Bullying Head Teachers

Rob · Bullying Head Teachers

Here is a link that readers of this site might find interesting to follow. It is from a discussion thread about the court case in Plymouth recently where the bullying by the head teacher was quoted as being the worst case on record. The teacher involved received the maximum payout of £58000.

http://www.tes.co.uk/section/staf...amp;threadPage=&messagePage=1

With the announcements on this forum about Mr Lomax leaving the governing body after 13 years loyal support and the leader of the action group removing his son, one wonders where to look now for help in turning Marton school around. It is small comfort, I realise, but the link above does show that Marton is not alone. Headteachers who cover their incompetence by bullying staff, members of the local authority who turn a blind eye, or attempt to cover up facts, governors who simply 'accept' and do nothing, are sadly commonplace in our education system.

Who do the ordinary teachers, caring governors and parents who fight for a quality education for their children turn to ?

WAYNE HEYS

What a great article,Firstly it demonstrates that there are indeed people in Authorty who do abuse their powers,then again we all new that anyway,it did open my eyes though as to just how much abuse of power is actually going on in our schools,like Rob has said,where do parents Governors and Staff go when there are indeed problems,personally, I would suggest that the staff stand up as one and question their superiors,but if a members or members of staff are well in with the head ,then that is not going to happen,and there lies the problem !!!
At the end of the day Marton is/was OUR school,not Mrs Coupes or Mr Turners or for that matter Mr Lund's,the Governors have to be big enough to look at trends which are happening at Marton,why did many parents feel it neccessary to remove their children from Marton, why, some 11 months later are the Action Group as focused as they ever were ,to put this school back on track, fortunately my children no longer attend the school,but to just walk away and do nothing is the easy option,to be criticised in the press and local radio for highlighting the problems can to be distressing,but not as distressing as having your career put on hold for almost a year whilst your employer tries to organise a disciplinary hearing against you,Mrs Alderson was a fine teacher,she taught both my children,in a very professinal ,caring way,Mr Lund, YOUR departments June 9th deadline has passed,we still await information,I suggest you reinstate Mrs Alderson, so that she can show you what Professional and Caring really mean,in my opinion it is the trio of Mr Lund/Mr Turner and Mrs Coupe that should have been suspended in this horrible mess

R. Thornton

Hear, Hear Wayne.
The way in which the teacher in the Plymouth case, and Mrs Alderson have been treated has been shameful. The similarities between the two cases are frightening - both in the behaviour of the headteachers and the actions of both authorities.

The management’s (Coupe and Turner) view of staff at Maron was clearly highlighted by their indifference to the Investors In People award which had been hard won years previously. I then found the following statement from the CPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development)

The CIPD is the professional body for those involved in the management and development of people.
CIPD viewpoint
Human rights should not be seen as being simply about legal compliance. Treating people fairly is central to good people management. Employers should focus on creating a workplace culture in which everyone feels included, valued and respected. To foster personal responsibility and engagement, a balanced approach is needed to address diverse stakeholder and organisational interests and preferences. Creating a climate of mutual respect and dignity will foster improved working relationships and contribute to productivity and business performance.

It is quite clear that this ‘good management’ model has not been practised at Marton – not only in Mrs Alderson’s case, but also in the treatment of the rest of the staff. The Ofsted report of a year ago reported on large amounts of poor and below average teaching. Now Ofsted observations of lessons have changed little since the last inspection, which showed many more above average and good lessons, as was the case in the first inspection. The authority’s own audit in Spring 2005 highlighted the quality of teaching. I have asked earlier on this forum where was the guidance and support from management in the run up to, and during the Ofsted week ? Teachers do not suddenly become poor teachers. But if they cease to be valued or respected their personal sense of worth and confidence are naturally diminished. This must affect their classroom performance when under stress – as in an inspection. The new management at Marton certainly must accept much of the blame for elements of that report.

But. Again as Wayne has said, Marton’s staff is not the calibre of staff to stand up to a bullying head teacher. Indeed one of the most shocking statements in the Ofsted report (a point I have made on other occasions) was by a group of staff complaining about bullying by OTHER STAFF in the Autumn term. They either had not had the confidence to bring it into the open in the 2 terms before Ofsted, or waited until Ofsted to present it with Mrs Coupe knowing the accused could not reply. But why had Mrs Coupe not sorted the issue long before the Ofsted took place ?

As Wayne has said, some staff at Marton are weak and allowed themselves to be affected and easily led by the headteacher. Mrs Alderson is clearly a strong person as she has demonstrated by her diginity during the past year, steering clear of all that has happened and patiently waiting for the authority. Her classroom performance was clearly not affected during the Ofsted as she received good teaching assessments from the inspectors.

Sadly though Wayne, if you read that Gazette report again, the authority did not quote the 9th of June – merely ‘later in June’. So it seems there is still more waiting to do.

Dean.Lomax

Not sure if this is the right post to put this, but maybe the forum administrator will move it if they seem fit.

Now that I am no longer a governor at Marton School I feel I can now speak up about the things that in my opinion need stating.

As a governor, I have had a professional relationship with Bev Alderson for the 13 years leading up to her suspension. In that time Bev has proved to be an invaluable member of the Marton team. This all started from before the school even opened with Bev being involved in all the necessary to ensure that the school opened on time and that children where receiving the best care and education from the minute they walked through the door on the very first day.

Her involvement in directing the school has continued from that day. I can remember the early days of the school when every Governors meeting seemed to need some policy or procedure approving. That has continued and some of the work Bev has done on matters such as Sex Education has been held in high regard by the Authority and outside. Indeed, Bev has even been asked to speak to others in education about the work she has done. Bev's work on PSHE throughout the whole of the time I have been involved with the school has been exemplary.

As a teacher Bev has always been liked and respected. Her teaching has received praise on Inspection reports. She has remained a very popular teacher with the children. In the early days, Bev was responsible for teaching mixed aged classes as the school filled. This as any teacher will appreciate is a very difficult task, nonetheless, Bev took this in her stride and exceeded our expectations with the task.

On a personal level, and just to clarify, I don't consider Bev a friend, this is not what this is about. My relationship has been purely on a professional level and professional is the important word here. That is how I have always found Bev to be throughout the years.

I felt it was important to state this now that I an allowed and without reproach. I challenge anyone who has had as long a relationship with Bev to question anything I have written on this post.

WAYNE HEYS

ROB,IF MY INFORMATION i HAVE POSTED IS INCORRECT THEN PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES,BUT HERE IS WHERE i GOT THE DATE FROM.

Firstly – the disciplinary against Beverley Alderson HAS been concluded. It is over, and all of us can be relieved at that. What we are presently waiting for is a (carefully) worded joint statement that will give details of exactly HOW it has been concluded. This has been promised by 9 June – although I wouldn’t hold your breath…

AR

Has anyone actually ever followed the link ads which appear on this forum. I have just clicked on one out of interest, which appeared after Wayne's post. and found myself on the following site.:-

The Teacher Support Network - www.teachersupport.info

Here are descriptions of some of the most common calls they receive from the teaching profession - which back up everything said by other posts in this thread.

Bullying or victimisation

Some callers feel heads ‘act with apparent immunity in the way that they treat their staff’. In a profession which needs to be aware of, and combat, the effects of bullying on pupils, teachers can often feel disempowered when subjected to it themselves.

Teachers have reported the ‘bullying attitude of the head’ and the way they (the teacher) have been ‘deliberately marginalised’. In some places the only way to ‘survive is to keep your head down and just get on with it’. Some teachers have reported raising an issue in a staff meeting and feeling victimised as a result. through humiliation in staff meetings and/or in front of pupils, withholding of assistance and support, exclusion from conversations, being ignored and undermining of their authority.

In some cases teachers believe that their head has a hidden agenda in wanting to “work them out of the school” through, for example, early retirement. Perceived reasons include being “too expensive” and having been sick for long periods due to stress.

Certainly Mrs Coupe and the Plymouth head seem to have been able to act without aything being done about their behaviour. The second paragraph makes a good point - perhaps those staff at Marton not crawling to Mrs Coupe have been forced 'to keep their heads down' to survive. They have been unable to act in a united way as R. Thornton and Wayne suggest they could have done.
And as for the third paragraph - the perfect description of Marton. There was clealry a hidden agenda in the Ofsted week which the Ofsted team fell for, clearly stated by R. Thornton's posts. But how many staff have been off with stress? We have heard much about Mrs Alderson's case - rightfully because of the suspension - but what happened to Mrs Reidy ? Here is another very talented teacher who taught at Marton for a number of years and seems to have been lost to the school. But why ? Is she going to return ? Or is she another victim of Mrs Coupe's management methods ?

Finally, thank you to Mr Lomax for expressing so well the respect we all, in the Marton comunity, feel for Mrs Alderson, and the sadness that this affair has gone on for so long without being heard by the authorities.