story 10

Age: 51

Teaching Experience: 5-8 years

Contract Type: Casual Supply (through calls, emails, teacherbooker etc)

I had a very difficult probation assignment, resulting in the worst mental health & stress I have ever experienced in my working life. I don’t believe I was in a suitable class as a new teacher out of the PGDE; a view shared by some experienced teachers I encountered. I switched to Flexi Route, and was able to complete it, despite having to completely start over.

I was lucky to have some temporary contracts & plenty of support along the way during the Flexi Route. (I was only able to switch to Flexi because my partner works full time and we already had a mortgage.) However, I am now stuck on supply and have lost hope of ever getting another temp contract or permanent job. I can’t work full time due to family commitments, but would appreciate a secure part time role.

At this point, I don’t even feel I can answer interview questions in the way that I need to to secure a job offer. All the questions are to do with relationships, or your contribution to your whole school environment, and the sorts of things that teachers with a stable working environment benefit from. I am looking for jobs outwith teaching, but options are few and far between.

On supply, I can’t organise my life, I have anxiety over simple things like driving – what if I miss a text about a supply job? This is the slowest year for supply I’ve ever seen. Seems like there is less of it available, and more people on the supply lists. I assume budget cuts are a factor in there being less work. It’s just awful that there are so many children crying out for extra support (Nurture, reading skills, ASN, etc) – and so many teachers sitting around at home who could be helping children achieve.

We all just want to be teaching.