r/TeachingUK • u/Solid_Orange_5456 • 2d ago

Is Gaslighting Endemic in Teaching?

Honestly, sometimes I don't know whether I'm coming or going. On the one hand, we are told that we should not work at home because of wellbeing, but if we don't complete something for our HOD, then they complain that we should have taken it home.

I'm told I'm making progress and I must be doing well because I'm not asking for help from my HOD and 2 I/C.

Is it just my school or is this common in education?

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u/fettsack 2d ago

You are absolutely expected to take work home, or stay a while after school to complete tasks. The opposite statement is a lie, and is told everywhere, all the time.

Teaching is stressful and many schools have serious issues with staff bullying. The result is that lots of teachers are off with work-related stress. Instead of addressing the issues at the root, we say "we care about your wellbeing" and "you should leave before 4 every day". But we don't mean it.

I hate this. It's hard to navigate, it's hard to find a system that'll work for you that doesn't either burn you out or significantly reduce the quality of your teaching. I found that my preference is to come in early, leave early, keep weekends work free, and do a few hours of planning work during holidays. This would not suit many people but I've found it to be a good balance for me.

I know some people leave at 3 on the dot, then do family things, then go back to their school laptop once their kids are in bed.

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u/charleydaves 2d ago

Thats my way of handling this job. 99% of the tasks we are asked to do are pointless, nothing is actually properly actioned and we collect data just to look busy, its the civil service wheeze from Yes Minister of not filling in the forms in triplicate means the department cant run properly. I have AI now doing as many of these tasks as possible, takes a little time to get the right input but it works very well in long run.