On 25/05/22, I mentioned an article in which the governing body of
my previous school stated:
“During
the last four years, an expected number of staff have left the school due to promotion,
relocation and changes in family circumstances” rather than due to the toxic
leadership and poor treatment of its staff: clearly the main reasons.
To add
insult to injury, it added: “We are thrilled when our highly trained teachers
go on to leadership roles elsewhere. The governing body is committed to
supporting staff and ensuring healthy engagement with staff is maintained.”
Thrilled? As stated before, none of us went onto higher
leadership roles. A couple of sideways moves maybe.
Supporting
staff? Four of us had breakdowns.
Most of us who left were poorly treated. There was no support from the
governing body at all in my experience.
Healthy engagement? There was never any engagement
with us. After many years of loyal service to the school, getting good results,
being feted by parents, I received no sense of gratitude. I believe in most
schools, it is customary to send a letter to departing staff thanking them for
time at the school. The head of governors -in particular- has always blindly
supported the head.
Despite myriad complaints, nothing has ever been done
to justify such statements.
Anyway, I am going off piste – apologies: that red
mist is still summoned to a certain extent when I think about the past. I
wanted this to be a more positive post about all of us landing on our feet and
regaining a sense of worth, serenity and well-being.
Most of us who have left are scarred: I still have to
contend with the effects of PTSD and have trust issues. But I am healing. I am
respected and part of a caring community at my current school. Not only do
people accept me for who I am, but I have been given extra responsibilities and
am now a member of the Senior Leadership Team – for the first time in my
career.
Z is now a coveted supply teacher: they are loving teaching
again after the dark times. A number of schools have been vying to take them on
full time. They too were gaslighted by the previous head, made to feel wanting
and victimised.
Y, a brilliant and much trusted business manager, was similarly
awfully treated – they left and were immediately recruited to a similar
position, then head-hunted from there before the end of the year.
X, another teacher/rep victimised to the nth degree, successfully
interviewed for 3 different job when they left. They are happily teaching Year
6 again after being moved from that position at the previous school. Yet again –
trusted very quickly by their new community.
W – now head of Early Years at their school.
V – now head of Y6 at their school.
And the list goes on...
People who had been happy
regaining happiness elsewhere. Happiness, confidence and a place amongst a caring
community.
Not all of us made it back into education. Some went into early retirement. Others left the profession.
One element links the vast majority of us: we left a
place we had loved that was destroyed by a toxic culture: imposed by one person,
and enabled by the Board of Governors, the Local Authority – and all those who
chose to ignore what was happening. Collusion rearing its ugly head within the
establishment. Where the easy life is more important than integrity…
There was certainly no
sign of a board of governors “thrilled” at ‘highly trained teachers go(ing) on
to leadership roles elsewhere”.
There
was even less sign of the “governing body (being) committed to supporting staff
and ensuring healthy engagement with staff”.
Au
contraire…
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