Continuing on the theme of smoke and mirrors: at the end of autumn term 2019, my union caseworkers requested to meet with my head to express their concern at and investigate the way reps were being treated at my previous school.
As
I have detailed in previous posts, my breakdown had been brushed aside by her
and the board of governors. An anonymous letter to the Chair of Governors had not
only been ignored but had led to the good friend, who had taken up my position
as union rep in my absence, to be given a fraudulent disciplinary. The other
co-rep in their turn had also been victimised leading to a nervous breakdown:
they never returned to the school. This all took place within a month: it was
textbook union-bashing. In my mind, it is a travesty that this in itself was
not considered in the ‘public interest’ and investigated immediately by the
governors and local council. However, it was not, and things got progressively
worse for staff and by extension children at the school.
I
digress. Back to December 2019.
Having
been kept abreast of the situation, accordingly, the union sent the head an
e-mail just before Christmas break to request a meeting. To be present were our
two caseworkers plus a regional director.
The
head’s response could not have been more disingenuous or hypocritical.
1. She expressed
her surprise at such a request maintaining that there was no proof of her
targeting individuals. She maintained that she had acted according to school
protocol and always been fully transparent and fair.
2. She argued that
there were no official disciplinaries. A technicality of the most hypocritical
order.
3. And for the coup-de-grâce:
she had the nerve to assert that she was being targeted by the union - particularly
as the e-mail was sent on the last day of term! For those of you have read my
previous blogs, you will remember that I have mentioned her modus operandi of
sending missives at tactical times to cause as much damage to one’s well-being.
The
meeting did eventually take place in January of 2020. The caseworkers were not
allowed in the meeting at the same time despite working side by side within the
union: they could only be present for the rep that was being discussed at the
time. Ridiculous. Nothing concrete was achieved at the meeting – it was a PR
exercise for her. The head magnanimously declared that she was happy that there
was a good working relationship between her and the union; that she looked
forward to working with the union ‘together’ in the future.
A
sad and sorry state of affairs. My co-rep and I kept the union protecting its members as best we could for as long as we could. I left in July 2020, him the
following year.
There
were three more mental breakdowns after I left. Turnover of staff continued to
be an issue. Children have continued to move schools. Nothing to see here…
I’m a parent of children who’ve been at this school and am sad to read this. It would be very interesting to have other teachers (who have left or who are still in the school) opinions on these posts … I am interested to know whether they agree with Mr Gwinnett? Or not? Having these other thoughts and opinions would help to provide wider context.
ReplyDeleteHi, I worked at the school during the time in question and have been following this blog with interest. I have to say I absolutely agree with the posts as being 100% accurate as a representation of the atmosphere in the school then. Staff were systematically bullied out of the school using various techniques, with a particular emphasis on causing them psychological harm. I hope it didn't impact upon the children in any way. (other than obviously the teachers not being at their best.)
DeleteI also worked at the school during this immeasurably toxic time. To witness colleagues being intimidated, bullied and basically driven to mental breakdowns as well as experiencing such treatment first hand was something I thought I would never have to go through as the school used to be such a wonderful, happy, creative place to work with a wonderful community spirit. It swiftly turned into a cold, corporate and soulless , corporate entity in the times mentioned.
ReplyDeleteThe mass exodus of talented and dedicated staff speaks for itself.
This blog makes for uncomfortable reading as it brings back some very unhappy memories of my own experiences at the school. I agree that it is an accurate account of what was happening at the time: the Headteacher's treatment of some staff was brutal and seemed to be beyond accountability. I hope things have improved there now, and I hope that all those staff who were so negatively affected have managed to move on to bigger and better things.
ReplyDeleteI worked at the school for the best part of twenty years. I loved my job until that woman took over. She was always so arrogant and rude. She obviously didn't care about the about children. It was down to her horrible treatment of staff and total lack of nurture for the children that I had to leave. There is no exaggeration in what Alex has written in this blog. And it's disgusting that nothing has ever been done by the governors or the council about this sad state of affairs. Some people just
ReplyDeleteseem to be above any accountability. I left that place totally disillusioned.
As someone who taught at the school for several years, I can corroborate what has been said on this blog. I am adding my voice to it because all written complaints of unethical conduct made against the school's management (harrassment, victimisation, dishonesty) were never engaged with, let alone investigated. On the contrary, and sickeningly, teachers were disciplined having raised concerns. The council sat on its hands in full knowledge. Without any proper accountability or transparency, is it any surprise that this blog has been written?
ReplyDelete