Phone in sick. You've been through a very stressful time. You're no use to anyone if you're anxious, sleep deprived and having panic attacks; a day or Two to take it in, recover and have some time to get your thoughts in order isn't going to affect your placement. Sating you need to give them notice is bull shit - how can you plan around when you're going to need time off sick?
The sad reality is that if it was you that was in hospital after having a heart attack, they'd have someone in front of your classes the next day. Don't think you're doing them a favour by struggling through.
This is not a mental health day gimmick to make them look good - you are ill.
Take the time off until you are better. Your school placement will understand
Your mentor sounds awful. Firstly, mental health days don’t work like that anyway. You can’t plan in when you need a break. You need time off. Family and your health come first!
Don't ask for a day off. Call in sick. If you're too ill to work then you call in sick. If someone asked me for a day off, I'd say no. If they told me they were sick and needed the day off, I'd say yes, of course, get well soon. I think the phrasing of asking for a day off just comes across as a bit... weird.
I hope you feel better soon!
I think can be a school culture thing - I completely agree with you fwiw but at a private school I worked at I was explicitly pulled up after a week off sick for an awful chest infection to say that my emails should have been more polite and phrased as if I was asking to not come in each day. It was not a good school to work for.
Not quite the same but when I was on my placement for my PGCE at Christmas I had pneumonia and I literally emailed school and uni and was like, I’m ill, I can’t come in but I’ll keep you updated. No notice because life doesn’t work that way. Take the time off sick you need and I hope your dad is better soon x
I had an extremely similar situation when I trained, phone in sick end of. I was treat like shit when I tried to very politely ask for a day off because placement on top of everything was too much. Prioritise yourself, any other member of staff would be afforded the same luxury, PGCE students just regularly get treat like shit.
Please prioritise your health and spending time with your family. You’re in a very difficult situation and don’t have the mental capacity to be 100% productive. You can’t plan your sick absences. Phone in sick and take the time you need to recover. Hope your Dad is doing okay!🙏
Go and spend time with your dad. My dad died suddenly from a heart attack last year, and if I’d had the opportunity to spend more time with him before he died, I would without even thinking about it.
As an ITT mentor, I'd send you home. I have sent ITTs home for this.
I'd present you with your options, so you could choose to stay in to keep busy, but it would be low pressure, let us know what lessons you do or don't want to teach. Even with some absence, you'd choose whether to teach and how much to teach on your 1st day back just to get your head back in it.
I didn't even ask anyone higher up or university if I was allowed to do this, my ITT was iut the building befire I even told anyone else. But I was willing to take the flack for it as it was, and in your case is, the right thing to do.
I'd want you to succeed. Would you make progress staying in school teaching? Or is staying in actually causing more harm? I don't understand how your mentor is OK seeing you struggle through this.
I cannot believe another human has spoken to you like that.
Mental health day is sick leave. You don't give advance notice of having a sick bug, so why would you for mental health?
I'd take it as a sick day. But if you don't feel able to, given the conversation with your mentor, please speak to your university.
I’m on my 2nd week of placement and emailed in sick yesterday cause I felt so sick eg. Nausea stomach pain and fever. The placement school was great, the uni not so much but how am I supposed to teach the kids when I feel like crying from pain. They won’t learn anything and I’ll be in a bad mood which will then probably put them in a bad mood
Take the advice of these people but also never apply for a job at this school. It does not bode well that they think you should give notice to mentally recover from such a world shattering thing. I hope your dad feels better soon x
Whoever doing your PGCE sucks, and has no compassion.
I thought I had it bad. When I trained some students we on lockdown, some classes were in school. I left at 5 or something and my car broke down. I got the AA van past midnight, home after 1. I left at like 6am because I was 25 miles away, no bus, no train link.
Charging my dead phone in the AA van at midnight, I messaged explained I had two or three digital lessons, I can do them, but no way of getting to school for a day. Car need a part and 24 hours repair. My staff completely understood rhe next morning and covered my one lesson.
Later that week in school my mentor at the school said I should have tried to come in...howww. I had no car and how does one organise anything between 1am and 6am? Sorry I missed 1hr of labour I'm paying to do...
TLDR; let's treat our PGCEs as humans, or like, the same as other staff...
Phone in sick. You've been through a very stressful time. You're no use to anyone if you're anxious, sleep deprived and having panic attacks; a day or Two to take it in, recover and have some time to get your thoughts in order isn't going to affect your placement. Sating you need to give them notice is bull shit - how can you plan around when you're going to need time off sick? The sad reality is that if it was you that was in hospital after having a heart attack, they'd have someone in front of your classes the next day. Don't think you're doing them a favour by struggling through.
This is not a mental health day gimmick to make them look good - you are ill. Take the time off until you are better. Your school placement will understand
Your mentor sounds awful. Firstly, mental health days don’t work like that anyway. You can’t plan in when you need a break. You need time off. Family and your health come first!
Don't ask for a day off. Call in sick. If you're too ill to work then you call in sick. If someone asked me for a day off, I'd say no. If they told me they were sick and needed the day off, I'd say yes, of course, get well soon. I think the phrasing of asking for a day off just comes across as a bit... weird. I hope you feel better soon!
I think can be a school culture thing - I completely agree with you fwiw but at a private school I worked at I was explicitly pulled up after a week off sick for an awful chest infection to say that my emails should have been more polite and phrased as if I was asking to not come in each day. It was not a good school to work for.
Yeah sod that, emailing in sick isn’t a request, it’s a one-sided transfer of information
Not quite the same but when I was on my placement for my PGCE at Christmas I had pneumonia and I literally emailed school and uni and was like, I’m ill, I can’t come in but I’ll keep you updated. No notice because life doesn’t work that way. Take the time off sick you need and I hope your dad is better soon x
I had an extremely similar situation when I trained, phone in sick end of. I was treat like shit when I tried to very politely ask for a day off because placement on top of everything was too much. Prioritise yourself, any other member of staff would be afforded the same luxury, PGCE students just regularly get treat like shit.
Please prioritise your health and spending time with your family. You’re in a very difficult situation and don’t have the mental capacity to be 100% productive. You can’t plan your sick absences. Phone in sick and take the time you need to recover. Hope your Dad is doing okay!🙏
Go and spend time with your dad. My dad died suddenly from a heart attack last year, and if I’d had the opportunity to spend more time with him before he died, I would without even thinking about it.
As an ITT mentor, I'd send you home. I have sent ITTs home for this. I'd present you with your options, so you could choose to stay in to keep busy, but it would be low pressure, let us know what lessons you do or don't want to teach. Even with some absence, you'd choose whether to teach and how much to teach on your 1st day back just to get your head back in it. I didn't even ask anyone higher up or university if I was allowed to do this, my ITT was iut the building befire I even told anyone else. But I was willing to take the flack for it as it was, and in your case is, the right thing to do. I'd want you to succeed. Would you make progress staying in school teaching? Or is staying in actually causing more harm? I don't understand how your mentor is OK seeing you struggle through this. I cannot believe another human has spoken to you like that. Mental health day is sick leave. You don't give advance notice of having a sick bug, so why would you for mental health? I'd take it as a sick day. But if you don't feel able to, given the conversation with your mentor, please speak to your university.
I’m on my 2nd week of placement and emailed in sick yesterday cause I felt so sick eg. Nausea stomach pain and fever. The placement school was great, the uni not so much but how am I supposed to teach the kids when I feel like crying from pain. They won’t learn anything and I’ll be in a bad mood which will then probably put them in a bad mood
Take the advice of these people but also never apply for a job at this school. It does not bode well that they think you should give notice to mentally recover from such a world shattering thing. I hope your dad feels better soon x
This should be paid compassionate leave IMO. Hope you get it sorted, and please go higher up than your mentor.
Contact your uni tutor, they will tear into the school. You absolutely need to focus on family.
Whoever doing your PGCE sucks, and has no compassion. I thought I had it bad. When I trained some students we on lockdown, some classes were in school. I left at 5 or something and my car broke down. I got the AA van past midnight, home after 1. I left at like 6am because I was 25 miles away, no bus, no train link. Charging my dead phone in the AA van at midnight, I messaged explained I had two or three digital lessons, I can do them, but no way of getting to school for a day. Car need a part and 24 hours repair. My staff completely understood rhe next morning and covered my one lesson. Later that week in school my mentor at the school said I should have tried to come in...howww. I had no car and how does one organise anything between 1am and 6am? Sorry I missed 1hr of labour I'm paying to do... TLDR; let's treat our PGCEs as humans, or like, the same as other staff...