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Good evening all!

I so apologise for my absence this term - it has been ridiculous, even by my standards, but hey, half term and two seconds to stick my head up and say hello. Hope you're all fine and dandy.

I have a big problem/dilemma which I could really do with your help on, please. I have to give up all my after school teaching as of September so am preparing to break the news to all my pupils after half term. I feel dreadful about it, especially the ones who I've been teaching for years and have become as much friends as pupils. (And the one who's mother has sent me an email this evening telling me I'm a miracle worker ) Please, all of you, how do you think I should go about telling them, or, put another way, if it was you receiving the news, how would you like to be told? I'm going around in circles with this one and am in danger of disappearing up the inevitable destination!

All opinions very gratefully received xx

If you have a good relationship with the people you teach, sending out a generic letter will be to impersonal, which leaves either a phone call or imo your best option, which would be to tell them during their scheduled lesson time, possibly at the end of the lesson.

Depending on how quickly you need to stop teaching, it may be an idea to finish off pupils who are at the point of doing exams in say May or June time. For all others, you could continue teaching until they find their own teacher, but provide a cut-off point for this "phasing-out" arrangement.

Thanks, Mark. You've confirmed my own thoughts regarding the impersonal nature of a general email to everybody. I was considering going to see the parents of the pupils I'm most concerned about so that they can tell their children at an appropriate time, but time is so limited from my point of view that I think probably a phone call outside of normal lesson times will be my best approach. I have also spoken to a friend and colleague of mine who lives locally and has a few vacancies, the idea being that I shall feel less awful and it will be easier to tell my pupils if I have someone as a back up for them. Ooh, this is such a difficult one! It would be much easier if i was doing it because I wanted to rather than had to....

just to update you all - the deed is done and all my pupils now know I'm no longer teaching. Many of them are staying in touch as friends and I have now found new teachers for all of them. I'm still going through the mourning process and nearly choked on the words when I turned away a new Grade 4 pupil in September But, hey, aren't I going to be a Supermum from now on?!