Rude SLT is this common?

[Northenstar]

I am a member of support staff in a large secondary school and have to liaise with SLT on a regular basis. Having come from a different industry to work in a school, I am shocked at just how rude the SLT are to other members of staff, in particular support staff. The arrogance and way that they speak to people is quite shocking, and no one seems to challenge this- its just "well that's SLT for you". Is this like this elsewhere - or is this just a bad culture where I work?

Pretty much the same everywhere unfortunately. Every school I’ve worked in has had at least 2 or 3 members of SLT exactly as you described. Some have been lovely but there does seem to be a significant number who are just thoroughly unpleasant resulting in negative working environments where bullying is rife.

Office staff, support staff and teachers can equally be arrogant, undermining and rude from experience. You meet all sorts but the gossips are the worst in my opinion.

I guess I'm lucky enough not to have experienced it from anyone else than SLT.

You are right though, gossips are always the worst, but often see them caught in their own traps!

I'm on SLT and I'm not like that at all. There are 6 of us. 3 lovely, 2 abrasive and power-trippy and one normally ok but throws tantrums now and again. Not ok. The worst rudeness I have ever encountered from school has been from office staff though.

Not the case in my current school. A couple of teaching staff are up themselves, as is the Receptionist, but SLT are approachable and nice.

In 30 years' teaching, I have encountered a mixed bag. The Head tends to set the tone, so good Heads tend to have supportive SLTs. Arrogant Heads are almost always surrounded by ego-massagers in their leadership teams, many of whom seem to have no clue how to do anything. It sounds like that might be the case here.

Totally agree with this. Over the last 20 years this is exactly what I’ve seen too. I’ve also seen groups of bullying and bitchy support staff in schools room where there is a weak and ineffectual head and even one business manager who thought she was qualified to decide whether teachers were ill enough to be off school. The easiest way to spot these schools is extremely high turnover.

YES!

Been teaching nearli 30 years. Mainstream teacher. Rudeness is not something that is just seen in SLT. I think delusional is an adjective I would use. Out of the ever increasing SLT in my school there is one that is definitely rude.

Not all SLT, in my experience, are rude and I have come across rude staff at all levels of employment in schools but SLT positions can attract a higher number of people who don't have good interpersonal skills.

Current HT talks down to people, talks to
and about people as though they are uneducated, is patronising and dismissive whilst clearly thinking he is giving the impression he is convincing people they are being listened to (adding to the impression that he thinks everyone is less intelligent than he is). Unpleasant to deal with but once you have the measure of people you can try to at least control the number of interactions you have with them and deal with them only when necessary. Use email to communicate when you need to ask something so you at least don't have to deal with them face-to-face and there is the added bonus that their response is in writing. Make a note of when they are not interacting in a professional and fair manner. It's not ok for SLT to treat people poorly just because of their position,

Yep, one of the reasons I am leaving.

I'm totally new here. What does SLT mean? Senior Leading Teacher? Not sure. I will learn a few things once I read a few more posts I guess. :(
For me the online forums are just a treasure trove of comments from real people experiencing real things and there are a LOT of forums happening...
OK I found it. The senior leading teacher. I like the post from the exp teacher 30 yrs who said............ mixed bag. Ok

Umm no @ButterFleye . In my school SLT means senior leadership team.

I presume you don't teach...

Are you talking about USA? What does SLT mean. Is that acronym used in Australia? Where?

If you are support staff, education support person it means support. About 15 years I taught in a school where I experienced my first class with an integration aide who acted like they were a trained teacher with 5 years university training but they had only done 3 months study. That was the first I went on red alert about them as a teacher. I decided that day never to put up with it again. If an integration aide or support person tries to take over now, I complete the work where their wrong instructions have often caused confusion for the students, and lowered the level of learning- dumbed down the whole lesson- because they do not know how to teach- and I speak to them after class and ask them not to do it again in my class.
I did not struggle with studying and working extra jobs and paying for uni for 5 long hard years to be disrespected like that! You may think it is arrogant but actually it is teachers trying to asset their authority so that does not happen to them.
They are responsible for the safety, routines, learning and well being of the class. The aide is not liable. The teacher is in charge. They are registered and fully trained. They know what they are doing. Some have very broad and deep e per pence for many years. Thru should not be treated like they are not needed or ignorant.
The support staff should take direction from the teacher, support students to do what the teacher says, do errands, do photocopying or other things the teacher asks for to run the class.
They should never try to take over if the tea her is there and in charge.
But it's happening more and more.
Some of them don't know their role. They want more authority than they have. But they've done no training to warrant it.

@ButterFleye I explained what SLT means. It's the Senior Leadership Team of a school (Head, Deputies, Assistant Head, Business Manager in my secondary school).
This is a UK-based website. I live in the UK.

Test.... I wanna figure out how this app works and where this post appears. Also can't see where to edit or delete :(

I'm on Oz exp teacher. Thank you uk 🇬🇧🇦🇺
Things sound quite similar there and on Reddit you can read plenty posts about usa and again quite interesting similar

Huh guess what they get called in Oz.....? Admins

I will move to an Aussie chat 🛵☔️🫣😬

I think you have raised a point that I can related to @ButterFleye . SLT often have (not always mind you) many years of training and experience and perhaps when they feel disrespected their rudeness / arrogance comes across to keep colleagues in their place.

My assistant head is very rude, I’ve complained to the head a couple of times but he laughs it off and says “oh that’s just how she is, don’t worry about it!” But I can’t stand it. She speaks to us like children and it really gets my back up.

I hate "They're just like that." Well maybe they need to develop some self awareness and consideration for others.

I've come across new members of SLT introducing themselves in a "This is how I am. These are the sorts of things I'll say." As though everyone should just get on board with their way of doing things without them making any attempt to get to know how other people operate or how they do things might affect people.

I still can’t quite get used to calling them SLT: the senior leadership team. We previously called them SMT - the senior management team. That’s what they are: the managers, the bosses. Calling themselves “leadership” is just trendy, another ingredient tossed into the word salad. It shows how much time they have on their hands, if you ask me, that they can think about rebranding themselves. In my school, they’re all ex teachers, but what kind of teacher wants out of the classroom and into an empty office? They quickly forget what it was like to be a teacher and speak to everyone as if they are all children.

To get back to the OP, I will echo the point that others have made. The management team take their cue from the head. Our current head (UK) is a quite young, schmoozy, salesman type who I think sees himself as a bit of an educational visionary. He’s an ideas man but not very visible at all. I can go for a week without laying eyes on him, but he makes sure that the parents see him by standing at the front gate every morning. Not rude though. If he has any bullets to fire, he gets one of his many deputies to do that!

Too many chiefs, not enough Indians at our school, imho, but I’d get absolutely murdered for the political incorrectness of that statement!

Our SLT are courteous but a bit in their ivory towers.

After two decades of classroom teaching, I have seen a few character types and the narcissistic ones are the worst imo. I had a Head who would come and take teacher’s lessons now and again if he could see they were tired/struggling. He was the best!

Not the case in my school - SLT are polite to all staff.

Last school yes. Current school no. I'm a member of SLT and am always nice to staff (buy gifts for support staff, cleaners, office staff and caretakers). The rest of my SLT colleagues are equally lovely. The rudest person in our school is a TA nearing retirement. She is very snappy and rude to both children and adults.