Victim of favouritism- help!

[Laura2121]

Hello all,

I have recently joined a new school as Head of Department. The first thing that has upset me has happened.

There is a teacher within my department who was the subject of a few complaints from parents of different year groups. I was thus asked to go and observe a lesson of hers. I conducted a formal observation with a form and all, and was quite concerned by what I saw.

After the lesson when we were both back in the science office, I went to her and said quietly, “a few targets, let’s meet in our classroom later for a feedback chat?”.

There were others in the science office at this time but they were in the midst of a loud and animated conversation about a funny story.

However, saying this statement to this lady caused her great duress, because, it was said in a ‘public setting’. She later came and found me in the coffee room and gave me a torrent of screaming verbal abuse. Really took me by surprise.

I relayed what happened to my head of faculty afterwards, and also shared with him the lesson observation feedback, for which he praised me for raising some great points in terms of how to set targets for this lady and how to improve her lessons. We arranged that me and him would both give her the observation feedback together.

However, then he went to speak with her, and heard a different version of events about the incident of abuse. She exaggerated and fabricated some things. She painted me in a very bad light to him, so much that he has taken me off the observation feedback panel altogether, thinking I am “not ready due to how I treat people”, and is going to handle giving her the feedback himself. He even doubts the credibility of my observation now unfortunately, for how nasty a picture this lady has painted of me.

When my HoF spoke to me about this today, I asked him why he is basing the decision on hearing this lady’s version of events and why it is more believable over mine. I asked him if it is because she has been here longer. All he said in response was, “One version has to be believed”.

I am extremely hurt and angered by this. I am effectively being punished for being the subject of verbal abuse. Due to a false version of events from a long-standing member of staff being believed.

Would really appreciate your advice.

Thanks very much

I would say my advice is first, never breathe even a word with anyone present at all (I'm sure you know this now!) and second, any screaming or abusive words need to be reported as soon as they happen, and separate to any conversation about targets, to your line manager straight away before anyone has the opportunity to say anything else. Only you know what was said in the torrent of abuse, but if it was directly derogatory to you, swearing, calling you names let's say, rather than her telling you she was angry in a raised voice without insult, then surely that's a disciplinary action separate to anything you raised about the observation, and should be raised ?

Thank you. Based on the drastic 180 that my boss made after hearing this lady’s version of events, I had even requested that the 3 of us have a meeting together where we can talk it through. My boss wouldn’t even agree to that. There is such obvious favouritism here, something my boss didn’t even deny when I asked him if the lady’s longer term history here has skewed which version he has chosen to believe!