And now we're entering the business end of the year. Next month we hit National Curriculum testing as well as GCSEs and A-levels, and we all know who is being judged!
Don't forget it's our fault if our children don't achieve, not the parents who have them for 85% of their lives and certainly not the children who are always beyond reproach. But have we really reached a point when parents and children are absolved of all responsibility? Now as a headteacher myself I believe it is the job of my staff to enable the children to succeed, and I know that I will be held to account by those who employ me. I have an obligation to do the best for my pupils and their parents, but I also have an obligation to do the best for my staff. Can we really square this circle?
We talk a great deal of the stress placed on children at exam time but when was the last time we heard about the pressure placed on the shoulders of teachers. A poor set of results can now see you not getting a pay rise but getting a poor reference, it can be the precipitating factor in the arrival of OFSTED and forced academisation, sliding down league tables and losing pupils. It can be the humiliation in school when your geography class got 45% A*-C when the history teacher got 65%. I remember at the end of my first year of being a head of science being distraught when the science results came in and they looked awful. I had spent the year working 12 hour days, my team had, but still our results were poor. I got a roasting from the head and that had an extremely negative impact on me and my well-being. All of these can have significant and lasting effects on teachers and school leaders. In defence of heads, I can promise you the impact of poor results on them is devastating and can be career ending.
At this time it is the job of every line manager, of every school leader to be looking out for the signs of excessive pressure on colleagues. Self-care is vital. Talk to each other, relax, exercise, don't drink too much, listen to music, read books, take up an instrument, meditate, walk, run, do whatever you need to help calm your mind. It has taken me 20 years to learn this and I'm still only just getting there.
I would recommend Frazzled by Ruby Wax (I'm not on commission either). Her take on mindfulness is not only helpful but also deeply rewarding. You will be around long after the children you teach have forgotten you and so look after yourself.
To finish this I have a wish, that just once a newspaper will run an article on how stressful SATs are for teachers.
Don't forget it's our fault if our children don't achieve, not the parents who have them for 85% of their lives and certainly not the children who are always beyond reproach. But have we really reached a point when parents and children are absolved of all responsibility? Now as a headteacher myself I believe it is the job of my staff to enable the children to succeed, and I know that I will be held to account by those who employ me. I have an obligation to do the best for my pupils and their parents, but I also have an obligation to do the best for my staff. Can we really square this circle?
We talk a great deal of the stress placed on children at exam time but when was the last time we heard about the pressure placed on the shoulders of teachers. A poor set of results can now see you not getting a pay rise but getting a poor reference, it can be the precipitating factor in the arrival of OFSTED and forced academisation, sliding down league tables and losing pupils. It can be the humiliation in school when your geography class got 45% A*-C when the history teacher got 65%. I remember at the end of my first year of being a head of science being distraught when the science results came in and they looked awful. I had spent the year working 12 hour days, my team had, but still our results were poor. I got a roasting from the head and that had an extremely negative impact on me and my well-being. All of these can have significant and lasting effects on teachers and school leaders. In defence of heads, I can promise you the impact of poor results on them is devastating and can be career ending.
At this time it is the job of every line manager, of every school leader to be looking out for the signs of excessive pressure on colleagues. Self-care is vital. Talk to each other, relax, exercise, don't drink too much, listen to music, read books, take up an instrument, meditate, walk, run, do whatever you need to help calm your mind. It has taken me 20 years to learn this and I'm still only just getting there.
I would recommend Frazzled by Ruby Wax (I'm not on commission either). Her take on mindfulness is not only helpful but also deeply rewarding. You will be around long after the children you teach have forgotten you and so look after yourself.
To finish this I have a wish, that just once a newspaper will run an article on how stressful SATs are for teachers.
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