Latest news with #Nemours
The Sun
14-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
I quit my ‘ridiculously stressful' UK teaching job for one in France – overtime is banned & there's NO admin
A SINGLE mum has shared why she ditched the UK and her teaching job for life in France. Anna Britten, 49, packed up and left the UK for the French countryside with her two teen sons. 3 3 3 The mum says her "ridiculously stressful" job as an assistant head teacher in the UK would see her regularly work 45 hour weeks and never taking lunch breaks. She always felt "attached" to France thanks to family holidays but put her dream of moving abroad to one side while raising her sons, aged 14 and 16. But when the pandemic left her "despairing" of life in the UK she quit and began looking at jobs in France. The perfect teaching role came up near Nemours, France, and she decided to go for it and moved out in August 2024. Thanks to French laws she can't work more than 35 hours a week and only has to attend school for the lessons she teaches - with no tutor groups, assemblies and admin. Her sons have thrived, no longer having to wear uniform, and getting at least an hour for lunch. Anna still has to do marking - but can fit it in when she's not teaching instead of having to do it in the evenings. She teaches classes of only 14 students - compared to 30 in the UK - and despite taking a pay cut for this role she'd never go back to teaching in the UK. Anna, an English teacher, from Nottingham, said: "I've always loved the French culture - we work to live rather than live to work. "I'm happier out here. I just think the UK is a stressful way of living, people enjoy the moment out here. "Lunch is so important here - no one would dream of not stopping. "In the UK I didn't have a lunch break - people work through lunch. "It's a nicer way of life. It's more relaxed." Anna spent a lot of time in France as a child so it feels like a second home for her. She spent a year living out there aged 27 but when she moved back and met her teenage boys' dad she settled into UK life. She said: "I got caught up in life in England. (But) the pandemic made me question a lot of things. "I wanted to step away from my stressful life - being an assistant head it was ridiculously stressful. "Then there was Brexit - I started to despair with the UK." Anna had stepped away from teaching in the UK into charity work when she spotted the role in France and decided to go for it - taking her two teens and their four cats along with her. They moved in August last year - and despite the "nightmare" paperwork Anna and her boys are loving it. Anna said getting a visa was a "massive process" and took a couple of months and lots of documentation but was easier than some find it as she had the job secured. She said: "My youngest is really happy here. My eldest got to escape his GCSEs. "It's opened up opportunities - they are becoming bilingual. "They'll have an international bachelorette. There are more opportunities than growing up in Nottingham." Anna loves and her teens love that there is no school uniform policy. She said: "As a teacher and a parent I always hated uniform. It makes them all identical and it's uncomfortable. "The school days are longer here - 8.20am until 5.30pm. But they have a long lunch break - a minimum of an hour. "I only have to come in for the lessons I teach. I don't have the other nonsense - tutor groups, assemblies and admin. "The atmosphere in UK schools is stress." She said her kids "enjoy" school more now and are learning to speak French - and Anna can speak the language well. The French laws means she can only work a 35 hour week and the school holidays are also longer - and they have already broken up in early July - and won't go back until September. Anna said: "We have time in the day for marking and planning. We get a lot longer holidays. Two weeks at Christmas, two weeks at easter and two in October. "I'm earning about the same now as if I was on a main scale teaching job in the UK. Everything you need to know about visiting France Brits need to have a passport with at least three months left on it. No visas are needed for anyone staying up to 90 days within an 180-day period but you need to make sure your passport is stamped on entry and exit. You may also need to show proof of accommodation and funds, around €120 a day. The country uses the euro with with around €10 working out to £8.55. France is one hour ahead of the UK Direct flights to France from the UK take between 1-4 hours depending on the destination Or you can travel by train with Eurostar, with destinations including Paris or Lille. Direct ferry services also operate between the UK and France, with some journeys taking 90 minutes. "I have taken a salary cut - that was a leadership role. If I was to go to England - I would be earning similar to what I'm earning now but it's more stressful "I'd never do it. Money wasn't my reason for doing anything." Anna said her kids have adapted really well to leaving friends and family in England. She said: "They have made lots of new friends." Cost-wise Anna hasn't noticed a huge difference - but rents a four bed house an hour out of Paris for €1,300 a month. In the UK, she rented a four-bed house in Nottingham for £900. She said: "Eating out is cheaper. "It's a whole new lifestyle. "Being so close to Paris - full of beauty and culture - is an incredible opportunity for the boys." Anna hopes to inspire others to make that change in their life - whatever it might be. She said: "As I've got older I've got braver.
CBS News
26-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
How a magic new treatment for scoliosis is helping kids in Delaware
How a new technology called "magic rods" is helping this young cheerleader thrive How a new technology called "magic rods" is helping this young cheerleader thrive How a new technology called "magic rods" is helping this young cheerleader thrive Doctors at Nemours Children's Hospital in Delaware are treating a common spine condition with something called "magic rods." For one little girl with scoliosis, the rods are making a big difference. Seven-year-old Sadie Mears has a lot to cheer about. Despite having scoliosis, a curved spine, she's able to move freely. "Every single time she performed, I cried because it was just so great to see her, so happy and able to kind of do whatever she wanted to do," Sadie's mom, Ashley Mears, said. Sadie's spine is being treated with a technology called MAGnetic Expansion Control — or MAGEC rods. After the rods are surgically implanted, they can be slowly expanded with internal and external magnets, Dr. Suken Shah with Nemours Children's Hospital said. "They are magic in some sense because you can lengthen without surgery," Shah said. Sadie gets treatment three times a year, her doctor said. After the rods are surgically implanted, they can be slowly lengthened with internal and external magnets. "We apply the magnet that talks to the internal magnet, the rods grow, and she goes back to school, mom goes back to work, and they can kind of lead a pretty normal life during this time," Shah said. It's less invasive than traditional scoliosis treatments, which often involve body casts and surgeries. "It's all related to quality of life. If we can keep the surgical episodes to a minimum, they get less trauma, they get less pain, and it's less intrusive on their life, and they can go to be a kid again," Shah said. Sadie also has Sotos syndrome, which causes developmental challenges, but in addition to being on a special cheering squad, she's playing softball. "It doesn't really matter if you win or lose," Sadie said. "It's just about having fun and trying your best." She'll eventually need to have a more permanent spinal rod when she's finished growing. "She's able to kind of live a full normal life now," her mom said. Sadie has had the magic rods for almost a year, and her mom said she's grown about two inches. They're grateful for the magic technology and the smiles it's bringing to Sadie.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-Brandywine school therapist whose arrest rocked district pleads guilty to raping child
The former Brandywine School District emotional support therapist whose fabrication of his credentials embroiled the district in scandal last summer and led to the firing of a top administrator has pleaded guilty to raping a child. John Arnold was arrested in July and charged with repeatedly raping a non-Brandywine student. On Wednesday, the 48-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree rape, the Delaware Department of Justice confirmed. A sentencing date has not yet been set, though the charges require a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years in prison. Arnold's arrest and Delaware Online/The News Journal's subsequent reporting kicked off a chain of events within Brandywine that ultimately led to the firing of Nicole Warner, the district's then-director of educational services. Warner's termination stemmed from inaction by both her and her subordinate − Supervisor of Special Education Compliance Melissa Frabizzio − after a Nemours Children's Health psychologist who was treating one of Arnold's students raised concerns about Arnold in the spring of 2024. At the time, Arnold worked at Lombardy Elementary School. None of the concerns were sexual in nature; rather, they centered on Arnold's treatment of the student, his credentials and his behavior toward an intern at Nemours. Despite Frabizzio promising Nemours that the district would conduct a "full investigation," the claims – many of which were later proven true – weren't looked into for months. It was only after Arnold's arrest that Brandywine's Human Resources Department was made aware. The psychologist, Zach Radcliff, first raised the concerns to Lombardy Principal Michael McDermott and Assistant Principal Cara Beach in April, which resulted in only minor action being taken. He then followed up with more detailed concerns in early May. STORY: Multiple Brandywine school leaders knew of claims against therapist. Only 1 faces firing Radcliff included Frabizzio on the May email. Frabizzio later replied to Radcliff, saying she had notified Warner, her then-supervisor. Frabizzio also promised that the district would "conduct a full investigation." But that never happened. Neither Warner, Frabizzio, McDermott nor Beach alerted the district's Department of Human Resources about the claims. At a January termination hearing requested by Warner, Warner and Frabizzio blamed each other for the inaction, while McDermott and Beach said they were following the district's "chain of command" policy. Though those exact words are not included in the district's employee handbook, a section titled 'conflict resolution' clearly defines a reporting structure for complaints or problems. Nowhere in the policy are employees discouraged from bypassing their supervisors. Yet in practice, the policy made employees reluctant to circumvent their direct supervisors − even if they felt an issue didn't receive the attention it deserved, an investigation by an outside party found. This was also reiterated in Warner's termination hearing. STORY: How a district policy kept Brandywine leaders from reporting claims about school therapist Brandywine School District told Delaware Online/The News Journal in February that it had not changed any policy language since the Arnold incident. However, staff underwent "extensive training" that covered "all employees' responsibilities, including administrators, to mandatorily report any concerns or issues that relate to possible violations of contracts, board policies, district policies, or laws/statutes," said district spokesperson Bill O'Hanlon. Last winter, board members raised the idea of adopting a whistleblower policy to protect staff. This was 'long before' the Arnold revelations came to light, O'Hanlon said. The conversation was renewed at September and October board meetings, with members ultimately agreeing that state law already provided district employees with whistleblower protections. As a result, the board instead directed the district to add a section about whistleblower protections to the employee handbook. The district's attorney later reviewed and approved the language. At a February board meeting, members briefly discussed the policy again. No official action was taken. Warner was also officially fired at that meeting. Last week, the district announced Natalie Hess had been hired to fill her spot. Got a story tip or idea? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@ For all things breaking news, follow her on X at @izzihughes_ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Former Brandywine school therapist pleads guilty to raping child
