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May 27, 2025 45 mins

In this powerful first part of our conversation with Jeannette Thompson-Wessen, we hear how a passionate, dedicated food technology teacher went from being earmarked for leadership to being bullied, ignored and broken. After returning from maternity leave, the praise disappeared, the support vanished, and the treatment became so toxic it pushed her to the brink.

Jeannette shares her early love of teaching, her impact on students in a deprived area, and how it all began to unravel – from sudden hostility to being shouted at while heavily pregnant. This episode is a raw and unfiltered look at what happens when good teachers are treated appallingly by the very systems that should protect them.

Trigger Warning: Mental health, bullying, pregnancy discrimination.


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