I’m a Primary School Headteacher. Ask me anything!

[RonnieOnion]

This is not a TAAT, but I’ve just read one in AIBU about teachers/wine/holidays and it got me thinking.
What do you really want to know about us? Obviously I can only answer from my own personal experience.

How in your opinion should good schools encourage the 'middle of the road' kids. There seems so much emphasis on kids with SEN (and rightly so btw) and the government seems obsessed with the top performing kids (e.g grammar provision). It would appear that my middle performing, generally well behaved kids just bumble along in the system without getting particularly noticed. I understand in a class of 30 the teacher needs to focus on those that need extra provision but I still would like to see some more encouragement but can't quite articulate what I want to see so I'm interested in what you do to engage the middle.

tomhazard
No, not a ‘holding back’, but definitely we are more wary of giving a child a certain level without full evidence to back it up.

I know that as a manager you have to be on your staff's side and defend them to parents, but is there anyone working at your school who is a bot shit really??

so what do TAs do? I don't know so enlighten me.

Can you not do anything about the kids who constantly have nits? You know the ones that you see them crawling in?

user1498911470
Teaching Assistants are the unsung heroes of education.
Yes they tidy and hear readers.
Mine supervise and play with children at break and lunch. They make resources, put on suncream, find missing jumpers, encourage children to eat and drink, run after school clubs, go on residentials, work 1-1 with our most vulnerable pupils, extend the skills of higher ability children, take phonic groups, dry tears, clean poo/sick/blood, administer first aid, cuddle, tell jokes, mark tests, give advice, photocopy, make tea and, most importantly, help teachers educate children.

Do you think a "Good" Ofsted report reflects a "Good" school or one that is just "Good" at form filling.

Do you think schools need assessing and, if so, how could you improve the current system.

Does the local authority force (bribe) you to take on excluded pupils and, if so, how?

WakeUpMaggie
I think it’s morally wrong to ask for money.
I’m not against asking for volunteers to come in and help with a bit of manual labour! It should never be expected or taken for granted though.

Gimme a job! One of those inactive teachers trying to get back in!

(Our school head is fab though - all our school are)

maxbabi
My SBM is a crucial part of my leadership team. We meet formally twice a week (once alone and once as SLT) but we cross paths several times a day. We talk constantly and keep other in the loop.

Straight to the point - firstly, is a family who has high social/financial status given preferential treatment in your view?
Secondly - do you think anti-bullying policies and procedures are effective in schools or is there a tendency for the victims of bullying to not receive appropriate support and for the situation to be played down?
Yes, this is a personal concern of mine!
Thanks in advance for your reply.

What is the most efficient way to get a TA job? - background of caring for adults with LD, limited classroom experience (2 months volunteering)

Can I just say from your responses your schools sounds ace the fact of stuff like Ta' s putting sun cream on. Our school won't do it they want the children to do it. My sun has photosensativity (sun allergy) so it's paramount he is properly covered.
I also agree that it's school culture. I find here lots of teachers think I am being difficult or that parent when in reality am trying to manage the anxiety he hides and the break downs he has once home from wearing a mask all day.

Hadalifeonce
Believe me, there are MANY groups doing this, including the Headteachers Roundtable (HTRT). Unions are also actively fighting the cause. It’s going to be a very difficult few years. My budget was almost halved this year in real terms.

I’d just like to point out that lots of teaching assistants (I’m talking from an Early Years viewpoint) actually do a lot more than Ronnie Onion has listed and I’m not talking about things like applying sun cream and making tea - do teaching assistants really do that? Who has time to drink tea other than at dinner time anyway?

From my DC: how did you become a head teacher and do you shout at the children?

What do you think of the recentish changes to the National Curriculum/SATs?

SadieHH
No I wouldn’t mind, as long as you weren’t distracting other staff!
I think parents as staff can be very tricky and a lot of work needs to be done to manage the professional/personal boundaries. Then again, they often know the community well and are great at preempting problems between children/families.

user1493423934
What type of parents annoy the cr@p out of you?

Really and truthfully, not many! I’m very aware that parents are handing over to us the most precious thing they own and we can’t lose sight of that.
But I do get frustrated when parents want their child to be different - for example, one is keen to have her Y5 daughter in pull-ups in school (she has bowel issues) despite her never spoiling herself in school for some years. Instead we are supporting the child in managing her condition with pants, wipes, medication and good self care. Is hard when parents can’t put their children’s needs above their own.

I think I could answer the question about the most 'problematic' parents. There are a few different types!
The helicopter parents: the ones who have a message to pass on to the teacher every single day. The ones who walk past the school during the day and notice that their child isn't wearing a coat/hat and phone the school in a rage demanding to know why this has been allowed to happen. They seem to forget that staff can't physically force the children to keep their coat on or their hat on. They will tell the children to wear them but more often than not, they'll be removed the second they get on the playground.
The parents of children who are never in the wrong and when their child has been in trouble for what ever reason will come up to school demanding that the punishment be reversed because little jimmy told them they didn't throw the brick at Danny's head and jimmy would never lie.
The parents who refuse to engage. Their children will never have their kit/lunch/homework/shoes which fit or aren't dally apart/be washed/collected on time at the end of the day. These parents actually see school as childcare. They genuinely believe that the school should be responsible for raising their children, including potty training, telling the time etc. These are often the worst types as it is always the children who suffer as a result of this type of parent.

AjasLipstick
Yes, severe poverty. Changes to Universal Credit has tipped families who were coping into crisis.
We support families in many ways: food parcels; clothing banks etc.

If I wanted to volunteer, but I am severely visually impaired, would you take me on? What would you need or want from me? I would really like to help children with reading problems, listen to them read, etc. I also speak many other languages. What could I what could I do that would be beneficial and help the children?

I have had to deal with a lot of problems with people racing health and safety issues, this is why I ask what you would need from me, and how can I answer issues raised about health and safety. Yes, I do have a criminal check, and it’s an international one since I run an organization that works in southeast Asia.

gamerchick
We honestly don’t expect presents for doing our job. Homemade gifts and heartfelt messages are fabulous.
Wine and chocs are always good!
Mugs/keyrings/coasters are always genuinely gratefully received but, after a few years (25 for me!) in teaching we can have far too many to use.

Do you think there is a strong drive by some parents to gate their child "statemented" and sometimes, do you think they are trying to badge their child when really, they are poor parents?

GreenTulips
Yes we do. We don’t carry a ‘ready supply’ of equipment but as soon as the need is there we buy whatever is suitable. It’s our job to meet the needs of the pupils, particularly our most vulnerable.