Teaching Staff

At School H, a new Head teacher took over and her style was very different to her predecessor’s. The school was not doing well in the School and College Performance Tables, and the new Head’s remit was to bring in change and improve results. Because of her change in style, about a third of the staff left within a year of her arriving at the school.The Head teacher, in advertising for new staff made a virtue of her newness and the idea of a fresh start. She recruited good staff who were enthusiastic to move the school forward. However, it soon became apparent that the Head teacher was not effective at managing people, so the new arrivals also started thinking about moving on. For another year or so, the Head teacher was still able to recruit, because she could make a virtue out of being new, but after having been at the school for three years, replacement staff became thin on the ground.Within these three years, 75% of the teaching staff had left. Students had little continuity of teaching, long term supply teachers were common, and results continued to stagnate. It was only when the Head teacher left and another was recruited that staff retention issues were successfully addressed and results began to improve.