Jobs in Teaching

Moose · December 15, 2008

Maybe should go in the rant room but who cares. Just got off the phone with my wife who has been at a school all day on interview for a deputy head teacher job. She sent me a message this morning to say that one of the candidates was an internal applicant, which basically meant yet another stitch up and a waste of a day.

Her school closed last summer and as a result she lost her deputy heads job, she had in fact been running the school ever since the head was asked to leave and given 50k as a reward for her incompetence. My wife got next to nothing and absolutely no help from the LEA whatsoever.

For the best part of a year now she has been consistently shortlisted to attend interviews for head and deputy head posts at various schools and every single time except once, the job has gone to the internal applicant. She has been told a number of times by the LEA staff who are there to advise the school that in their opinion she should have been given the job but unfortunately their role is advisory and they do not get to vote. The decision largely comes from the governing body who more often than not play it safe and appoint someone they know.

The whole process makes me furious, if a post becomes free at a school they are legally bound to advertise it externally even if it has been virtually promised to another member of staff at the same school. It annoys me that she has to attend all these meaningless interviews knowing full well that any internal candidate is more than likely going to get the job no matter how she performs. It annoys me that the decision to appoint is given to the governers who are nothing more than a bunch of parents really. How on earth are they to know who is the best candidate for the job? I know I couldnt!

She has impressed everyone she has worked with at every level, at the moment she is working supply and the feedback she has been getting is extremely positive. And for the moment supply work is all she can get but because the appointment system is broken and completely unfair.

Im utterly p*ssed off for her and yet I cant help admire her for picking herself up and putting herself through this again and again and again.

Bailo · December 15, 2008

This post is not viewable to guests.