no details...

"It was agreed that I would write to parents and inform them of your return to work. You shared your concern that parents may attempt to discuss the details of your absence with you and we agreed that you would keep to the professional line and confirm that you have been unwell but would not share any personal details of your absence."

Last week, I discussed my initial back to work meeting. The above is taken from the letter I was sent by the head immediately after the following meeting on 24.01.20.

I was not informed of what parents were told about my absence which lasted the best part of 3 months. One thing I do know is that they were not told that it was due to a nervous breakdown, nor that it had been caused by the head. 

But apparently, I "shared (my) concern with (her) that parents may attempt to discuss the details of (my) absence with (me) and we agreed that (I) would keep to the professional line and confirm that (I) have been unwell but would not share any personal details of (my) absence." Well how very, very convenient. This is not how I remember the conversation. Who would such an agreement benefit the most? Hmm, tricky one that... 

I have since found out that while parents were never officially told of what had happened, a number of them were astute enough to read between the lines.

In fact, I have found out that there were a lot more astute parents than I originally gave them credit for.

 In my current school alone, we are fast approaching double digits when it comes to children having come over to us from the previous place - and we have several on our waiting list. 

I have no way of knowing for sure how many children have left the previous place to other schools, but I know there are more than a few. 

I also know that the number of angry parents has been steadily rising since my departure. 

News travels fast in the primary school community. 

Sickness Review Meeting

On 23/03/22, I made a Subject Access Request to my previous school’s council’s HR as I had to the school before (see previous posts). Data protection law requires that such requests for personal data are dealt with within one calendar month. I finally received documents at the beginning of July… And the contents were woefully meagre. A lot of the communication I had had with HR over the years was not included. More importantly, unless the vast majority of communication between the school and HR had been conducted over the phone or in person, it is odd that was such little email correspondence between the head and HR knowing the number of unresolved issues.

Below is one of three e-mails I was given. It was from HR to the head sent after my Sickness Review Meeting – I have of course anonymised it and added annotations. It concerns my sickness review meeting, a month after my breakdown. It is mainly verbatim: I just added the odd bit of punctuation. A lot of the minutes are poorly transcribed.   

For clarity’s sake, I am first including the invitation from the school to attend the meeting:

______________

From HR to head

Sickness Review Meeting – Informal 18th December 2019

Sickness Absence – Due to Work Related Stress I held an informal meeting on 18th December with [the head], Alex and [his] NEU [case worker].

It was a difficult meeting as the teacher suffers from anxiety and depression. It ended fine with an agreement to catch up early in January (no date agreed) and to discuss the stress risk questionnaire provided to him at the meeting to complete and return so that the head could prepare a stress risk assessment in presence of HR and his [case worker].

[Alex] wants to return to work but needs to feel the environment is safe. It all went downhill when the [head] decided to send him an email listing all the areas he needed to improve without a meeting first. This caused him to have a “clinical breakdown”[1] and go off sick.

Following the meeting I provided a draft letter and (example of templates for risk assessment) to the [head]. She did not send me the final letter version of what she issued out to Alex. I also have some management notes of the meeting that helps to pick this one up as a date will now need agreeing to meet again with the [head] and Alex and [his case worker].

[HR minutes]

Me: When I arrived at Occupational Health the Doctor advised to call beforehand. You mentioned I had been on a programme for the last year.

Her: That is a misunderstanding. We spoke about the email I sent to give context.

Me: The phone call lasted a long time.[2]

Her: It took a while as [the business manager] was not around and took time to find me. I pulled out the reason stress and anxiety at work being the reason for absence[3]. Is there anything you want to say? What can we do to help?

Me: I worked very hard and the children made progress yet I seem to be in the firing line.

Her: Would help to be given some context to email? I disagree you are in the firing line

Me: The whole email is a list of complaints and as far as I know talking to colleagues, I am the only one who has this, it was a drop in.

Her: Appraisal policy says managers can drop in at any time.[4]

Me: Other members of staff are not treated the same.

Her: Not as far as I am aware; you need to substantiate this to me[5].

Me: I cannot use this information.[6]

HR: You can give information without names of the drop in.

Her: Discuss issues I have looked at in classes. What is the reason as this is about Alex? (sic) I am in regularly, looking at books, monitor by walk around[7] and I feel I have been accused and take exception. I am absolutely not.

NEU: This is part of Alex’s perception. If you have evidence X number teacher, performance issues it would be evidence to him that he is not being targeted.

Her: My word as a Headteacher should be enough[8], we monitor all classes, all week, to provide context, to give context to the email, it was out on peer group review, maths had too much in them, and back to see the lessons and gave feedback and this was changed (sic). The peer review (ex-Ofsted) had very clear concerns on Alex’s classes[9], this was the final review[10] we had maths and on top of monitoring that highlighted concerns about Alex’s practice. I said on Monday following that I will drop in and went out on Tuesday[11].

NEU: Lot of targets set, aware Alex says anxiety (sic), do you feel it was appropriate?

Her: Given his experience, upper paid as number things can be addresses easily (sic).

NEU: Do you think the targets were SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound)?

Her: We have a support plan for leadership[12] and Alex reacted emotionally. I did not think it would be appropriate to go in with SMART targets[13], and more than happy to put together SMART targets.

Alex: You agreed verbal feedback.

Her: This was about leadership time[14].

Alex: You were aware of my mental health yet you sent this email without warning.

Her: We had a discussion face to face and the perception was you did not want to speak face to face. Please be clear how I can communicate with you[15]?

Me: Surely you agree the class is progressing?

Her: No I think more progress is necessary.[16]

Me: About presentation?

Her: The amount work and curriculum coverage. Marking and feedback for example Staff to write the policy is not implemented (sic).

Me: I am following it.

Her: I think it is confusing the SLT you did not like written feedback so we moved to coaching and mentoring[17]. We have since September, not doing observations, pupil voices and drop in (sic). When received feedback I have tried to coach and it did not appear to get through. If you want SMART targets I can do that. This is the basic teaching standards.

NEU: The tone of the meeting, is not a meeting to help Alex back to work. This is you reiterating your views, what are you suggesting?

Her: Let’s go back to the OH (Occupational Health) report; we are looking at the stressors. How do you want to do this?

NEU: I would suggest: how do you feel you can implement these?

Her: I need to know what the work-related issues are otherwise I am stumped[18].

NEU: Given Alex’s illness the email, if concerns this is how we can help you (sic).

Her: Stress risk assessment, HR advised me to get you to complete the questionnaire to help inform the risk assessment. When a realistic time scale to send it back?

Me: First week January

NEU: Alex needs to take medical guidance.

Her: Is it needed before the return.

HR: Preferably, or during the phasing back.

Her: I would prefer if it was before returning.

Me: I have missed my children.

Her: They missed you; I will wait to hear from you on a date.

Me: Phased return.

HR: Normally OH give advice

Her: Suggest one day first, 2 days second, etc

Me: Can we do more? I need structure.

Her: Risk assessment before.

Me: I don’t know I can suggest.

HR: We can check with OH.

Me: She didn’t know until work discussed the issues.

Her: We can review adjustments You can have regular supervisions Would be me every week?

Me: I think it should be someone else, you and I need mediation.

Her: Not sure possible due to budget restraints[19].

Me: You are aware I had a clinical out of body experience, it was horrible.

Her: Noted that I had not been made aware other than my observations.

Me: I told you[20].

Her: I’ve had no evidence in writing. People come in all the time.

NEU: OH told you, surely a good relationship even if not had in writing you would not send an email. It is not responsible, again it is about Alex’s wellbeing and you are raising it.

Her: I am suggesting what is mentioned in the OH report; I need to understand so I can put things in place.

NEU: No issues being a teacher, stress comes from your demands and way you respond.

Her: What is your suggestion?

NEU: Another line manager and mediation.

HR: Is there anyone else you wish to have support you?

Me: Yes, but I don’t want to say.

HR: An additional person could sit is a supervision as observer for a while.

Her: Confirm back to me about regular supervision.

NEU: This is about support[21].

Her: I am struggling; I don’t want to impose my thoughts do please give me more guidance.

NEU: I think we need to consider who and what is appropriate.

HR: The stress risk assessment will help.

NEU: Perhaps leave it there for now.

Her: Wait to hear appropriate date to go over the stress assessment, work related issues and operational adjustments we can accommodate (sic).

NEU: Yes.

Me: How do you see my role?

Her: I just want you to come back; you are a valued teacher[22].

Me: I don’t feel that.

Her: I am sorry you feel that way; I have not communicated any different. I am a straight down the line person[23].

Me: When you are telling me it informal you never told me external review (sic).

Her: Would that be helpful, I directed a Senior Leader to help you.

Me: Helpful to have heads up.

Her: I can assure you that there is nothing I would like more than you coming back[24].

Me: Do you regret email?

Her: There are a few quick wins and I did offer support[25].

HR: Would you like a break? It is progress that you are here today[26].

Me: Trust me I know. The children love me and parents love me.

Break

NEU: Best to fill the questionnaire and agree a date for a meeting in new year.

Her: Hold off and discuss work related, useful school.

HR: We will write up in a letter what we agreed today.

Her: Thanks for coming in today.

Dear [head],

Please see the suggested sickness script for holding the meeting with Alex. Also attached is the link to the stress indicator tool which Alex should complete and will help you to then meet and discuss and complete a stress risk assessment with him.

Just to inform you, [the] NEU [case worker] has been on the phone to me today complaining as to why Alex is being asked to come in under CAP (capability) stage 1. I explained it is informal review and we need to meet with him as we have the OH report to discuss and try to help support him back to work. He is suggested that all the TU representatives are being targeted in school and are subject to management actions. I reassured him that is not the case, that I am supporting you and there are valid reasons for the actions taken in each case. He is likely to bring this up again at the meeting, and quote the CAP is being applied early to Alex as he considers Alex should not be meeting with you under the procedure until he is absent for 2 months!![27] I explained it is informal and reviewed on a case by case basis depending on the circumstances but we could have more than one informal review meeting under the procedure it doesn’t mean it will automatically then progress to the formal stages of CAP at the next meeting.

Many thanks,

[HR officer]

­______________

­From head to me 

Informal Meeting (Review Absence)

Thank you for attending the meeting on 18th December 2019, with myself [Senior HR

Advisor - Schools HR]. You choose to attend with [your Trades Union Representative – NEU]. I clarified that this was an informal meeting and accepted the request from your representative for this meeting to remove any reference to it being held under stage 1 (informal) of the School's Capability Absence Procedure.

I explained the meeting was arranged to review your continuous absence from your class teaching position since 7th November to the present date (currently a total of 25 days), and to discuss the latest advice received from our Occupational Health Advisor dated 6th December 2019 (copy attached) and consider what additional support could be provided to assist an early return[28]. 

I will now summarise the main points of our discussion.

You confirmed that you are currently not well enough to return to work and have been prescribed with a high dose of anti-depressant medication. You have also been referred for psychological therapy but did not have a date of when this will commence. You explained you wanted to return to your teaching role and had hoped that this would return in the new term as you had missed teaching the children and wished to get back to having some structure and routine. You sought clarification regarding detail contained within in the Occupational Health report dated 6th December, stating you had been "on a monitoring programme for the last year". I confirmed that this was incorrect and an error due to a miscommunication between myself and the Occupational Health Advisor[29]. You explained that you felt undervalued and criticised despite working very hard and stated that there was evidence that your class children had made progress with their writing skills. You considered the email from me dated 5th November had listed targets that were not SMART and that I had sent this negative communication without due regard to your health or medical condition. You described the impact of the content and timing of this communication as causing you to have a "clinical breakdown"[30]. You confirmed that you did not feel ready to discuss the detail of the work related issues at present.

In response I clarified that all teachers are required to be working at a minimum level that meet national Teaching Standards and that teachers work consistently within the school's policies. Following feedback from teachers, the school has recently adopted a coaching and mentoring model for our monitoring and evaluation cycle, and prior to your absence I had meetings with you to support you on a one to one basis[31] in addition to the support provided by other members of the leadership team. To provide context to why the email of 5^th November was sent, I explained that this was following areas for development identified from external consultants and specifically from peer review feedback that I received regarding your performance and I then undertook a "drop in observation" of your teaching lesson in line with school policy[32]. Due to my time restraints, I followed this observation up in writing to detail the areas for improvement. It was always my intention to then arrange a follow up one to one meeting with you and to agree a plan with SMART targets. Unfortunately, I had no prior medical evidence as to your current medical condition[33] or evidence of the existence of any Health & Safety Risk Assessment and had been assured by you that you were well enough to be in work. I can assure you that going forward I will discuss all feedback with you in person before any written feedback is provided and I will also ensure that all of the leadership team take the same steps.

I reviewed the advice in the Occupational Health report that recommended we undertake a stress risk assessment to help identify the work-related issues and make any operational adjustments necessary within organisational feasibility. I provided you with a health & safety questionnaire to complete and return to me by 6^th January. We agreed that you would communicate when you would be able to meet again in early January 2020 to complete the Stress Risk Assessment together before you return to work on the recommended phased return over 4 weeks. Once you have notified me with which date is suitable for you, I will liaise with HR and confirm this in the new term.

As before, you are entitled to be represented by your trade's union representative at this meeting.

I proposed that when you are assessed as fit to return that a proposed return could be agreed on the following basis and shared with your GP and the Occupational Health Advisor but that we could review on a week by week basis if appropriate.

This is a proposal and therefore can be amended accordingly.

Proposed Phased Return - Hours on Return

Week 1= 1 days

Week 2 = 2 days

Week 3 = 3 days

Week 4 = 4 days

We discussed having regular supervisions on a weekly basis. It was suggested that initially the meetings could be supported by another member of SLT as a third party observing. You agreed to give this some consideration and that we could discuss again in the New Year.

I would also like to offer you private counselling (…) that will be paid for by the school. They can provide up to 6 sessions of face to face or telephone counselling. This is confidential service and we do not receive any feedback or any details of the sessions with you. Should you wish to take up the offer please email [HR], providing your mobile telephone number and the area that you reside in and she will pass these details to [practice] who will make direct contact with you to make the necessary arrangements.

I hope you agree this letter accurately summaries the main details of our discussion. Should you wish to make any amendments/comments please do so by returning these in writing to me with a copy of this letter. If you should have any queries however, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or [HR].

In the meantime I do hope that your health improves and that you understand that you are a valued member of our teaching team here at (...) Primary School who is missed by the children and your work colleagues. I look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Yours sincerely,

Headteacher

­______________

Dear [head],

I'm writing as requested in response to your letter dated 19th December. In it you state: "We agreed that you would communicate when you would be able to meet again in early January 2020 to complete the Stress Risk Assessment together before you return to work on the recommended phased return over 4 weeks. Once you have notified me with which date is suitable for you, I will liaise with HR and confirm this in the new term. As before, you are entitled to be represented by your trade union representative at this meeting." Knowing that [my case worker’s] general availability for representation is Wednesdays and Fridays, I'd like to suggest that we meet on Wednesday 8th January at 10am, if that suits everyone? You also wrote: "I hope you agree this letter accurately summarises the main details of our discussion. Should you wish to make any amendments/comments please do so by returning these in writing to me with a copy of this letter. If you should have any queries however, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or [HR]." I would like to make several points in response which I can also send in hard copy if required.

o   "In response I clarified that all teachers are required to be working at a minimum level that meet national Teaching Standards and that teachers work consistently within the school’s policies." I believe that I have been working to these standards throughout my teaching career.

o   "Following feedback from teachers, the school has recently adopted a coaching and mentoring model for our monitoring and evaluation cycle, and prior to your absence I had meetings with you to support you on a one to one basis in addition to the support provided by other members of the leadership team." The meetings you had with me were about my subject leadership not regarding any presumed support needs for my teaching. I had spent a significant amount of time on computing because I had reason to believe this took precedence over MFL. When you expressed concern about MFL, I took immediate steps to complete my action plan targets.

o   "To provide context to why the email of 5th November was sent, I explained that this was following areas for development identified from external consultants and specifically from peer review feedback that I received regarding your performance and I then undertook a “drop in observation” of your teaching lesson in line with school policy." None of the peer review feedback was shared with me. At no point before your 'drop-in' was I informed of anything being remiss in my teaching practice. Surely, this goes against the principles of the 'coaching and mentoring model for our monitoring and evaluation cycle' that you have adopted.

o   "Due to my time restraints, I followed this observation up in writing to detail the areas for improvement. It was always my intention to then arrange a follow up one to one meeting with you and to agree a plan with SMART targets. Unfortunately, I had no prior medical evidence as to your current medical condition or evidence of the existence of any Health & Safety Risk Assessment and had been assured by you that you were well enough to be in work." I had clearly expressed on more than one occasion in meetings with you that I had been struggling with work-related anxiety and depression which was triggered by the lack of time to carry out additional activity beyond teaching my class. Before the e-mail of 05/11/19, you had even suggested that I take time off (in your e-mail to me of 31/10/19 you said "if you need time at home then I am sure we can support this" see footnote 33) although I still do not see how this suggestion takes account of my repeatedly expressed concerns about not having enough time to complete the extra-curricular tasks.

o   I note your offer of confidential individual counselling (not mentioned in our meeting) but in the first instance I prefer to pursue the full range of support options available to me that exist outside the school's budget.

Best regards,

Alex Gwinnett

Class Teacher

___________

I received a response from the head that she had noted my comments but nothing was ever made official.

More on this later…

---

[1] Not for the first time, this was insultingly put in inverted commas.

[2] I think I’ve mentioned this before. I was sitting opposite the doctor and could hear the head’s voice. The conversation lasted a good 5 minutes but seemed to me at the time endless. As you can imagine, it was very triggering.

[3] Lie.

[4] Clearly avoiding the issue.

[5] She should have been able to substantiate this.

[6] There was no way I was going to identify individuals.

[7] As mentioned in previous posts, she was particularly fond of unannounced visits to classrooms of teachers who spoke up.

[8] Why? Trust has to be earned.

[9] I spoke to one of the most respected ‘peers’ many months later. They assured me it was not in their brief to be critical. It was a visit to observe.

[10] It was the first session of the day…

[11] Not to me.

[12] This was about teaching not leadership.

[13] Maybe this was lost in translation as it makes no pedagogical sense.

[14] Lie.

[15] Provocation.

[16] No evidence offered at any stage.

[17] I am not sure how to interpret this. The decision to move to move to a coaching verbal feedback method had nothing to do with me. Again: maybe lost in translation.

[18] Such an admission shows pretty poor emotional intelligence.

[19] Highly doubtful.

[20] On several occasions.

[21] My case worker is a great person: integrity and compassion personified.

[22] Gaslighting.

[23] Lie.

[24] Lie.

[25] Avoiding the issue, arrogantly.

[26] I have to give the HR representative credit here: they could read the room. They knew that things could have got nasty at this juncture…

[27] Their exclamation marks, not mine.

[28] Let it be noted that I would have returned to work much earlier than I did if it had not been for her pesky busy schedule…

[29] How very convenient.

[30] There are those disrespectful inverted commas again…

[31] Which had absolutely nothing to do with my classroom practice.

[32] I would have loved to have seen this policy.

[33] One would almost be led to believe that this was a nasty insinuation that she did not believe me when I had informed her of my mental health issues, if it were not for her offer (in writing) for me to take time off a while before my breakdown…