GDST schools’ heads’ exodus?

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Does anyone know what is going on at GDST schools near south London right now? There seem to have been an exodus of heads. The head of Croydon is leaving, the head of Clapham and Streatham has resigned and both the senior and junior school heads at Sydenham are leaving. Am told by someone who works there this is an unusual churn.

Am considering sending DD (yes I have name changed) to one of them so genuine question to work out whether we do it or go down another route. I know there was controversy over pensions but not sure what the latest is and if that would be enough to force out the heads. If anyone works at one, how is staff morale? If anyone has a DD at one - particularly the ones I mentioned - how have you found it lately? I can also see that class size numbers have shot up recently.

Has anyone heard about possible replacements for Sydenham or Clapham and Streatham?

Head of Putney High has also just announced she's moving on next year
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I had a look and saw Susie Longstaff is moving from PHS to a new "to be built" multi site school owned by Dukes Education. It really shows the deep pockets and ambition of Dukes to gain an outstanding head of an established school.

What is Duke’s Education and where do they plan to open schools?

Dukes Education is a relatively new schools group buying up schools across the U.K. but particularly in central and west London. They are spending a lot of cash, they are planning to open a massive site in Whitton as the secondary school for Radnor House.

Really interesting re Susie Longstaff and Dukes

I think Dukes were met with a lot of caution from most in the independent sector initially but now they are becoming seen as the 'safer option' of all the various private equity 'buy ups' of independent schools. They have a huge number of incredible schools in their group...and a lot of money. It is clear there is no stopping them so in a way just reassuring they are now getting top heads and independent school figures to make sure it goes in the right direction.

Also interesting GDST is now seen as just as 'risky' as companies like Dukes.

Susie Longstaff has been head for quite a while so suspect it’s time for a move. I think her children are at the school as well so that probably gets trickier the older they get.

I believe the head of Blackheath High is also leaving at the end of the year - to St George's Edinburgh

I don’t have any inside information but I note there were a lot of headship changes a couple of years ago - JAGS, Wimbledon, Woldingham, Alleyns. All seemed to be swapping heads in a big circle!

I’m guessing these things happen in waves and Covid may have set off or accelerated a lot of moves?

The Streatham & Clapham head had been there a long time no?

I have concerns about GDST and their PSHE - the external organisations they use and the unquestioning introduction of materials, books and lessons which are age inappropriate, reinforcing stereotypes and lacking an evidence base simply because they are recommended by external organisations.

If anyone else with girls at GDST has concerns, they can message me

Gosh if they are the "safest" option what is left for the rest. I have lots of friends at their schools in Kew and Chiswick and though are only going from bad to worse. Teachers leaving, local pupils leaving, classes overcrowded, management not on the ball on the day to day, the provision is generally mediocre. They are a business first. Yes they will do well for themselves.

And I wonder what is the Competition Commission doing about them buying around the whole of west and central London. That one will come too.

The current staff are okay in the o pension for now, but exactly who is going to be applying for jobs in those schools, when they now won’t get the teacher pension, but could elsewhere? No teacher pension and poor pay, means the brightest and best are likely to want to go elsewhere.

The irony is they wanted to cut costs, but it was very short sighted, because they’ve been stuck with remaining in for existing staff, whilst managing to make themselves less attractive when advertising for new staff. Long term, what’s the likely impact of all that on numbers and costs per head? The trouble with a lot of girls schools is that they are verging on too small to be viable. You only need some fairly small drops in number, for them to struggle to offer the full range of GCSEs and A Levels or to get a small sixth form, and a downward spiral point can be hit. I know it’s not at that point at the moment, but the pension thing won’t have helped them be attractive or offer more but actually less.

Perhaps they are counting on most independents coming out of the pension so they won’t be in a different position. But for now, the vast majority of the bigger and more successful independents remain within it, and they will be the places staff want to work if moving jobs now.

A close friend left due to pay. She's now working as a temp senior leader in the state system and making significantly more. Getting rid of TPS is absolutely going to impact recruitment. I'm leaving a school that's becoming a sinking ship (got my permanent residency just in time to leave at the end of the academic year). The school is still recruiting for 4 roles (in a 2 form primary!!!). My point is that schools with less to offer will definitely feel the hit.

So in a nutshell if you had a child about to go into year 4 at a state school, would you even consider Sydenham GDST or Blackheath GDST or would we be better looking at St Dunstan’s or Eltham? Don’t think DC is sadly going to get in to any of the Dulwich schools right now

It's very nieve to think leaving the TPS isn't going to massively affect recruitment in the current climate. I know a handful of teachers leaving the state sector for independents this year, as the pay is still good compared to state. They're in S London, one going to a GSDT school. But they've found the move easy, they've got the first jobs they've applied for. Yes they're good teachers, they're strong candidates, but just making the switch from state to private was really quite difficult a few years ago, even for great state teachers. They may be happy with the candidates they appointed, but they won't have been able to pick from many. Teachers are few and far between, in certain subjects they're non-existent, particularly in S London. Doing something as unattractive as leaving the TPS is a really poor decision.

If you have an alternative, given that it's only going to get worse as time goes on at GDST, as current staff leave and they struggle to recruit, I would look elsewhere.

My experience with the GDST is not a good one and the Head seems to run the school as a CEO and do not seem to care about the pupils. The GDST near me has had alot of teachers leaving

It will not be anything like their previous selection pool. Heads at Indies have to put a good spin on things.

depending on economic issues some may find that they have overextended themselves

Our non London based GDST is having an exodus of staff and pupils in general. We have a fairly new head teacher who has not proved popular amongst staff, pupils and parents . Her interpersonal skills are dreadful from what I have seen and experienced. I think the pension strike didn’t help but this alone isn’t the reason. I do wonder if where people have stayed put during the pandemic, opportunities have now become available and many are ready for a change.

The whole pension scheme debacle. Heads are leaving so that they don’t get caught up in the next stage . Staff are leaving for similar reasons plus those already stated by pp

He is going to be Head at Immanuel College in Bushey, Hertfordshire, from September (a school where he was previously Deputy Head): www.thejc.com/family-and-education/all/immanuel-college-names-its-new-headteacher-6oJI5IafdYiEiSf5vqPFRx

Yes, I know exactly where you are talking about. 😔Have you managed to exit?

@factsplease tell me more!!!

my DC attend a GDST school and I am very very happy with it so far (8yrs in). I did have concerns with the trans policy - felt it was too lenient and didn’t protect girls enough from their own immature teenaged brains.

Anyway, I wrote to the heads of the prep and high school and send them some literature & got very very favourable responses. Right now I am happy but I would love to know your thoughts please.

also re: vacancies etc - I think it’s usual post Covid churn. Many heads stayed with their schools in Covid when they would have naturally moved on.

Radnor House are not in TPS. I guess no Dukes Ed establishments are.

however with inflation etc the bursars from all indies may say it is time to give notice on TPS especially as it is under review in Spring

The CEO of GDST, Cheryl, as a lot to answer for as she pursued this pension change like a steamroller and several of the heads objected and disagreed with her actions during the strike. I am not sure if all of them left for that reason but the one at our school definitely did. He first went on a previously unannounced sabbatical immediately as the strike finished, and then later there was an announcement he wasn't coming back. Strangely, they have not brought anyone else in. I am not sure what is going to happen now as the state school teachers are probably going to go on strike to get 10% pay increases (there action delayed until school returns) and so unless GDST teachers get a similar increase then they will be behind state schools in both pay AND pensions, which isn't sustainable.

Note, the real problem GDST has with pensions is the earlier pension scheme, not the TPS. They used to run their own pensions scheme which they funded themselves and even though they closed it ten or so years ago (and transferred everyone into the TPS) there are still plenty of people alive and drawing on that pension. Interest rates have been zero since 2009 so that fund has been seriously depleted and had to be topped up. They have nowhere to transfer that black hole to, it's their scheme and they are stuck with it. So the only way they could save money was to get out of the TPS scheme, which is ironic as that was supposed to be the lower cost option that everyone got transferred into, but it is the only thing that management could actually do anything about. So basically the decisions made 30 or so years ago to give generous pensions are slowly strangling them to death.