As someone who is neurodivergent, I find the hiring process insanely unfair. I struggled through the school system myself and always found myself wanting to make a real change in education for children who suffered the same plight as me.
Having taught abroad for a year after school, I decided to pursue teaching. Despite being denied entry twice, I applied to an education support assistant course through my own savings and worked as an ASN assistant for a year.
Following this, I eventually/ successfully made it into a PGDE programme. I ended up in a council 3 hours from home and continued to work in this area, travelling 700 miles a week. I continued to do this for more than 3 years.
Now, I’m on a supply list closer to home but still travelling 350 miles a week. Financial strains, instability and continuously working in different schools has severely impacted my mental health. This had lead to increased burn out and medical problems for me.
The notion of introducing a 3 year probationary year is a true slap in the face for us who have travelled, built strong experience and worked hard. This is merely a way to cut budgets for “expensive” teachers and continue the revolving door of probationers. The SNP should be ashamed of themselves, as a party I always supported, I have lost all hope for the future of education, the future of young people with additional support needs and the future of aspiring teachers. A truly devastating case.
Shared anonymously with the contributor’s consent and reviewed by the campaign. Light edits may have been made for readability and to remove identifying details.
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