Need advice – Was publicly criticised by headteacher while on supply

[Se12345]

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.

I'm a retired secondary teacher.

IMO, you did the right thing. Being a doormat just allows this type of person to walk all over you.

I'm glad that you let your agency know. Just forget about her once you leave and don't go back.

Inform the governors and your union

poor ect teacher 🥲

Yup. All she needed to do was to have a quiet word with you.

I'm not that sure what I think about this. I'm all for SLT supporting staff and not undermining them or their decisions with a pupils, but I don't really see that a spelling mistake that needs to be corrected or removed needs a private discussion because there are reception children in the room.

Surely to point out that you hadn't made the mistake and would deal with it would be easy enough. And I don't really see the issue with the TA being involved if it was her mistake - it's not like telling the whole staff room, it was the adults responsible n the class.

Good point.

Maybe not but the way the head went about brining up the spelling mistake was not on. She sounds like a bully on a power trip.

Sadly, this doesn't surprise me at all and I've been teaching for years. Many head teachers are on a complete power trip and the way people are spoken to in some schools wouldn't be tolerated in other workplaces. Sorry you had to experience this and you were right to contact her about it. I once witnessed a deputy head tear down a display a brand new TA had just put up because the backing paper was a bit bumpy underneath. The TA cried afterwards. It could've been handled in much more respectful way!

That’s not really fair at all. She should have spoken to you quietly to address this, so it could be corrected. She should definitely not of belittled you in front of the children!

Did you correct the mistakes after she spoke to you?

I Think you have done the right thing by sending the email and making your agency aware!

Doesn’t exactly give a good message to the kids about making mistakes either, does it?

No wonder she can't hold on to the staff! I'd inform the governors that you have concerns - no doubt her attitude is not in line with the school's values etc.

I bet you wish that you had just walked out!

Tbh I wouldn't expect to be having to monitor another adult's spelling unless asked by them.

I am not a teacher, so can't offer advice. But she sounds like Miss Trunchball. That was not nice at all, couldnt see have just said it to you quietly ffs

You did the correct thing emailing them. Possibly explains why the last teacher was forced out. I would inform the governors so they can see a pattern possibly emerging.

Well I disagree. As a teacher, you have the responsibility to ensure that information on display in an educational settings is correct. Your classroom is a reflection of your standards as a teacher. I think the head should've addressed this with you privately, however I don't think it looks good the fact that you seem more bothered about how you look than what the children are learning.

Wow. Sounds like a lucky escape.

The head doesn’t exactly have good standards though, does she? She’s showing the kids how to belittle and bully. A quiet word with OP or making a joke of it would have been fine, but to speak to OP in that way, in front of the kids was awful. It’s a great way to make them scared of making mistakes.

You should have noticed, and corrected, the mistake. The kids are being let down by the TA, you, AND the head.

Thanks for clarifying the length of time. She shouldn’t have embarrassed you the way she did but I do think that you should have checked the displays to ensure they didn’t contain any misspelt words etc. She might have thought that you weren’t taking pride in your classroom and leaving misspelt words on the displays for the children to see might have caused irritation, especially if she has high standards on what is expected. Good luck at your next job 🌸

Many years ago I was teaching adult education courses for parents, held on school premises. Usually it was a really positive experience, with a warm welcome in nearly all schools. However, I worked in one school where the HT shouted at me in the staffroom in front of colleagues, criticising me about something that I had in fact done correctly, and was exceptionally rude about the parents who I was teaching. At the end of the morning I went to his office and told him to address any perceived issues with me privately in future and that if he ever raised his voice to me again, privately or in front of others, I would immediately leave.

As I knew there was no one else available who could cover the course, he needed me more than I needed that particular contract. He couldn't bring himself to apologise, but sheepishly avoided me for the rest of the time I was there.

Bullies working in education sometimes rely on people not challenging them. As a supply teacher or visiting tutor it's sometimes easier to challenge a difficult HT than it is for the employed staff. I'm still glad I called him out.

@TheBookShelf It was 6 months ago, I'm sure OP has moved on!

CanTheWorldSlowDownPlease · Today 14:33
** It was 6 months ago, I'm sure OP has moved on!

@CanTheWorldSlowDownPlease Yes, I'm aware it's not a live discussion currently. I was sharing a similar story to make a general point that might be of interest to anyone experiencing a similar situation who might come across the thread.

Don’t ever go back there. And tell them why. Completely unacceptable.