Performance issues with Head Teacher

[EloiseMinch]

At DC's primary the Head Teacher is all but absent. I am not sure we have physically seen her this school year and all problems are referred to the deputy head. DD is in year 4 and this almost complete absence has been going on since DD started.

We have been trying over the course of the year to escalate bullying problems involving DS - the problems are still ongoing and we are unable to get an appointment to discuss the issues with the Head. This is a problem for other parents who have other concerns about the school (eg staff turnover, resourcing, teaching standards etc).

We're going to write to the governors to set out our concerns - and try and arrange a meeting with them. Does anyone know what performance standards a head teacher has - or how we can find them out? We'd like to make some concrete suggestions about how the head should be performance managed.

Send an email to the school office ‘for the attention of the HT’

I did that and have been completely ignored do far. As I mentioned above, the deputy is perfectly responsive. It's just the head who refuses to interact with parents.

I am beyond staggered at the sheer cheek of parents wanting to suggest ways in which the Head Teacher of a school should be 'performance-managed!'

With the best will in the world, I really don't see why it is cheeky to want to make sure the governors know about serious weaknesses with the head. The weaknesses have serious repercussions for hundreds of children. It would be irresponsible not to do anything.

I also don't understand why it's bad to think it's a potentially a performance management issue if the problem is serious enough. However, I do recognise there are just two completely different attitudes to authority being expressed which are unlikely to be resolved quickly.

But that's not what you said. It's one thing expressing your dissatisfaction with how an issue has been handled by a Head Teacher, but quite another to do what you said in your OP, which was to make "concrete suggestions."
Who the hell do you think you are?!

With the best will in the world, I really don't see why it is cheeky to want to make sure the governors know about serious weaknesses with the head. The weaknesses have serious repercussions for hundreds of children. It would be irresponsible not to do anything.
Then do as people have said countless times on this thread and follow the school complaints procedure, outlining the bullying issues and where you feel the school has failed to act.

I also don't understand why it's bad to think it's a potentially a performance management issue if the problem is serious enough.
As people have said, that is not your place to decide. It is certainly not your place to try and get parents together to lead a coordinates attack on someone when you know fuck all about their overall professional competency.

However, I do recognise there are just two completely different attitudes to authority being expressed which are unlikely to be resolved quickly.
Nothing to do with authority issues and everything to do with the fact you are totally unreasonable for being so arrogant as to believe you should be able to muscle in on anyone's performance management (and are open to creating some kind of parental pack based on playground gossiping).

I love school threads. You can have a general consensus of 'there seems to be an issue here so follow the complaints procedure' and still posters will decide that is a sign that everyone thinks teachers and schools are untouchable and bow down to authority.

To be honest though, it would be so much easier if the Head had talked to Eloise and diffused the situation. Everyone has said the performance management of the Head is down to the Governors and this really ought to be the end of the discussion instead of it running and running.

Clearly the only route is the complaints procedure but it seems ludicrous that it has come to this. If all the parents use this route, the GB will be inundated. They may know that the Head is unwilling to see parents of course but are doing nothing about it. I have some sympathy with Eloise about that. The Head is not taking responsibility for building relationships with stakeholders and it will probably bite them on the backside in the end. Parent View might be very negative!

Then do as people have said countless times on this thread and follow the school complaints procedure, outlining the bullying issues and where you feel the school has failed to act

I did attempt to do this about a week ago but was told it was too near the end of term and should wait until September.

Nothing to do with authority issues and everything to do with the fact you are totally unreasonable for being so arrogant as to believe you should be able to muscle in on anyone's performance management (and are open to creating some kind of parental pack based on playground gossiping).

We really don’t see this the same way, but that’s fine. People can disagree. I am not sure calling me arrogant is fine though.

Who the hell do you think you are?!

She's THAT parent. She might be the most THAT parent I've ever seen.

It's become clear over 80 repetitive messages that no amount of clear, precise explanation about why she's wrong will get her to understand how schools work.

It also seems clear (because it's been asked so often) that the only think this head has done 'wrong' is not reply to Her Majesty's email.

To be honest though, it would be so much easier if the Head had talked to Eloise and diffused the situation.

• Perhaps this head likes clear delegated roles and knows the deputy is handling it.
• Perhaps they have spoken to/heard of Her Majesty before and know it will be a pointless, circular conversation.
• Perhaps they are genuinely deficient in 'visibility' and meeting parents.
• Perhaps it's any one of a million other possible reasons why they are busy and the deputy is dealing with it.

Since the OP is clearly not a reliable narrator, we will never know how much of what she says is true.

It sounds like there's an on/off issue and there's been very little in the way of purposeful movement.

One minute nothing is being done, then you've tried to speak to the head multiple times, then you're annoyed over the office staff, then the deputy head is involved, next they aren't, then there's a range of bullying incidents, now there's claims of victim blaming.

It's deemed reasonable to raise a complaint within 3 months of the incident/issue. If this has been going on as long as you say, I have no idea why you've spent so much time courting playground opinion over going through official channels.
As it stands, school have said (rightly or wrongly) that it's so close to the end of term to do anything.

If something is such a big, pressing and ongoing issue to warrant trying to get parents to club together to weigh in on someone's performance management then, if it was me, I would have been straight to the complaints procedure as soon as it reasonable.

It seems to me that you probably should have spent more time paying attention to the reasonable and correct course of action and less time bitching with other parents about whether you do or don't have tje head's email.

People can disagree. I am not sure calling me arrogant is fine though
Anyone who believes that they have the right to interfere with someone else's performance management is quite arrogant (especially if tainted with the sense of 'but I'm right because people I was gossiping with have said i am, why shouldn't we have a mob to make a personal attack').

If I have a concern about my dr surgery, i can raise a concern and then if need be follow their complaints procedure. What I wouldn't do is court opinion about Dr Blogs and seek to interfere with their performance management.

I may need to raise a concern about a fellow teacher. I would rightly raise it internally and if nothing was done, I could make it formal if I had grounds to. What I shouldn't do is gossip in the staffroom and expect to find their line manager to ruin their performancr management.

If you can't see the issue (which it seems you can't), then that it arrogance.

Thank you for all the constructive comments and advice on this thread. MN also really needs a block facility.

To be honest though, it would be so much easier if the Head had talked to Eloise and diffused the situation

The loudest complaint is not always the most serious. Perhaps she has more important issues.

OP, are you unhappy with the Deputy Heads handling of the bullying? When did she take responsibility for it, and has she had a chance to make any changes? What else have the school said to you with regards to the bullying?

In this thread you seem obsessed with wanting the Head to deal with it, why is that?

MN also really needs a block facility.

Why? So you can block the answers you don't care for?

WowLookAtYou No. Just the ones that are directly and personally insulting. Seems no need for that sort of thing.

DoYouWantABourbon The DH got more involved a month or so ago I think. I have been trying to get the problems fixed since November. The problems are still in no way fixed and there seems no sign that they will be as far as I can tell.

As to why I want the head to play some role, that is a good question. I suppose I suspect that a head who refuses ever to talk to a parent or to get involved with problems in the school is not a good role model or leader. The violence and swearing issue is an ongoing problem which the school is as yet unable to fix. They do say that the whole ethos of a school comes from the head.

wow
Prettt much. The point at which multiple people have given advice within a similar sphere and the OP still insists they know best, drip feeds mixed info about a deputy head and claims of victim blaming and claims block function should exist means you're probably only a few pages away from a flounce, major drip feed or a request to have the thread pulled for being outing.

It really is quite simple.
If a parent has concerns, has tried to get them resolved and failed then they can (and should) follow the complaints procedure to the letter and document everything. If schools are failing in their duty it is absolutely right that issues are raised formally.

If a parent opts not to follow the complaints procedure when they could, and instead fixates on whether they can/can't email or call the head, gets into playground bitching about the head & wants to push for mob action ito a head's personal performance management and then claims they only started the complaints procedure in the final weeks then it's on them.

It sounds like the head could do more to engage parents. But, if my child was on the receiving end of verbal abuse and violence at school I'd have been straight on official channels as soon as required and would have stopped at nothing to ensure their safety. I sure as hell wouldn't have time for months of 'but in the playground other parents are also annoyed at the head because Shannon said that they didn't get a reply and Tina also said and we think the head should go'.

Shannon said that they didn't get a reply and Tina

I feel you are belittling not only me at this point.

@EloiseMinch

Shannon said that they didn't get a reply and Tina

I feel you are belittling not only me at this point.

Shannon and Tina aren't real. @MaisyPops is using them in a sisyphean effort to explain why you are getting grief. It's just you feeling belittled, Shannon and Tina are fine about it all. Rhetorical creations tend to be pretty thick skinned.

OP I haven't read the full thread, what do you do for a living?

SharronNeedles
OP is a creative writer

Our headteacher is excellent. He has a competent deputy head who deals with the pastoral side of the school whereas the head is the strategic lead in terms of school improvement, ensuring teaching is rated as good across the board etc.

None of the teachers give out their own email addresses, and if we need to contact the headmaster or the deputy head (or the phase leaders) there is the central email address for the school, and messages are forwarded. This can be helpful in terms of managing parents who have the default reaction of wanting the head to deal with everything rather than going through the deputy head/assistant head/phase leader/form teacher, and of giving responsibility to other key staff members. .

I personally have no problem with using the central email address and the appropriate person getting back to me. Obviously if the problem wasn’t resolved, then would escalate. But would tend to approach it from the perspective of the head teacher and deputy being likely to be on the same page.

Asking for performance management indicators and making suggestions about these would be totally inappropriate from a parent. I used many years ago to be a parent governor on the performance management board (3 of us dealing with the head’s appraisal). From my perspective the idea that parents’ should have input in setting these is risible. You don’t have the whole picture as a parent about how the school is managed behind the scenes and what work the headteacher may be doing to get continuous improvement. By all means complain if you feel that the head has not dealt with your specific concerns, but to make it a broader thing in an attempt to have them managed out/get a poor appraisal based on your small experience would in my view weaken or dilute any argument you have about your own child’s school problems.

Janleverton You make very good points.

About who is in charge of pastoral care, I also take your point. I suppose I would just expect this to be explicitly spelled out if the head is never to be contacted by a parent. Currently nothing along these lines has been said. You simply get no reply, and an embarrassed look from the school office, if you try to contact the head.

Are you spending as much time trying to resolve the actual issues with the Deputy, who is the person you should be talking to, as you are trying to contact the head?

I have spent all my time with the deputy and none with the head. As soon as it became clear the head wouldn’t respond or meet I contacted the deputy directly.

Someone asked why I didn’t make a formal written complaint earlier. Maybe I should but it still feels odd to walk out of a meting with the deputy and then immediately write a letter. I have been trying and failing to get the deputy to actually fix the problem. It’s not that he does nothing, it’s that what he does doesn’t work and he doesn’t have the authority to make bigger changes that might work.

Rhetorical creations tend to be pretty thick skinned.

I think you missed the point, albeit deliberately perhaps.

So have you and all the other unhappy parents followed the school complaints procedure? Even if someone tells you to leave it til September you are still within your rights to ignore that and do it now.

And the heads email address is irrelevant really as you are dealing with the deputy and have a route for complaints. However in my experience the heads' emails are always head at and then the school stem.

So have you and all the other unhappy parents followed the school complaints procedure? Even if someone tells you to leave it til September you are still within your rights to ignore that and do it now.

I think it is coming to this sadly.