The Secret Teacher (@DCSecretTeache1)

 We believe we know our school well and that we can accurately predict the next moves. Over the past few years, the school has resorted to settlements to avoid further damage to its reputation. We are not surprised when the contracts from now on will include a gagging clause. Schools consider themselves absolutely experts at safeguarding pupils against bullying, but we don’t really say the same for the staff. We are also not surprised, though nonetheless dismayed, to see the disingenuous nonsense trotted out by some schools' management in order to justify their use of gagging clauses, in which they conflate legality with morality. Their wish to silence former staff has absolutely nothing to do with access to private student data and everything to do with protecting the school’s reputation against potentially damaging disclosures from a large number of disgruntled former employees. Employees often just wanted to “move on” from a situation, rather than face an employment tribu

Although we are not keeping this blog to increase the blog's viewing count, it goes without saying that your views count. Current parents and former students have contacted us and shared their opinions about the school. We will share some of the emails we received in due time. Some will be included as excerpts only as the language may not always suit our audience. 

We have been sent a screenshot of this review by a teacher from a school in the UK (!). It was published on the International Schools Reviews. This is a sample of the basic reviews that can be posted. A full review is also possible with a paid membership. We will publish other 'sample' reviews when we receive more. Some comments from reviewers: Comments: Riding on a good reputation from times past. Almost half of leadership group seem to have gotten their jobs through default, not a selection process. Staff appear overworked, underappreciated and fearful of speaking out. Micromanaged by unprofessional leadership group. Comments: The school has moved into a new campus. Unfortunately this has been the main focus of the Principal for the last two years so his leadership team have been fumbling around trying to run the school which has reached a peak this year when they have handed out disciplinaries and non-renewals of contracts to experienced staff like hot dinners. It is a shame

Thanks to those who sent messages of support and articles to be published. We appreciate your contribution. However, including specific names and details may not be the best course of action. Rather than edit your contribution, we have opted to ask you kindly to re-send us any articles without obvious details that may jeoperdise your anonymity. As a parent contributor, you would be the first to get in touch with us. We advise you to await a positive solution from the school first. We remain hopeful that things will change.  We apologise for not emailing back but we'd rather not clutter your inbox. We remain open to anyone who would like to get in touch with this blog via the Contact Form. Regards.

Two's company, three's a crowd. Although this saying is rooted in a simplistic wisdom about social company, it is certainly very pertinent in a school's structure. The efficacy of managing a large body of staff is not a simple task but this task is made ever so complicated when you have weak links in the chain of command.  It is inevitably apparent that some people fail to make any meaningful impact on the school life when they are just an additional stratum in the management sphere.  What they are achieving is a mystery to a few of us. You'd have more luck finding clues in a three thousand year sarcophagus than looking at these missing links in the evolutionary life of the school.   Why again? Why them? Because their existence is not only just an inconvenience it is now a threat to the stability of the workplace and a burden on the remaining members of staff. Some of these managers show a distinct lack of experience and that is, without doubt, a natural event in life.

  The functions and responsibilities of a Human Resources department range from recruiting to orienting new employees, creating job descriptions to monitoring policies. Nothing matters more to educational institutions than the teachers who work there. Schools are nothing without the right people! How safe the teachers and other staff feel may eventually determine how well your HR department meets its prime responsibilities. Integrating school safety and people’s security in human resources management practices will foster a culture in which teaching and non-teaching staff stay together in harmony. The HR department should create an environment free of violence, reducing the risks of illness or injuries and other threats to individual safety. Research has shown that the human aspect of resources within an organisation contributes approximately eighty percent of the organisation’s value. This implies that if people are not managed properly , the organisation faces a serious cha

  There's an air of fear and suspicion filling the corridors of the school. It's a heavy atmosphere. The Tiny Man seconded by the Ruthless Mass are following to the letter the textbook of How To Subdue Your Employees The Unethical Way . What a complicity! They should now see very clearly that they have earned the very rare status of utter contempt from every member of staff including from those who work very closely with them. Every time they are with the staff, they should be able to feel the distinct lack of respect staring back at them from every Zooming pair of eyes. The theory is that they are trying to rid the school of the vocal and experienced teachers who know what is happening and replace them with the new, unsuspecting and compliant recruits. They may ask for a proof of this and a reason but ' we reserve the right not to tell them why '. If you are treated as suspect, demand that it be stopped. Working in fear of losing one's job is of no benefit to the t