No subject coordinators? (Primary)

[Choiceoftoppings]

Our head has just announced that from next year we will no longer have subject coordinators, but be working in teams, focusing on different areas of the curriculum. All of the teams seem to be supposed to get one of those 'marks' we can put at the bottom of the letters which no one will ever look at.

Does anyone else's school do this? Does it work?

I'm really upset that I'm losing the responsibility for my subject (and the title to put on my CV), but I'm still going to be the one people go to for all the stuff to do with my subject! It feels like we're going to have more work for less recognition. And I have to work in a team and I fucking hate working in teams. It feels like when you have to do a project in a group at school.

Our school does this and it has worked reasonably well so far. The head felt it would be unfair and a lot of pressure on one person if there was an Ofsted deep dive. Having teams means the responsibility is shared and actually staff are happier as they have more of a say in what and how they teach.

Given the way ofsted deep dive now & the knowledge every teacher is expected to have of every subject (beyond their own year group) working in teams on subjects seems quite sensible.

I share my (core) subject with a colleague and we both really appreciate working on it together rather than it all being down to 1 of us.

So how does the OP get a promotion/new job/ whatever when it's all the teamz?

Which it never is.

@echt

So how does the OP get a promotion/new job/ whatever when it's all the teamz?

Which it never is.

You can still evidence impact of your work in an application / interview etc. I really wouldn’t see this as a barrier, especially in primary which is (in general) much less hierarchical than secondary.

The OP thinks it does, which is the point.

I agree with you OP. That's what's happened in my school too. But I am a subject specialist and the only one in the school, so do feel a bit cheated tbh!

Subject leadership/co-ordinator is a load of rubbish anyway surely? You're never given training nor time to do anything. Teachers in small schools can put on their CVs that they've co-ordinated half the subjects on the curriculum! Doesn't mean they're anything like an expert in all of them.

@echt

The OP thinks it does, which is the point.

Ok and that’s fair enough but I’m just suggesting it may not be the big deal / barrier op is quite naturally seeing it as, as an initial reaction.

Ime subject leadership is an absolute pain in most primaries - like @HopeValley says you rarely get time or training to actually do anything meaningful with it. Collaborative working, opportunity to say you’ve gained accreditation in whatever it is (even though i agree who looks at the logos on the bottom of the letters!), better understanding & knowledge across the school for colleagues in a range of subjects with ofsted deep dives in mind - are all potential positives in my book & don’t need to be barriers to any kind of progression.

Change is always difficult initially but I was trying to encourage op that it may not ultimately be such a bad thing & some of the barriers / issues op is concerned about don’t need to be so.

Thank you for the responses! I'm relieved it seems to work in some schools.

When I look at higher-level jobs, they often ask for experience of subject leadership - hence my worries. I'm also worried that while we're all supposed to be working on one of the 'marks', no one is looking at the actual curriculum delivery. Although I guess that's officially not my problem :p

My school has gone through a lot of change very quickly (on top of Covid!) so it might just be that this is the thing my brain has decided to obsess over! I also probably need to stop being the kid in the class who asks "do I haaave to work in a group?"!

My school tried the teams approach but we've flitted back to individual subject leaders. We all have some involvement in each other's subjects (i.e. the creating of the curriculum, visions and the III) but we hold responsibility for one or two subjects each (single form entry). I think most staff are happy to be leading something, even with the stresses it can bring sometimes. It works nicely for us - people want the experience of leading and having something they can say 'I implemented...' without having to share the credit.

@Choiceoftoppings see I would still happily call myself a subject leader even if it is collaborative. You’re still playing a key part in leading the subject.