On 4 January 2022, I rang the headteacher at Millbrook and asked to reduce my hours.
I had been away since Alan died. The school had told me not to think about work, which was sensible advice from people who still needed the work done.
I proposed eighteen hours over three days. The headteacher asked whether I was sure I wanted to return so soon.
‘I am sure I do not want to return full time.’
That was the clearest answer I had.
We agreed that I would come back the following Monday and review the arrangement later. She sent written confirmation. I read it twice, signed it and returned it.
Pauline rang that evening.
‘Don’t resign this week,’ she said. ‘You can always resign later.’
‘I haven’t resigned.’
‘Good. Then I’ve arrived in time.’
My first morning back, several people told me it was good to see me. One person asked where the spare toner was kept. The toner question helped most because I knew the answer.
The school had continued without me. Attendance had been recorded, invoices had been paid and nobody had lost the admissions files. I had expected this. I still found the evidence unnecessary.
I worked through the backlog and corrected a few things that did not need correcting immediately. The headteacher sent me home at the agreed time.
Three days gave the week some order. I dealt with attendance queries, supplier invoices, admissions paperwork and messages from parents. I did not have to explain Alan every hour. Most people knew, and those who did not were told quietly by somebody else.
At work, the tasks had answers.
At home, the workdays were easier to account for. I had gone somewhere, completed what was in front of me and returned. The other days still needed decisions.
After several weeks, the headteacher asked whether I wanted the arrangement to remain temporary.
I said I wanted to keep it.
The reduced hours became my contracted pattern. I stayed for another eighteen months.