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Original poster

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

93 replies

jmum6 · 29/03/2006 10:08

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.

OP posts:

kickassangel · 20/04/2006 21:14

hope you don't mind me butting in, but i'm a teacher,and i'm pretty certain you can elect to return to work at any time - event eh first day of the holidays, and be entitled to full pay & holiday leave. so if you 'start back' the fist day of the summer hols, you then only need to work to oct half term to avoid paying back any money. there is also nothing to stop you applying for any part time jobs elsewhere, and starting them after oct half term. your head sounds like mine - out of the ark. probably thinks he's doing the 'little ladies' a favour by keeping them at home! by the way - is he implying that part timers are lesser teahcers? he might not want to make slanderous comments on official documentation!

Original poster

jmum6 · 20/04/2006 21:18

kickassangel- thats what I'm hoping to do now.

Been looking at the TES site and there's no part time jobs out there this week. Still there's always tomorrow.

OP posts:

Smellen · 20/04/2006 22:45

It might be worth you sending speculative applications to schools in your area - they might not have vacancies for part timers now, but they could keep your details on file. If you can establish contact with other schools now, preferably in person, you might be considered for future vacancies.

Also, if you haven't already done so, contact your LEA for their booklet on maternity leave & conditions. I'm sure that if you move to another school in the same LEA, your service is deemed continuous and would count towards the "13 weeks" (or pro rata equivalent).

G'night!

Emma7 · 21/04/2006 07:17

Letter looks ok to me. The union should tweak it for you if necessary before using it for any other purpose ime.
You highlight the main ways in which his arguments don't stand up and I think you would win an appeal - the question is do you really want to carry on working here?
Is it worth having a chat with your chair of governors? Ask the union and see what they say about this. At my last school the head was crap but the COG was sensible and was very useful when things went wrong.
Hope everything works out and if it doesn't then it's his loss anyway.

ps. If you do fancy a move you are more likely to find part time jobs in the local area internal bulletin (can get this from LEA) than the TES - I could never find anything in there when I was looking a couple of years ago.

Original poster

jmum6 · 21/04/2006 10:04

Emma7 and Smellen - both good ideas. Don't want to work for the school but apart from the head I do like it there, and I guess I'm comfortable there.

Better the Devil you know and all that!

OP posts:

Original poster

jmum6 · 21/04/2006 13:43

Right have posted all my stuff to the union rep today - no going back now!

OP posts:

Smellen · 21/04/2006 14:55

Good for you! It is difficult to stand up for yourself at work, as part of you is always worried about "burning bridges", but in this case I think you have been poorly treated and the situation should be reviewed by others with a more up-to-date knowledge of employment law.

(Keep us posted. Am visiting DS's nursery next week; will do likewise!)

hellywobs · 21/04/2006 15:52

I'm a school governor nad the junior school where I am a governor refused a job share to one teacher although they already had 4 teachers on job shares. Admittedly this teacher had older kids but I thought it was unfair. The governors had to rectify the head's decision (I abstained) and they did. Very unfair. Had I been the teacher I would have definitely considered legal action.

In terms of repaying the money back does the policy say that you have to go back full-time? If not, I think you could argue that you are willing to go back and they have refused you, not the other way round. Talk to your union and/or get legal advice.

Original poster

jmum6 · 21/04/2006 17:52

Must admit I'm panicking a bit now. I really do want to go back to the same school, and don't want to antagonise the head.
I'm hoping that I'll do the appeal with the union and then leave it at that. If it doesn't make a difference I'll go back without a fuss. Started to think about references, pensions and the like this afternoon. As well as the fact I've never been unemployed before.

(cold feet a bit now)

OP posts:

Smellen · 21/04/2006 19:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

jmum6 · 22/04/2006 12:19

Thanks Smellen. Good advice about the appeal :)

OP posts:

panicpants · 23/04/2006 16:41

Smellen this is my second school, it's not that I mind moving schools as such, but it's in a really handy location for me, and I like the people and the children.

Ohh I want to have my cake and eat it too!

By the way I've changed my name from jmum6 to panicpants on harpsicordcarriers and dp's advice!

RedTartanLass · 23/04/2006 18:03

panicpants, I was thinking about you the other day, wondering how you got on. I'm so cheesed off with my work at the moment. We're moving to an office Old Town on Monday, which means an extra half an hour journey for me - 5 hours a week extra paying for the nanny!

I hope you find a resolution soon, my last months of maternity were completely ruined!!

Are you keeping this name?

panicpants · 23/04/2006 21:36

Oh RTL i'm sorry, what a pita to have to pay extra childcare money. Where abouts in old town will you be in now?

Spent today organising childcare for sept, so I can stop worrying about it. Ds will go to my sisters for 3 days and a childminder for 2 days.

We've decided that although I will appeal, I don't think it will make the slightest difference I will go back full time until my 13 weeks is up, then I will probably leave then.

Yes will keep this name for a while anyway!

panicpants · 25/04/2006 16:31

I've been having a really long hard think about htis over the weekend and I think that I might not appeal because:

a) It doesn't matter if I win or lose, I still have to go back to the same school, with the same head. Don't want to make the fuss, and then have to face everyone again.

b) I've since spoken to head and asked if I can go back into the same year group as I had last year, as this means everything will be familiar and i can ease back gently into teaching (due to rolling curriculum the topics are exactly the same in sept as my last year before leaving) my planning is all on disc so would only need tweaking to fit the different pupils.

He has said that he thinks I can, but doesn't make any promises.

c) Been panicking over the not having a job, not been sleeping, been worrying over it and now just want to accept it and enjoy the rest of my time off.

Dp thinks I'm backing down. What do you think?

Smellen · 25/04/2006 16:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

panicpants · 25/04/2006 17:06

Hi smellen nice to hear from you again. You speak an awful lot of sense, and I totally agree with you.

However, just don't know if I've got the energy and nerve to fight an appeal I know I'll probably lose.

Have already started looking for p/t roles, but nothing so far for sept., thought I'd go back, do my 13 weeks whilst looking for p/t, other career options for january.

Smellen · 25/04/2006 19:59

Have you ever thought of teaching English as a Foreign Language or as a Second Language (EFL/ESOL)? I did it for a while before I did my PGCE - it is good fun and may offer more flexible hours/evening classes. Just another idea...

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