HoD stresses 😫

[PumpkinPie2016]

Anyone else feeling under monumental pressure at the moment?

I'm a HoD in a newish school with Y7-10. Y10 mocks looming and as is often the case, we are definitely working harder than they are!
Many just have no urgency at all and are doing no revision 🤯 we are providing resources and revision sessions but there is a definite lack of independence.

Some of my team (ECTs mainly) are weak- I and others in the dept are doing all we can to help and support but it's hard going with them.

It's been a tough year in the team with absences both sporadic and long term too.

SLT want blood basically.

Obviously I absolutely want the best for the students but my goodness it's hard at the moment. Not looking forward to dragging them through Y11 🙈

I have never been a HOD. I can however sympathise as a lot of what you say as this resonates with my experiences in Secondary.

Lack on independence, this sadly come in from Primary. I have taught Primary and this is not a criticism however the pressure on Primary Schools to do well in SATs is huge. I have been in school where SATs boosters start in Year 4 and students are frequently told, "this is how to answer this question" or "this is how to do this" without the students finding out for themselves. Schools are scared of students doing badly and if they do then there is an "inquest" Not the school fault, it is the system.

The teachers in the Dept. I suggest you recommend mentoring tor them with SLT. Not learning walks, not drop ins but talking about lessons structures, ideas for worksheets and avoiding death by Powerpoint. Keep a paper trail or an e-mail trail when dealing with SLT

Not sure if you can do this but try and find out as to why staff have a high absence and highlight this to SLT.

As for revision material, I used Physics and Maths tutor. Copied down all the revision material and uploaded it to the students teams folders and gave sensible files names for the topic and type of revision material.

I assume you have lots of data - Topic tests and mocks. Use this to flag up students that are not doing well and pass this onto SLT and make a suggestion that the students should be entered into a Yr 11 mentoring program.

You are lucky that SLT only want bloody - in some schools I have worked in SLT would have demanded your soul and they were doing you a favour by employing you.

You have to learn to play the game, otherwise the game will end up playing you and keep a paper trail

I don't think you can blame primary schools for lack of independence in Year 10 students! I think schools are just too scared to let kids fail in general, so spoon feed them way more than they should.

ECTs should have a mentor and an induction lead. Have you got them involved in supporting them to improve?

Also a HOD, yes it's a massive issue with weak colleagues.

Best advice: keep a record of all the support you're providing to students. You can lead a horse to water and all that. When SLT ask you to evidence how you've supported students, you can use this record.

In terms of weaker colleagues, a weekly 'newsletter' that says which lessons we're on and outstanding marking works. If they don't respond to updates and requests for 'urgent attention to outstanding marking', to be logged on a central tracking system (i.e. a shared spreadsheet), then it's a competency issue and, once again, you have a record of prompts.

In addition, run an intervention spreadsheet thing, drop down tick lists: Have you given the students additional revision materials? Tick. Have you phoned home? Tick. NB, not you personally, their actual class teachers. Are they attending intervention sessions? Tick. If not, what's attendance doing about the truancy? You get the picture.

Best of luck.