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Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

1 2

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

The staffroom

Can you tell me about this list.

40 replies

BBQWrap · 06/02/2013 19:50

Just testing my name change worked before posting properly...

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BBQWrap · 06/02/2013 19:57

Excellent

Ok.

teachers made to stay after school three nights a week, a total of three and a half hours - mandatory.
members of the SMT asking other members of staff not to show observation comments to external mentors.
teachers being made to fill in school evaluations under the presence of a member of the SMT and also asked to initial it.
members of the SMTs family being employed without an interview process.
new members of the team being shouted at, called names and made to cry on two occasions, by members of the SMT.

Can someone tell me something about this list?

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Flisspaps · 06/02/2013 20:08

TSIBVU

Academy?

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BBQWrap · 06/02/2013 20:16

Not an academy, no.

The list doesn't stop there either, the explanations just get more in depth.

I'm new, and I have never worked in a school before. I'm stressed, I panic every time I see one of the SMT, I feel drained and under pressure all the time. I just wondered what other teachers thought!

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Flisspaps · 06/02/2013 20:41

I'm not a teacher (have worked in a school, have been a school governor and am married to a teacher though) - and it still sounds like a nightmare school.

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ninah · 06/02/2013 20:41

nothing shocks me about your list I wish it still did

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noblegiraffe · 06/02/2013 20:44

What's your union doing about it?

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BBQWrap · 06/02/2013 20:46

This isn't part of the list, but it's just something that I'm wondering - are unscheduled observations allowed?

And are lesson plans (lesson broken down into intro, task, plenary, skills to be improved, list of resources, assessment opportunities) for every single lesson normal in other schools?

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BBQWrap · 06/02/2013 20:48

Other members of staff have been advised tht, should they go to their union, the HT wouldn't have a leg to stand on. It's a very successful school, though, and jobs are in short supply.

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MatchsticksForMyEyes · 06/02/2013 20:49

My school is like that. It is in the contracts of new staff ( and probably ours once the 3yrs of adhering to pre-academy T&C) that we cannot discuss anything about fight clubthe academy to anyone outside of it.

Also the principals 2 dc ( both former pupils) have been employed here. 1 is the highest paid clerical officer, paid more than the exams officer. Her DD's bf is being trained on the job as a teacher despite not even having A levels. I despair. I am not surprised at all by your list.

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Panzee · 06/02/2013 20:51

Only students should plan like that.

Time to print a few of these out and stick them up:

www.teachers.org.uk/files/Workload-A5-Card-7164.pdf

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AViewfromtheFridge · 06/02/2013 20:52

Do you have a union rep? DEFINITELY get together with other members of the union and decide on a plan of action.

It sounds awful, and not what teaching should be at all.

Legally, they can't make you stay, nor submit lesson plans, and the shouting at shouldn't be tolerated in any profession.

Does your local authority have a whistle-blowing hotline you can ring?

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TicTacSir · 06/02/2013 20:52

Sorry but... meh.
Worked in a school like this for years and yes they do get away with it.
Not fair, but unfortunately it's not uncommon.
Sorry though.

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GW297 · 06/02/2013 20:55

Sounds like my old school! Update your CV and keep a look out for any good jobs coming up soon.

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TicTacSir · 06/02/2013 20:57

AViewFromTheFridge the thing is, staff are made to fear SMT so much they don't dare ring unions or local education authority, being told that they're beneath it all.
I don't want to go into my own experiences in a bullying school... it's a whole new thread.
OP - personal experience tells me you'll get more and more anxious and stressed. For your own sake, and career, move on. I wish I'd had the courage to

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BBQWrap · 06/02/2013 21:11

It sounds a bit silly, but what with all the different family members, it's difficult to talk candidly to colleagues about it - even if you can see it going on in front of it.

The thing is. I stay till late anyway because I'm new and IMO it's just what I need to do ATM. That doesn't mean to say that five years down the line I couldn't leave at 3.45 a couple of days a week. But it's not allowed.

I haven't complained about the lesson plans because, coming straight out of training, I thought it was normal.

Already I'm having nightmares about school. I'm not sleeping properly, I developed a twitch in my eye this morning because of the constant feeling if being on edge and it hasn't stopped yet.

The sad thing is, I enjoy the actual teaching, I really do, but the whole experience has put me off. That's part of the reason I'm teaching - because if this is normal I don't think I can cope with another fifty years. I look at the older teachers and they rarely smile, no one talks to each other for fear of it getting back to someone it wasn't meant for.

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BBQWrap · 06/02/2013 21:11

OP posts:

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AViewfromtheFridge · 06/02/2013 21:12

I work in a school where there is a fairly militant union presence, so I can't really relate to the culture of fear. It's so wrong, though! Makes me really mad.

I'm sorry you're going through this, OP. Not all schools are like that!

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Hassled · 06/02/2013 21:14

If I were you I would find out which of your governors chairs the Staffing/Personnel committee (sometimes it's called something like Resources) and email him/her.

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BBQWrap · 08/02/2013 15:33

So... I'm pretty certain I'm going to look for something else over half term. Tesco, receptionist, whatever, and hope to god I can find something that starts soon.

Yuk.
I knew I should have trained as a nurse

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Marlinspike · 08/02/2013 15:40

Err - have you not seen the NHS report published this week op? Not sure nursing would be a better option!

My understanding of directed time is that it includes more that teaching time, and therefore it could be reasonable for staff to be directed to stay after the teaching day ends - do you have training sessions or meetings at these times? Do you also know that the family members weren't interviewed - and maybe the clerical role is graded higher than exams officer - do you know what it incorporates?

This said, the rest of your post sounds like it is an oppressive atmosphere, and not a pleasant place to work.

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BBQWrap · 08/02/2013 15:49

Ha, I know nurses are having a shocking time at the moment too

I know for a fact that at least one of them didn't have to go through the interview process.

I don't really have a problem with the hours that we are meant to stay because I find them useful. My main problem is the bullying and the rest of the oppressive culture. Individually, the majority of staff are lovely. There are just a few members of the SMT that basically have a reign of terror

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GinAndSlimlinePlease · 08/02/2013 16:01

My lovely DH is having similar problems. It really sucks.

The HT treats him like a child who has forgotten to do all their homework, regardless of whether the children are making any progress.

And yes, I'm biased, but I have managed plenty of poor performers in my time, and I would never ask for their meeting plans in advance and then annotated after etc, rather than focus on outcomes....

Sorry you're in this shitty place OP. I hope things improve/you find a better job.

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cardibach · 10/02/2013 17:42

Unsurprising but unreasonable.
If I were to list all the similar things at my school (also not Academy) I would completely out myself, but I will say that 3 out of 6 senior leadership positions are held by relatives of the Head.
I don;t want to write more as I am currently being bullied and hounded by the Head despite good/excellent results at both GCSE and A Level. I need a new job.

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mousebacon · 10/02/2013 20:13

Please don't let your school make you leave the profession altogether. Seriously, get your cv and covering letter sorted and find a new school. I've worked in three in the last ten years and they have all been very different in terms of workload/ethos/nutcase heads.

Good luck.

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Haveacrumpet · 11/02/2013 02:31

Find a new school. I've worked in a horrible environment like that before, and leaving was the best thing I did. No school I've worked in is perfect. It's Sunday night where I am, and I have that nervous feeling in my stomach, despite the fact that I like my school. I think it's because I've got an unannounced observation on the horizon - sigh. It never ends... But some schools are better than others, so just hang in there if you can, apply for all the jobs available, and just remember it's the school you don't like, not the teaching.

Don't know if this is just me, but ever since the recession hit, it feels like schools think it's ok to make things tougher on teachers because of the 'we should just be lucky to have a job in the first place' mentality.