This is how teachers describe school managers
They are "inadequate in their jobs both as teachers and managers, and they know it".
They are "unapproachable, tyrannical bullies".
They have "'yes' people working closely with them".
They "do whatever it takes to screw those exam results up to the max"... "If that means cheating or piling on the pressure then that's what they do"
They kick struggling students out of the school
They will "target the most competent and well liked subbordinates as they are percieved by them to be a threat"
They have "Narcissistic or Antisocial Personality Disorders"
There are some excellent promoted staff and headteachers in schools however workplace bullying in schools is a big problem especially for unpromoted teaching staff. A single bully in any promoted position within a school can cause enormous damage as they manipulate others, often unsuspecting senior managers, who have 'have full confidence in their judgment and do not question their trust' as well as their subbordinates who they can 'ply with favours' or manage by fear. The bullies (who often tell blatant lies), know they will be believed (rather than their targets) and supported by their managers regardless of the real facts, will (contrary to popular thinking) often target the most competent and well liked subbordinates as they are percieved by them to be a threat and need to be 'kept down'. The unsuspecting targets often don't even realise they are being bullied (or that lies are being told to others) initially and try hard to please the bully manager whose constant unwarranted critisism they accept but don't understand. The result is that they loose confidence, their health suffers and the bully then uses negative impression management to destroy the reputation of the target to senior management. The management often then are manipulated by the bully into increasing pressure on the target. When this happens, the feeling of helplessness sets in, the target realises they are being bullied but knows that they are isolated and vulnerable. If they raise a grievance, then the bully, from their position of relative power, steps up the bullying hoping to further destroy their target then claim that their target has a 'mental health problem' so that they can claim that it is them that is being bullied rather than their target. These bullies often have either Narcissistic or Antisocial Personality Disorders. These disorders allow the bullies to be percieved incorrectly as effective, charming and caring by senior managers and some of their subbordinates but their true agenda is personal gain, dominance and control. The result is a 'hostile working environment' where there are clear divisions and insecurity with some staff being favoured and being 'kept on side' while others are targetted either individually or as a group. Staff are often given vague instructions or are over controlled. Bullying can take many forms, too little work, too much work, being given responsibility without authority nitt picking etc etc. (If it feels bad, then its probably bullying - trust your 'gutt feel') People with these disorders have no conscience,tell lies with ease and skill, do not suffer from guilt from their wrongdoing and cannot empathise (though they can feign what they think are appropriate reactions in emotional situations). They are very dangerous people (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde - wolves in sheeps clothing)and they often gain promotion in schools by a combination of being able to say with conviction at interview that they will do 'what it takes to get the job done regardless of cost' and by spreading negative information (privately of course) about their competition. This all seems unbelievable, unfortunately it happens all to often. Some excellent reading includes - Bully in sight, Without Concience, Where Ego's dare and Nasty People. An excellent website is bullyonline. Re the law - The most effective legislation is probably the Protection against Harassment Act 1997 which makes LEA's and Councils vicariously liable for stress and anxiety caused by bullying. The time limit for claims is 6 years, you don't need to leave your job, it doesnt matter if the bully is moved on or leaves and the employer has no defence simply by claiming that they have a 'dignity at work' policy in place. The precident was set in 2006 re it being applied in an employment law situation. Times ar changing -Schools should be good places to work and there is no place for bullies amongst in the staff. Remember - 'all it takes for evil to flourish is for enough good people to do nothing'. In bullying situations, there is the bully, the bullied and the bystanders. If the bystanders do nothing, then they , by default, side with the bully as they effectively condone their actions. Finally, even when unmasked, bullies will often continue to lie with conviction and contrive stories to get them out of their situation. Fortunately, they often suffer from poor memories and trip themselves up with their lies. When called to account (though often still protected by HR and management who don't want the negative publicity of having supported a bully) the bully will feign illness to gain sympathy and divert attention. (A common trait with NPD and ASPD is for sufferers to look for pity - Why does it always happen to me? Why are my staff so incompetent? It was his fault - I don't know how you can think I would do that - its not in my nature. etc etc Things can only get better !!!!!!! Look after the good guys. Finally Finally - Question - Why do some bullies bully ? Answer - Just because they can. They gain pleasure from seeing others suffer !!!
Finally Finally Finally - When you realise that what is happening to you or other good teachers is bullying - the first thing to do is to read all you can - educate yourself and others - point out the real agendas behind bullying actions - talk to others you can trust - believe in yourself or support those being bullied. Take care how you tackle the situation - keep an accurate diary of events - keep memos - minutes and notes. Once you show your cards, 'serial bullies', due to an element of 'compulsive obssesive' behaviour will retaliate and use others to do their dirty work. For safety, assume that the bullies will be supported by their seniors and that they will have others lie on their behalf, don't rely on a fair hearing or support from others (as many are fearful that if they support you then they will be the next target). Gather hard evidence and keep it at home until it is needed. Insist that those investigation are independant to avoid a total 'sham' investigation. Bullying is still very much misunderstood by most educated people - people think they know what it is but in reality, only a few sofar have a good understanding of the subject. LEA's and councils do not want staff to realise the extent of the problem. THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO GAIN FROM BULLYING ARE THE BULLIES THEMSELVES AND BULLIES FURTHER UP THE MANAGEMENT CHAIN.
a19pb in Bullying HTs
A Year 3 child made an offensive and abusive racially motivated comment to his teacher. Whe she suggested to his Mum that a written apology might be in order the Dep and Head told her she couldn't insist on a written apology as it contravened his human rights. Anyone else ever heard of this?
sjpemberton in Children's rights v teachers' rights
Why do so many HTs bully their staff or treat them like children?
My previous head was proud that he had made every NQT who worked for him cry at some point.
My current head pretends to ask opinions then does what ever she wanted to do anyway, even if the staff opinion is 100% the other way! If someone disagrees with her she is extremely unpleasant or ignores that person for days.
justamum in Bullying HTs
ILS, there are not that many 'good ones' in my experience. I have only worked for one headteacher who was a good 'people's person' and liked by all, for her fair and compassionate approach. She was a superb manager too.
Unhappily, the other headteachers I have worked for have been unapproachable, tyrannical bullies who have 'yes' people working closely with them (always the 'snakes' who grass you up).
eddie34 in Bullying HTs
Most are just inadequate in their jobs both as teachers and managers, and they know it, so they bully because it makes them feel good.
Same with the ineffective heads - not bullies themselves, but so inept that they allow the staff bullies to reign supreme.
A friend had a head teacher who made sure all the teachers she hired were below par (or tried to) in order to look like she was the best on staff. If anyone got good results or got good observations from outside agencies, they were bullied unmercifully. Apparently she was so bad that she drove the school into special measures.
ailingteacher in Bullying HTs
HTs think pupil progress can be measured solely in GSCEs or SATs. Human happiness isn't quantifiable and wins no points with the dear old Department for Children and Schools and Parents and Progress and Whatever They Call It This Week.
So the HTs do whatever it takes to screw those exam results up to the max. To be fair, so do lots of teachers. If that means cheating or piling on the pressure then that's what they do.
A generalisation. Some truth in it.
grumpydogwoman in Bullying HTs
grumpydogwoman, have you been in our local selective school by any chance? Sounds uncannily familiar to me - though I think the HT in that particular school is more interested in making himself look good (at the expense of whoever it takes) than what the Dept of whateveritisnow thinks. When asked recently by a parent of a prospective pupil what happened if a child started to struggle or could not cope once they were in the school he said
" They go, they leave, they go".
He wasn't kidding. It actually happens!
salw16 in Bullying HTs
Excellent post a19pb
your bit about,-
'The unsuspecting targets often don't even realise they are being bullied (or that lies are being told to others) initially and try hard to please the bully manager whose constant unwarranted critisism they accept but don't understand. The result is that they loose confidence, their health suffers and the bully then uses negative impression management to destroy the reputation of the target to senior management.'
is exactly how it happens. It's how we don't recognise it for what it is sooner.
Bullying really can wreck lives.
giraffe in Bullying HTs
We have a group of bullies in my school who lie and belittle at every opportunity. They have made colleagues cry and become depressed. The HT always backs up these nasty bullies even though before she was HT she was at the receiving end of the bullying. One of the bullies is in fact the secretary who gets a kick out of shouting at staff especially students. She becomes verbally aggressive towards people including children and parents and yet the HT sits back and allows this to continue. The HT has called the victims into the office and has basically blamed them!!
Since last year 5 excellent teachers have left the school because of the bullying.
Sorry but it makes me so angry when nasty tw@ts are allowed to bully and get away with it.
slimyslug in Bullying HTs
If you are being bullied and are forced into grievance procedures then you must be well prepared as there is often substantial bias in favour of the bully manager in internal grievance proceedings. Neither management nor Human Resources (HR) are keen to find in favour of the complainant and will typically use a variety of tactics to intimidate or wear down the complainant all to avoid a precedent being set and opening the doors for litigation. These tactics include :- 1) To delay proceedings so that the time limit for eligibility for taking your complaint to an Employment Tribunal is reached (It must be initially lodged within 3 months of the last bullying incident). 3 months can fly by. 2)HR can produce inaccurate records of meetings which you must challenge and correct which wears you down further and encourages you to lose heart. 3) They fail to answer relevant questions even when lodged in writing. (Ignoring and trivializing are themselves both bullying tactics). 4) Bullying is a 'pattern of unacceptable behaviour'. Each incident in isolation can be and often is trivialized - the focus must be kept on the grievance being a 'pattern of unacceptable behaviour' rather than focusing on individual incidents. 5) Investigators are often not qualified to effectively investigate bullying - they should know to look for signs of a 'hostile working environment' - high staff turnover - high sickness - low morale from some of the staff - secrecy - a polarization of views from people being interviewed with some speaking very highly of the bully (those favoured by the bully and who like the status quo) while very few openly support the bullied. - Investigators should but often don't take account of the employment status of those being interviewed - NQT's, those on temporary contracts and those looking for a good report for future jobs are very scared to say anything against even the worst bully. Only the secure staff in safe positions who are not looking for anything from the bully (or management) and who have suffered themselves are likely to provide accurate information. 6) Management often threaten Disciplinary Action on 'trumped up' charges to divert attention and increase stress further. 7) They can change personnel during investigation to dilute rigor and avoid accountability when the wrong decisions are eventually reached. 8) Probably the worst abuse is for them to ignore hard evidence which clearly demonstrates bullying and close the investigation without looking at substantial evidence they know to be available. 9) They suggest that its simply a 'personality clash' or 'a breakdown in relationships' with 'faults on both sides'. 10) The bully will often lodge a counter claim that it is them that is being bullied - Experienced investigators know that counter claims actually strengthen the initial claim of the person being bullied. There are lots of other things they do - the bullies have often been through the procedures before and know how to abuse it making it even less effective. As regards claims by HR/management that there are 'faults on both sides' - simply point out that' like in child and domestic abuse where there is an imbalance in power, the abuser, when called to account often blames the abused and the result is a breakdown in relationships. There is only one person at fault - Its the same with bullying. What I am saying is - be well prepared, look after yourself, know what to expect re your health as you will suffer symptoms of stress and by knowing what to expect it is less alarming when the symptoms appear, you will realise that the symptoms are a 'normal reaction' to bullying - keep records - keep reminding yourself or those you are supporting that you/they have done nothing to deserve the abuse received and assume that you will need to fight on and on to get justice. Read all you can (see my previous post No 14). Finally - HR / management will encourage you to keep quiet about proceedings - this helps the bully - know your rights on what is confidential and what can be shared- don't be intimidated - get things in writing and challenge unreasonable requests for secrecy - share what you can - keep your union involved (but don't expect much support as often the bully is in the same union and the union gets scared about their own legal position. That said, the more experience the local reps get the more they will understand and be able to advise others in the future. - there is no advantage in falling out with the union, it simply plays into management's hands.) Learn about bullying in the workplace and educate others. Like someone said earlier - Bullying has to become as socially unacceptable as drink driving, child abuse and all the discrimination that used to be widespread. For this to happen, everyone has to be able to recognize the difference between bullying and 'strong management'. Strong management is effective but never involves bullying.
a19pb in Bullying HTs
