Teacher leaving due to bullying SLT

[Teachergoing]

I just want to tell people. I have no one to tell.

SLT have been very sneakiky bringing me down over the last few years, and finally I've cracked.
A member of SLT was rude, shouted at me and just generally unprofessional. They blamed me for something they had never told me not to do (something pretty minute with little effect on anything).
I complained about the manner of SLT and was basically told it was all my fault, that I misread the situation because of 'how my brain works' (they know I'm autistic).They invented witnesses and made up stuff.

There's nothing I can do. I can't see how my union could help here. They have 'witnesses' and all SLT just defend each other and back each other up.

So, as I can't imagine working for these people any longer, I'm going to leave ... I will miss the children and my TAs desperately but I cannot stay somewhere I feel has put a target on my head.

I will not be applying for any other teaching jobs. Maybe a TA in the future when I've recovered from this, as currently I'm all over the place.

There, thanks for reading. Just wanted that off my chest.

Find another job OP and move on. If you cannot trust them then that will not change in the months ahead. Get out.

I was just thinking about your situation. If you get a supply job it would give you a chance to see how those schools are run and then you could apply for a full time job. I am wondering if a holiday away could be useful as I think you deserve being looked after for awhile. After Christmas it will be off peak. I know teachers usually can only go away at peak times. I am retired now and I like having holidays at cheaper costs. It might do you some good to think well the rest of the school are having a busy time and you are enjoying yourself.

Sorry to read this. Schools can be horrible places sometimes.

Very common. I left a school a few years ago for similar.

Things like:
Head actually arguing about what I was teaching when it was an ultra - prescriptive phonics lesson.
Deputy storming in angrily because I'd supposedly made a mistake, and then conveniently put me on a support plan the next week after I'd shown them the email THEY SENT which said to do what I did. They never did admit their mistake even with written evidence. And I seemed to be the scape goat for absolutely every problem the school had for the rest of the term until I left.

Good for you, OP. Tell your story to the union rep and that alone will do you a power of good. It needs to be told. Go with an open mind - ask what are your options, how you can buy time, whether to sign off sick and how much sickness pay you'd get and for how long and whether it would affect your ability to get other jobs e.g.as a supply teacher, whether the union can raise it informally or raise a formal grievance or discrimination case, how to ease yourself out, get a reference that properly reflects your time and service and so on.

Unfortunately OP this seems to be a very common way to offload teachers these days. SLT stick together, they have 1000 policies they can refer to for whatever your argument may be. I've learnt its best to just get out. Currently planning my escape.

This is so great to hear. What do you do now?

Don’t dismiss the possibility of teaching again if you love it. I had a term off with dreadful mental health after bullying by governors and Academy leaders (I was headteacher) and I’m now thriving as deputy head in a very different, and lovely, school. Not all school leaders are cruel!

I've been there and you have my full sympathy. People are not promoted in education because they are good leaders/people managers (managing a class of kids is completely different to managing colleagues and they just don't get this) and this leads to all sorts of problems. When I was being pushed out, I spoke with my union and could evidence half of what was being said were lies. But then I decided that even if I got the bad judgement recinded, I didn't want to be there anyway. I left and went on supply, initially as a stop gap, but here I am 7 years later still on supply with a thriving tutoring business on the side. Just leave. Do a bit of supply and tutoring whilst you recover from the toxicity of your school and then plan your next step. Good luck!

Hey: very similar experience here. In my case the union were unhelpful (private school sector in AU) but there is something about talking it through that helps.
Also, it’s been nearly a year for me, I’ve been emergency (sun) teaching. No meetings, just one day at a time, no pressure, no reports, no parents. If my mental health is low, I dont go. Regular therapy, exercise, water and learning to see it differently. ♥️

I'm so sorry to hear that this has happened to you. Take care of yourself. I had to take my ASD son out of school and the SLT were vile about it. I don't know what's happened to schools, I really don't .

Please leave.
It's not worth your mental health declining because of the SLT culture.

You know you didn't do it. But the SLT member won't retract/back down.

Start putting yourself 1st. Get union advice and get out of there.

You can do supply TA teaching to help financially and take time to rethink.

I'm sorry your school isn't looking after their staff and striving to be a happy positive place to work. This seems to be increasingly the norm.

What tends to happen is good people are bullied out of jobs/roles so only nasty people are left, they climb the greasy pole and become SLT...even if it means they aren't capable or competent, they become SLT/head teachers...things have gotten worse kids behaviour ect/pay/work conditions so teachers leave, they are desperate to keep and retain teachers so they let people who shouldn't be Senior be senior because there is no one else..the irony is, schools are meant to have anti bullying policies but staff are the ones who get bullied

I think this is an unfair trope though. Every SLT member in my school (including my head) has been promoted because they are genuinely good at their job (including teaching classes, infact my head does regularly teach!). You’ll find management in every sector who have been promoted for the wrong reasons, but schools are not full of these, and I don’t think peddling that is helpful at all. The OP needs support but also realistic responses and there are lovely schools out there. Yes, some of us have had bad experiences, but you can recover your career!

I echo everything said by PPs;please get in touch with your union at first light tomorrow.

After a while,your absence will trigger a meeting with OH. The doctors in OH have sadly seen all this before but their written report after your consultation will be an important piece of evidence of the state that you've been left in and will highlight that reasonable adjustments have not been made.

I wish you all the best.Look after yourself🤗

It's common to manage out Heads of Department who are long serving and those past the P6 threshold. I worked at a school where 4 different P6+ staff were managed out including one who retired early and all replaced with NQT's or teachers with 1 or 2 years experience. It's terrible to think good teachers are treated like this after years of service, and often towards the end of their careers, but it happens.

GP's will sometimes sign off for a month in the first instance if you tell them you are feeling under a lot of work placed stress and being bullied at work and it makes you feel low of mood and harder to concentrate. A month off might make you feel better. If you feel stressed go to your GP first, then speak to your union.

Oh yes, they've already accused me of not following a policy ...

God I just feel sick and I want to cry and cry. I'm a very quiet, sensitive person who just wants to please and I can't believe they'd do this to me. I'm devastated.

Call your union and ask for casework assistance

Teachers don’t get sacked do they? Unless gross incompetence. Speak to the union. Maybe a grievance or solution focussed meeting due to you losing confidence in them. Would a side says move work better?

Not true. They can be sacked if a particular senior person just doesn't happen to like you , it happened to me and has happened to many others. Just search the teacher capability threads to see how performance management is weaponised against teachers to force them out - particularly more experienced teachers who are expensive.

I'm glad you've decided this @Teachergoing. You are doing the right thing.

Teachers get 'managed out'. Usually they're bullied until they go off sick and leave.

In this type of situation, if you feel you’re being targeted I would acquaint myself with the grievance policy and what constitutes bullying and harassment. I would document every instance with date/ time/ location// witnesses/ impact on you / other evidence in your favour.

On a basic level I’d use email to reflect back your understanding of interactions and remain super professional and positive even when they’ve been a dickhead. These make it hard to manage you out. Don’t be afraid to say that you can’t accept that you did something you didn’t do but you will ensure that you follow X Y or Z policy in future as you normally do. Use ChatGPT if necessary.

It’s never ok to be shouted at and I’d be surprised
if you were the only one who has been shouted at…find them casually without it looking like you’re leading a witch-hunt.

Sometimes (group) grievances can bring about positive change.

And I would look for another job.

I would get some counselling til I found a new job. Money well spent anyway or if have a friend who is a head then get their informal support. You might just need coaching on how to stick up for yourself and gather evidence so that you can’t be trampled over by stressed out colleagues.

Speak to your union, they can help with your options. Happened to me and I was given a "pay out" to leave (I'm disabled and they'd basically discriminated against that- they paid me so I didn't sue basically. Wouldn't even have known that it was an option had I not had union support).

The pay out gave me some breathing space and 6yrs on I'm a SENCO in an alternative provision and it's the happiest I've ever been in a school, but I'd never have thought this was the job for me, but as others have said it's transferable skills.

Good luck.