Hiding in plain sight

[jay]

A poll - I’ll start.

Why didn’t you attend so and so’s leaving do.
A.) didn’t know they were leaving.
B.) didn’t know there was a leaving do.
C.) it started at 4:30 and I finish at 6.00.
D.) strangely enough all of the above.

My answer. D.

It’s not just you bud, it’s a lot of us and the numbers are sadly growing. I genuinely don’t think it’s on the whole malicious, just shear thoughtlessness on their behalf.

But reading your post, it reads like a burn out may be on the cards, and I’ve been there and it’s not a good place to be.

But off loading on the forums will help.

[Tel2203]

Like everyone else i can feel your pain.
I too am in a Primary school with 400+ children ,teachers ,support staff etc etc and the only male on site.
It can be a very lonely job most of the time. The Head and Business manager leave me alone as they know i know what needs to be done.
The funny thing is all the staff have an appraisal but not me!!!
They all have there little Whattsapp groups and evenings out. I just go home and come back another day.....

[Taz]

Like everyone else i can feel your pain.
I too am in a Primary school with 400+ children ,teachers ,support staff etc etc and the only male on site.
It can be a very lonely job most of the time. The Head and Business manager leave me alone as they know i know what needs to be done.
The funny thing is all the staff have an appraisal but not me!!!
They all have there little Whattsapp groups and evenings out. I just go home and come back another day.....

My wife's a teacher, previously worked in the same school, and trust me when I say you aren't missing much on the WhatsApp groups. I've seen/heard a lot of what gets said on them

[Maverick]

A poll - I’ll start.

Why didn’t you attend so and so’s leaving do.
A.) didn’t know they were leaving.
B.) didn’t know there was a leaving do.
C.) it started at 4:30 and I finish at 6.00.
D.) strangely enough all of the above.

D....... all day long.

Its funny that "they" are surprised when you tell them I didn't know it was happening but I couldn't have made it because I was still working.

[Mastergunner]

Like everyone else i can feel your pain.
I too am in a Primary school with 400+ children ,teachers ,support staff etc etc and the only male on site.
It can be a very lonely job most of the time. The Head and Business manager leave me alone as they know i know what needs to be done.
The funny thing is all the staff have an appraisal but not me!!!
They all have there little Whattsapp groups and evenings out. I just go home and come back another day.....

only teachers have had appraisals in the four years that i have been here! (no support staff at all, including TAs have had any career management)

[grimoopnorth]

A poll - I’ll start.

Why didn’t you attend so and so’s leaving do.
A.) didn’t know they were leaving.
B.) didn’t know there was a leaving do.
C.) it started at 4:30 and I finish at 6.00.
D.) strangely enough all of the above.

D most of the time. To be fair even when I do know or am asked Im not interested. The main part is the majority of talk is about work. If the party is in a venue the last thing I want to talk about is work and then you have to be on your best behaviour or someone will be offended or take things the wrong way.

[Nail]

only teachers have had appraisals in the four years that i have been here! (no support staff at all, including TAs have had any career management)

Sounds good to me!

I hate it when an appraisal is remembered about and generally all support staff agree at any school I've been at!

[Basher]

Read all of the comments and understand how something small can snowball into something far bigger, one helpful thing you do for someone is taken advantage of and then more is asked without thanks or thought.
Once you start going the extra mile, it’s no longer the ‘extra’ mile, it’s just another mile that you are expected to do.
At the school I work at we have recently had a Caretaker leave who had his struggles with anxiety and the pressures put on him from all directions, including parents all became to heavy a weight to carry. After over a year of being on long term leave he decided it was best to leave and he admits a huge weight is lifted.

It’s really not hard to slip into a dark place, a lonely place and feel the pressures are too much and no one sees you. Being able to share and talk is key, I recently lost one of my brothers also who had his troubles in life and as much as you are family, you can only help so much. Finding a light in the darkness is key to getting through it and one of my good friends a few years ago tried to take his own life but thankfully he is doing far better and he really recommended Andy’s Man Club who have clubs up and down the country, if it’s for a talk, a drink or activities the club has helped him so much and makes him feel that he isn’t alone on the journey.

Thing is, no one notices the caretakers until they notice there not there. The smallest cog in the school may be the one that makes it all work.

I feel lucky, we have a facilities team where I work and we can enjoy the trench humour together.

[Twodogs64]

Yep same here with all the above ..
I have worked in secondary, collages and primary and it's always the same ..
I have come to terms with it over the years .
It's snow days I hate ..
Yerr it's a snow day so I'm down the school all day clearing snow for the next day ..no body cares ..
In days of old under the council there was local caretaker meetings were we all got together for a morning and got updates and moaned a bit , you didn't feel on your own so much in those days..
No now under academy's..
It's also a bad time of years I find it gets easier as the weather improves..
Your not alone mate
Twodogs

[Twodogs64]

Another problem is emails
" All teachers " all TAs". Etc
As the sole caretaker I'm always left off as it's not on the list ..
Then there's wassap groups teachers and TAs have them ..
We're not normally on them
So your then out of the information loop...