Is a tlr worth it?

[Groovybiscuit]

I’ve been at my current place for only a matter of months. It’s not great it doesn’t make me happy and kids can be extremely abusive. However, I only spent one year at my previous school due to being on an FT contract.
Given that actually this could look extremely diabolical on an application, should I just keep going, even if I’m unhappy? A local mat school are willing to offer quick tlr progression and I’m very torn!
Is a tlr really always worth it? Particularly in a mat whereby the deputy is best mates with the head and her motto before she was told to leave was that she’s not scared to challenge underperformance.

I’m struggling to understand the situation.

Is the role you’re considering already for a TLR (e.g. would you be applying for ‘2nd in department’ or another named role?) or is it a classroom teacher role, but you’ve been told that progression is good at that school so you’re more likely to get a TLR?

If it’s the former, I’d stop thinking about ‘the TLR’ and focus on whether you want that role. If it’s the latter, stick where you.

When I was an NQT, our second in department was in her 3rd year in teaching. She had a TLR and was also mentoring another NQT in the department.

I suppose in the school's defence, the more experienced teachers in the department didn't want the job. However, our HoD left mid year due to a change in circumstances and she ended up defacto running the department and absolutely burnt herself out.

I also know someone who's held a TLR for Head of Physics since NQT+1- it's a bit of a default thing as they are the only physics teacher in the school.

When I was coming into my 4th year of teaching, a colleague actually suggested I apply for a HoY type role (he was in the job already). I said I didn't think I had enough experience, but he said he thought my skills would be a good fit (and also no-one was applying). I didn't apply for various reasons (ended up moving schools).

I think there are a few factors involved:

• Early career pay is not great, so people are desperate to find a way to supplement it.
• High turnover means people sometimes get these roles by default.
• Because you see your friends getting these roles within 5 years of training, you start wondering if you have been "left behind" by not getting them- it puts pressure on people to apply for TLR type roles even if they don't feel ready.

Anyway, I'd say it's become very normalised in some schools.

It's, of course, not very good for anyone and leads to a lot of burnout.

I’m currently in a secondary, pastoral really doesn’t appeal to me on any level so I think that’s out of the question. Maybe I’ve seen my HOD and how they work, and feel like it’s not the most difficult role, but what I should consider is the school I was looking at is double the size, and it will mean more staff in the team which means more workload if I was to take on a tlr.

The worst part, is that I’ll never know the culture until I step into the school. So maybe, one more year here is what I should be thinking about!

Ooh, I find this really interesting- funnily enough the deputy there got a job my default by being best friends with the head, the culture that they promoted as a head at their last school prior to losing their job was god awful. They collectively unionised and one Thursday morning the office was cleared and that was that.

When I visited the questions the head asked were “ok so you teach but what else can you do. And I recall them saying, do you want a tlr here too. We offer that” before I even explained what I was looking for. I can’t help but think it’s a red flag

To clarify, they’re offering a TLR for the “right candidate” which may mean as another poster said “if your face fits”. I’m actually erring on the side of caution here and I think I’m probably jumping from the frying pan to the fire and assuming that the grass is greener elsewhere when I need to accept it probably won’t be.

The pay is truly awful and feels like an insult some days while the cost of everything is shooting up. Your response is very thorough and I can put things into perspective. I think the aspect that swayed me was the TLR but it’s not all about that I suppose, I need to take everything into perspective. I just know this current school offers me no progression at all, and my hod has had to explain that. Unless I want to pick up a pastoral role (which I do not). It’s about my future, so I’m torn between jumping into a new school that may have poor culture and people who “challenge underperformance” but offers me progression, has outstanding ofsted results or staying here with zero progression and poor behaviour that seems to keep slipping.

Those aren't your only two options though, you don't need to stay at your current school if you don't like it, or get a job at this other school offering the TLR. You could get a job at a completely different school, which sounds like the best option imo.

Maybe I’ve seen my HOD and how they work, and feel like it’s not the most difficult role, but what I should consider is the school I was looking at is double the size, and it will mean more staff in the team which means more workload if I was to take on a tlr.

If that is what you believe you need to open your eyes a bit more. Perhaps it's because I've been in a core subject for so long, but there is so much hidden work going on behind closed doors I really feel you underestimate how much time is being consumed by this at barely any extra protected time.

-currciulum design, mapping, tracking across every member of the department and for every year group, often several times during the year as circumstances change
-data gathering, tracking, analysis, evidence of continuous improvement
-responsibility for ongoing internal staff training, often weekly
-responsibilty for every staff member in your department - their fuck-ups are your fuck-ups and someone will almost always take up 80% of your time on this
-go-to for each of the following: cover when a member of your department is absent (both setting and doing), parental complaints and questions, staff questions on every aspect of their role, school-wide subject links, trips, authorisation of just about everything from budgets to absences
-ultimate line management responsibility, no matter how well this might be divvied up, you will still be required to know everything
-budgeting - current and forecast, keeping on top of how much your staff photocopy, your inventory and new orders
-behaviour in the department - guess who will take on the kids kicked out of classrooms and who will be responsible for holding internal detentions, centralised or not?
-keeping up to date with changes in the currciulum, Ofsted and the school culture and the dissemination of all this to your staff (some of whom will, inevitably, not play by the new systems)
-extra meetings for department heads, representation at every event from options evenings, asslemblies etc. to every results day
-Ofsted
-often an expectation to hold after-school and holiday revision classes

I'm sure there is more that I've forgotten, but even if you're paid 10k more for the priviledge it's certainly not much given tax, pension and the amount of hours worked. It's not an easy job and much more difficult than you seem to imagine, no matter how big the team is (and having a smaller team brings its own issues, especially if someone leaves and cannot immediately be replaced).

I have a (now ex-) colleague who has just accepted a HOD role. They won't last a year; they are way too lazy to do the job this entails, let alone the people skills this needs, but I'm sure they thought it wasn't going to be too difficult, either.

If that is what you believe you need to open your eyes a bit more. Perhaps it's because I've been in a core subject for so long, but there is so much hidden work going on behind closed doors I really feel you underestimate how much time is being consumed by this at barely any extra protected time
Agree with this.
A lot of being successful in leadership is appearing calm and breezy whilst inwardly thinking of all the plates you're spinning.
I found my leadership time was almost always taken up by responding to operational issues, so all the planning, strategy and evaluation was done in my own time.
You can't win in leadership if you want to lead with integrity. If you're out responding to everything, including things that didn't need to come to you but people like to pass quickly up the chain, then you haven't got time to do the stuff you need to. If you push back appropriately and instil some boundaries then people complain that SLT don't do anything.

This with bells and whistles on!

Even having been a KS lead, a 2nd and completed a middle leadership qualification, the jump to HoD was big.

There's so much you have to do and know. Lots of 'unseen' work behind the scenes.

As I say, I do enjoy it but it isn't for the faint hearted!

I've had various TLRs and none of them has been easy. The fact that you end up prioritising the urgent over the important is hugely frustrating.

True a no win situation.

I think I should clarify what I meant. My hod works 3 days p/w. Which actually means we have to learn to conflict manage without a direct lead above us. Some of the things you’ve mentioned. I already do without a tlr. Due to the fact they do three days only some work falls on me because no one else is there to do it. For example:
-currciulum design, mapping - I was tasked at the beginning of the year when I was relatively new, to make the curriculum maps short term and long term might I add. Which took me an inordinate amount of time which I was unpaid for. As ofsted are looming.
-data gathering, tracking, analysis. This I don’t do. I’ll be honest. Apart from my own data.
-responsibility for ongoing internal staff training. Had a newbie and pretty much had to share my resources with them because HOD put only 3 lessons on the shared area. They told him to just keep checking the curriculum maps. Which were no help.

• fuck ups - I’ve fucked up at times but often I’m calling the parents to apologise and hod does the follow up meeting.
• Moving kids around to other groups- hod takes them in but often the students place is under threat so they won’t misbehave. That incentive doesn’t exist with me.

-responsibilty for every staff member in your department - their fuck-ups are your fuck-ups. I’ve fucked up a few times I’ll be honest. But I’m there at every meeting parents request if they ever have. -go-to for each of the following: cover when a member of your department is absent (both setting and doing). On 4 occasions I’ve set work for groups that didn’t have work. Often I just put my lesson on teams and the supply just needs to run it off to them. Harder if they’re not a teacher of my subject but I’ll always help. -representation at every event from options evenings, asslemblies etc. to every results day. I’ve been to all of the above, aside from results day as I visit family abroad. -revision sessions- Did all of them as they weren’t optional. After school intervention is also run once per week and I stay.

I appreciate what you’re saying and my hod has it easy because I help anywhere I can. But I’m probably doing half their job and the majority of responsibilities they have. I seem to have too. Bar being at hod meetings and fixing all fuck ups. Oh and I’m on full timetable whereas hod is not. So when I said the job looks easy, it’s probably because I shit shovel to lighten maybe 50% of their workload.

Completely understand this. I did clarify what I meant as it may have come across as arrogant. What I was trying to say was their job looks easier because we as a team lighten their workload. Not for all things, but for the vast majority.

You're obviously not happy with your current school and your department set up. I'd find a new school, not necessarily the one that has promised fast TLR progression, but a different one. Now is the prime recruitment period, it's worth a look to see what's out there.

I appreciate what you’re saying and my hod has it easy because I help anywhere I can. But I’m probably doing half their job and the majority of responsibilities they have. I seem to have too. Bar being at hod meetings and fixing all fuck ups. Oh and I’m on full timetable whereas hod is not. So when I said the job looks easy, it’s probably because I shit shovel to lighten maybe 50% of their workload.

Sure. Yes. Go for the TLR. You’ll learn.

I think it’s less about “happy” and more about the fact I do take on some of the hod responsibilities in a small department. Often times I’ll find that I’ll get an email asking if I can complete x,y,z because they can’t. Particularly the curriculum planning. Both short term and long term. As brilliant as it was I didn’t enjoy spending hours writing it up. Then training new people takes up an inordinate amount of my time. I do wish my hod was in more, it would just help us all!

You say a "small" department so I assume not a core subject. Theoretically that makes a difference. In reality non core hods have just as much work with less time and less money than core.