thought about going back at the end of July if the worst came to the worst, then I could leave at half term :o

Anyway in defense of that, I would need to do a lot of prep in the holidays anyway and don't see why I shouldn't be paid for it!

My return to work didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. I moved from Reception to KS2 and worked with a jobshare partner who was a completely nightmare. I ended up working for a term and a half and then moving to another LEA.

However, I know many people who have had very successful returns to work. One thing worth considering is whether you want a contract for part time work, or job-share. They are different, and it's worth being clear about what you are asking for! (I didn't know this!)

Also, make sure you get everything in writing. There is a formal written process to go through when asking for a reduced contract. The other option is a variable contract which means that both parties agree to x days for a certain amount of time, and then changing to y days. e.g 3 days a week initially, rising to full time after a year. I don't know if this is something that would suit you?

Also, consider your additional duties as a co-ordinator. If you are part time, you probably don't want to be co-ordinator for a core subject unless you are going to be given exactly the same amount of non-contact time to administer it as your full time colleagues. I fell foul of this as I was deputy head, but my head didn't give me any non-contact time as it would have "reduced my effectiveness in the classroom" - according to him. So I was expected to work for 3 days, plus be deputy head and KS2 co-ordinator without any non-contact time. Impossible!

Remember to negotiate and agree your PPA time as a pro-rata to match your part-time days.

Agree things like parent's evenings and reports in advance too - will you do them with your job-share partner, or do half each.

Sorry if you thought of all of this already - I just would hate you to fall over the hurdles I discovered!

Let me know how you get on.

Will do Little fish, thanks for your pointers, particulary about co-ordinator and non contact/ppa time.

Getting nervous now!

Hi smellen, thanks for your post, I'm just getting ready to leave, have come onto mn to calm my nerves!

Think I have everything set in my mind in terms of what I want and what to say - but bet you my mind goes blank the minute I get there!

Thanks for the wishes of luck xxx

Hi Smellem and jmum6. I had always understood the rule to be that if you went back to work on the first day of the summer holidays, then it would be on your full time pay. However, when I tried to do this, my head teacher told me that if I wanted to work part time from the September, then my return to work contract would be from 21st July - ie. I would only be paid part time over the holidays.

I checked this with my unions and it is, unfortunately, legal. Even though the date on which you return to work after maternity leave, and the date on which your part time contract starts are separate things, schools are in a position to negotiate that you start your part time contract when you return from maternity leave (as would be the case in any other industry)!!!! Most schools choose not to do this, but they are within their legal rights to do so.

Play this one carefully jmum6! Obviously, if you are end up being on your original full time contract in September, then there is no problem with being paid full time over the summer holidays. I got shafted because I had not got our original agreement in writing and therefore lost out on 2/5 of my pay over the summer holidays.

Right, I've been and it's a no.

1. No to jobshare - not in school staffing plan, disruption to children, additional costs to school.

1. No to PPA as he doesn't want to offend the supply teachers who are doing at the moment.

I'm going to appeal (he said it would be a waste of his time for me to do that)

Go to your union. Particularly about the "not wanting to offend the supply teachers" - that is absolute crap!

Go to the governors as well. Do they know his policy on staff returning to work? Do some research - find out about other schools in the area which are similar to yours. Do they have job shares/part time.

I'm absolutely scandalised about his refusal to let you do the PPA cover. You are a member of staff with a permenant contract. Although he is under no legal obligation to give you a part time job, he is being very short sighted if he is prepared to see you leave, just because he "doesn't want to offend the supply teachers!)

I've already rang them, and I'm now in the middle of writing a letter to send with all the paperwork to our local representative.

I also rang the LEA and asked if I had to go back to same school re: paying back mat money, and they said I do.

PANTS!

Lots of schools in the area have part time teachers, including schools with similiar children.

I asked if it was the schools policy to not have job share and he said no, it's just not on the staffing plan.

jmum6, apart from the flexible working regulations (which are generally toothless), bear in mind the laws against sex discrimination. If your head has agreed to a jobshare in principle and lots of schools in your area have part time positions, how can your head now change his stance just because your colleague cannot provide the other half of the job share? If you can, speak to an employment lawyer - your head is skating on very thin ice legally IMO. He has no right to discourage you from appealing. By all means appeal. Follow and exhaust all internal procedures. It is a pre-condition to bringing a law suit in an employment tribunal. Whether or not you wish to do so is up to you, but sometimes, you have to hint that you know your rights to make employers sit up and take notice.

Your head is being disgraceful.

Completely agree with blueshoes.

scuse me for joining in late, but why not call a lawyer? They normally give you the first hour of advice for free. Nothing to lose...

I think your head doesn't have a leg to stand on and there's nothing like a letter written with lots of legal jargon to frighten him. Might prove faster way to resolution than the NUT.. and it's not as if you've got anything to lose - the trust between you & he has already broken down...

Why is he concerned about offending supply staff rather than offending a permanent member of staff?

I would suggest that his priorities are wrong, and not in the best interests of the school.

Thanks for all the advice and info girls. Head said he didn't want to offend the supply teachers as good supply is hard to come by.

When discussing the possibility of me working until the october half term he said it's not in the schools best interests, and that if I looked for a part time job he'd write me a good reference! (This was before I rang LEA to see if that was a possibility) he didn't know or understand anything about having to work the 13 weeks - he was pretty clueless really.

Plan of action is to appeal with unions help, go back to work the week(possibly earlier) before summer holidays so I can include the hols in my 13 weeks and then leave.

I will just be putting my head down and getting on with it, certainly not knocking myself out to be all singing all dancing.

Can't believe this man
What are the nut doing about this? They should be giving you more support - we pay enough to be in the union.
Your head sounds like an absolute {) his argument about the supply teachers just is not acceptable - if the work is there then a permanent member of staff should take priority. What do the other teachers think? Will they back you? Do you know any of the governors? Could you get them on side? Ultimately it is down to the chair of governors to agree the head's decision I think.

How ridiculous.
My mother worked part time for many years as a teacher, admittedly in secondary schools where part-timers easier to fit in. But... in terms of "upsetting supply" - what a crock! Mum now retired but does occasional supply and is fully aware that permanent staff come first. Also as she has many many years experience she is expensive as supply, so understands that where possible they will go for the cheaper option. So what I wonder is whether given that you pay top whack for supply teachers, you working instead of those supply teachers on a permanent basis would not be cheaper. Then they could advertise for a full time replacement for your position. It doesn't make sense to me....

Have quickly written a letter to the union. Will you all proof read it and give me your honest opinions?

Obviously I've removed all references to the school and the town i'm in!

Sorry if it's long!

Please find enclosed my original application for flexible working hours.

Initially, before submitting my application, a colleague also applied for flexible working hours and was turned down, mainly due to:

1. Burden of additional costs.
2. Detrimental effect on the children.
3. Inability to recruit additional staff.
4. Detrimental impact on quality.

She returned to work full time, but wished to job share with me in September 2006.
Upon requesting a flexible working hours pack from my head in November I was told that as I couldn’t put my colleague on my application (as she had already made an application and was turned down, and couldn’t reapply for 12 months) that there wouldn’t be much point in me applying, and therefore wouldn’t need a pack. My colleague challenged this by phoning human resources, and found out that yes I could put her in my application. I was then allowed to make an application.

I then wrote my application and sent it into school. The head rang me at home to say that if I pursued my application it would be the same outcome as my colleague, but if I waited until March then things may be different.

So I waited. In March I rang the Head and we set up a meeting for today (20th April). However, in the meantime, my colleague found she was pregnant again and will not be back in September. As I had already submitted my form I was unable to make any amendments to it.

During my meeting today, I felt that the Head had already made up his mind before I had even gone in. He went through my application and gave me reasons why each point wasn’t valid. He said that the staffing plan didn’t allow for job shares. I asked if it was the schools policy to not have any job share or part time teachers, he said that no it wasn’t but it wasn’t on the staffing plan.

His main arguments against job share were:

1. Extra costs of having 2 teachers (National Insurance contributions, PPA cover, timetabling of PPA to coincide with year group partners)
2. Children in the school not responding well to change (although the deputy head has had 2/3 days out of the classroom this year, and when she was senco had a days release a week. The children have also coped well with the PPA cover. There are similar schools that have job share teachers in the local area as well).
3. Inability to recruit staff and advertising costs. (He hasn’t tried, and would need to advertise my colleagues Maternity leave, and another post anyway).
4. The children’s quality of education affected.

I then asked about covering the PPA time or covering for the deputy head when she wasn’t in class. He said no to covering the deputy heads class due to her not having a class in September. But he then said that covering the PPA time was a possibility, but would have to think about it. He also said that if I wanted to cover PPA I would have to resign and work as a supply teacher. He wouldn’t give me a part time contract.

He implied that it would be preferable for me to do PPA cover as he wasn’t that happy with the supply teachers and the quality of the teaching, and would prefer me as I knew the school and he knows what my teaching is like.

However, later on in the conversation he said I couldn’t do the PPA cover as he didn’t want to ‘offend’ the supply teachers who are currently covering it.

We then discussed what I would do it terms of coming back full time. I said I really didn’t want to come back full time but I needed to come back for at least 13 weeks so as not to repay the maternity money, and that I wasn’t sure if I would still have to return my 12 weeks half pay maternity money back to the LEA if I found a part time job within another school still within the Council. He didn’t know but said he would support me in looking for another job and write me a good reference. He was unfamiliar with how many weeks I would have to work to pay back the maternity money.
I felt that he was encouraging me to leave the school (coupled with the fact that when starting my maternity leave, I had to remove everything of mine from the school, when other teachers on previous maternity leaves had been allowed to leave their resources in school)

This is a rough outline - what do you think?

Jmum, hope you are not letting this spoil your precious maternity leave too much. Can sympathise as I have a head who is very anti part time, but thank God saw reason at the time I wanted to go back part time and there are now three of us part time in my department(guess that 7 babies between the dept over four years kind of pushed him to it!!)

I imagine that you now want to go back even less after all this has happened don't you? I think, and this is hard for a teacher to have to go with, is that if you can count the summer as your return weeks, then get through the next few until half term and leave at half term. You and your baby have to be your priority and as much as you are dedicated to the education of your pupils and the continuity of their learning, if you don't want to be there and can afford not to be, then leave. I am on my second maternity leave now and feel much stronger this time about making choices which I know are for me and not them.

I'm really suprised about your head's reaction about you not doing supply - would have thought that he would value an established member of staff covering lessons.

You asked who had gone back and found it OK after really dreading it? I went back full time when DS1 was only 5 and a half months and hated it. I did however stick it out for another two and a half terms and actually it was OK and I really got used to it!Childcare wasn't really the problem as I was very happy with nursery, it was just I had no enthusiasm for doing any work at home at all! I did have the carrot that I was going part time the next September and I can really understand how you might feel if you don't have that light at the end of the tunnel.

I really hope that you get this sorted out and I really know how anxious you must be feeling.

Hope I haven't rambled too much - red wine evening!!

Good luck x

Thanks for the support sarahhal :)

Thanks for the support sarahhal :)