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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

<sigh> my kids primary is pants

27 replies

southeastastra · 15/07/2008 08:17

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Flamesparrow · 15/07/2008 08:18

why?

Original poster

southeastastra · 15/07/2008 08:24

18 teachers are leaving, maybe i should just keep off here

OP posts:

taipo · 15/07/2008 08:31

That is a huge turnover of staff. Why the sudden exodus, or has it always been like this?

FioFio · 15/07/2008 08:33

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PaulineMole1 · 15/07/2008 08:37

So is mine three headteachers in three years and now they have had to bribe a HT from another school to act as an executive HT .
Terrible ofsted report and huge turnover of staff .
Children are promised things that never happened and at a governors meeting last year one of the three headteachers who has now left slapped the head of governors

The other schools round here are just as bad and I have no transport to gi further afield .

Luckily three of my dc are doing really well but my eldest dd is having to be HE due to many reasons mostly to do with school .

I feel your pain .

Original poster

southeastastra · 15/07/2008 09:37

we had a new head but she went off on sick leave after two months. due to get a new head in september who apparently specialises in turning around schools.

i'm so mad though, i think teachers should sign 3 year contracts.

not sure what to do for the best anymore. was a good school when my other son was there.

OP posts:

nkf · 15/07/2008 09:38

Poor you. That is a worry. Not sure what to suggest. I'm sure you've thought about all your options. Very sorry to hear it.

Original poster

southeastastra · 15/07/2008 09:42

i know, i'm caught, i suppose i could just see if the new head delivers what she's promising, but what a time to tell us - a week before the end of term.

trying to arrange a meeting with the school now.

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FioFio · 15/07/2008 09:43

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Ladytophamhatt · 15/07/2008 09:46

18 teachers.....

Blimey!!!

I hope the new HT works, 18 teachers leaving sounds awful.

hatrick · 15/07/2008 09:52

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Original poster

southeastastra · 15/07/2008 09:54

they are replacing the staff but cutting ta's next term as they can't balance their books .

all the children are sad that their favourite teachers are leaving. why can't they give the new head a go?

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hatrick · 15/07/2008 09:57

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cornsilk · 15/07/2008 09:59

How many teachers are staying? It must be a big school.

Original poster

southeastastra · 15/07/2008 10:02

there are 320 approx pupils.

i really don't know what to do

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Original poster

southeastastra · 15/07/2008 10:03

have to go to work now, if anyone has anymore thoughts on what i can do - please post them. i'm so worried

OP posts:

hatrick · 15/07/2008 10:06

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bigTillyMint · 15/07/2008 10:18

Have you looked at other schools?

I know of a school where a huge number of staff walked out because of the head (who then got the boot). A head from a local school was drafted in (and then stayed) and she has turned it around.

Are your children happy at the school?

taipo · 15/07/2008 10:44

I'm not sure what you can do other than move schools.

It sounds a lot like my dd's old school. High turnover of staff, poor SATS results and a succession of headteachers brought into turn things around, but none of them stayed so there was no continuity.

She was there from nursery (which was lovely and was what made me decide to keep her at the school) until half way through Y2. It was also our local school and I felt we should support it. Most other middle class parents living very near to the school thought differently though and sent their children elsewhere.

I agonised over my decision the whole time she was there and wondered whether to move her. After all, when everybody else abandons ship you start to wonder why you are staying put. In the end we didn't move her because basically she was happy there and I was happy enough with the teachers she had. We then moved abroad so I was glad I hadn't subjected her to another change of school.

One thing I did do was to get involved with the PTA and I ended up running it for 2 years. If the the new head is supportive then you can achieve a lot. Sadly ours wasn't becase she had too much else on her plate

You could also become a parent governor.

ICantFindAFreeNickName · 15/07/2008 10:48

How many teachers has your school got ? Mine has about 350 pupils and we only have about 14 teachers.

StellaDallas · 15/07/2008 10:51

Our school just got an Outstanding Ofsted. Five years ago it was really struggling and a new head has turned it around completely. It didn't take that long to turn around - the basic work was really done in a year. Are you a governor? My advice is if you can afford to commit the time, get yourself on the governing body and then you will be able to play a part in turning round the school.

taipo · 15/07/2008 11:54

Yes, schools can be turned around very rapidly. The couple of years before dd started at her school there was a new head who was fantastic and really started to make a difference to the school. Sadly he had a nervous breakdown and left and after that the school lurched from one head to the next none of them there long enough to sustain and build on what the first one had achieved. But it can be done so don't give up hope.

aintnomountainhighenough · 15/07/2008 12:10

I do feel for you. We have a similar situation in that our local school is in special measures, 3 teachers have just resigned (we only have about 100 pupils) so that is a high proportion of staff. Unfortunately it has been in SM for a year now and isn't changing quickly enough. We have made the decision to move our DCs to another school, all the local state schools are full (all outstanding) so we are going private. I am surprised with this level of change that a parent meeting hasn't been called. Perhaps you could rally the parents together and get the head and governors to explain things?

QueenMeabhOfConnaught · 15/07/2008 14:12

southeastastra, that's awful - 18 teachers, blimey!

Have you checked the situation with other local schools?

itati · 15/07/2008 14:14

I think we must have about 21 teachers at our school of 500 pupils. How many are staying? I think a meeting is a good idea and tbh I feel the head should be holding a meeting for all the parents to expain what is going on.

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