new headteacher staff turnover

[AlfieBunny]

Would you normally expect there to be high turnover with a new head teacher?
As a percentage what would be considered high?

Yes I would expect higher than normal staff turnover (for the school) with a new head teacher. Some staff will have got on very well with the previous head and will follow them to their new school as vacancies become available. Some staff will have been thinking about leaving for a while but not actually got round to doing anything about it, so when a new head comes in and starts to change things it gives them the push - if they are going to have change in their current school, they might as well go to a new school and have the change there. And some staff just might not like the new head - not necessarily good or bad, just different and so not to their taste. There will also be those towards the end of their time in teaching who decide that they can't face going through yet another round of changes and so decide that this is the time to retire.

As for what percentage would be considered high, no idea, especially in the current recruitment/retention crisis. There are schools round here that rarely advertised vacancies in the past that are now struggling to recruit. Unfortunately, too many good and hard working teachers have had enough and are leaving, regardless of whether the head has changed or not.

In my Friends school she's been telling me it's 2/3s of teachers leaving! Where I work there's always a few that leave but never that many

That's high...

What does it indicate though?

That the education system is fucked!

It's impossible to tell from the outside, but it rings warning bells.

Maybe a 1/3 might leave, but 2/3?

Honestly, it could be coincidence and all is fine within the school and people could be leaving for their own personal reasons, but the worst case could be the management clearing the way (not usually done in a nice way) of people they don't like for whatever reason, or it could be that the management could be hard to work for (not in a good way).

It's a sign that people might not be happy, so then I would be asking 'why?'

Obviously this is all speculation.

We are constantly advertising at the moment. Nqt's who have got experience now and want to be nearer home. Other staff with a long commute
Getting a job somewhere closer to get the work/personal balance. Ill health and taking early retirement. People been there 20+ years and decided it's time for a change. Couple of retirements. Graduates who have gotten a job in their field. Going to university. Deciding during maternity to not
Come back. Quitting to care for a family member. Was on a year contract and not being renewed.

To the outside would look odd.

The thing is she says it's not just teachers. It's the senior management team too!! I don't know her school and obviously she can only speculate but I was a bit surprised by the numbers.

Headteachers like to have a team around them of people that work well with them. Some like to bring in ex colleagues for example. The most usual thing to happen is most of the senior leadership team leaving.

At my last UK school, the new HT brought in some buddies.

All but one were fucking useless, bone idle, and some actively malevolent.

We had a change of head, and eve though it was someone who had already been at the school for a long time, lots of people have left, because they didn't like or want the change. I heard that often when there's a new head up to 80% of people have gone within a year.

I've left a couple of times after a new head came. It depends how they choose to mark their new turf and how compatible their priorities are with my own.
That's one of the useful things about having a teaching qualification, you can decamp and move elsewhere with relative ease.

I think it is normal for a few teachers to leave the school when a new head arrives, particularly if they are near retiring.
At our school we had a new head two years ago. The head made a big speech about how they loved the school and nothing would change. Then the head promptly changed virtually everything about the school, including the uniform, logo, ethos of the school and got rid of some really popular teachers. It is now totally unrecognisable as the school I knew. There has been a steady stream of staff throughout the school leaving. I would say at least 50% have now left (and still counting). Many children have left too. People don't like change but many of these changes weren't necessary.

Loads left when we got a new head. Not sure school-wide how many but I know hardly anyone now, I only recognise 2 or 3 per dept which suggests a 70% staff turnover. New head followed a down-grading from Ofsted that came as a bit of a shock, so rapid change was demanded, and I guess folks didn't like it.

My children's primary school got a new head 3 nearly 4 years ago and they have got a new teacher in every class, there are just 2 teachers left who were there under the old head
The head made things hard for the old teachers to stay, and all the new teachers are under 35

That sounds like what is happening to my school. I am trying to decide whether to stay or go which is tricky as my children attend there.

Ours made 8 TAs redundant.

DH left mid term.
Assistant head moving on to get married
Middle leaders removed from positions

8 teachers and caretaker leaving.

2/3 sounds a lot but if they are all staff that pre date the new head is understandable. If they are new people brought in by the new head leaving, that is more worrying.

I work in school admin. We got a new head when I was on maternity leave. Hardly recognised the place when I got back. Definitely a change for the better though.

Speaking from experience, we had a new head in September and she is lovely. I'm SLT and had been at my school a long time but am still relatively (!) young. She has given me a kick up the arse and I will be starting at a new school in Sept as an assistant head. I felt a huge amount of loyalty to my previous head who had stuck with me through some messy life events and probably wouldn't have gone if she hadn't retired. About 5 other members of staff (not all teachers) have also finished, probably about 20% of the total staff.

My school had a new head 2 years ago which was an amazing change for the better. 1 year ago, we had a new deputy head too, which was also a wonderful improvement. So this past year has been fantastic in terms of SLT, not perfect, but very positive for me and for everyone I've spoken to. The head is, sadly, leaving at Christmas and the DH is going to become head. I am disappointed to lose the head, and also apprehensive about the DH becoming head; he is great BUT in our school the H and DH have very distinct roles so I believe things will be different with him changing role and a totally new DH coming in. Fingers crossed, as I do love my job and school.

My friend's HT told her that new HT's want to employ 'their own staff'. And that is exactly what happened. A LOT of staff left. Infact, we have had staff leaving every year. Of 14 classes and 15 class teachers only 3 'originals' are left in the 6 years she has been in charge. 1 is in SLT and the other 2 suddenly went from being good/outstanding to suddenly RI. They are UPS3. Read into it as much as you like. ALL new teachers are 30 and under and non on the upper pay scale.

it can depend on the OFSTED to, and what the new HT's vision is for the school.

The Staff turnover in my kids school is very high, it was something picked up in the OFSTED as they felt it was detrimental to the children.. a lot of NQT's who only stayed for a year.

The new HT has been with us for 2 years and i think most of the teaching staff has been replaced since he arrived.. part and parcel of his overhaul to drag the school out of its 'needs improvement' status.

Why would NQTs only stay a year?

Dripdrop We don't have many or really any NQTs, but we do have quite a few recently qualified and young teachers. They tend to come for two years. The school likes to have them as they have lots of energy to work hard (i.e. no families to go home to in the evening) and they're less likely to complain about or resist being overworked, and for some it's considered a good school to have on one's CV in this area, but they get worn out by the constant demands and lack of support and so stick it out for two years (for the CV) then go somewhere a bit easier where they can get some work-life balance. Perhaps it's the same for the NQTs in MaddyHatter's and others' schools?

I was at a very good school when a new HT came in. Their arrival saw the exodus of 60-70% of the staff within two years, particularly among support staff and SLT. A shame really, as the school was hovering just under OFSTED Outstanding and probably would have made it without this new HT in the next inspection. They certainly didn't impress me.