In the bin...

During the first lockdown of March 2020, the head took it upon herself to spearhead a 'declutter' push. As usual with no consultation with any of us.

She went through our classrooms and threw away personal property (professional portfolios, teaching resources and memorabilia from our careers - some of it with a lot of emotional value). 

This was before we had access to our classrooms due to Covid measures. 

Let me reiterate, there was no consultation with any of us.

One very upset and long-time staff member went to her to complain; she was compensated with a nominal sum. Obviously, some things, such as thank you notes from past students, photos, artwork, etc. cannot be replaced.

My complaint morphed into a lengthy Kafkaesque e-mail exchange full of inconsistency, untruths, double-talk, etc. Not dissimilar to PMQs...

 Here is an abridged version of the exchange:

From me

Sent: 28/08/20

Before leaving, I tried to locate my performance management and other files in my classroom. I also could not find where a significant collection of my textbooks had been placed (many of) which I purchased myself. I would be grateful if the above could be returned to me at your earliest convenience.

From her
Sent: 31/08/20
Staff are issued with lockers to keep their personal and professional possessions safe and all other possessions kept outside of this will be done so at their own risk.

 

From me

Sent: 31/08/20
I could not have kept that amount of files and books in my locker. I presumed that classrooms were the recommended and logical place to keep such material. Could you please direct me to the disclaimer you mentioned in your mail?
Furthermore, it would appear to mean that my property has been thrown away. Please could you confirm this is the case.

 

No response

 

From me

Sent: 13/10/20

I understand that another former colleague experienced a similar issue and has received compensation for the items disposed of rather than the reply you gave me. I am sure you agree that a consistent policy is generally the best approach. 

From her

Sent: 14/10/20

In regards to your claim, please provide a formal request for the items that you say are missing on the attached form so that we can evaluate and review this thoroughly. 

Please be aware that any payments made by the school using public funds must have documentary evidence to support such payments. Therefore, please provide a detailed and specific account of the loss with the following: 1. Individual items / 2. Date of loss / 3. Circumstances around the loss / 4. Evidence of when this was reported to / 5. Evidence of who it was reported to / 6. Receipts for all items being claimed

From me

Sent:15/10/20

You have requested that I complete some paperwork over this matter however my original email to you was itself specific and detailed.
Since 31/08 I have been asking for clarification about the status of my property. You haven't yet answered this question. 
You say that lockable storage for staff property is available on site but will obviously be aware that this is minimal, and insufficient for storing personal teaching resources. Personal teaching resources - generously bought into school by individual teachers to use and share with colleagues - are commonly kept in classrooms. 

There has been no issue or risk around storing personal teaching resources in the classroom during the time I was teaching at xxx, but it seems my property was removed from the classroom - without notice or any communication. 

Another staff member moving on from xxx also shared concerns regarding personal property that they were not able to recover, and have received compensation from you. You say 'any payments made by the school using public funds must have documentary evidence to support such payments', but I am the only person who has been asked to submit a formal claim, and with receipts attached. Again I would suggest that a consistent policy is surely best practice. 

My question since 31/08 concerns the current whereabouts of my personal property. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a reply on this. 

From her

Sent: 23/10/20

I understand that you contacted me at the end of August but my question was related to when you first realised that the items had been lost. The school was not open on 31st August and you must be specific about when you think the loss occurred as it was definitely not on the date your submitted your claim.

You have also not provided me with a specific list yet as to the individual items that you claim have been lost - I will need this before I can proceed.

I can confirm that no money has been paid to any other individual with a possible claim for lost items without following the same process as I require you to follow.   

I also confirm that no items identifiable as your personal belongings have been found anywhere in the school, including in your old classroom. However, I can provide you with any performance management reports that we hold on file.

The information stated in my previous email is still required to be able to investigate further.

 

From me

Sent: 02/11/20

To be clear: my items were not lost. And although you still have not answered the question, it seems very likely that you have disposed of my property. 

Presumably you took my property from my then classroom during the first lockdown in March when the storage area at the back of it was 're-organised', something which was done without any prior consultation with me. 

My then classroom was out of bounds to me from the end of March onwards, due to C19 measures, and the subsequent presence of the decorating team you brought on site to redecorate school areas soon into the lockdown period. 

At no point did you get in touch with me to agree my collection of my property. 

From the time schools reopened for key workers' children, I wasn't able to return to this classroom. The 31/08/20 date you mention is irrelevant. I was only able to briefly enter the classroom at the end of the summer term, before I left the school. At that point I found that my property was missing, collected what belongings remained there, and got in touch with you to flag the issue. 

You have told me that there is a procedure and that you require certain details to be able to investigate any further. You say that you can only proceed with a "lost property claim" once I have provided you with "a specific list yet as to the individual items that you claim have been lost".

But the issue concerns items being removed rather than lost property, so this has no bearing. 

I have asked you about consistency regarding the matter of personal items being removed from outgoing staff members' classrooms. 

I can confirm that the ex-colleague I referred to in previous emails who found herself in the same situation as I did was not required to follow the robust process outlined above; she raised directly with you the issue of her property being removed from what was her then classroom, which happened during the same period and in the same circumstances, and you organised for compensation after she merely sent a brief invoice. You have said that this did not happen.

The same circumstances would seem to merit different responses. Can you explain your position here? (see addendum below)

 

From her

Sent: 13/11/20

Please see all previous emails regarding my position on this matter. 

 

From me

Sent: 08/02/21

I have yet to receive any information from you as to what happened to my property. 

As I have repeatedly pointed out it was not lost by me. For the entire school year it had been stored in the classroom, without any problem whatsoever, as an accessible resource for my lessons. 

You have not addressed my concern that it was removed and either stored somewhere else, or destroyed - without any consultation with me.

Nor have you addressed the issue of a consistent policy regarding outgoing staff members' personal items. 

In no way have you made your position clear on this matter. Please advise me on how you suggest we resolve this issue. 

 

There was no response to the e-mail above. On 11/11/21, the council sent me a letter which could have deemed intimidating if it had any real threat to it - I was told to no longer communicate with anyone from the school because it was causing too many staff undue stress. I had only been in touch with one person since June 2020 concerning a Subject Access Request...

_______________ 

Going through my paperwork, I have found this exchange between the colleague I mentioned above who was given compensation for her property having been thrown out by the head and myself. An interesting addendum…