to be a headteacher right now - is there money enough in the world?

[whatcolourisyourwednesday]

I was just thinking how much I'd want to be paid to be a headteacher this week.

Flirted with the idea of a cool million a year. But have concluded there isn't enough money in the world.

Just think:

• all your vulnerable children more vulnerable
• all your chaotic families more chaotic
• all the most opinionated parents more opinionated than usual
• risk of long term harm if you choose any option. No option that is clearly lower risk.
• and entering a massive recession that will make your previous funding decisions seem trivial.

Nope. would rather sweep the streets.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat I don’t think it’s comparable in all honesty. I’m not saying that you don’t have it hard, like many others, I’m sure you have your own struggles to manage. However Organising care for a handful of children to come to you is not the same as having to plan ahead for potentially 50/60 odd children returning to schools where there odds reduced staff. Head teachers are trying to support colleagues with a range of issues from personal vulnerability to childcare issues, arrange home education work for all the children who aren’t returning, manage ‘bubbles’ of children that are returning in a way they reduces risk of the virus spreading but meets their needs.

I’m sorry but I don’t think it’s the same. That’s not to say you don’t have difficulties too, or other jobs aren’t hard....but what Jess teachers will be managing over the coming weeks is extreme. I don’t know why people can’t see that??

And all recruitment needs to be completed by 31st May- otherwise they wont have any staff.

I've worked in 5 schools, and in each one (all outstanding/good schools in nice areas etc) the headteacher has left because of stress/stress related illness within 12 months.

Surely that says something.

I’ll respectfully disagree @AIMD

I’m not playing the whole poor me thing. I just think many many dozens of industries are having intense issues and stresses over working through this god awful time. I genuinely don’t see that Headteachers have it worse in particular. I don’t doubt it’s harder than their usual job, but there are very few people in the entire country that haven’t been affected at all by this. Teachers and heads just have a larger voice when it comes to complaining in the media.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat

Have you actually just compared the stresses of being a childminder to being a headteacher?

Dear god help me.

Well I’m so tired of hearing about teachers. It’s got out of control!

DH is a headteacher. It has been different recently, that’s for sure! I’m really proud of what he does and how well he’s adapted to this challenge. I’m not a teacher and it’s not something I want to do, and wouldn’t want the stresses he’s had recently but I don’t think he’s been much worse off than any other. In fact we’ve been really grateful as a single income family that he has a job with a steady income that we don’t have to worry about. His stress is very different to that of someone who is stressing over how to feed a family or how to pay their bills.

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat
Well I’m so tired of hearing about teachers. It’s got out of control!

You could always complain to MNHQ about it.

They might listen to you but I doubt it.

I could see if you compared the stress of being a childminder to that of being a teacher, but to a headteacher? Imagine what it would be like if there was an outbreak at your school. Or the amount of complaints if you don't reopen. Or the complaints if you do. Or the pressure from the people you answer to in the local authority.

I think any job where you have people pulling you so many different ways, where someone is always unhappy with whatever decision you make, and where you feel responsible for the welfare of all involved is always going to be incredibly tough. In the current circumstances I'd say it's unbearable unless you have absolute nerves of steel. There's no amount of money that would make me want the responsibility of being a headteacher right now.

BarbedBloom that's awful

At least no furlough or unemployment though as public sector

I don't know , I think everywhere has it shit at the moment, from supermarket workers being sworn at, to policemen being spat at, to care home managers losing residents and having to face angry and upset relatives

My sister is a head teacher.
It’s all a bit mad etc, but things are going well. She is super organised and has a good team, very big on pastoral so that’s taking a lot of time.
She gets paid very well, enjoys her holidays. In school every 3/4 days at the min, working from home otherwise, meetings, interviews etc. She still gets a big walk in and sits in the park in the sunshine now she is allowed!
She has felt sorry for me as I’m a nurse,! Neither of us could do the others job.

Not only do HTs have to look after all their staff but they are also responsible for all their pupils. They also have to deal with all the pupils’ parents.

Not many other jobs deal with so many different strands.

Also schools, with the reduction in funding in so many other areas, have so much more responsibility for pupils’ welfare not just their education.

I also have to say it is quite overwhelming being a governor at this time, huge responsibility for no pay.

I work in a school - head teachers really don’t have the worst job - so many more jobs out there with more pressure. Head teachers have support and teams around them. And of course it’s the board of governors that actually make the decisions.

I appreciate what the whole teaching profession do but really there are so many more difficult jobs right now.

How many other jobs that are responsible for over 1000 people actually know about the personally

I’ll bite, social worker, used to be a senior manager of a third sector service supporting children at risk. 40 staff, 200 volunteers and around 10000 children accessing the service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Around 15% of those children would present at immediate risk of significant harm. Three periods of 24 hour on call every fortnight when you could reasonably be expected to be woken 3/4 times a night.

And that’s not unusual for a senior role working in child protection, depending on the organisation you work for. And while I was on a good salary, it didn’t come close to that of a head teacher.

Jobs in education are very hard work, as are most professional jobs working with children and families. I wouldn’t be a head teacher for all the tea in China, but I don’t know any who would have fancied my job either. It’s not a race to the bottom - many people do very challenging jobs for much less.

Thank you for this post OP. So nice to get some recognition. I'm a headteacher. I love what I do but even before covid I was starting to crumble under the stress and long hours. This is my last half term. I have no job to go to. Just need to get my life back. For too long I have neglected my health and put other people's children before my own.

Making decisions that affect names on a bit of paper isn't the same

You’re right, it’s an entirely different thing making decisions based on limited information and knowledge of the person, knowing the outcome may be the difference between a child living or not and never being entirely sure whether you made the right decision or not because the outcome would still feel shit to the child, even if they were arguably safer than before.

Believe it or not having that personal relationship, understanding how decisions might impact makes the decision making much easier because while you have competing priorities, you have so much more information base your decisions on and can have a dialogue with those people adversely affected.

I’ve done both, and would always pick the side of knowing the people you’re working with.

Also @Jellycatspyjamas are you currently trying to work out how to keep a large number of people safe in your building, taking into account everyone’s concerns, being bombarded with reports from the media, dealing with union concerns, trying to interpret 41 guidance publications in the last few weeks. Whilst also ensuring all pupils are still being educated.

I agree with you jellycat. Some schools have gone to great measures to do the best possible to protect their vulnerable children but senior managers in SW make decisions every day that change people’s lives forever.

Heads have an important job no doubt but are compensated accordingly and don’t make life or death decisions, even now it’s not really the Head’s making the final decision. Yes they need to protect their staff, children and parents and I appreciate what they do and have a great deal of respect for it but it’s really not the same.

And the decision whether the school reopens on 1st June is ultimately the HT’s. The NGA have advised governors that it is an operational decision not strategic.

I've found making the decision about whether to send my DC back to school really stressful. Headteachers are making hundreds of decisions like that, all in a short period of time with constantly changing guidance. It must be a really stressful time for headteachers.

There is a significant risk that headteacher burn out will accelerate in the next few months. Recruiting headteachers is hard at the best of times - there aren't queues of excellent candidates. Over the next year there will be challenges in finding experiences school leaders fill the available vacancies.