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Views & Opinion Senior leaders feeling broken by the system Comment by Dr ASHA PATEL, CEO of education not-for-profit Innovating Minds
Lying awake in the early hours of the morning, dreading going to school, crying. This might sound like a pupil who is being bullied but increasingly it is an experience shared by headteachers and senior leaders on Twitter. In April the BBC
published an article that showed that 'One in four (25%) primary school heads and more than one in three (37%) in secondary schools who started their roles in 2015 had left by 2020 - up from 21% and 35% since 2011. 'Crushing workloads and frozen pay were to blame', said the NAHT union. Workload and pay are things which the government could remedy but the problems lie deeper. Innovating Minds talked to Moira Cross, Executive Headteacher
at Dordon and Wood End Primary Schools in Warwickshire about how it feels to be a headteacher: 'I see it as a role that absorbs all of the pressure from above, including external accountability measures, plus all the staff's concerns, parental and pupil worries, so we get it from both sides. That's always been the case, but I think the pandemic has exacerbated that.'
There is no HR department in a primary school Staff have the same problems as any other employees: money worries, the pressure of being a carer, illness, family concerns. At the same time. they’re working in a job which currently attracts criticism from the government, the DfE and OFSTED and increasingly in recent months from parents. Staff feel their work is not valued by society and that they are under attack from all sides. On the May Day Bank Holiday there was an announcement
that the government would publish a catch-up 'league table' and share the data with OFSTED. This was an added stress. There is also feeling that the government is out of touch with reality. Schools are dealing with crises and mental health issues on a daily basis and trying to find solutions that fit their pupils' needs and those may not be the ones that the government advocates.
Unreasonable expectations Inspections are a continuing pressure especially now that 'deep dives' are in vogue. In primary there will be a person in charge of English and maths
and maybe for science, but they are necessarily subject specialists. This is an additional workload and requires subject knowledge. Small primaries do not have enough teachers to have person responsible for just one subject. A case in point is the Mental Health Leads. In many primary schools this will be the headteacher.
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www.education-today.co.uk 'Headteachers in primary schools try to alleviate these problems
and often the easiest way is to take up some of the roles and responsibilities of staff who are struggling' said Moira, 'but that leads to more pressure and an increased workload.'
Impact of lockdown 'COVID meant teachers were teaching a majority of children who weren't in the building. Trying to track the progression of skills and the acquisition of knowledge via Zoom was nigh on impossible,' said Moira. 'The government was debating wireless and access where some children haven't got books, paper or pens at home, never mind wireless connection and devices.' Many children found lockdown traumatic. 'For vulnerable
children schools are their safe space and it was taken away for an undefined period of time.' Staff were aware of children who had safeguarding issues but
when they made welfare visits the size and scope of the problem was an eye opener. 'Some of the things we were having to address were beyond the experience of some of my staff, and I would say beyond the experience of many teachers up to that point.' Many primary schools are finding that safeguarding concerns
all end up at their door and that there is an increasing expectation that staff will understand and offer help, whether it's emotional support or practical advice.
Sources of support We are only just starting to see the impact of the pandemic on mental health of children and it’s not a positive picture. Moira feels that initiatives such as Mental Health Leads and Mental Health First Aid course are excellent ideas, but come at a price. 'Teachers are not trained in the therapeutic work that needs to
happen to rectify the problem. We might be able to identify issues but we do not have the expertise to address them. The CAMHS waiting list in our local area is three years for some children and we are trying to cope with the child's anxieties and behaviour.' There are organisations that provide support for staff. Health
Assured and School Advisory Service both offer confidential services to staff who are experiencing physical or mental ill health and many headteachers signpost these to their staff. Andrew Morrish and Ros McMullen have set up Headrest,
@Headrest_UK, a service run by volunteer recently retired headteachers. Their mission is 'to listen, and then to reassure, reaffirm and help recalibrate. By also showing heads how to refocus, our priority will always be their mental health and wellbeing.' Such support is desperately needed. 'You may feel broken but
you have to maintain the facade that you are in control,' said Moira. 'It can be a very lonely job. You have to internalise so much and you think you've got it absolutely nailed and then something comes in that just floors your plans for the day.'
For more information:
https://www.innovatingmindscic.com/
https://www.myedupod.com/cr/senior-mental-health-leads
https://lp.healing-together.co.uk/cr/healing-together-programme
June2022
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