Thank you

Today has been a very good day. 

I am on holiday and been able to meet up and talk to several very good people who also suffered under her headship. 

My struggle to make public the toxic culture which took place at my previous school has at times felt quite lonely but these important people in my life have always been there for me. And as it turns out been quite busy behind the scenes themselves. I feel vindicated and far less alone.

A lot less like this:

And a lot more like this:

Thank you beautiful friends. 

Workplace bullying and the law

Food for thought:

There’s no single UK law covering workplace bullying, but your employer has a duty to tackle discrimination and protect your health, safety and wellbeing (including mental wellbeing) at work. This is enshrined in several pieces of legislation:

• The Equality Act 2010 provides protection against racist, sexist, ageist, homophobic and ableist behaviour and other types of discrimination that have ‘the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment’ in relation to ‘protected characteristics’ (see above). This Act also protects workers against pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
• The Employment Rights Act 1996 allows workers to claim unfair dismissal if they are forced to leave their job because of their employer’s actions (e.g. discriminatory practice) or inactions (e.g. failure to deal with a complaint).
• Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers must provide a safe and healthy working environment. This includes protection from bullying and harassment.
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess risks to employees’ safety and health (including mental health) and take measures to eliminate or reduce these risks as far as
• Other legislation that may be relevant includes the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (which defines stress as a disability), Protection from Harassment Act 1998, Malicious Communications Act 1988 and Computer Misuse Act 1990.

Statements...

The article (see previous post) was accompanied by these interesting statements from the Governing Body and the Council’s Director of Education.

Ofsted states headteacher is well supported

A statement from the chairman of governors at [the] School in November said the progress since headteacher joined the school has been acknowledged by Ofsted.[1]

Inspectors said after their May 2019 inspection: “The headteacher is an excellent role model for staff, who uses their expertise and experience from other school settings to innovate and implement new ways of working. “This has had a significant impact on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress.” Ofsted also acknowledged that since the previous inspection: “The headteacher, well supported by the senior leadership team, has successfully transformed the culture of the school. This has led to the rapid improvements.”[2]

Restructuring and finances[3]

[The Chair of Governors] said: “In common with many other schools, ensuring we use our limited resources to give students the very best outcomes has been a challenge in recent years.

This has resulted in three restructures, all focused on maximising the number of talented teaching staff who spend their time in the classrooms making the difference for our children.

This has significantly reduced staff in the school and ensured we are now in a strong financial position. Without these restructures, the school would be running a deficit budget, due to austerity measures and the costs of the pandemic.

We are confident the restructuring decisions we’ve made have prioritised the children’s safety, education and well-being.

During these restructures, the school has supported all staff, especially those who have been affected.”

Staff well-being

“During the last four years, an expected number of staff have left the school due to promotion, relocation and changes in family circumstances.[4]

The school actively supports staff training and career development, offering secondments to staff who wish to work in leadership positions and ongoing high quality professional development.[5]

We are thrilled when our highly trained teachers go on to leadership roles elsewhere.[6]

The governing body is committed to supporting staff and ensuring healthy engagement with staff is maintained.

We follow national guidance and have comprehensive, transparent procedures in place to deal with staff complaints and concerns.[7]

We always take immediate, appropriate action in response to issues raised. No such claims have been upheld in recent years.[8]

In order to ensure the board is transparent and following best practice, we regularly invite external and independent advisers for assessment.

The governing body

The governing body contains a mix of long-serving governors, some of whom have served the school for more than 20 years, and parent and co-opted governors, many selected for their legal, HR and financial skills.

The headteacher has the full support of the governing body.

The headteacher is held to rigorous account by the board[9], and is challenged to deliver consistent results.

The board also fully understands the improvements under the headteacher would not have been possible without dedicated staff.

Without the well-established culture of mutual respect and professionalism which exists amongst staff, the school could not possibly be thriving.[10]

I’m grateful for the improvements xx has brought. She has been unstinting in her quest for improvement and always has the children’s education and well-being uppermost in her mind.

The [school] difference

[The school]’s strapline is ‘Where creativity meets educational excellence’, and the improvements the school has made in recent years bear out the truth of this.

The school building has recently been fitted with solar panels, and is undergoing a deep retrofit to improve air quality in the school, and bring down the school’s carbon emissions.[11]

This has been tied in with core subject and extracurricular learning and facility improvements. As a governor, it has been inspiring to see such a project delivered, particularly when climate change is such a critical issue.

Art has become a huge focus for the school, which offers specialist art, dance and music lessons to all year groups, ensuring the children are given the cultural capital to succeed.

We retain a laser focus on ensuring our Pupil Premium children are given the opportunities they deserve.

We’re proud of the progress made and the senior leadership team have our full support as we continue to develop our school as a place where pupils and staff alike thrive.”

[The] director of education at [the] council, said: “The leadership team at [the] School are doing great work, which has been acknowledged by Oftsted, and they have our full backing and support.

We fully investigate all complaints and allegations and can confirm that none have been upheld against [xxxx] School.”[12]

 

 

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[1] As mentioned before, the previous Ofsted was good with elements of outstanding. This is complete revisionism. Shame on the governing body. Many of the governors had been in position under the previous head and had championed her achievements unequivocally.

[2] It is interesting that the efforts of the teaching staff are not mentioned here.

[3] Why was this mentioned? Not once was this brought up: by either staff in the article above, or by parents in another article about the school. 

[4] This constitutes a small minority of departures.

[5] Falsehood. Some of these secondments were, arguably, to isolate staff out of school. As for the career development meetings, I am not alone in having found these a waste of time: a vanity exercise where the head showed us what she wanted us to do, not train us.

[6] I am not aware of this happening to any members of staff who left in that period.

[7] The procedures are in place but always favoured SLT. Many grievances and complaints were made by staff and parents. None were upheld.

[8] In that case, the Board of Governors is not fulfilling its duties.

[9] Really?

[10] There was no mutual respect and the school was not thriving. This is a case of sweeping general malaise under the carpet…

[11] This is where the statement really begins to read like a sales pitch.

[12] This person was CCed into most of my correspondence with the school and council relating to whistleblowing and linked issues. I have yet to hear from her.

The article

Here is the article from Feb 2022 (anonymised) that was mentioned in my previous post. Below, find footnotes.

A school has denied a big loss of staff is because of the headteacher’s regime and incidents of victimisation.

Governors at [the] School, which has 379 pupils, say the mental health of its staff is a top priority – and that it had “very much normal staff turnover” for that period.

The school had 66 staff when headteacher arrived in September 2018 and now has 45. Governors confirmed six staff left in 2018-19 and two the following year[1].

Last year, 11 were made redundant and there were two retirements, while a parent working there temporarily also left.

Current and former staff have expressed their anger to the [newspaper] at [the head]’s methods.

One member of staff for 10 years, who did not want to be named, went off sick with work related-stress in September 2020 and was made redundant in March 2021.

She said: “There were some really, really unpleasant situations where the mental health of staff was put in jeopardy. One had a nervous breakdown – was howling like a dog in the school. It was a good teacher – well liked and respected but treated in an inhuman way. Confident people were reduced to a shell,” she claimed.

“It was really, really unpleasant. She claimed I was unpopular[2]. I made an official complaint and she cut my pay without any notice – but I lost and the governors found the head had acted reasonably[3]. I came to doubt whether I was any good at my job. But I now know it’s not me. I don’t understand why anyone would be so horrible to people. The culture is toxic and divisive. No one trusts anyone. Everyone just lives in fear. I feel sorry for the people who believed in it and put so much of their lives into it.”

A teacher for 12 years, who did not want to be named, said: “Everything changed after she arrived. Teachers had no voice. Ideas were foisted on us. Anyone who disagreed with her was ignored so people left – even quite strong-willed people. Her management ideas seem to come from the 1950s. She tried to promote the narrative the school had been failing under [the previous headteacher] – who was made an MBE.”

Year Six teacher Alex Gwinnett, who suffered a nervous breakdown in November 2019, said in a letter to governors in July 2020: “I feel the school is now such a negative environment. I’m truly saddened to be leaving but… the direction the school has taken under the current head, at hectic and unheeding speed, has caused both me and colleagues a lot of concern, and indeed pain. [The school] has become progressively more rigid, with teachers less trusted and with the head seemingly beyond accountability.”

He made a complaint under [the council]’s Whistleblowing Policy in September 2021 but was told by dispute resolution expert xx it was too late[4] – and a grievance procedure should be used for individual employment matters.

A teaching assistant for 23 years who did not want to be named[5], said: “In the first meeting with the teaching assistants she said we were all stale and had been there too long. She was telling us we were crap. She told me I was in my comfort zone. It was a continuous six months of battles. I could walk, but I felt sorry for staff who had to stay. Sometimes under a new head, personalities don’t fit. But this was bullying.”

A teacher there for 16 years left in July 2019, a year after [the head]’s arrival, and said when the now head started: “I felt initially she had her heart in the right place. But there was no consulting with staff. Everything was set down. There had to be a one centimetre gap between children’s artwork placed on notice boards. Each one had to be straight and aligned. You weren’t allowed to be creative. It was de-skilling all teachers. We used to create moments of wonder and awe – but that stopped. She gave me a list of what I was getting wrong. I lost a lot of confidence. It got to the stage where I did not want to come to school. I would sit crying in my car. It was impacting the children. That’s when I decided to leave. In my exit interview, I told her I was leaving because of her. There was a clear divide between the school and its community. I moved to a school just five minutes from [the school].”

Chairman of governors said: “[The school] takes the mental health and well-being of its staff and pupils very seriously, and is actually a Mental Health Hub for the local authority[6]. This means it has been highlighted as displaying particularly good practice in this field, and has been asked to share its approach with other schools in the area. Since September 2020[7] just three teachers have left, not eight as claimed. In a two-form entry school, this is very much normal staff turnover, and each had standard reasons. Most of the teaching staff remain long-standing and there is mutual respect and support between the headteacher and staff. Governors actively monitor the relationships between the leadership team and staff. Training was offered [to any underperforming staff] and staff fed back how much they enjoyed that. Performance was managed in line with [the] council and national standards. The accountability measures are consistent with the national and local authority standards.”

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[1] It would appear that the governors need to pay a little more attention. Between 2018-2019 – 13 members of staff left, as did the esteemed head of governors. Between 2019-2020 – 6 more members of staff left. There is rather a significant difference between 8 and 19.

[2] This person was highly respected by all of us for her hard work, integrity and efficiency. As far as I’m aware, the only person she was unpopular was with was the head.

[3] Another unfortunate pattern.

[4] Interestingly, a letter of commendation was written by the representative of the council’s HR and printed on this person’s website shortly after the whistleblowing was thrown out. Conflict of interest?

[5] Valued by the staff and parents/carers alike, she was -and still is- a pillar of the community.

[6] This is an outright lie. The governors had been made aware of staff mental health issues since early on in the 2018-2019 academic year. To date, they have done exactly nothing about these issues.

[7] Why was 2020 mentioned? Who made this claim? For the record, 7 teachers left in the period between September 2020 and the publication of the article. 8 if you count the teacher who left in December 2019 after being victimised by the head. 

on not giving up

As touched upon previously, our attempt to blow the whistle was thrown out in September 2021 - apparently not in the public interest.

Not in the public interest of the staff that were hurt. Five people leaving with mental health issues, and over 30 people leaving since 2017 due to the toxic culture of the school. 

Not in the public interest of the children who were seeing one member of staff after another leaving them: trusted and respected members of the community (teaching staff, office staff and governors). Consistency -and many would argue quality first teaching- ever receding.

And yet (again mentioned previously), I cannot let it go. If anything, the closing of ranks of the establishment (SLT, Board of Governors, Council, local councillor, etc.) has made me more determined. It's not just about me. It is for all those who have suffered and may suffer if nothing is done. 

Although, for obvious reasons, I cannot go into details, since September 2021, I have been busy fighting this. Realistically, I am not sure what any of this will achieve. It sometimes gets quite lonely. Some friends have argued that this 'crusade' is reaping diminishing returns. It may be so but giving up now would feel like letting people down. I guess I'll wait for things to be dealt with then regroup.

Who knows? Something may actually come of it...

Exit interview - 14th July 2020

This past week has been SATs week and I'm exhausted. So, I'm directly publishing my anonymised exit interview notes rather than writing at length this weekend. 

I think it makes for interesting reading as I was very clear about my experience at the school and why it had been so destructive.

I insisted that the interview take place with someone other than the head. She fought this claiming all exit interviews were carried out by her. I eventually had to get in touch with HR who assured me that while "It is normal procedure for the headteacher to complete exit interviews however if you prefer not to meet with the headteacher you can have the meeting with someone else."

Once the interview had taken place, I naively thought these would have been used by the governors to try to introduce a little accountabilty to the school and protect colleagues remaining there. 

As far as I can tell, either these notes were not shared with the governing body or they were roundly ignored.

question	notes
Why did you decide to leave?	Because of [the head] & her lack of trust and dismissiveness. Inconsistent treatment of staff. Pattern that has hurt many people. Many have left (20+). Attack rather than negotiation. No consequences for her actions. No attempt to resolve issues fairly.
What are you going to do next?	Going to be a Year 6 teacher. Nice after 2 years of not being trusted or valued.
Why did you begin looking for a new job? (if applicable)	Because I had a nervous breakdown. Subsequently, was made difficult for me to return to work. Communication breakdown between [the head] and me. Had been moved to Year 3 for no reason and against my wishes. Given leadership position I wasn’t interested in. Inconsistency in expectations. Lack of ‘scrutiny’ for yes people. Pattern of gaslighting – e.g. unnecessary support plan.
What ultimately led you to accept the new position? (if applicable)	See above.
What did you like about this school/your role?	It used to be a nurturing community school before arrival of [the head]. Spirit of teamwork and support.
Did you find the job rewarding? Did you find the job challenging? Why?	Children rewarding. Became very attached to my Y3 class. Am a teacher in it for nurture. After arrival of [the head], undercurrent of divide and rule. Lack of integrity of SLT was a challenge.
Did you feel valued and appreciated in your role?	Not by [the head]. Communication with her generally about what she believed I was doing wrong. Pattern of emails sent at end of school week, just before holidays. Felt appreciated by colleagues.
How would you describe the culture of our school? Can you give specific examples?	At times: toxic – not considering emotions of staff. Retention doesn’t seem to be a priority. Listed people who had left (more than 20) and mentioned that more people wanted to leave but struggling to do so due to C19 (identities kept anonymous). Many changes made by [the head] aren’t beneficial to the school. Dictatorial style of leadership – not democratic.
What would you change about the school/your role?	Governing body needs to know what is going on. Union needs to be respected. Some things haven’t changed despite assurances.
Do you feel the pay is fair for your role and responsibilities?	Yes.
Did you feel you had the tools and skills that enabled you to do your job well? What could have been improved?	I have the experience to do my job properly. Sad state of affairs at [the school]. Lack of checks & balances make it difficult to work in a fulfilling way. Loved working with the children.
What are your thoughts on CPD at the school?	Staff consultation = ticking boxes. Interesting maths training. Weekly staff meetings uninspiring on the whole. Teaching of Reading not appropriate for lower ability children. Though appreciate Literacy Tree when trusted to implementing it autonomously.
What are your thoughts on communication at the school? a) with parents b) with staff c) with governors	a) lovely, open b) fine between peers, mentality of divide and rule from [the head] c) a wall. Colleague sent a letter detailing the lead-up to & my consequent breakdown – either seen only by head of governing body or ignored by the governing body
What are your thoughts on performance management at the school?	Unrealistic – imposed Documents not SMART No dialogue
Were you comfortable talking to your line manager about work problems?	No. I went to [the head] with my issues at work. Not comfortable.
What are your thoughts on the leadership of the school?	It is divided. It seems as if all decision-making is kept in [the head]’s office – very much based on her. No realization that respect and trust need to be earned. And no evidence of trust in the team from [the head]. Redundant leadership training.
Did you feel you were kept up-to-date on new developments and school policies?	Need-to-know basis. Marking policy – meeting discussions didn’t reflect the final policy. Ruthlessness.
How would you describe your workload/working hours?	High – goes with the territory, but didn’t need to be that high. More interested in product than rational results.
Is there anything we could have done differently that would have made you stay?	Creating an environment of trust, respect, teamwork, being listened to, collaboration of SLT, respect of the union, consistency. No victimisation.
Would you recommend us as a place to work?	No, I really wouldn’t. I feel guilty leaving as union rep for my colleagues staying. But my time under [the head] nearly destroyed me.
Is there anything else you wish to discuss?	These two years have easily been the most destructive and difficult years of my life. I’m astonished at the lack of accountability.