Teachers slam federation (From Thurrock Gazette)

Teachers slam federation

10:52am Wednesday 8th July 2009

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TEACHERS at Shaw Primary School say the federation with Benyon Primary isn’t working and staff morale is at an all time low.

The two South Ockendon schools formed a federation in January under one senior head teacher, with the aim of doubling abilities in terms of curriculum support, special educational needs, and teacher development.

But teaching staff at Shaw say the move has thrown up a lot of problems, and they have now written to the head teacher and the governors.

They write: “After two full terms of enthusiastically embracing the opportunities and vision of the federation, unfortunately we feel that Shaw has suffered in many ways, and therefore feel we have a duty to write to you to express our varied concerns with respect to the effectiveness of the federation.”

The staff say they are feeling “stretched” and this is having an effect on the children.

They write: “ There is a lack of available human resources, which leaves a lack of support, that used to be in place, this has knock on effects on the children and their learning and behaviour.”

The staff say they are also feeling anxious because their roles and responsibilities are unclear.

They add: “There are legal problems connected with the setting up of the federation, this has caused anxiety amongst many staff, as roles and responsibilities are still unclear, which cannot help but be passed onto the children in some way.”

The teachers have also sighted time constraints as a problem, adding: “They are a key barrier to the implementation of the federation, the lack of direction offered as to the new roles and structures in the federation, resulting in reduced morale amongst many staff members.”

Among the other grievances listed in the letter are a “lack of support for managers and management teams” and “Increased demands and workloads on many staff”.

The teachers conclude: “Whilst we would like to see the federation working, it is very difficult to see any benefits to Shaw. The staff morale feels at an all time low and therefore the ability to support the children in the way in which Shaw has previously been proud leads us to being worried about Shaw losing its good reputation and the trust of the parents.”

Thurrock Council spokesperson Andy Lever said: “The federation between Shaw and Benyon primary schools has only been in operation for six months and is still evolving. This is far too soon for success or failure to be measured.

“During this time, staff and governors have been invited to comment on proposals in a "consultation". The consultation is still in process and in the six months that staff and governors have been invited to respond, only one response had been received and that did not refer to the issues brought up in the letter.

“In this instance, the first the head knew of any of these concerns was when the council passed on the Gazette's copy of a letter that they had received.

“Now these concerns about the federation have been brought to the school's attention the staff who have expressed them can be assured they will be considered as part of the consultation process.

“Staff can be assured that the school, the federation and Thurrock Council take these comments very seriously and they will followed up.”

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