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Do I have the RIGHT to change the age and stage I teach??

Last post 07/02/12 at 20:14 by babette, 11 replies
Post started by jhu04135 on 02/02/12 at 22:08

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  • jhu04135 avatar
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    Posted by: jhu04135 02/02/2012 at 22:08
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    Just wondering whether anyone can answer this for me? I have been teaching on a peripatetic nursery teaching team for four years now and i am trying my best to make the transfer from nursery back into primary as, let's face it, teaching four consecutive years at the same stage can get a bit mind-numbing and I want to develop my CV as much as possible. However, this is where I have come into difficulty. No HT wants to employ a teacher whose entire post-probationary year experience is in nursery. Any feedback I have received from primary interviews has eluded to this. So my question is, do I have the RIGHT to change age and stage? Does my council not have a responsibility to develop me professionally? Rumours of 'voluntary transfer lists' have been deemed red herrings. Am I just stuck? Has anyone else encountered this problem? Did you manage to fix it? If so, HELP!! Any help would be great. Thanks!
  • Imsdal avatar
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    Posted by: Imsdal 03/02/2012 at 14:43
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    I don't know but I think that there's no right to change your stage. However the way I would suggest going about this would be a move within a school as this is fairly common. As a peripatetic I imagine you're not based in a particular school so perhaps your first move should be to move to a Nursery post in a school for a year or so and then ask to move up from there. I would also imagine a larger school having more scope for such a move and perhaps more chance of a teacher who would love to experience Nursery.

    You could ask for help developing professionally as in courses etc to keep yourself in the loop with things in different stages which would give you more stuff to sell yourself with.
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    Posted by: jhu04135 03/02/2012 at 17:25
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    The thing is there are no nursery posts in schools for me to move to.  The majority of councils have either moved to a peripatetic model already or are considering it in their budget proposals for this year.

     Have kept myself in the loop with regards to courses etc. but yeah that only does so much.

    It's a tricky situation and just highlights that this wasn't thought through at the initial stages.
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    Posted by: triadplus1 03/02/2012 at 21:20
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    I would advise you identify your wish for a "change" to your line manager during your PRD. As well, councils currently are looking at staffing for August, so if you could let the person involved in staffing allocation know that you are looking for primary experience, then there would be a greater chance of that happening.

    Have you considered applying for a primary job share within your council? You might be able to work at your present post for a 3 days and do the job share for 2 days. Let people know what you are seeking.
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    Posted by: VelmaDinckley 04/02/2012 at 13:58
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    I sympathise with the OP as I am in a very similar position - just not in Nursery. I have had many interviews, done the courses, spoke to my line manager and HR dpet in my LA - all to no avail.

    The feedback for almost every interview I have had in the last few years, has eluded to the fact that whilst I have a vast experience, my most recent experience has been restricted to my current post. It is very frustrating and I cannot see a way out.

    I would be interested to find out if the OP eventually had any success because it might help my situation.
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    Posted by: Anna-Luise 05/02/2012 at 11:32
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    jhu04135:
    eluded
    VelmaDinckley:
    eluded
    alluded vs eluded



































    Sorry.
  • VelmaDinckley avatar
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    Posted by: VelmaDinckley 05/02/2012 at 12:11
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    How disappointing that the only comment you can make is to correct my spelling. I was looking for some constructive feedback when I contributed to this thread.

    If people are going to take the time to contribute to these discussions, the least they should be able to hope for is more in the way of constructive comments, feedback or information.  I'm surprised you even bothered to make the effort!

    Confused
  • harsh-but-fair avatar
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    Posted by: harsh-but-fair 05/02/2012 at 15:03
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    Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
  • jhu04135 avatar
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    Posted by: jhu04135 05/02/2012 at 18:06
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    thanks to those who commented. no i have not been successful so far - but shall keep everyone posted as to my progress. i stand corrected that it should have been ALLUDED not ELUDE. Professional development in spelling - TICK!
  • babette avatar
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    Posted by: babette 05/02/2012 at 18:58
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    Hi jhu04135

    You have my every sympathy as this happened to me too. I was "stuck" in nursery for 6 years after qualifying and doing my probationary period in nursery. As you will have noticed it is nigh on impossible to find anyone to take you seriously as a prospective class teacher after this. I started applying for classroom posts after I had been in nursery for less than 2 years and no one would touch me with a barge pole, even for an infant class. I eventually escaped by transferring to my council's permanent supply staff, did a year of this and was then lucky enough to be kept on at one of the schools I had done  long term cover for. I have been in mainstream ever since and have no intentions of ever backing myself into such a cul de sac again. It appears that most councils no longer place probationers in nursery posts for precisely this reason.  Are you in a school based nursery or a standalone? If attached to a school then there maybe a chance to swap with one of the infant teachers for a year to get the experience you need, if not it's very difficult. You could ask your line manager for a transfer to another post, a fellow of mine did this at the end of last year to escape from an Additional Support Class (same problem) and was moved back into infants but in another school.  You just have to keep trying.

    Best of luck in your quest!

    B
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