I think my new HOD doesn't know what they are doing

[MintBee]

Hi all, I am extremely worried about my new HOD. My new HOD was employed because they are a IT/Computer Science expert and have worked with one of my student on their coursework which is going to be sent off as a sample. They sent me the students work to check over and said it was 16/60. I looked over the completed work and it was awful, I scored it 6/60. Our new HOD taught the same course last year and that is why they were employed by my school. I have told my second in department as they are sending off the sample and they looked at it and said the same as me.

My new HOD has even upset the business teacher who spent a week marking students work and found loads of plagerism and AI used. The new HOD who has never taught the business course said they are doing drop down session with a group of students and on the tracker they have inflated their scores by almost double. In the drop down sessions students were still foudn to be plagerising and using AI. My new HOD has never taught this business course let alone marked it before. The business teacher is really upset and worried as their name is on the assessment records and has a very good reputation in the school from the results they have achieved previously.

I do not know what to do. The new HOD has only been here less than a month and seems to not know what they are doing yet walking around like they are the best thing since slice bread. Any advice on what to do? I don't want to keep bailing them out.

If you have no responsibility position, pass on your concerns and then stay out of it.

Your new HoD seems like they are ‘finding their feet’ in their new role and the school. Takes time to do this.
You could meet with them and offer ‘advice’ and ‘support’ - I don’t think a formal approach is required just yet.

If they have only been there a month, they are surely not solely responsible for the coursework for either course?

Who has taught these children for the best part of two years? For a child to come out with 6/60 on the coursework, something must have been amiss before the HoD started?

If there are concerns about coursework, then I would recommend speaking with the HoD or maybe a member of SLT. However, as a HoD, I think mu question would be what has been happening in the lead up to this coursework being done.

The student was withdrawn from the course then re enrolled by SLT due to their attitude and behaviour in the subject and across the school. The previous HOD had pushed for the student to be removed as they were so horrible and disruptive in the lessons. The student only agreed to be re-enrolled because they would only work with the new HOD. The new HOD worked with them for two weeks and is suppsoed to be a specialist of this course but couldn't even get the student a L1P on their coursework. They also missed out all the formulaes you needed to get a L1P and used screenshots instead of creating a dashboard. Honestly the work was shocking.