Mother-of-two Ianthe Brown felt as if she was juggling ‘grenades’ when it came to balancing her work and personal life – but a sad moment led to her ending her career at one school
08:00, 04 Apr 2026Updated 08:47, 04 Apr 2026
Ianthe Brown quit after her simple request was refused
After 18 years of juggling her work and life balance one simple request pushed her to breaking point.
Ianthe Brown, of Southampton, was trying to manage the demands of the classroom at the same time as raising her two neurodivergent daughters at home, in a constant juggle.
With her husband also being a teacher, finding a balance felt like an uphill battle for the couple, who were paying over £1,000 a month for childcare. No breakfast club or after school care available at their children’s school, Ianthe requested just 20 minutes of flexibility at the start of the school day so she could take her kids to school.
But she was devastated when the flexible working request was denied – and made a huge decision to leave her job after her appeal failed.
She said: “That was devastating. I’d given 18 years to that school and it felt meaningless. It felt less like a conversation and more like I was on trial.”
READ MORE: Teacher shares abuse that forced her to quit – from parents as well as children
Ianthe was teaching at the same school for 18 years (Image: Ianthe Brown)
The pressure had been building for Ianthe, 41, who began her career as an English teacher, gradually taking on more and more responsibilites over the years. She became the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, the school’s Mental Health Lead and a qualified trauma practitioner supporting pupils facing significant personal challenges.
“My priority has always been the child. I wanted to advocate for them and support them however I could,” she said, but her workload just kept piling up. Ianthe said she was also loaded with becoming a PSHE and Religious Education teacher ontop of her already growing workload.
“I wasn’t just wearing different hats,” she said. “I was juggling grenades.” Ianthe was supporting students who had been through severe trauma and multiple adverse childhood experiences. Meaning her work was meaningful, but relentless. “I was fighting for things that needed to be fought for. But it felt like I was talking to a brick wall.”
The mounting pressure started to take its toll, and rarely taking a sick day, Ianthe was signed off with severe anxiety and depression. “My doctor made it clear what I was experiencing was environmental. It was the job,” she detailed, and knew at this point she couldn’t continue.
“If I’d kept going in that environment, I honestly don’t know where I would be now. I had to stop.” Ianthe took the time to focus on recovery, consisting of lots of long walks, which helped to quiet her mind, and give her the space to think about what to do next.
This is when the former teacher heard about Minerva Virtual Academy [MVA], the UK’s fastest growing independent online school for students aged 11-18. “I’d been watching what they were doing for some time. Everything they talked about felt aligned with what I believed education should be.”
The mother-of-two was struggling to balance her work and personal life(Image: Ianthe Brown)
Applying while she had been signed off from her school, and not long after the appeal, Ianthe received an email inviting her to the next stage of MVA’s interview process. “I remember thinking, this is it!” she recalled.
Now, Ianthe works as Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, supporting the wellbeing and safety of students across the UK and internationally. She has noticed the freedom and flexibility in her new role, something she never found with her former school. She can take her daughters to school in the morning without any hassle and start her day afterwards.
For the first time in years, she says the constant stress and anxiety have lifted. “I don’t have that fear anymore. I’m not lying awake at night worrying.” Now she has noticed the positive change for her family too.
Her eldest daughter, who has dyslexia, dyscalculia and ADHD, needs additional support before and after school, and Ianthe can be there for her now. “I never stopped caring about the students. I just needed a way to do the job without destroying myself in the process.”
She now feels happier with her flexible schedule to fit around her family(Image: Ianthe Brown)
“People say I look completely different. They say I look happier,” she gushed. But sadly her story isn’t a standalone one. It reflects a huge crisis in teachers feeling burnt out. According to a new survey of 1,000 secondary teachers commissioned by MVA, 70% of secondary teachers say stress has affected their teaching, while 74% say they have considered leaving the profession due to stress or burnout and nearly half 48% say they considered leaving within their first 12 months after qualifying, citing stress as the main driver.
45% have called themselves a “bad teacher” during severe burnout and nearly two thirds (63%) say they feel guilty that stress has affected the quality of teaching they provide
Hugh Viney, founder and CEO of MVA, said “If we want teachers to stay in the profession, we need to redesign the job rather than expect them to absorb ever-increasing pressure. We need to stop asking them to be one-person factories.” Alternative models like online schools could be a way to retain experienced teachers.