2 years ago today

Written 09/09/2020

Published 01/09/2022

This is the embarrassingly true story of how I introduced myself to my new colleagues on the first day of the 2020/2021 academic year.

At the end of the 2020 summer term, after many months of seeking employment, I was delighted to be offered a maternity cover at a school where I had previously taught. To prepare me to join the school at the beginning of October, I was asked to attend safeguarding training on Tuesday 1st September 2020.

On the night before the training, I could not remember the start time. I had vague memories of an email I’d been sent in mid-July, but I decided to lean on my experience, which told me it would begin at either 9 or 9:30am. I thought I’d play it safe and set off to get there for 8:50am the next morning.

I arrived to find 2 vans parked in front of the school and 2 men trying to get their deliveries into the building. One was phoning the school, but there was no answer. The front doors were locked and there was nobody in the main reception area. I peered in through the staff room window – and every other window at the front of the school, but there was no sign of anyone.

‘That’s strange,’ I thought to myself, ‘Perhaps I’m in the wrong place.’

My phone calls to my job-share-to-be and the headteacher both went straight to voicemail.

I reckoned the delivery men needed to get on with their day’s work and I wondered if I could help by finding a way in for all of us. I had noticed one of the staff room’s sash windows was slightly open. I opened it fully and removed the glass vase from the windowsill… I considered climbing in, but risk assessed the drop from the windowsill to the staff room floor and abandoned that plan. Instead, I stuck my head through the window and called out,

“Hello! Is anybody there?”

I paused, inhaled deeply, cupped my hands around my mouth like a megaphone, engaged my diaphragm and tried again…

“HELLO! CAN SOMEBODY LET ME IN? THERE’S AN IKEA DELIVERY WAITING!”

I turned around and saw one of the admin team by the now open door (I didn’t realise she had been patiently standing behind me, waiting for me to finish shouting through the window). The kind lady let me in, ahead of the Ikea delivery, and gently informed me that the training had started at 8:30am.

The doors inside the building were open for ventilation (also aiding voice projection through the corridors…). I tip-toed into the large hall, which is next to the staff room, and discovered it was full of socially-distanced TAs, admin staff, cleaning staff, teachers, lunchtime supervisors, and the crossing patrol.

From the other end of the hall, the headteacher greeted me (far more warmly than I deserved),

“Hi, Julia, there’s an empty chair down here at the front.”

Thankfully, I found a socially-distanced seat at the side, near the back. I quietly sat down and pinched my upper arm between my thumb and forefinger in the hope that this was a bad dream. It wasn’t.

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In Tesco the following day, I saw my friend – who works at the school and had been at the staff training.

“Oh, Lynda! How embarrassing was yesterday!” I cringed, “Please tell me I wasn’t as loud as I thought I was… Was I?”

With a twinkle in her eye, she looked straight at me and silently nodded her head slowly up and slowly down, slowly up and slowly down, slowly up and slowly down.

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MY FIVE KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Experience can’t always be trusted.

2. All my new colleagues now know who I am.

3. I can effectively make myself heard when I need to be.

4. Risk assessments are a good idea.

5. Always remember to read emails thoroughly and make a note of the date, venue and time of future events.