Headteacher?

[oneboy3girls]

The HT army D's school is pleasant and polite,but somewhat detached He does not know who is in what class,he does not know children's full names or even fist names .T his is evident from Good work assembly. He has been there 3 years. My ds is happy at school and has had3 good teachers. How common is this for aHT? I obviously have major concerns.Tia

My ds is happy at school and has had3 good teachers.

Nothing else matters, really.

Thanks Nulliferous.I see your point

Thanks Nulliferous.I see your point

I would find that a bit odd, tbh.

How big is school?

And what went strangely at the Good Work assembly?

150 pupils .When teacher announced that Olivia had done great work, two Olivia's stood up.He then said which Olivia is Olivia Brown ,the full name given by the teacher He had no idea.He then asked a pupil who appeared from nowhere to collect a medal . What class are you in? This sort of thing happen s a lot.

I'm assuming he's a non-teaching Head? My previous Head was the same. She didn't teach, so I can partly see why it was hard to get to know all the kids (same size school) but at the same time she didn't ever make herself accessible to parents and kids. It was deeply cringe in merit assemblies when she clearly didn't know who was who.
New Head knows every child in the school.

I suppose it depends on what you want. If you want a head teacher who is friendly with the children and is good at remembering names you are right to be concerned. But being a good leader is so much more. If you want a head teacher who has a clear vision for the school, who recruits, develops and monitors high quality teachers, who has an handle on progress of cohorts, who manages the budget well, etc. remembering names and classes pales into insignificance.

Our HT has an idea which year group children are in, but doesn't know which of the classes within that year group. But she is aware of which are the strongest teachers and monitors more closely those who are only "good". She meets each teacher several times a term to analyse progress of children in their class and suggest strategies for those not making expected progress. She has an open door policy for all. She trusts her staff and delegates that level of knowledge to them, knowing we will involve her if we have any important information or concerns

Couldn't agree more with isitfriday. Think about what you actually want in a school-if your head has recruited and managed 3 good teachers and your child is happy-it sounds like they're doing their job!

150 pupils .When teacher announced that Olivia had done great work, two Olivia's stood up.He then said which Olivia is Olivia Brown ,the full name given by the teacher He had no idea.He then asked a pupil who appeared from nowhere to collect a medal . What class are you in? This sort of thing happen s a lot.

I'd find it a bit odd.... Maybe he's good at running a school but no tremble ring names and faces?
(Ds had a year 2 teacher who never knew who was collecting which child....even though the same patents turned up each day!)
The HT and my sons 1000+ comprehensive makes it his business to know every child, but everyone's different.

I would expect him to know most of the names tbh - maybe not all on the tip of their tongue, but with a vague idea if they thought hard enough! That's certainly the case with the heads I've worked with, some of whom have upwards of 500 pupils. As others have said though, in the grand scheme of things good class teachers are probably more 'up there' on my wish list for my own DC.

I'm a HT myself of a similar sized school & find it quite difficult to remember the names of all the children (ours change on a very regular basis). I'm better at the KS2 than the KS1 children & sometimes in assembly they all look the same .
Maybe he gets nervous in front of large groups or in front of the parents?

Presumably Olivia 1 and Olivia2 don't have frequent contact with the Head and so he is a bit hazy on surnames, it is the ones he DOES know the names of that are a worry!

If you are happy with the teaching then I wouldn't be concerned. Not ideal but if he isn't teaching then minimal day to day impact.

OneBoy - that's not many kids to get to know in 3 years. So I'm afraid I'd be a little about him. However, having good teachers is the thing that matters and maybe that is where the head has directed his energy. So, count your blessings.

Hmm, depends really. If you are happy with everything else about the school, then it suggests that the head is doing a good job. However, our head seems to know all 420 kids pretty well, so it does seem a bit strange to me in a school so small...

Thanks for all the replies

I agree with IsItFridayYetPlease - what you want most from a headteacher is someone who knows how to manage a school, get the best out of the teachers and retain the good staff. If he isn't creating an atmosphere in the school where everyone is polite but detached, then I don't really see the problem: he's playing to his strengths and enabling others to play to theirs (ie doing a good leadership and management job). Having calm, guiding hands behind the scenes is surely far, far better than a headteacher tyrant who dominates the school with their personality and makes everyone dance to their tune or get out? It is, after all, the teachers teaching your children, not the headteacher.

It is certainly reassuring if the Head has a good memory for names and faces, as it give the impression they care (although I've know AWFUL headteachers who know all the children's names...), but being someone myself who has an atrocious memory for names, I have great sympathy for others who have a similar problem! People with bad memories for names are sometimes just people with bad memories for names - a bit of a handicap in a school, but it doesn't necessarily mean you don't like the children!

Hi oneboy3girls

I'm afraid I agree with Nulliferous.

We have a superhead at DD2's new school (started earlier this year) - who is only very rarely in attendance. She's off doing good deeds at struggling schools. She doesn't know people's names, she forgets whether she's met you or not, etc... - but the impression people tend to have is what she's concerned about is good teaching, supporting teachers, good tracking of progress and identifying struggling students early and catching them before its too late. And none of us can fault her on that.

Her real value is in carefully selecting great staff - her two deputy heads effectively run the school - and supporting/ trusting them to do a good job and raise standards even higher.

If your DCs are happy at school. Doing well in terms of traditional 3 Rs (with added input from you perhaps?). And you have no major qualms about their health/ safety at school - then my genuine advice is don't put so much value in a HT knowing your child's name. (another way of looking at it may be to ask yourself if you know all the names of the pupils in your DC's class yes? - if the answer is no, why should it be any different for a HT?).

My genuine experience has been with the HT of the single form primary DD1 still attends and DD2 transferred from - although she knows many parents' and children's names - I'd have much rather she was interested in attainment and raising standards (of teaching, learning, curriculum breadth, etc...). And if it meant I missed out on the Hello Mrs. PSBD - I think I would have happily lived with it.

HTH

The head at the school I work at knows all of the 450 children's first names. I always find it amazing- she knows which classes too.

I'm a little surprised he doesn't know the children better in a small school like that, but, as everyone else has said, it's not important in the scheme of things - the first reply sums it up really, and then IsItFriday puts it very well further down.

I am going to differ from a number of posters here. I do agree about teaching and learning in a school, but a school is more than that. Non teaching heads have known all the children in larger schools than this and I think the a Head not engaging with the children or the parents is not completely fulfilling the role of Head. This IS part of his job. It sets the tone for the school. The very best Heads will meet and greet occasionally, they will teach occasionally, they will go into classrooms to monitor teaching so they get to know the children. I would expect better and I think the OP is right to question his ability to be an outstanding head because he is opting out of some areas of Headship other Heads would consider vital.