To think 13/29 staff leaving a school is a bad sign?

[Eastcoastmost]

DC attend an international private school. The staff seem to be dropping like flies. These are the numbers known to be leaving the primary school at the end of term. The school keep trying to say it’s usual turnover in the international sector. Except it’s not! Is it?! That’s almost half the teachers gone. Whatever happened to continuity?

Sounds a lot. Have you had a senior management team change? Might make people vote with their feet.

Well I went to one and at least a third of the pupils would move every year... they are transitiory environments.

Or

Maybe there’s been some hoohaa over contracts and wages?

Doesn't sound good at all OP.

We have a high turnover of staff in a Scottish state school but only because of the high proportion of female teachers having children and going on mat leave plus mat covers coming and going.

Which international school is it?

Is it one of the ACS schools, Tasis, American School London, Aberdeen, or ?

It does sound like a lot, although the turnover does tend to be higher in international schools. Do you know why any of the teachers are leaving? It's possible that it may all be for very legitimate reasons - retirement, relocation, promotion etc. How does it compare to previous years at the school? If you are otherwise happy with the school though, I would hold fire and perhaps ask the HT what plans they will be putting in place to ensure that the new staff are integrated into school quickly and effectively.

If it is one of the ACS schools or Tasis, I might be able to share some insider info about the issues :)

It sounds like there are issues at the school. Are your DC happy? Are they receiving a good education? What body regulates private schools if ofsted don't?

Private schools are inspected by the ISI.
I wonder if the school is owned by the same company who own my kids school

It does sound like a lot. I was under the impression turnover in London state schools was around 25% and I would expect an International school to be a bit worse (because they'd hopefully be pulling in International teachers who are likely to be looking at shorter-term stints than average), but that sounds excessive. I could see positives in it though, if it's the result of cleaning house, for instance. Still seems lacking in stability though.

I grew up going to international schools. To me, while it's slightly more than you Might expect, it's not unheard of.

In terms of students, we generally had at least a 20% turnover rate every year, and teachers would leave whenever they wanted to live somewhere new (something they're predisposed to, having already moved abroad once) or when they had to go home to the UK for family reasons. I think we normally had at least 5 teachers leaving a year, sometimes more.

So if it's not part of a big trend I wouldn't worry.

We’re not in the UK. There are always a few who leave but not so many as this! I don’t really want to give the school name as it could be outing. Yes, new head and new department heads last year and the year before. I don’t think morale is high at all. I agree re a cleanup being a potentially good thing but this isn’t just people you might expect to move on going. It’s excellent teachers who are sick of the way things are now run/have changed.

Oh this is the problem, on a lesser scale, we are having at the moment.

The Head, Head of PrePrep, and several other teachers are all leaving the (private) school we were supposed to be starting in September. Luckily we have an outstanding state school down the road. We're going with that instead.

OP, try to find out the real reason. Someone will know. It could be as simple as the head is not liked (unless the head is one of those leaving) or as worrying as the school ethos is not healthy. Find out.

I agree if you are able to find out the reason for the individuals leaving it will give you more indication. That might be difficult to find out however. Over 50% of the staff are leaving at the school where my DH teaches and a high number of those are leaving the profession entirely (DH included). It is an indication of the lack of support from that school but you may find yours has a lot of retirements/mat leaves coincidentally at the same time.

Eastcostmost, there is a website called International Schools Review (ISR) that has a profile for each international school by country. Teachers can post anonymous reports of each aspect of the school, and they use the site to help find a good 'fit' as they evaluate their next job post. If you pay for a membership (I think it is around 10 pounds?) you can access the database and see if any staff have indicated problems. Also, there is a Member forum you will be able to use if you purchase a membership, and you can post the school's name anonymously there to question other members about what is going on.

I know someone who taught at an international school overseas, staff turnover was immense and it was due to the way the school was run and it's ridiculous methods.

There was an actual site run by people who once worked there warning parents off.

You might already have looked but have you tried looking online for staff discussions about the school? Just put the school name in and some negative description and see what turns up

Ok - wow! I just Googled and came across a website called Glassdoor. There are some very negative reviews on there from (if we assume they’re genuine) disgruntled ex-employees, including one who says the new head is getting rid of older, experienced staff for cheap new ones. That’s not good!

Not good at all but unsurprising as from what I hear a lot of these schools put business model and profit first and in certain countries with little to no outside regulation

But surely they’ll lose money if parents start to walk away due to the changes? It’s like a permanently revolving door with a very few excellent, committed teachers left. I don’t know if I want to chance it any more. I can’t even say to DC that they might have X or Y next year as so many are going, it’s more likely to be someone new, at least for the youngest.

No because parents are a captive audience in many places! There’s often little choice outside the usual tropes

There is one key employer who I think will always use them, that’s true, as in they pay the fees for their employees’ children. Others - I’m not so sure.

OP, not sure wheee you are, but there are lots of international schools, most notably but not exclusively in the Middle East, who review and change staff annually based on performance reviews. I'd def be asking the senior leadership team for an answer