Spinney Parents 0

Answers from the Local Authority

52 people have signed this petition. Add your name now!
Spinney Parents 0 Comments
52 people have signed. Add your voice!
52%
Maxine K. signed just now
Adam B. signed just now

Dear Spinney Parents,

You may have seen WhatsApp messages or heard parents talking about problems with the recent appointment of a new head teacher.

We are very concerned because appointing a headteacher is one of the most important decisions for a school. According to Department for Education (DfE) guidance (Recruiting a headteacher - December 2017) :

  • “school leadership is extremely influential on the success of a school and it is therefore essential to give thought, care, time and attention to recruitment and selection processes”
  • “recruitment must always be carried out within the context of applicable legislation and laws and it is important that headteachers are appointed only by those that have the power to do so”
  • “Recruiting a headteacher is arguably one of the most important tasks a board will undertake. Research suggests that school leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an influence on pupil learning, and leaders improve teaching and learning indirectly and most powerfully through their influence on staff motivation, commitment and working conditions”
  • The point at which a headteacher vacancy arises is a good time for boards to think strategically about the needs and structure of the school, and what skills and qualities they need in a future headteacher


With this in mind, we have tried to learn what happened and have the following questions:

  • The job advert was prepared and posted by the Local Authority (LA) on 25th Aug., during the school holidays, without any prior notification to anyone at the school. Legally it is for the Governing Body (GB) to prepare and send out the advertisement. We know that errors were made, for example the number of students needing SEN support was listed as 3% when it is actually 17%.

    Why was the advert placed by the LA in such a hurry rather than allowing the incoming governing body to learn about the school and place their own advert?
  • We elected new parent (and staff) governors on the 20th Sept. This was before the headteacher interviews on the 25th Sep but the new governors were not formally appointed until the 2nd Oct., so they were not permitted to vote on the decision.

    Why were they not formally appointed in time to vote? Alternatively, why not postpone the interviews by a week?

  • The appointment of a headteacher must be carried about and endorsed by a Governing Body consisting of at least 7 members including at least 2 x parent governors, 1 x staff governor, 1 x headteacher and 1 x local authority governor. The decision to appoint the new headteacher was made by 4 governors without the 3 elected governors.

    Is it consistent with the DfE advice above for the 4 LA-appointed governors to have appointed a head on their own before a full governing body was even in place?

  • The 4 LA-appointed governors were only appointed on the 1st of September. We are led to believe they were not aware of the recent history of the school or the strong desire expressed by the majority of parents last term for a period of stability and continuity.

    Why was this context not shared with these new governors? Why did they not meet with the new staff and parent governors to discover this kind of information? Why were they not given more time to get to know the school?


We feel very uncomfortable about the way this appointment seems to have been unnecessarily rushed, without following the relevant processes, and with a lack of transparency that we have sadly seen before.

We are not interested in fermenting dissent, or causing trouble. Like all parents, we want to see a happy successful school. One operating under good governance, and providing a healthy respectful environment for our teachers and children. One that supports teaching and learning together.

We understand that the Spinney staff also have similar concerns. If you would like to express your support for our staff, and your concern about the points above, please consider signing this petition.

The issue has already caused some division so you can untick the “[ ] Show my name…” box if you wish. You’ll also note that we do not attempt to propose a specific action, or claim to know the ‘right’ outcome; that will need to be decided by all stakeholders working together.

But perhaps it should start with the LA explaining why they took a course of action that appears so flawed?

With sincere regards,
Robert, Fernando, Zsuzsanna, Isabela, Benn, Joanna, Mike, Dacil, Enrique, Krzysztof

Share for Success

Comment

52

Signatures