Am I being managed out?! Can’t believe this is happening

[ErinReagan]

I’ve had Reception or Y1 for 23 years. It’s truly my vocation. Been in the same school for 13.

Was asked to see (new) HT when we came back from Christmas. I am ‘too comfortable’ and she is moving me to Y6 in Sept.

I am heartbroken. I really am. Moving me to Y1 would have been one thing but Y6 just seems petty.

Yesterday she asked if I ‘would mind’ working with the woman who will take over EYFS during my PPT. I really do mind to be honest.

Again, if I was looking at Y1 I wouldn’t mind, but I’m so worked up about Y6 I can’t think rationally.

[HollowTalk]

OP, how have your observations and OFSTED results been?

[RomanRita]

I'm very sorry but I think you are almost definitely being set up to fail. As others have commented a move of this magnitude from Rec. to Year 6 is extraordinarily stupid and parents would almost certainly have rights to complain.
I have every sympathy and I speak as someone who was managed out just before Christmas - 59, female, new HT, OFSTED imminent. It's an open scandal which no one is prepared to address.
I am truly sorry for you.

[phlebasconsidered]

I think once you are in year 6 if you are even the least bit successful you will be stuck there. Speaking as a terminal year 6 teacher.

Seriously though, if you are uncomfortable (and I would be the other way round!) make your opinion known and jobsearch. Teachers with your experience in that stage will be snapped up! No need to put up with it at all. New heads are so often assholes to established staff. Small man / Napoleon syndrome. Cut down the established to make myself look better.

[BrendasUmbrella]

Odd that they would ‘set you up to fail’ with the SATs group though, it’s in their interests for Y6 to do well.

Query it from this angle. Concern for exam results is going to give her more pause than concern for you.

Perhaps at the same time give her a list of all the resources you have provided for reception/Y1, right down to pencils and stickers, saying "I listed all the resources I have personally lent to the classroom in case I do move, and you need to replace them from the school budget." That may give her pause for thought too.

[BrendasUmbrella]

And if you do leave, make sure you take all of your property with you. You can save it for a future job, or sell it. Start removing non essentials as soon as you don't need them in the class.

[LolaSmiles]

It seems a bit silly to move someone into y6 if they think that person will do a bad job.

I do think too comfortable is a thing though. We teach 11-16 or 11-18 and get different class breakdowns each year. I didn't have any KS3 for a couple of years, then picked it back up. Disliking moving year groups seems to be more common in primary friends. Different years, different topics etc is fairly standard for secondary.

[Scubalubs87]

I’m sorry to say I do think you’re being managed out. We too have a new Head and things are going this way at my school. I’m only in my early 30s but I’m a UPS 2 teacher who has returned part-time this year after maternity leave. It is being made ever increasingly clear that me and my other expensive (and incredibly experienced and dedicated) colleagues are on some sort of hit list. It’s amazing how morale can be decimated in the space of 5 weeks.

I think her manner of informing you, and the fact it’s so early in the year, raises alarm bells. It provides ample time for you to look for a new job for September. Bad news, when they don’t want you to leave, tends to be given far closer to or even post the resignation date in the summer term in my experience.

[LolaSmiles]

I should have added, we get some teachers who would quite happily teach all A Level, but keeping one person in their pet year group limits the department because others don't get the experience, if the A level person leaves there's limited internal capacity etc.
I'm not sure it does anyone any good to pick a year and stay there very long term.

[IHeartKingThistle]

Poor you OP. I teach secondary - you've been moved more than the entire age range I teach! I've had 2 DC through primary and the outstanding EYFS teachers are totally different to the outstanding Year 6 teachers. I don't know what I'd do in your situation but I'd probably start to look around to see what EYFS jobs are out there.

Why do new Heads do this? Baby out with the bath water

[CaptainMyCaptain]

@LolaSmiles I think moving from EYFS to Yr 6 is different to moving around in secondary (or from yr3 to Yr 6 etc) as the method of teaching and assessing is so different. It isn't a question of getting too comfortable anyway, it's about building up your knowledge and expertise in the phase.

[practicallyperfectwithprosecco]

I spent most of my early teaching career either in eyfs or y1. I was an early years specialist and very good at what I did.

New head came in and shook things up - due to staffing and school going smaller he totally rearranged everything. I went from reception to year 5.

Initially I cried and was terrified but I ended up loving it. 3 years later I'm in a different school and head of uks2. Love the change and the challenge, didn't take long to adjust and can't imagine teaching the younger ages again now.

[LisaSimpsonsbff]

@LolaSmiles would you be ok with it if you were told to go teach at a primary school? That's more comparable to what the OP has been told than secondary school teachers teaching across the school.

[Downton57]

I spent all my teaching years in EYFS and Yr 1/2 and yes, I was comfortable. Comfortable because I felt confident and capable and knew I was good at my job. In the OPs situation I would have been devastated, especially as so many of the toys, books, games and resources in the classroom had been purchased by me /brought from home. It's something HTs should take into account when they make these decisions, particularly when moving early years teachers. We put a lot of effort and often our own money into creating effective learning/teaching environments.

[OldMumYoungNan]

Some great advise here.

But if you can’t find another job, then you may end up loving year 6. So don’t let them manage you out if it comes to that, seize the opportunity and see it as a new venture.

I have a good friend who worked in early years for years and then moved into teacher training. She said that she found the early years teaching philosophy really helped her when she came to teach adults, in her words when you are an early years teacher you can use those same skills to teach all ages.

[LolaSmiles]

LisaSimpsonsbff
Upper KS2 would probably be ok with the prep, EYFS never in a million years. There's a significant difference between teaching y7 and y13 though.

I probably put it badly but once employed within a school it's not entirely unreasonable to want to have a staff body where staff can do more than the year group they are happiest in and to rotate staff on a reasonable timeframe. I don't doubt that y6 is a huge jump up, but it makes little sense to move a teacher from eyfs to y6 unless they were strong.

I've not been happy with some of the groups I've had some years and they required brushing up (or in the case of media studies starting from scratch) but sometimes that's what's needed in the department. I've worked with colleagues who only want to have certain years or certain sets or certain types of classes, and have gone to the HoD wanting to know why they've got y12 when they said they don't want to have y12/why have I got the SEND support lessons etc. I've also seen people resign themselves to the fact they'll never get A Level / top set / SEND support because so-and-so always gets that and I think that risks losing good staff because there's limited opportunities and experiences.
I've ended up pondering on it each year because there's a balancing act. You don't want to chop and change all the time, but some breadth is good and when done well can upskill a team.

[MrsZola]

Leave - this happened to me, although it was Y3, not Y6. I was the teacher who had been there 26 years, known, trusted etc. Half a term in Y3 (with no transition support to KS2 at all) I was suddenly deemed not good enough and was put under intense scrutiny and criticism. It triggered a complete breakdown after another half term when I was told I was going to be put on capability. I was off for 6 months and resigned with no job to go to (really serious for us as DH is disabled, I'm the only one working and we still have an eye watering mortgage). Go before they do this to you - there are other jobs and schools where they'll recognise your expertise and worth.

[ValancyRedfern]

Lola smiles I think what's happening to OP is akin to a secondary teacher being told to teach an entirely new subject. We are generalists in terms of year group and specialists in terms of subject, while primary teachers are vice versa.
Lots of good advice here OP. Definitely meet to discuss all the support you would need and minute everything and speak to your union. Sadly I think you are right to be worried.

[thecatfromjapan]

Year 6 is just an extreme move.

If it was about widening experience/deploying your skills, you'd be put in year 3/4/5. Not Year 6.

I actually don't believe the HT intends to go through with it.

No SLT in their right minds would risk results in this way.

I agree with the poster who suggested you will find yourself offered year 4 as a 'compromise' & that this is an opening bargaining chip.

What you do in that situation is up to you - but I would say that EYFS skills are astonishing skills. I've seen an EYFS teacher transferred to Year 5 to deal with a deeply troubled and challenging class work absolute wonders. It was those EYFS skills.

Fantastic for the children (& the school) but pretty grim for the teacher, to be honest (no resources in situ, no planning - had to create it all herself).

Good luck, OP.

[catnidge]

I suspect you are expensive and she would like to replace you with an NQT or even pre NQT.
It's such a crappy way to treat someone. Look at other jobs if you can.

[Eurovision]

She wants you to leave so has given you plenty of warning. Don't take it personally. Some heads are just deeply unpleasant people who believe that stamping their authority makes them good managers. Look for other jobs but if you end up teaching year 6 I'm sure you will be better than you believe. It will be a steep learning curve but a good teacher is a good teacher.

[LolaSmiles]

ValancyRedfern
I hadn't considered it like that. I see your point.

I don't think people should be moved around regularly, but the norm with my friends in primary is that some movement is a good thing. They've had colleagues become stuck in y6, or they've loved the school they're in and getting experience of different key stages was part and parcel of doing the whole process. Or they've had to leave nice schools because there were so many staff who had claimed "their" year that there wasn't much opportunity to develop experience. It seems to be the norm to move year groups every 3-7 years depending on the school, so hardly uprooting all the time.

I guess I'm not on board with the idea of colleagues deciding they only do certain years/certain classes/certain sets and wanting a monopoly on those indefinitely when there's a whole team to consider.

[FlowerAndBloom]

Do it and slay it! Of course you can do it. It might be a nice change and you can show new head that you adaptable as capable.

[HelloDulling]

Can you spend half term making a plan, then make a meeting with her when we go back? You need to time to get everything clear.

[FlamingoAndJohn]

Sadly this is one of the reasons I’ve not wanted to move onto UPS even though I’ve been teaching for years. I don’t want to be too expensive.

I think some of the ‘try it you might like it’ posters don’t really understand how different EYFS is to the rest of primary school. The curriculum, assessment, teaching methods, routines are completely different.

I moved from EYFS to year 1 and found that a big enough jump. I have no desire to go through the KS2 doors.

Yes this could be trying to manage you out, but why risk the SATs?

[Oulu]

She wants you to leave so has given you plenty of warning.

I seriously can't see any head risk their Y6 SATs results just to manage out a teacher they want to leave.