To think it’s actually easy to get rid of a teacher?

[Rockrollrock]

I think it’s poorly understood how insecure a teachers job actually is. A headteacher can start capability procedures based on quite spurious evidence and once capability is an established fact, your only option is to resign.

So while teachers are rarely dismissed, many are managed out.

@CatJumperTwat

Once you've been managed out in this way, is it hard to find another position?

I don't know if it's eay to find another position. The 2 people I know who have been managed out were so upset by the experience they didn't want to carry on teaching.

DH is an experienced teacher- SLT.

This year there’s been a restructure and he along with another 3 departments have been told they may be made redundant if they don’t fit into the new model. They are interviewing for their own jobs at present knowing one or more of them will probably go. DH thinks they are gunning for the older teacher who is struggling as the head probably has someone else lined up.

Can’t tell you how stressed this has made him and us and there’s nothing we can do other than hope his face fits enough to stay.

A lot of teachers have a lot of botox and work done (men and women) and the women do their hair in long curls every day, wear kate middleton dresses and heels daily. It's not very practical to teach in heels but they still do it. 90% of female staff in secondary schools do this, and the ones who don't, (and are called dowdy / frumpy/ old) don't last more than 1 year.
To look young to keep their job? Terrible ingrained sexism?

It didn't used to be like this.

@CatJumperTwat

Once you've been managed out in this way, is it hard to find another position?

Yes, I am proof of this! Vicious campaign by HT - I was 58, experienced, top of pay scale go figure! I made it difficult to manage me out. I knew that I couldn't win so I took the only action open to me - make it lengthy and expensive. The 'agreed' reference was clearly identifiable as such and to a lot of future employers, suspect. Some HT's/SLT it seems make it their business to destroy lives and careers.

Seem to...

All female teachers and esp all SMT look like this.
I don't like it being compulsory and that if you don't maintain this look, that you are shown the door.

In a previous school, the head took an immediate dislike to me and I don’t know why. She made my life hell, I had to video myself teaching and then sit through scrutiny where nothing was good enough. She criticised everything and when I asked her for advice on how to improve she told me I had to find out for myself. She was close to putting me on capability but my books and discussions with children showed they had made progress. I left and she then stopped my pay. I had to chase for what I was owed and she refused to talk to me. It was awful. I had never, ever had a problem with my teaching and my new head didn’t even want to talk to her for a reference. It was the darkest period for me and if I’d stayed and been put on capability I honestly think I may have killed myself.

@HugeAckmansWife

I think older (ie more expensive) teachers can be identified as 'under performing' because they may not be enthused about reinventing their teaching every 5 minutes under the latest trend (anyone remember VAK, Starters, mains and Plenaries.. Showing evidence of progress in every lesson? ). Now it's digital learning, everything on OneNote etc. Experienced knowledgeable teachers can still inspire and enthuse with quiet authority and respect, excellent subject knowledge and experience of prepping kids for exams but if a head is looking to cut the salary bill its an easy way to shave off quite a bit.

Couldn't have put it better.An excellent post.

Problem with teaching is that education is very subjective.
What is a good lesson? It looks very different to different people. Some people think all the class sitting working away quietly on a worksheet- good lesson.
Another person would see it as ‘death by worksheet’ and not good.
That’s why it’s so easy to put people on capability. In other professions there is a more definite end goal.
There’s also the fact that you can’t always judge ‘teaching’ by ‘testing’ (aka learning) children are not data points, they are real living beings who have many facets. It’s not as simple as if a teacher does x, then child will do y.

It’s easy to put people on capability if they don’t like you.

I’m beyond appalled at what is happening in teaching these days. It’s totally and utterly toxic and poisonous. And we are they to educate the future of the country. It is now an ageist profession.

Fortunately l got out with ill health retirement. But it’s just pure poison what is happening in schools at the moment😕

It can be true that if a face doesn't fit, a teacher can be managed out. It happened to a friend of mine; a "new broom" head decided that he wanted more of a "showplace" school and pruned his music department ruthlessly. The union was able to prove constructive dismissal, but he took a lump sum in lieu of notice as the offer of having his job back was deeply unattractive. He was especially sad not to take his Year 7 form up to Year 8; they had been expecting it as well, and were happy at the prospect. We heard on the grapevine that the shiny new replacement did not last long, while the "old stagers" with a niche skill to offer sorted themselves out quite quickly.
I do feel that Ofsted should pay more attention to "staffing churn" as it can be significant; unhealthy, when the pupils have, on the whole, been in the school longer than most of the teachers.....

I also agree with HugeAckmansWife about initiative fads. I was in the teaching trade long enough to be trendy four times; I just stuck to what worked for me. Just got a bit irritated when told of the latest revelation; yes we used to do that before the funding was cut. The reason that dynamic young heads are wary of old stagers is because they have seen it before, as in, "Oh yes, we tried that in 1989, and it didn't work then!"

@Embroidery

A lot of teachers have a lot of botox and work done (men and women) and the women do their hair in long curls every day, wear kate middleton dresses and heels daily. It's not very practical to teach in heels but they still do it. 90% of female staff in secondary schools do this, and the ones who don't, (and are called dowdy / frumpy/ old) don't last more than 1 year. To look young to keep their job? Terrible ingrained sexism?

It didn't used to be like this.

WTF? Where do you work? It’s definitely not like that in any school I’ve worked in.

Embroidery is on the wind up. If the teachers where I work have had Botox, then it clearly didn’t work very well

As for Kate Middleton dresses…. I would say 90% of teachers wear black slacks and a waterfall cardigan. The SLT may err towards a bit of Hobbs but long curls?!

Yep, happened to me and seven other 'outstanding/good' teachers across the academy trust who all happened to become suddenly dreadful after getting pregnant. My union rep said it was becoming frighteningly common. In my case, they outright fabricated 'evidence'. Luckily I moved to an absolutely wonderful school where it couldn't be more different. It absolutely can be a toxic profession and it actually does ruin lives.

I didn’t know anyone who wore dresses, heels and curled hair.

Head and deputy always wore flat shoes. In fact so did every member of staff who was female. None of them had long curled hair either.

How are jerks practical for chasing naughty teens?!

And none of us had Botox either… about 150 female staff….

DH is a teacher and as far as I know, only has had two colleagues who were "managed out" (same school). One was really pretty incompetent (and it came to light when they took his references apparently that he was currently in capability proceedings at his old school, but I think they wanted to give the guy a chance). The other was quite honestly unwell and I don't know exactly how that played out, but I think she essentially resigned.

Certainly in his (and therefore my) experience it is not rife.

@Rockrollrock

I think it’s poorly understood how insecure a teachers job actually is. A headteacher can start capability procedures based on quite spurious evidence and once capability is an established fact, your only option is to resign.

So while teachers are rarely dismissed, many are managed out.

But unlike poor Mr Paterson they have a right of appeal.

What?

Well, isn't this an indictment of standards at DfE, of large swathes of British culture and the entire state education system.

Teachers not retiring, being forced out for the HT's golf buddies, faces not fitting and malpractice persisting because HT likes your face/complaints by children and parents not being heeded by SLT.

What a shitshow!

And it's not surprising that a large proportion of those whose faces do fit have the emotional intelligence of a plank of wood.

I’ve seen it happen. It was quite nasty. Said member of staff managed to get damages though before they left for a very dubious injury that had then caused PTSD. I watched the whole thing with interest.

Family member managed out (too expensive and happy to point out when things were unfair or ridiculous, which was often) but now in much better position, more prestigious school, better salary and really feels valued and trusted. Best thing that could have happened for their career although horrid at the time.

To have fought it would have come at huge personal cost so they walked away with a generous payout.

Staff still there are utterly miserable.

I have worked in a school for the past 10 years and a relative of mine has worked in one for over 30 years and we have found it very difficult to get rid of any members of staff without having to go through very lengthy and unpleasant procedures (which we have never done). I’m referring to maintained schools though so maybe that’s different.