Dismayed with teaching staff turnover

[chasingtail]

DS & DD are in Year 3 & Recep at a very small (65 pupils) rural primary school.

When DS first started they had a very nurturing bonkers head, whom both the pupils and staff adored, even if the academic standards weren't brilliant. DS did struggle with literacy and numeracy but on the whole settled in well and made good friends.

The Head retired 2 years ago and within 2 terms of the new head starting all 4 of the teaching staff resigned. They all gave differing reasons but the general feeling is because of the new Head's determination to drag the academic standards up off the floor. To be fair some of the staff did need a good boot up the backside but the mass resignation wasn't brilliant for the children.

Onto the current school year - all resigning treachers were replaced (2 being NQTs) and all seemed well. However, a letter came home last week announcing yet again that 3 of the 4 new teachers have resigned!

We have been assured that replacements have been found for September but I can't help thinking that this constant turnover is really bad for the pupils. And while I realise that tachers do come and go, this does have a massive impact on such a small school, in terms of consistency and strategy.

Many of the parents blame the current head for the turnover, saying she is a bully and undermines her staff, and even at the last parents evening DS's teacher aluded to this.

I feel now I'm at a cross roads and maybe should look at other schools in the area. While I think DD would thrive wherever she went, I think the constant change is not helping DS. I like the fact it is a small school and would hate to move him away from his friends but it is easy to detect the low staff morale, which is surely impacting on the children and the delivering of their education (ironic as the Head was brought in to up the standards!).

any thoughts or advice would be gratefully received as not sure what the best course of action should be.

How stressful. I would say that if such a high proportion of teachers are leaving it is almost certainly due to the Head and that's unlikely to change anytime soon unfortunately :-/

Have you (and other concerned parents) written a letter to the governors or requested a meeting about it? If not, you should as that might force them to act. If so, I'm afraid that if you really aren't happy, the only real choice is to vote with your feet. Look around and see what options you have in terms of other schools

Sorry that I couldn't be more positive but having experienced it as a teacher, it sucks the spirit out of you and the kids inevitably suffer :-/

A Head can have a huge impact on staff morale and whilst most teachers will try not to let their morale impact on their teaching, I think it is almost inevitable that it will.

From my own eI have to say that as a secondary teacher, there is a local school that I will not apply for any post coming up there (in my subject) as there seem to be an awful lot of posts come up and it just makes me wonder why they have such a high turnover of staff.

Boo! It's hard to know if the Head is an awful bully or if her style has so far not suited the teachers she employs, as it's such a small school. I think I wouldn't wait around and see, but probably look for a bigger school that was more stable.

Sorry hit send before I'd finished adding a bit - should read "From my own experience, I am trying to get out of my current job due to a new head but that as a secondary teacher...

It does depend on the reasons.
The infant school (6 teachers plus head) mine went to has had quite a staff turnover.
Dd1 went through the school with the same teachers that had been there (except 1) 10+ years. Everyone said no one would manage to follow the head!
Head left when dd1 left, retired. Within the next 18 months 4 other teachers left (all also retired).
Now since then there's been a certain amount of coming and going. But it's all reasons: having children, moving away with other half's job, promotion...

And having a few years down the line, I can see that the previous head, whereas very good in some ways, had issues that were hidden because that was as it always had done. I would say that the school was much stronger than it was when dd1 was there.

But in your situation, I would be concerned. Firstly that the teachers should not be "alluding" the head is a bully to parents. That is unprofessional, even if they think it.
If the previous head was loved you will find parents (and possibly teachers too) that hate the new head automatically. I saw that. For some, the new head could do nothing right, simply because she wasn't the old head. Even now, 5 years later I hear sometimes "Well old head did it this way..." on something that really isn't an issue.
I would also be concerned about the academic standards. it may be that the head is bullying the teachers about it. It could simply be that they don't want the hassle of improving it.

I would suggest considering moving the children, simply because either the head is a problem or the staff are!
Or you could see if there is space for a parent governor and try and help from within.

thanks for all your prompt responses!

Tbh wasn't sure how I felt about the whole thing but it certainly can't be an ideal situation. In the first instance think I will write to the governors to express my concerns - think i will be one of many.

One of the other reasons I am reluctant to move DC's is that the class sizes are tiny. 12 in Reception and 20 in a mixed class of Y3 & 4; however I guess it doesn't matter how small the class is if there are problems within the staff.

DeWe, Ds's teacher didn't so much allude to bullying, more a case of being undermined. when we raised our concerns about the lack of spelling tests, she agreed with us & just kind of rolled her eyes saying it the "schools current policy". We drew our own conclusions from that statement!

I don't think it's at all unusual for there to be quite a turnover when a new HT arrives, and that in itself wouldn't have bothered me, but the resignations of the new staff shouts that there is something to worry about, and I think it would be perfectly reasonable to ask the Governing Body if they can reassure you there is just some unlikely co-incidence or if this is going to be an ongoing problem.

If year on year, the staff are resigning, it is the head who is a nightmare to work for. I have never met a lazy teacher btw. Under trained, under resourced, stressed out, hampered by a difficult head, or by circumstances out of their control, yes. Lazy? No. Teaching is a vocation and everyone wants to do well. Some are more capable than others but not for lack of trying.

At the school my dc's attend we are on head no 3 since i have been there.
Head 1 complete cow. Would undermine and belittle teachers in front of pupils to the point of making one male teacher burst into tears at her treatment of him. Staff turnover during her leadership was 60-70% year on year. Chair of governors beyond useless so we couldnt get rid.

Head 2 mostly lovely. Vast improvement on the last one but still 40% of staff left at the end of her first year. She is currently on maternity leave so we have

Head 3 (acting head, was the deputy) The nicest loveliest head EVER. Encouraging, motivating, fair and absolutely fabulous.
So its no surprise to find out that for the first year in in 10 years at the school we 100% staff retention.

Can you visit a few other schools to see how they would compare to your school?

I agree it is the fact that new staff are leaving that is most concerning. I know lazy teachers , not all see it as a vocation .

Along with Arisbottle, I see the departure of teachers recruited by the new head as being the most concerning aspect. It is not uncommon - and not by any means always a bad thing in terms of the education that the school provides - that there is something of a changepver of teachers after a new head arrives. A new head sometimes sees things which the 'old regime' had become complacent about or not recognised as issues, and staff very used to the 'status quo' do decide that they would prefer to move on.

However, the fact that two of the newly-recruited teachers have decided to move IS more of a concern. However, it may only be that they were recruited on a 1 year fixed-term contract. This is an increasingly common practice, especially when, through the fixed resignnation dates for teachers, a post has had to be filled only from NQTs / unemployed teachers. So say, the old teacher resigned at the May half term last year. The newly-recruited teacher could ONLY be one who was not in employment at that point, which restricts the pool from which a really great teacher can be recruited. So the new teacher is given only a 1 year contract, to enable the school to re-advertise in good time before the May deadline this year, and thus recruit a more experienced teacher (or re-employ the teacher they already have on a permanent contract). This can be a big benefit, especially where due to recent staff turnover, experienced teachers are needed to lead subjects such as Maths or Literacy within the school.

This may well NOT be what has happened. But I did just want to put an alternative scenario.

I wouldn't like this. My DS's are in a large school, the largest in our town.

In the 8 years myDC's have been there (3 DC's), four teachers out of 15 have retired (two staying on long after they would usually have retired), one has left to be a deputy HT, one moved with her DP's job so took a post at a school in her new area, and one decided to become a SAHM after her second DC.

That's it. In almost 9 school years, and two HT's.

Most of the teachers are the same as when my DD started there in Y2. She's now almost finished Y10!

I would also say from experience that 'dragging the academic standards up from the floor' is very, very hard work, especially if there has been an issue for years, so that the children in the older classes may be significantly below where they should be and MASSIVE progress has to be made in a restricted time.

Whatever the head is like, working in such a school in such a scenario is hard! If, for whatever reason, the staff team does not 'gel' and all pull together and support one another through this process, then it may be that some teachers decide to look for 'easier' schools to work in elsewhere. Remember that the head herself will be under ENORMOUS personal pressure from LEA, Ofsted etc to improve standards, and those circumstances do not always bring out a head's warm and fluffy side!

Couthy,

The school my DS was in for Reception / Y1 (5 class school) has no teacherrs left from when he was there (he's now in Y7).

This is BRILLIANT for the children who are now there, because the school is now SO much better.....

new head at the small primary my kids are in (108 students) has 4 years on resulted in only 1 teacher still being in the school. So that to me is not a huge area of concern. I would wait another year and see.. We had 1 teacher leave last year however that was a positive thing.

If next year a high % leaves too I would be concerned.
There are lazy teachers just like there is lazy people in any profession.

I guess - there ARE a few teachers at the school that I wouldn't mind too much if they moved on...but then there are others that I would be sad to see go, IYSWIM.

It would depend if it was the, erm, more popular teachers that left, or the less universally liked teachers that left...

interesting to hear everyone's views. Parents at the school seem to feel very differently as well - some are just bypassing the governor/LEA route and are looking at altnerative schools, whilst others think "change" is good and the constant turnover will have no detrimental impact on the pupils.

I am trying to take the middle ground at the moment, certainly not making any knee jerk decisions as frankly the alternatives aren't brilliant. BUT I think the Governors should at least call an open meeting where we can air our views on the situation. Tellingly, it is nigh on impossible to contact our Head of Gov directly, any correspondence she makes gives no contact number or email address. Is the school obliged to pass on comms between parents and Gov's? I have spoken with our Parent Gov but she seems just as bewildered as everyone else!!

I'm not an expert but I'm fairly sure that if you write a letter to CofG via the clerk, it has to be read out in the correspondence item of the agenda of full govs. However, what you need to remember is that the govs will have employed the head so they have something of a vested interest. As will in most cases the LA adviser responsible for the school.

thaks River, you've made a good point about the Gov's employing the Head. They aren't going to want to see the appointment as a failure.

Day after the news broke the H of Gov was striding around putting a very positive spin on the situation saying how impressed she was the calibre of applicants , but disappeared pretty PDQ after being bomabarded with questions!

This could so similarly be our local school. It is a small school and several teachers have left, which in a small school works out to be a high percentage! H of Gov has basically said that all problems need to be addressed at the school - is that not what Governors are for? HT has asked for anyone with problems to contact him but how do you tell him that most of the problems stem from him without causing me or DS to be ostracised?