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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Narcissistic head teacher

45 replies

Yourusernameis2 · 22/06/2019 22:53

Perhaps less of an AIBU and more of a rant ..

Headteacher at my DDs school tweets (in the public domain) pictures of himself in all kinds of poses DAILY (today's tweet (entirely public) was of himself pouting at the camera with a caption about being a handsome headteacher (he's really not) or something like that).

He goes on trips all over the UK and the world (think India, Nepal, China) and has constant meetings with apparently important people form these countries and insists on tweeting pictures of himself in said places, and with said people (personally I think he should travel and entertain less, and get in the bloody school more, and do more work, especially as us the tax payer are funding these ridiculous trips and meetings with international delegates!)

He always emails parents and tweets to tell everyone how amazing the school is and all the excellent things they are doing (it's all crap by the way - they aren't doing any of it)

He flirts with his partner online over Twitter constantly

He can't spell in half his tweets (that is VERY annoying!)

He posts daily pictures of 'romantic' scenes such as country walks, flowers in bloom, sun sets (usually with his face in the foreground)

He's a poor headteacher (the school is not doing well at all - lots of v disgruntled parents) but he is VERY good at PR and spin and boasting of his apparant brilliance, and he has managed to wangle an ofsted outstanding and got himself nominated for school of the year or something (it's all a show though).

He NEVER listens to parents and never ever acknowledges problems within the school. He seems to believe his own propaganda and only acknowledges those that sing his praises.

There's a LOT more, but to those in the local area, it's already obvious who I'm talking about!! and any more info might out-me!

Rant over! ....

OP posts:
KC225 · 22/06/2019 23:01

Me DH is a former teacher and said there were good Head Teachers but a fair few Little Emperors

sockatoe · 22/06/2019 23:06

Sadly, being a successful self publicist seems to be a bigger career move than being good at your job. Sounds like he may be promoted out of mere head-dom into something greater soon - perhaps he's going into a principal ship of an academy chain? Or ofsted inspector? Either way, he could do with improving the tweety grammar first....

Yourusernameis2 · 22/06/2019 23:06

!! This one is less of a little emperor, more of a big baffoon (the Trump comes to mind). When he looks at his reflection though, I think he sees some kind of God ...

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GrotchCoblin · 22/06/2019 23:09

Is he Gilderoy Lockhart??

Yourusernameis2 · 22/06/2019 23:11

"being a successful self publicist seems to be a bigger career move than being good at your job. Sounds like he may be promoted out of mere head-dom into something greater soon"

  • this ⤴️ but it just seems so unfair that people like this do actually end up with all the glory and all the promotions!!
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StinkyWizleteets · 22/06/2019 23:11

Unfollow him.

Yourusernameis2 · 22/06/2019 23:13

Well, I probably will unfollow him soon - but he tweets largely from the school Twitter account which I need to follow to keep up to date with what's coming up when ..

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MakeAWhish · 22/06/2019 23:18

You can't wangle an ofsted outstanding by being good at pr 😐
But I agree he sounds irritating. A lot of headteachers are narcissistic in my view.

TheHandsOfNeilBuchanan · 22/06/2019 23:23

He sounds like a lot of people on social media, irritating, which is why I largely avoid it. I don't believe you can talk your way into an Ofsted outstanding though.

IfIShouldFallFromGraceWithGod · 22/06/2019 23:24

The HT of my DC school was awful. DC has SN and he wanted the funding but didn't spend it on DC. He actually told me he was King and this was his empire Hmm

DrVonPatak · 22/06/2019 23:28

Wangle an OFSTED? You just induced me into a spectacular bout of cough by laughing.

MaintainTheMolehill · 22/06/2019 23:29

I thought my kids head teacher was bad. He writes himself into school plays (to be played by one of the kids), loves the sound of his own voice so much that events last an hour longer than they have to and cuts short kids performances so he has time for his own solo.

He has blocked my email and just blanks me now after many many issues and complaints.

What is worrying is that these narcissistic meglomaniacs are in charge of schools and so many pupils futures. God help us.

Yourusernameis2 · 22/06/2019 23:43

In terms of ofsted! .. the school where this headteacher works has some fantastic connections - friends in very high places. So the head will have been able to show off the fancy school website complete with video of beautiful, intelligent, perfect children, created by leading tech company. He will have been able to show off the brand new school buildings designed by award winning architects. He will have selected carefully and strategically placed the perfect parents for the inspectors to speak to, and covered up the existence of others!! He will have carefully managed behaviour on the day (and the inspectors will have NO clue what the school is really like on a daily basis). He will have waffled and wowed about the cutting edge teaching methods using the latest research and backed by top educators in the field (the kids don't see any of it .. but he'll definitely have talked the talk!!) ... etc...

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Yourusernameis2 · 22/06/2019 23:45

MaintTheMoleHill - GrinGrinGrin

Cutting short the performance for his own solo!!!!!!!!!! GrinGrinGrin

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Girasole02 · 22/06/2019 23:47

Sounds like my former head whose narcissism eventually drove away most of the staff and ran the school into the ground.

saraclara · 22/06/2019 23:48

In terms of ofsted! .. the school where this headteacher works has some fantastic connections - friends in very high places. So the head will have been able to show off the fancy school website complete with video of beautiful, intelligent, perfect children, created by leading tech company. He will have been able to show off the brand new school buildings designed by award winning architects. He will have selected carefully and strategically placed the perfect parents for the inspectors to speak to, and covered up the existence of others!! He will have carefully managed behaviour on the day (and the inspectors will have NO clue what the school is really like on a daily basis). He will have waffled and wowed about the cutting edge teaching methods using the latest research and backed by top educators in the field (the kids don't see any of it .. but he'll definitely have talked the talk!!) ... etc...

That really isn't how OFSTED works!

Yourusernameis2 · 22/06/2019 23:54

Saraclara - that's good to know. How does it work? (DD informed me the class she was in which was observed by an inspector, was bribed with rewards throughout the day for being extra good when ofsted came, and they were allowed to choose a video for the next day if they were good etc... The school was looking very spruced up on the day, the head teacher was guiding inspectors towards certain parents, and he will definitely have been talking the talk... ) - How do the inspectors see through this sort of thing?

OP posts:
twattymctwatterson · 22/06/2019 23:58

You sound a bit obsessed with the man tbh. Stop stalking following him on social media. Maybe actually read the ofsted report? It's not really the kind of thing you can wangle.

MitziK · 22/06/2019 23:59

They look at the results. And behaviour records, how kids actually behave, read the parent surveys, check attendance records, what's happened to lower achievers, etc, etc.

There's too much of an audit trail to be able to fake an outstanding.

Wallabyone · 22/06/2019 23:59

But, but, the parents get sent a survey. Foster look largely at data and paperwork, and at the school's own assessment of teaching and learning and how it is working to improve any weka areas. It really isn't possible to talk your way through Ofsted.

Yourusernameis2 · 23/06/2019 00:03

I have read the ofsted report! Smile (I'm quite surprised everyone is suddenly pro ofsted! Threads I've read before ha e tended to be a little dismissive of ofsted!) I fully acknowledge I am not an inspector and don't know the process, so I may be wrong and maybe the inspections are better and a lot more rigorous than I thought, which is good!

Unfortunately I can't block his Twitter as he tweets from the school account which I need to follow to find out what is happening at school when (they use the account to tell is about dress up days, performances, early closures, etc...). Although I take your point! I am finding him irritating, so I might stop the school Twitter feed and just ask friends if they wouldn't mind passing on important info via WhatsApp, as the tweets really are quite frustrating!!!

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Yourusernameis2 · 23/06/2019 00:04

Mitxlzik and wallabyone - thanks!! Well, that's good to know! and relatively reassuring!

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jennymanara · 23/06/2019 00:05

OP I have no idea if your school deserves its OFSTED rating or not. But I thought all teachers do what they can to try and get kids to behave better when ofsted visit and spruce up the school, improve classroom displays, and introduce them to pupils and parents who will sing their praises. I think that is fairly normal. Which is why ofsted look at figures of all pupils.

justilou1 · 23/06/2019 00:08

Maybe you could get some friends to follow him on twitter and red pen his spelling?

Bumper1969 · 23/06/2019 00:08

Regarding Ofsted he probably has an excellent team if teachers driven into the ground working. Remember lions lead by donkeys .