What to do if a school doesn't give a reference?

[smalbert]

It's through no fault of my own, at least l don't think so. Have been told by Head she doesn't want to lose me but potential new schools have asked on numerous occasions for one and no response

Contact the chair of governors and ask that they request the head to complete the reference.

Have you asked your head as to why a reference hasn’t been completed? Irrespective of whether she wants to loose you or not, there isn’t a promotion opportunity at your current school right now, surely it would be good to see a colleague progress - unless she is aware of a potential role that will come up soon that you will be suitable for. You need to have a conversation with her about this.

It could also be that she is incredibly busy though; as a HT myself, I don’t always have the time to complete reference requests, I forward them to my DHT to complete or the colleague’s line manager.

I'd go and speak to your head, and ask informally why she hasn't been completing references. I'd state you are looking to leave regardless for x,y,z reasons, so you will need a reference.

If she continues to refuse, I'd ask for another meeting with a union rep present, and/or go down the route of a formal grievance.

@good96 A lot of schools ask that one of the references comes from your current head teacher, so are you not screwing over your staff too?

Thank you for your replies. I will go and speak to Head in person next term.