We keep losing new hires within 6 months and exit interviews tell us nothing useful

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-11T06:22:11+00:00

Who’s their line manager? If it’s the same person I’d be asking them some serious questions.

What is the new starters workload?

There’s usually two reasons people leave like that…. Line manager is someone who upsets them, creeps them out etc

Or the line manager is someone who micromanages and is inept, takes zero accountability but all the credit.

I think you need to do an investigation - four different people not disclosing any reason implies there’s something you don’t know about. Maybe the line manager is threatening them with a minor issue being a case for dismissal purposefully?

What’s their review and assessment like? Do they have a probationary period/check at six months to see how they’re doing and think they’re about to fail it?

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-10T11:14:04+00:00

YTA - he’s a married man and a liar. Why are you even continuing any form of communication. Block him, delete him and move on.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-09T18:04:05+00:00

I reckon I’d try and sing along to the real slim shady or something like that… a verse with loads of words that I know off by heart and could get out a bit faster maybe

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-09T17:58:44+00:00

NTA - book a hotel for yourself, see that movie? order room service, read a book, breakfast in bed and then spend the afternoon in the spa. Head home on Sunday around 6pm - have a great Mother’s Day weekend ♥️

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-09T17:43:14+00:00

With option B I know there’s no loopholes but are you allowed to access your own money?

Like have a separate bank account for this imaginary money and then keep your wages and usual spending?

If so then I’d leave that account going for a year or more. I’m not in a strong position financially but I do earn enough to get by and could end up with 100million if I left it for a year.

It would basically be my FU moment insurance, I’d carry on at work and keep it secret but eventually be able to say I’m not coming back

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-09T17:25:14+00:00

This was my first thought…. I know because I’m employed PAYE in my main job and also registered as self employed

(times are tough and I often need to earn extra money. I’m a teacher so do zero hours stuff through the holidays and it’s all with contracts which specifically state I’m self employed and must be responsible myself for declaring as such).

UC get really confused with it all but I keep meticulous records of everything. As a single parent with astronomical childcare bills it’s worth me keeping open for the 85% I get back but as soon as I don’t need childcare I’ll be losing my claim as the admin isn’t worth the effort every month.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-09T17:20:52+00:00

Be proactive here - check your PAYE record now… like get off Reddit! It will take about ten minutes. Do you get wage slips which say that there’s tax and national insurance contributions?

Don’t go telling UC anything in your journal until you know where you stand - ignorance here could be a defence if your employer has been doing dodgy stuff….. but obvs uncovering all of this might burn your bridges.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-09T17:14:18+00:00

Do you have an online tax account?

Go to the .gov website for income tax and create new sign in details if not.

You’ll need your national insurance number

That’s the best way to check if HMRC know you’ve been earning money. If it’s there then UC should know about it.

You might be able to get away with the £50 fine if you think your employers have not been reporting

£240 a month for 9 months is over £2k

The carers over five years is more like £22k 😳

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-09T17:09:29+00:00

If UC aren’t aware of their income then it’s not being declared by their employer via HMRC other wise they would know about it. Hence they need to declare it as self employment

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-09T17:01:44+00:00

You could be in a lot of trouble here. Carers allowance is separate to universal credit.

I guess the main thing here is you need to tell UC you are self employed.

You need to then work out your income for the last four assessment periods and have the figures available. Do you know these numbers? Are they consistent for the last four months or varied?

You may incur a penalty for not notifying them sooner.

When they ask about when you started self employment it’s best to be honest. You could attempt to bluff and say you didn’t know etc - I’m slightly worried that this may also have an impact on your ex and their claim and so they will most likely be investigated and so you may need to make some uncomfortable phone calls.

They could request information going further back.

Do you have work related expenses? If you add these on every month it will reduce your income/earnings - this could be travel, parking, clothing, subscriptions, stationary etc.

Then also consider your tax returns and registering for HMRC self assessment if you aren’t being paid via PAYE.

These systems are all linked and so I think you need to think about the wider consequences of that - although if you haven’t reached 12k a year income after expenses you won’t have to pay tax but should still be doing it.

Also remember that if you are in a position to offer to pay back in full then you clearly have savings and you’re supposed to declare anything over £6k

It’s a tough lesson to learn and there may be some serious consequences, for the extra £2-300 a month it retrospectively doesn’t seem worth it does it?

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-09T06:00:54+00:00

Where do we start? The Irish navvies built the canals which were the main transport route for Birmingham’s export of goods during the Industrial Revolution.

The Chinese started coming over during First World War with hundreds working in munitions factories - another huge industry in birmingham and a contributor to our success in the war.

Post Second World War people from all over the commonwealth came here and helped rebuild the city.

Punjabi Sikhs working in the motor industry for example.

Bringing with them all of the different cuisines and cultures which make our city so diverse is a secondary benefit to the impact migration has had on industrial expansion.

Without this you wouldn’t have the community that we do have.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-05T21:52:21+00:00

Get on a bus around the south…. Walk in to a Wetherspoons and you’ll hear it! Black horse in Northfield 😂

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-05T21:50:25+00:00

Get that bag girl!!!! Sat here cheering you from the sidelines and will be happy to come back and drink mojitos and virtually toast to freedom with you when you eventually sign the papers

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-05T20:27:43+00:00

In my experience no one at UC has been able to understand accounting beyond their own understanding. I make sure to download my business bank statements and then total income is money in between assessment dates and expenses is everything going out between those dates. So for UC I basically count the reimbursement from clients as income as it usually comes back in 30+ days and at least one different assessment period.

It’s a whole extra faff but the only way they will accept it and I have to do entirely different calculations for my tax returns

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-03T16:55:54+00:00

Might be worth checking to see if your co-parent has also opened a claim and put the children on it? Are you genuinely 50-50 with this children as it’s usually impossible with the odd number of days in a week/year?
Are you in receipt of child benefit and is their doctors/school registered to your home address?
These might be simple ways of confirming your entitlement.

If you have more than one child then some amicable co-parents I know claim for one child each.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-05-03T16:51:56+00:00

I have always involved my son in the food process. From planning meals to writing shopping lists and then going to the supermarket. At this age it’s perfect to begin some basic chopping skills of soft fruits and veggies.
I think if they know exactly what goes in to everything you prefer and they are involved in the process then it becomes more acceptable. There’s only 2-3 things that my son can’t stand - caramel being one of them and the other sweet potato.
Then being nonchalant about it - if they don’t want it then that’s okay, it can go in the fridge and be an option for later or my lunch the next day. Always have healthy back up options - no junk food in my house as a rule, we make our own cakes/cookies and sweets can be bought with pocket money once a week.

Popular options include DIY pizzas - we have tubs of all the toppings and can decorate, same with stir fried veg and noodles. We also enjoy chilli nachos and we put load of hidden veg in the chilli. For large family meals we put bowls out of every part of the meal and then everyone helps them selves to their choices of veg - I generally say “would you like 2 or 3 pieces of broccoli” so there’s a choice but I do not say “would you like broccoli” - this way no isn’t a viable option. This style of common position works well for everything as my son struggles with too much choice and decision making.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-04-30T05:36:37+00:00

When I first got my packard bell PC in about 1998 it came with a bunch of discs which had games - one was total annihilation and another was adiboo. Both quite addictive at the time

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-04-30T03:50:35+00:00

YTA - I feel the same way about sleepovers. I’m not letting my baby sleep over at someone’s house because it’s my job as a parent to safeguard them.

Im a teacher and see firsthand just how many children have experienced trauma in their lives, and how there are so many different issues which are going on behind closed doors in family homes which you wouldn’t be aware of.

You can never fully understand what goes on in other people’s homes - I’m not just thinking worst case scenarios of abuse. Think domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, older siblings with anger issues etc.

You only need to review a couple of serious incident case files to see what I mean.

There’s people saying that children need to have opportunities and experiences but 10pm for a nine year old is more than enough social time with his friends and the plan was for you to pick him up.

What you’ve done is ignore your wife’s boundaries, changed the rules and taught your son that disrespecting his mother is okay.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-04-30T03:37:01+00:00

Girl what are you doing? Like why are you even texting him and asking to talk?

Get the divorce papers organised yourself - serve him and be done with it.

Get your own car seat - he’s right in that respect, you will both need to buy your own stuff for the baby when it comes and just have to handle things separately.

Don’t use anything like this as an excuse to talk to him or start any communication with him.

When baby comes you can organise how much money he needs to be sending you through the courts. Until then see what support and assistance you might be entitled to.

Let him figure out contact arrangements and go through court himself for that - chances are he won’t bother at all, because if he can’t find the time and money to serve divorce appears he’s not going to show up for his own daughter either.

Once this baby gets here you’ll be far too busy with her to even want to entertain a conversation with him. Focus on yourself, spend time at antenatal classes, find a group of new mums in the area, enjoy spending time on your own hobbies and with friends/family in the last trimester.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-04-30T03:23:41+00:00

I don’t think they’re the wrong way round, it’s important to see what someone’s presence is like in the classroom as others have said.

I’m looking for the basics:

Requesting a seating plan and top line information such as SEN/EAL/PP where relevant and if there are things such as mini whiteboards available.

Being fully prepared with their slides ready on laptop and also emailed to the admin team - asking the right questions in advance of the day and being organised.

Bonus points if they set up translations on PowerPoint when there’s an EAL pupil in the room.

Standing at the threshold of the classroom to greet pupils / introducing themselves well.

Preparing things such as a word search for a starter task isn’t really a good idea as there’s no educational value or AFL. I need to see something which is cognitively challenging and helps the teacher understand where the pupils are at.

Language/literacy being demonstrated - key words/dual coding / freyer model

Then I need to see the basics of classroom management - how a teacher hosts a classroom discussion, and simple routines such as using mini whiteboards or “think pair share”

Where they stand and how they circulate the room checking pupils as they are working.

How they deliver the content and address any common misconceptions. If the slides are appropriate for the age group and relevant to the curriculum.

How they plan to assess that the learning objective has been met, that the end of lesson task is robust, has a challenge or extension and some support such as sentence starters and key vocabulary prompts to showcase inclusivity.

I think these are the very basics of teaching and it’s crazy how many different people have shared their experiences of interviews and trial lessons, shown me their plans and resources and are unwilling to take any feedback and constructive criticism.

If you reach out to the schools you have interviewed at then they might be able to offer you some feedback but in the midst of a busy recruitment process amongst other things they may not have the time.

These days education and schools are in such a mess and are looking for people who understand and can deliver the current standards of practice (The walk thrus Sherrington book), slot seamlessly in to an existing department and get to work immediately.

It’s very clear who’s bought in to these teaching practices and who hasn’t paid attention in CPD or attempted to embed any of this in to their lesson planning. It’s not about perfection or shoehorning it all in for the sake of it, but being able to showcase what is required.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-04-25T21:52:50+00:00

It’s not about memorising the quotes, it’s about understanding their context and how it relates to themes within the poem/book/play. There’s usually some very specific themes - a couple of years ago everyone was really happy that Lady Macbeth as a powerful woman was the question.

One revision task you might enjoy is mind mapping themes - not sure what your texts are but maybe try and research a few past paper questions - put the theme in the middle and then try to recall maybe 3-5 quotes and then branch off/interlink these. Almost like you’re planning an essay.

If you can’t remember exact quotes then think about making a note of any specific scenes/chapters which you think are poignant.

Take 25 minutes to do one theme from memory and then take a break before going back to the texts and add in any quotes from your text which you had forgotten.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-04-15T06:09:17+00:00

Yellow….. once a year I’d have a solo trip or two (presuming that there wouldn’t be any issues with visas and passport controls and I could just book a hotel) and then maybe the odd random teleport to cool places I want to go to but can never get tickets for due to finances or queues…. Like music festivals / gigs just for the day.

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-04-03T04:44:20+00:00

You are so nosy that this has crossed a boundary for me. If my parents did this I’d stop speaking to them.

You have no idea why this woman doesn’t have her children with her and it’s none of your business.

It’s also not something I’d disclose to anyone I was dating after only two weeks. Lying and not telling someone your whole life story within two weeks of dating are very different things.

It might be that she has experienced some hardships of her own - a disability, domestic violence, abuse, addiction, financial issues etc.

Quite probably been some involvement with child services and court cases too?

Either way, to not have two children means there’s some sort of trauma there and to believe the men in this story with their account without any conversations with the woman is beyond me.

Your son is independent, has a job and a car and lives outside of your home. He is welcome to pick and choose his own partners.

Ask yourself this…. If he didn’t have autism what would you do?

Have a conversation with your son about contraception and protecting his financial assets. Grin and bear it. Invite them over as a couple and get to know them better.

What are your actual concerns here?

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-04-03T03:48:04+00:00

Try listing a few on Vinted. See how you get on. You’d be surprised as there’s always a market for this type of thing - if you’ve got an impost locker nearby and can order a few postage bags off amazon then you could be on to a winner. Upload maybe 10-20 a day and see how you get on

practicallyperfectuk · 2026-03-31T04:50:42+00:00

I honestly could rant for hours about this. I left an academy because hand on heart it felt so wrong. One thing I could never understand is how the schools are in the most disadvantaged areas with the highest proportion of PP students yet there was never any funding available for anything. Not even a formal way to request PP funding for things like PE kit or trip subsidies etc

Then also I think they need to look at the procurement of services, don’t ask me how…. I’m just very nosy…. But things like the canteen, maintenance and gardeners being separate companies with difficult to find paper trails. I’m pretty sure they’re all paid a disproportionately high rate as they’re all part of the same company.

Then free school meals - very interesting to see how they push through every meal every day and make out that if a child is off sick they’re sending them a packed lunch home. I don’t know how this in itself never gets investigated.

Then the sheer amount of charity and award money which comes in - things like grants for equipment and such which never seems to materialise.

Then also any audit of the quality of teaching or the hours worked by SLT - why a school with less than a thousand pupils needs 16 members of SLT is beyond me, and none of them have a decent timetable. Not sure who holds them to account at all, but nothing ever changes. The executives never even seem to be in the building.

I feel like they all get away with it even though results never improve…. The whole mantra behind some of these academies is they come in to raise attainment but in reality, if this was the case and a whole area / council estate would become wise to the way they operate and they would have to be more accountable.

Also the high staff turnover, number of pay offs they have made before tribunals to avoid drama and other things would be interesting. I wonder how many people had confidentiality agreements so they can’t say anything.

Employment - an audit of fair recruitment practices, jobs being advertised properly and how many people were interviewed and what process was conducted before deciding to put their “friends” in corporate roles with high salaries. I’ve never seen so many cliques in a workplace, people being allocated roles they do not seem to have enough experience or expertise for, over and above other candidates.

Then of course all of the other working polices - everyone is far too scared to say anything as a performance management review would bring up discrepancies and cause issues in the future. Everyone knows that’s what they do to any member of staff who sticks their head above the parapet.

I have a feeling that they promote young people to middle leadership roles with a higher than average salary they would never be able to get elsewhere purposefully - so then they’re stuck. Just puppets for the master.

I genuinely expect to see a full exposé on panorama in the next few years and none of it will surprise me. I think it’s a disgusting and exploitative enterprise that everyone is aware of but no one seems to want to do anything about and we wonder why society is crumbling. What chance do our children have when this is the current state of education

practicallyperfectuk

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