Teacher leaving due to bullying SLT

What tends to happen is good people are bullied out of jobs/roles so only nasty people are left, they climb the greasy pole and become SLT...even if it means they aren't capable or competent, they become SLT/head teachers...things have gotten worse kids behaviour ect/pay/work conditions so teachers leave, they are desperate to keep and retain teachers so they let people who shouldn't be Senior be senior because there is no one else..the irony is, schools are meant to have anti bullying policies but staff are the ones who get bullied

Please leave.
It's not worth your mental health declining because of the SLT culture.

You know you didn't do it. But the SLT member won't retract/back down.

Start putting yourself 1st. Get union advice and get out of there.

You can do supply TA teaching to help financially and take time to rethink.

I'm sorry your school isn't looking after their staff and striving to be a happy positive place to work. This seems to be increasingly the norm.

I'm so sorry to hear that this has happened to you. Take care of yourself. I had to take my ASD son out of school and the SLT were vile about it. I don't know what's happened to schools, I really don't .

Hey: very similar experience here. In my case the union were unhelpful (private school sector in AU) but there is something about talking it through that helps.
Also, it’s been nearly a year for me, I’ve been emergency (sun) teaching. No meetings, just one day at a time, no pressure, no reports, no parents. If my mental health is low, I dont go. Regular therapy, exercise, water and learning to see it differently. ♥️

I've been there and you have my full sympathy. People are not promoted in education because they are good leaders/people managers (managing a class of kids is completely different to managing colleagues and they just don't get this) and this leads to all sorts of problems. When I was being pushed out, I spoke with my union and could evidence half of what was being said were lies. But then I decided that even if I got the bad judgement recinded, I didn't want to be there anyway. I left and went on supply, initially as a stop gap, but here I am 7 years later still on supply with a thriving tutoring business on the side. Just leave. Do a bit of supply and tutoring whilst you recover from the toxicity of your school and then plan your next step. Good luck!

Don’t dismiss the possibility of teaching again if you love it. I had a term off with dreadful mental health after bullying by governors and Academy leaders (I was headteacher) and I’m now thriving as deputy head in a very different, and lovely, school. Not all school leaders are cruel!

This is so great to hear. What do you do now?

Unfortunately OP this seems to be a very common way to offload teachers these days. SLT stick together, they have 1000 policies they can refer to for whatever your argument may be. I've learnt its best to just get out. Currently planning my escape.

Good for you, OP. Tell your story to the union rep and that alone will do you a power of good. It needs to be told. Go with an open mind - ask what are your options, how you can buy time, whether to sign off sick and how much sickness pay you'd get and for how long and whether it would affect your ability to get other jobs e.g.as a supply teacher, whether the union can raise it informally or raise a formal grievance or discrimination case, how to ease yourself out, get a reference that properly reflects your time and service and so on.

Very common. I left a school a few years ago for similar.

Things like:
Head actually arguing about what I was teaching when it was an ultra - prescriptive phonics lesson.
Deputy storming in angrily because I'd supposedly made a mistake, and then conveniently put me on a support plan the next week after I'd shown them the email THEY SENT which said to do what I did. They never did admit their mistake even with written evidence. And I seemed to be the scape goat for absolutely every problem the school had for the rest of the term until I left.

Sorry to read this. Schools can be horrible places sometimes.

I was just thinking about your situation. If you get a supply job it would give you a chance to see how those schools are run and then you could apply for a full time job. I am wondering if a holiday away could be useful as I think you deserve being looked after for awhile. After Christmas it will be off peak. I know teachers usually can only go away at peak times. I am retired now and I like having holidays at cheaper costs. It might do you some good to think well the rest of the school are having a busy time and you are enjoying yourself.

Find another job OP and move on. If you cannot trust them then that will not change in the months ahead. Get out.

Can you speak with union quoting Equality Act 2010 as autism is recognised as a disability under it and you are being discriminated against (comment about misreading situation)? Since they are aware of your diagnosis - what reasonable accomodations did they offer and put in place?

I’m so sorry this is happening to you. The reference to your autism screams disability discrimination to me but it depends how much fight you have in you, if this will impact your mental health negatively in fighting it if they manage to swing it their way, and also how much you need a good reference for whatever you want to do next (which they will hopefully give if you go quietly as they want).

it’s so wrong, and there are good SLT out there, but you have to really look for them! Good luck! ❤️

I'm afraid I was accused of stuff I didn't do too. I hope your union is supportive. Mine was.

Definitely talk to your union. They might be able to help.
I know someone who ended up getting a large payout because of SLT bullying.

I was bullied in my NQT year by the parallel class teacher, another teacher who wanted my class instead of covering classes and teaching a specific subject, and the headteacher.
I didn't take it up with my union but I left at the end of the year.
It was hell.
They were constantly doing that thing of not telling me things and then blaming and me and saying "oh dear, you forgot AGAIN".
Until I insisted on a brief meeting each morning, made notes in my notebook and then the parallel class teacher couldn't tell lies about what she had and hadn't said. That was advice I got from the woman who came in from the LEA to observe all NQTs once during the year - she'd read in the notes about me that I'd "regularly forgets to do things she has been told to do".

I was sorry to hear you are having problems. As an ex Union rep in a different profession I would advise getting in touch with your Union. Thinking ahead would you be able to be a personal tutor or online teacher. Being a supply teacher could be a way forward. If you do go on sickness leave with stress all you have to do when you need your next sick note is advise your doctor that you don't feel any better. It is quite likely he will cover you for say a month or so at a time .All the best and you deserve some time away. Work place bullying is the worst as people should be able to like going into work. Feeling full of dread about it is no way to be .I think it is not acceptable to be bullied by the SLT and you never know other colleagues could well be in the same position .I wish you all the best. It sounds like some time away from the place would do you a world of good..

Whereabouts did this happen? If it was in school surely there is cctv showing no witnesses? Or if it was in a classroom it would show that no one else entered or left that room at the time when it happened. That all depends on whether the footage is still available though.

There are some brilliant Facebook groups re leaving teaching, very supportive.

It's different with stress lovely.
They understand that mental health takes time to heal and the focus is on wellbeing services these days, rather than a magic pill.
See if they can offer you some talking therapies, CBT is good for getting things straightened out in your head and helping you to formulate a plan to change things.
This takes time. I've known colleagues be off for months but if it gets you into a better frame of mind and helps you to regain your confidence and rehab you back to your role (in a different environment), then it's so worth it.