Hi everyone, I’m currently working as a supply teacher in a Reception class at a primary school. Something happened yesterday that left me feeling really uncomfortable, and I’d appreciate some outside perspective.
Around 11am, the headteacher came into my classroom while I was engaged with the children. She suddenly said, loudly enough for the class and TA to hear:
“Miss, you made two big mistakes – spelling mistakes – tongue and …...”
I tried to explain that the display she was referring to wasn’t my work – it had been up before I arrived and I hadn’t noticed the errors yet. But she cut me off mid-sentence and continued (still in a raised tone):
“Nope, this is your classroom and your reflection as a teacher. It’s unacceptable. I will not have wrong spellings on display for Reception children to carry. It’s not good enough as a teacher.”
I replied, “Yes, you’re right,” just to try and de-escalate. She snapped back, “Yes, I am right,” and then walked out.
The whole thing felt really aggressive and humiliating, especially being called out in front of children and staff. I’ve since emailed her to express how it made me feel — that I welcome feedback, but feel it should be respectful and private. I also sent the email to my agency for transparency.
As a qualified teacher who’s worked hard to get here, it’s disheartening to be treated like this. With so many teachers already leaving the profession, I feel like mutual respect should be the bare minimum — even for supply staff.
Has anyone else experienced something similar? How did you deal with it? Did I do the right thing by addressing it?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.