Story 47

Age: 52

Teaching Experience: 12+ years

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

I graduated in the 1990’s and I have worked in long term permanent positions for a number of different authorities.

Five years ago, I had to give up a permanent contract to relocate as my husband was promoted and his new job was in a different authority in Scotland. Commuting was not an option due to distance.

After moving,  I applied for the supply list in this authority hoping to secure a permanent position shortly after.

I have now been on the supply list, here,  for five years. In this time I have completed numerous long term temporary contracts. Frequently vacancies have come up in the schools I have been working in and despite the heads saying they wished to keep me on, the positions have been held and filled with NQT’s or compulsory redeployments. 

I accrued 2.5 years continuous service and contacted my authority to ask if I could apply for permanency. In the five years I have worked here other primary teachers have been awarded this after two years continuous service. I was told that the authority no longer offer permanency after two years and I would need four years continuous service to apply for this. At the same time there were other teachers in my school, where I completed a temporary post for a year,  being given it for two/ three years service so it appears there is a huge disparity in how individual teachers are being treated.

 My one year temporary contract came to an end in June. I was successful to make it onto a preferred list for jobs starting in Aug 24. Unfortunately I wasn’t contacted with an offer of potential work until the start of September breaking my continuous service of 2.5 years. Unfortunately, this fell through. I feel like I’m going round in circles and that my life is stuck in limbo. My partner and I can’t get a mortgage on one salary, due to our age and so I must have permanent work for us to move forward with this. Our rent is exceptionally high and we almost feel priced out of the area we are living in. We have a teen at school and are loath to relocate again until she has finished her schooling. We also have the prospect of trying to pay for her to go to university and that is a huge financial worry.

Despite loving being in the classroom and still having a passion for teaching I feel forced into a position where I need to find work in another sector as a constant cycle of working temporary contracts, doing supply work and constantly seeking/ applying for any teaching vacancies has become both financially unsustainable and is also completely demoralising.