Did my headteacher sabotage my job interview?

[Mahanii]

This morning at 10.30 an upcoming job interview was confirmed by email. At 3 it was cancelled. I work in education so references are generally asked for before interviews.
WIBU to suspect my head of somehow sabotaging my interview?

What a weird thing to say.

Why- the poster suggested that education asking for full references was wrong
It is part of the safer recruitment processes outlined in the Keeping Children Safe in Education Guidance.

@MyJobisNotOuting a lot of the reference is about their skills not just safeguarding concerns. Most other employers don’t provide that level of detail anymore

With all due respect I see hundreds of references within education for multiple LAs, schools and MATs each year

I do over 200 HT recruitments alone

But you clearly know more!

But nobody suggested safeguarding children was wrong...the poster just made an observation that other businesses don’t ask for detailed references

Why are you so rude?!

@WhackingPhoenix thank you, it was just an observation, not saying it is wrong. I think it is interesting that most non-educational establishments refuse to give detailed references nowadays.

Yes i agree. Some positively refuse which is a pain if you have a great track record.

Unnecessary over reaction there @MyJobisNotOuting . Hope you can interpret references better than you can MN posts. So rude.

I used to work for an education leader who did this. He would decide when you had done enough, whether you were right for a job and woe betide anyone who didn't tell him.

In the way of cosmic justice it very quickly got around other local trusts and they learned him bad-mouthing someone was a good sign!

Selection for interview should have been a scored process. They can't just withdraw unless something substantive like safeguarding concerns were disclosed, in which case there should be a record and you could justifiably absolutely kick off. Ask about rescheduling, and if you don't hear anything in 10 days ask for a written explanation/SAR them.

A second interview I was due to have next week in a different school has now also been cancelled. I do suspect foul play!

I'd be getting a copy of those references @Mahanii

Something similar happened to me years ago.
I put in for a promotion in another area and asked my boss if she would give a reference. She told me that she would definitely give me a bad reference as she didn't want to lose me. She laughed when she said it.

I didn't get the job.

When I complained to HR they said that she didn't mean it and it was just a joke.

Why would not just interview the other candidate first before going back out to market?

They could be perfectly suitable.

Maybe get a friend to call the school the day before and say they think they've got their schools or dates mixed up and is there an interview the next day? Perhaps they could say they think they deleted an email or lost their phone, and give a fake name? Office staff will either say there are no interviews, or they may ask for a name and check the list. Either way, you'll know if the interviews are going ahead.

I'm not surprised. I was told that my last Head used to sabotage the applications of staff trying to leave.

It won't make any difference if the Head has sabotaged it off the record.

It's only made me more determined to leave. I'm applying for more jobs and putting someone else down for references.

You can't someone else down as a reference. They'll be required to contact your current head anyway as they are potentially the only person who would know if there was a live safeguarding issue.

I worked for a head that gave 'bad' references. I asked to see it after I realised after the first interview. Then at the next interview, I brought it up and said every other staff member that had tried to leave the school had received similar references. I got the job.

Good luck op

@Mahanii in our school the exams manager can do references too. Hope you find a way out!

I asked both schools why they had cancelled - both gave woolly answers, one said not in a position to interview, the other said delays and they'd be in touch at some point.
No reason given.

I've NEVER had an interview cancelled, and now 2 in a week?

You may be right about the foul play, but as someone else already said, you can’t not use your current head as a referee. It’s a safeguarding thing. One referee must be your most recent HT.

This is suss. But teachers don’t see their headteachers and say they are ‘looking around for more money’ it’s a pay scale.

ask the headteacher nicely to see your references and if she refuses ask the union.

I'm not a teacher.

Can't you do a subject access request to see your reference?