Headteachers To Leave The Profession

The Association of School and College Leaders, the union of many haedteachers in the UK, claims that over half of headteachers want to leave the profession having surveyed a number of its members. The union cites the fact that morale is at an "all time low" due to the constant criticism from government and ever-increasing responsibility as parents choose to palm off parenting on schools.

A headteacher's job has become more complex, it is claimed, with the skills required being "moral leaders, risk takers, media experts, creative accountants, prophets and networkers". And I'd agree with most of those, whether those traits are good for the school or the individual headteacher is more of a moot point.

A headteacher's job has certainly changed immensely in recent years, as they become further removed from day-to-day school life, becoming pen-pushers, rarely seeing children whilst holed up in offices, meetings and "training courses". Ultimately the buck stops with the headteacher when it comes to school performance, but with so much of the groundwork delegated, headteachers can seemingly do as much or as little as they want as the only people they answer to are the governors. Governors are volunteers, headteachers are paid enormous sums of money - I've never been sure why that has worked, or perhaps it hasn't depending on the nature of those governors.

The fact that so many headteachers are thinking of leaving - the news report says that one third are making preparations to actually leave - is actually quite worrying. Not that I believe that the profession would miss some headteachers, but because the case will be similar, if not worse with teaching staff. Schools can live without heads for a while (a couple of schools local to where I am actually thrived without a head), but schools cannot survive without teaching staff.

The difference is that headteachers can make preparations for leaving the profession - I imagine that it's easier to put some money aside on a monthly income of £5000 than it is with a classroom teacher's monthly income of around £2000. Teachers' morale is also at an all-time low, a fact that will come to light as the union conference season continues, but "ordinary" teachers don't have the disposible income to put some aside and leave, so what the young of the UK are currently getting is a demoralised workforce, which can't be healthy for anyone.

Ofsted, Gove, Wilshaw, Twigg and any other politicians who have anything to do with education policy or diatribe have a lot to answer for. Ignore the rosette as they are all as bad as each other. We are living in a time where education is seen as a major vote winner so successive politicians given power over education in Britain try desperately to make a mark and in the process end up criticising and confusing teachers through slating previous government policy and constantly changing school policy to shout about (or not, depending on its success) at the next general election. And these policies are based on what knowledge of the profession? None.

Is it any surprise that teachers are demoralised? Bossed by ambitious toffs with no idea.

I saw that a non-teaching friend of mine on a well-known social networking site had "liked" the "Get Into Teaching" page. I thought I'd click on it (not the "Like" button, I hasten to add) and see what people are saying about getting into teaching - the naivity was amazing and worrying. I so nearly posted to the young people being conned into teaching by promises of fulfilment not the bother, but thought better of it. They may well have to learn by their own mistakes.

Longer Day Anyone?

They're all at it now, even Labour's Shadow Education Secretary has started to make stupid comments, to go with his coalition counterpart. He reckons that the school day should be extended for the following reasons:

1. It will help stop kids from joining gangs - presumably gangs don't happen in schools.
2. It will offer kids a "haven from chaotic homes".
3. It will prepare kids for the hours they will have to work when they leave school/education.
4. It will raise standards, or should I say, grades as the kids will do nothing but school work.

All these are viable and decent points I suppose, although not all are applicable to some schools in the gang or "chaotic home" senses. In fact most, if not all teachers would welcome the opportunity for their students to practise what they've been taught in class more. I also agree that school currently does not prepare young people for the workplace, but will this really work? Is hoemwork still going to be a requirement? Kids have got to have time to actually be kids at some point.

How's it going to work?

This hasn't been explained of course, it smacks of a potential vote winning statement to me, the trouble being that Schools Minister Nick Gibb seems to agree, which means that it's a very real possibility. To be fair if Gibb said it was a bad idea he may as well say to the general public "please don't vote for us in the next election".

Are teachers going to be paid for the extra hours they do. Currently a teacher can have no more than 1265 hours over the year of "contact time", and that is spread over the 195 days spent in school. "Contact time" is the educational term for "kids in your class". This would have to be rethought unless new staff would be brought in the supervise the extra time required by the politicians. In which case these people would need payment, but we keep being told that there's no more money left in the pot. So something has to give.

There's also the fact that teachers use the time they have before and after school to plan those "outstanding" lessons that the government and Ofsted desire. If that time is taken away standards will actually drop, because teachers will either not have the time to plan the lessons or will have to work every evening in order to plan them. This will lead to burnout, stress-related illness and absence and this isn't good for anyone, teachers or students. Anyone fancy working from 7.30am to about 9pm every weekday? Nor do I.

This is yet another example of political idiocy, but I can't say that I'm surprised. Every day seems to bring a new example.

Read the article here!