Before I get into it I just want to point out that I am leaving in July.
So I currently work in a UK primary school as a teaching assistant, working with children with extreme needs.
I love my job and working with the children but it is exhausting. I started working with a new lad after Christmas and he was very violent and it was taking all my energy to work with him for half a day every day. I mentioned it to my boss and he agreed that it would be best to put an additional member of staff with us every morning to support me.
This was great and it was working really well to the point the lads behaviour was getting better and he was really settling down.
Until a few weeks back, we had a lot of staff shortages due to covid and my additional staff member got taken off me. Fair enough. Needs must.
But I never got that person back when staff came back.
I've mentioned to my boss how exhausting it is working alone again and how it's clearly affrcted the lad as he's slowly going back to how he was. But my boss just sort of palms me off saying stuff like “I'll look into it” or “everyone is really tired at the moment so it wouldn't be fair for me to expect them to work with [the child]”.
It's gotten to the point that I'm having to use my lunch break (30 minutes) to have a nap in my car. And my boss knows this. Jokes about this. And yet has not once asked me if I'm ok or offered any support.
And he knows I have medical issues that will be exacerbated by being tired!
Honestly I don't know how to survive right now. I can't quit because I need the money for uni (I start in October hence me leaving at the end of the school year) and there's no point getting quitting and finding somewhere else for the sake of 4 months.