u/blossomgardens

This has become the last resort and I hate to do this with my hobby, but that’s how rough things are currently. I am employed but in a workplace that’s posing risk to my health (physically and mentally), going against my ADHD & underpaying me to the point that necessities are hard to pay for. It’s resurfaced a lot of trauma so first and foremost, I need to pay for a union rep to support me, therapy, and to leave the workplace until I find something else (hopefully sharp-ish). As I said, the consequences on my wellbeing have been the worst, so this is currently my only hope

I have a bachelors in primary teaching that I achieved a year ago at uni, but since having a real job in education (being an achievement support assistant), it’s put me off wanting to be in that type of work full stop. I’ve been off for the summer holidays and have 4 weeks left, but I’m so tempted to give my months notice in since I’ve just been severely depressed, breakdowns everyday before & after work, not supported at all. I was hit daily by the child I was taking care of unsupported & when I reported it, dealing with multiple breakdowns and severe health & safety breaches going on which I had to protect him from, so my nervous system was at an all-time high & wouldn’t lower even by time I was at home & in bed. The support I was given was very temporary. I know it won’t look good for me and will put me at risk, but I have a mental disability myself, and even after disclosing this, nothing was adjusted for me & I’d just get angry at how others are getting light duties but are on the same pay as me. I visited my old job yesterday to make a purchase & burst into tears after being there because of how much less stress I had in my old job. There’s a slight chance of deadly heart problems as well due to my dad’s life being cut short at 49, so I tell myself to live everyday happily, but I can’t there. It got so bad to the point I was getting jaw pain & chest pain

I work as a 1:1 teaching assistant which is incredibly isolating & has been soul-destroying. I worked there since February so I don’t want to job hop or leave with the instability (no other job lined up despite applying) but I have been off work 2 weeks so far & picked myself up, started attending the gym again, began my weight loss & dieting, picked up my old hobbies, organised my room, & overall living without that severe dread, not having a breakdown each night has been wonderful. I have poor mental health anyway but the improvement has been significant. I would be hit multiple times daily by the kid I’m a 1:1 for, unsupported & left to deal with his severe meltdowns, faced with severe health & safety hazards within the school so kept the kid safe & out of harms way, so my pulse & anxiety levels would be at an all time high with my nervous system being destroyed & after, being spoken to like dirt by other members of staff when I was unsure what to do instead of supporting me. It has absolutely put me off pursuing this career in education but I’m 23 now, I feel time running out to get something done about getting a real income instead of relying on minimum wage to be used as a punching bag. I’ve been to university to teach but wanted to do this first as a job. It has put me off working in schools altogether. I want so bad to give my notice in & quit, but the anxiety of being jobless again is severe. I support my family to live as it is. I do not have any other means, but I was turning into a wreck. My family say they’ve never seen me as bad as I became, and I gained weight back that I worked hard to lose, so advise me to leave, but of course, that worry of how I’ll live is still living in the back of my mind

I remember being 17, in school & assuring myself that I’d get myself a nice job that gives me happiness & gets my family out of the financial poverty we were (& still are) in. I spend my birthday applying for new jobs yesterday & felt like a lost cause. I cry daily because of a job I’ve been in since February that only pays me minimum wage, having to deal with a psychotic kid that throws iPads or whatever at me for just sneezing or choosing not to give in to his demands. I asked for support twice & all I’ve gotten is someone following me around while I’m trying to control his erratic & unpredictable behaviour. I’ve already been to university for teaching, but now since working in a school, I’ve come to realise how bad it’s gotten and how things have changed for the worse since first completing school placement (which at the time, I loved hence I chose to pursue). Now I’m lost, feeling at a dead-end and completely at breaking point. I get home, collapse on my couch for 5 hours & doomscroll because I have no motivation to do anything else, before taking myself off to bed. Things need to get better because I feel ill with the stress & could throw up at the thought of going in tomorrow

My dad died of a heart attack when I was 16 after his traumatic childhood led him down a road of alcohol addiction. I’m stressed myself, having multiple mental breakdowns which has become even worse since starting a job that I dislike but studied for. I have a mental disability and it makes me so paranoid and worried about my own health, especially when I experience chest pressure or dizziness & head pressure. I’m supposed to be off work currently but the anxiety & stress at the thought of returning is taking over my life

I’m 22f & a new teaching assistant & studied primary teaching at university for two years, but the child that has been given to me upon starting my job is at an extreme-level in terms of unpredictability and behaviour. I’ve been with him each morning for three months and have cried almost every week as a result of the situation, reaching a state of burnout like I’ve never felt before. I’ve been praised continuously for how much calmer I have helped him become and how consistent I’ve been, but it’s still really difficult. He is 4 years old and has suspected autism and ADHD (I have inattentive ADHD myself, diagnosed).

The situation is, he reacts at extreme levels small triggers (such as having get a tissue for my nose) and will scream and hit at me and yank it out of my hands to put into the bin. He will only calm down when it’s away in the bin, but my hay fever and sinus issues mean that I need to use tissues often for my nose. He also avoids two other SEND children at all costs who can be noisy or will go to push them, pull their hair, even when they’re not making any sounds. This includes when they’re outside, so the situation is very isolating for myself and for him. He cannot be in one place for ten minutes until he needs to be up again and running, so he’s a major flight risk and I have to keep my eyes on him constantly to watch that he’s not running away or grabbing anything unsafe. Before he has lunch, I bring him back inside to another TA who supports him for lunch, and sometimes I struggle to get him back inside. He will sit on the ground and keep refusing, even when I turn away or gently try to coerce him. This sets me into a panic too (not outwardly of course, but internally) because I have to go and tend to a girl with autism who I work with in an afternoon and she relies on me for help during circle time.

Additionally, the corridor in which he runs up and down has had large cardboard boxes and equipment that I’ve had to keep him away from so he doesn’t climb and injure himself, and the entire school environment just feels so unsafe all in all and definitely not suitable for him. He is not in a classroom at all, just has a room that has books and building blocks inside with his iPad in there too. The room is not bright and gets stuffy, so it’s very isolating and depressing. I haven’t even been given a CPOMs to log incidents so I just have to continue through the day without managing to log anything other than a note I manage to write in his progress folder, but I miss out on my own outdoor time sometimes or the opportunity to get to know other coworkers in passing conversation because I don’t have the chance to. Sorry there’s no flow to this rant but I’m just really struggling and I don’t feel it’s fair that I’ve been given the responsibility of looking after this child for almost 4 hours without any real training or background information on him. I was thrown in at the deep end, as many other staff commented, and I seem like I’ve adapted when in reality, it’s been an awful struggle. It’s put me off using my degree or going into any jobs working with children in the future as I just feel too exhausted and overwhelmed by the end of the day. My social life and everything has been affected to a huge extent

Any careers in the UK in which I link it to would be appreciated very much.

The reason I’m asking is that it’s just taking me a long time to accept that my primary teaching degree was potentially a waste of time & I would like any suggestions before I fully make up my mind on it. I completed it in August & I didn’t even go on to get my PGCE to follow it on with because I didn’t see it as worth it based on the placements I did & the bad experience I’m having within my current job in achievement support (a role I’ve been in since late February). I just haven’t enjoyed each school environment I’ve been in, even when I was at school myself, and I thought that being a teacher would change that & that I would find it fulfilling after being an overlooked, yet troubled & quiet kid. It’s not the case at all & I feel more like a student again, looked down upon by SLT & every lunch break, the staff spend the full 30 minutes complaining each time about their jobs. It’s not a happy environment at all to be in & I’d prefer to be in something else. I’m not interested in teaching abroad or anything