During the early 1980s, when corporal punishment (though rarer) hadn’t totally disappeared from British schools, I worked as a teacher. I had taken a break from work when Daniel, our only child, arrived on the scene. I went back to the classroom when he was eight, working at a local middle school where I was very happy.
Unfortunately, after about a year I was made redundant due to cutbacks in the council’s education budget, and was left looking for another job. I interviewed for several other permanent posts but couldn’t find anything. Eventually, a fellow parent informed me that the local independent prep school which my son attended was looking for a maternity cover.