To wonder if all Primary Schools are as bitchy, cliquey and nepotistic as this one?

[GlitteryRollerGirl]

I'm currently doing a work placement in a local primary school. I'm enjoying it, I like the class I'm in (reception) and the staff in there seem really friendly to me but there is also a lot of bitchiness and general moaning about stuff going on. They are always slagging off other teachers in the school and in particular the headteacher.

The Staffroom isn't much better, lots of whinging about the way things are done, there seems to be a lot of people off sick. I don't know of this has anything to do with it being a toxic environment or not, but they do seem to have a high percentage of people who take time off all the time.

Also it seems to be a case of the school only employing people who know others already working in the school. For example the head teachers daughter works there as a TA, also the grandchildren of the head of the governors aere pupils and they seem to win everything going in assembly. Could just be that they are good at everything, but it seems a bit odd to me. The head is nice but they staff don't seem to have much respect for him, as mentioned up thread.

It's actually putting me off ever wanting to work in a school. Are they all like this?

sounds like incestuous inbreeding ! your posts ring many warning bells for me- i'm a retired teacher. If you can get a job in a large new school before a resident clique has time to build up and take over, you'll be able to evade some of the nasty stuff you are describing.

You've described the school i worked at to a tee OP.

I was a TA for 8 years. The first 6 of those was fine.

New headteacher (business minded ladder climber, not interested in the well being of the children or the staff) arrived and what was previously an ok atmosphere (with just the normal amount of run-in's or personality clashes in a close working environment) turned into a horrible, back stabbing, bitter place to work. Full of people who were constantly comparing who was getting what and for how much work and for how long. Who knew who and who was an 'outsider'. Jealousy and accusations of favoritism, ect.

Constant moaning about all the unpaid overtime by the same people who bitched about anyone who tried to cut back on doing it. You couldn't do right for wrong! In the end i left in the end over it. It was impossible to keep out of it all - and believe me i'm usually good at sailing down the middle of groups like this.

I suppose it can be hard for a new head coming in. Staff who have got used to the old ways, or more to the point have got far too comfy and may have been coasting along or even getting away with minder suddenly have to pull their socks up.

Unlike most other schools in the area, the nursery and reception classes are still sperate rather having an early years "unit". This seems to be because the teachers and TA's in reception don't get along with those in nursery and so are resisting it, in fact they do not talk or communicate with one another at all. In my experinece it is so much better for the kids when they are all together at that age. And it makes the transition from nursery to reception easier, but due to this them and us they seem to have with nursery that's not happening and no one seems to be doing anything about it.

As for the heads DD, nice girl but is she really cut out for being a TA? I have my doubts.

Really? From what others have said on here, there are quite a lot of schools like this out there. So I don't think I've said anything that makes it especially identifiable?

The head isn't new and I've not said that he is?

I'd find it very unlikely that teachers at the school would recognise it from this thread.

The head isn't new
The school isn't in a small village either.

Don't worry Glittery- all the points you have mentioned have come up in other threads. hard to imagine anyone wd want to admit that it sounds like their school! Maybe Ego is recognising it?