This headteacher is right - so why suspnd her

[Whysomanyexcuses]

This headteacher has said what many parents have been saying yet suspended .....
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8463765/Sunderland-head-teacher-suspended-saying-staff-sat-home-doing-lockdown.html#comments

We need more head teachers like this - our children have been failed.

YABU - she should say nothing - let it go - ignore the ones who have done nothing to help children
YANBU - she is correct to say it as it is - children have been let down

XingMing I can also see why your offer - well intentioned as it was - wasn't helpful to schools tbh.

Schools are very experienced at identifying what staff they need. After 10 years of being cut to the bone, they can't have what they want most of the time, but they will always advertise paid or voluntary positions available.

I wonder if there's a reason that adverts for volunteers to come in for 10 hours a week to challenge received wisdom and question the daily data download don't pop up often?

But you suggest that the private sector may be more receptive to you offer, so maybe that's the best route?

I’m not denying she has acted maybe unwisely

However what’s more important , one individuals behaviour
Or a rather unfair truth ?

I'm 63, I don't need any more jobs than administering two pension funds, but I did enjoy teaching. And I miss the buzz of stimulating young minds into ideas that they might not otherwise encounter. FWIW, it's far easier to persuade the board of a FTSE100 company than to teach Y8.

A friend is a governor at a local school. The head has not held any meetings nor communicated with the governors much. The only way they find out anything is from parents who pass on the e-mails they receive, that is not great imo.

I know a few teachers, one is working her socks off, another admits cheerfully he does around four hours a month, which he thinks is great.

@echt

For some reason schools seem to be much less likely to identify and/or tackle underperformance then other employers

And you base this on what? A feeling in your water? :o

Admittedly the figures in the articles below are 10 years old, but I haven't seen any evidence that things have changed. I suspect that that's because too many people take the view that it is too difficult to sack teachers even when it isn't.

I accept of course that being 'struck off' by the then GTC, is much more serious than being sacked and that teachers who underperform in one school may be perfectly competent in another. So the Sunday Times figures are probably more useful. I've included the link to the Panorama programme because that included the infamous estimate by Chris Woodhead of 15,000 incompetent teachers.

So: bringing the two reports together:

Approx 15,000 incompetent teachers according to Chris Woodhead
Approx 1,600 teachers accused of poor standards by schools in 18 month period
Approx 330 teachers sacked for incompetence in the same 18 month period.

Incompetent teachers 'being recycled' by head teachers
4 July 2010
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Only 18 UK teachers have been struck off for incompetence in the past 40 years, the BBC's Panorama has learned.
This is despite estimates that up to 17,000 teachers are not up to the job.
Some bad teachers are moved between schools, rather than having their competency challenged, it has emerged.
Teaching unions dispute the claims. The General Teaching Council for England, which investigates complaints, says the number of poor teachers is "not clear".
However, the GTC admits the suggestion that the 18 struck off represented the total number of incompetent teachers in the system is not credible.
Two years ago, its chief executive Keith Bartley said there could be as many as 17,000 "substandard" teachers among the 500,000 registered teachers in the UK.
And former chief inspector of schools in England, Chris Woodhead, sparked anger in the teaching profession with his estimate of 15,000 incompetent teachers.

Schools sack four incompetent teachers a week
Kate Loveys
Sunday December 25 2011, 12.01am, The Sunday Times

Head teachers in England and Wales appear to have sacked an average of four teachers a week for incompetence out of the possible total of nearly 1,600 accused of poor standards over the past 18 months.
However, while the rate of actual dismissal is low, teachers accused of poor standards are being “managed out of the classroom” in other ways, according to a union leader.
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that 154 of the 210,686 teachers working at primary and secondary schools across 82 local education authorities (LEAs) were dismissed in the past 18 months.
If the pattern were repeated among the roughly 448,000 teachers employed across all 152 LEAs, 327 would have been sacked for incompetence — slightly more than four each week or just over 200 a year.
The figures show that 740 teachers working for the 82 LEAs surveyed were accused of poor standards over the 18-month period — equivalent to 1,574 across all LEAs if the pattern were reflected throughout England and Wales.

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Of the 740 subject to complaint, 154 were sacked, 174 resigned, 132 cases are unresolved and the remainder stayed in post or retired, some having received a written warning.
Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said many hundreds of teachers are “managed out of the classroom” before capability proceedings are triggered.
She argued: “Schools have a robust performance management process which, when implemented properly, identifies underachievement and makes sure an improvement plan is put in place.
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“The figures show the performance management process must be working well as so few teachers undergo this more serious process.”
Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, said, however: “Too many poor teachers remain in their jobs year after year after year. They do harm. We owe it to the children to intervene effectively.”
He added: “At present, it’s nearly impossible to prove a teacher is bad ... On top of this you have powerful unions who fight on behalf of teachers.”
He said the problem was made worse because head teachers often play “pass the parcel” with poor teachers by encouraging them simply to move to another school.
Chris Woodhead, the Sunday Times columnist and former chief inspector of schools, has estimated there are 15,000 incompetent teachers.
Michael Gove, the education secretary, has pledged to remove poor teachers. His new Education Act streamlines procedures for dismissing them.
The data do not include staff in 1,463 schools with academy status, which are obliged to refer incompetent teachers directly to the General Teaching Council (GTC), the body that determines whether they are fit to remain in the profession.
The figures suggest that the majority of LEAs are failing in their legal duty to refer dismissed staff to the GTC. Just 27 of the 154 who were dismissed were referred to the council. Of those, only two were struck off the teaching register.
The GTC said it had no powers to “police or enforce employers” to ensure they are referring incompetent teachers. It is to be replaced in April by the new Teaching Agency.

@Pomegranatepompom So is it a school policy not to provide much help or does it vary by teacher? If it was my school I’d feel sickened and guilty if I didn’t do enough for the children in my class, and I’d be constantly suggesting ideas to SLT. This could well be happening at your school of course, you just wouldn’t know it. If it was the other way round and I was a member of SLT and had set clear expectations but teachers hadn’t met them I’d be asking what the reasons were. If I could make reasonable adjustments, I would. If a teacher didn’t have a good reason and was continuing not to work despite a verbal warning then I would obviously go down the disciplinary route. Again, parents wouldn’t be aware if this was the case.

I have relatives in teaching and all of them have said the same thing as this woman. In one of my cousin’s schools she and two other teachers are the only ones working with the kids - all the others have been signed off for anxiety and are posting photos of their days baking or hiking or going to the beach with their kids on Instagram / Facebook. There are shirkers in every industry but as a key industry schools should be able to sack staff who don’t come in (for whatever reason) - there are so many bank teachers who need jobs right now.

If there have been teachers in her school doing nothing, then it is her fault because she hasn't been managing her staff properly. But speaking to the press & making public statements about it won't do her any favors, if anything it will alienate her staff & put other staff from wanting to work in her school.

Admittedly the figures in the articles below are 10 years old, but I haven't seen any evidence that things have changed

So no relevant evidence then, it's all about what you think.

Fifth, the GTC has not existed for ten years now, so yes, I’m afraid you are very out of date.

It was replaced by the National college of teaching and leadership which was in turn replaced by the teaching regulation agency.

They do not strike teachers off for incompetence. That is an internal matter and should be dealt with as such.

When teachers are struck off it is for malpractice, embezzlement, sexual relations with students, inappropriate relations with students and criminal convictions outside the classroom, to name a few of the cases.

Teaching is a huge area. Somebody who is brilliant at teaching early years may be utterly useless with year 6. A knowledgeable and experienced a level teacher might struggle to engage bottom set y8. Give a teacher the worst classes at the worst time of day and watch them flounder.

A good school will have effective systems in place allowing teachers to teach and play to strengths.

Many schools are not good.

Well- the buck stops with her. If teachers in her school aren't doing enough, that's her fault.

Well yes this!
If she was aware of staff sitting at home doing nothing then it was her job to contact them and sort that out, make sure they knew exactly what was expected of them and when.

At the start of lockdown I did little, only because I, like many others, was taken by surprise and floundered for a couple of weeks. Then we hit our stride and established a routine and have been busy ever since.

If she didn't do that and instead called the staff names on the radio then she deserves to be suspended.

She's the head. She's the one who drafts the plan for her school during lockdown. She's the one who should be giving tasks to her staff. The one who should have decided whether her school remained open, and what lessons her staff should be planning at home and putting online.

Like many, my daughter and her partner, both teachers, have been working really hard throughout. It's been a really stressful time. But this woman has gone to the media to give the impression that people like them have done nothing? When it's her who's been incompetent? Unbelievable.
If her teachers were doing nothing, that's entirely her responsibly. It's quite insane that she's publicly putting the blame on them for her own inadequacy.

@AIMD
Yea it’s a real piss take when deprived kids get support isn’t it!
I'll say this again because MNHQ seem to think it's offensive enough to remove my post but I disagree.
Whether they are from leafy subs or deprived estates - if their schools/teachers have let them down during the Covid crisis, the Gov should provide support to plug the gap.

YABU. It’s HER responsibility as head teacher to make sure HER staff are working and if they are not it’s up to HER to manage them accordingly. Not slag them off as she has done

Appalling management and she deserves to be suspended for not doing HER job

She sounds like a shit head if she hasn’t organised any provision for the children. This is shit management rather than shit teachers

This Head Teacher has dragged her school from Unsatisfactory to Outstanding. She asked staff to work two days a week. One looking after key workers and vulnerable children and one day preparing resources. Then she asked them to work 3 days and her teachers revolted. As key workers their own children should have been at school. Teachers were receiving full pay to work every bloody school day, like others working at home do .

If she was aware of staff sitting at home doing nothing then it was her job to contact them and sort that out, make sure they knew exactly what was expected of them and when.
It didn't happen - all teachers were working really hard, haven't you been keeping up with the teacher posts on here!😂

Neither of your options is reasonable. She shouldn't "let it go" when it comes to lazy staff, but she should keep it in-house and deal with it there, holding teachers to account. It brings the entire profession into disrepute. There's always going to be a minority in any profession or job that don't pull their weight, but they are a minority. The teachers I know have been working flat out as well as homeschooling their own kids. She's pandering to the right-wing press for the sake of a juicy story which doesn't help the teaching profession in the slightest.

Not sure what any head can do if teachers are working from home. The head cannot stand over them physically to make sure they are doing what is expected. Are teachers not expected to use their own initiative and come up with ways and means to teach children in a remote setting. When you say it is the heads responsibility to ensure the teaching staff do their work it makes them look a bit dim.

She had already resigned, her public comments ( which reflect terribly on her management skills) is her final bid F you to staff, she will retire now. Obviously terrible relationships in that school.

sometimes best to say nothing. She might not be so outspoken when picking up her Giro!

Not sure what any head can do if teachers are working from home. The head cannot stand over them physically to make sure they are doing what is expected. Are teachers not expected to use their own initiative and come up with ways and means to teach children in a remote setting. When you say it is the heads responsibility to ensure the teaching staff do their work it makes them look a bit dim Agree!

@justasking111 The Head’s job is to lead staff by setting out expectations. Ideally not too specific that teacher initiative is stifled and not too vague so there’s the risk of some classes getting a better quality of support than others. The Head should be checking this is happening and removing obstacles if they arise. And yes, this includes privately and professionally undertaking disciplinary procedures for anyone not working to the required standard.

@averysuitablegirl

XingMing I can also see why your offer - well intentioned as it was - wasn't helpful to schools tbh.

Schools are very experienced at identifying what staff they need. After 10 years of being cut to the bone, they can't have what they want most of the time, but they will always advertise paid or voluntary positions available.

I wonder if there's a reason that adverts for volunteers to come in for 10 hours a week to challenge received wisdom and question the daily data download don't pop up often?

But you suggest that the private sector may be more receptive to you offer, so maybe that's the best route?

That was not the offer. I was offering Free help with any task that needed doing. I set no conditionality on my help. I was not up myself about what I would and would not do: I quite enjoyed bits of my time in referral units. It was just help. But obviously, I suggested where I thought I might be most useful.

Then you'll understand why volunteers tend to end up creating more work for other people, using time and resources that they just don't have.