The Layer Cake

The current situation WCC finds itself is becoming even more comical. The total absence of the managers from the efficient day to day working of the school has reached a crippling point. With the announcement of the imminent departure of Dr Zimmer and his First Officer mark yet another low point for the community. It seems that these two have already moved on, shifting their focus to their next destination. 

Some teachers argue that they would not feel any different. Whether the two leave or stay is not going to be noticed or felt. They are rarely seen anyway. We argue, however, that the level of dysfunctionality left in their wake will scar the school for years to come.

What about the Leadership Group under them? The acute incompetence that characterises this group knows no limits. Even today, staff are trying to figure out what their role is and who does what exactly. The answer is that, within the current structure and hierarchy, they are causing more harm than any theoretical good that you may think of. 

This layer of management, as everyone knows, has been promoted to that responsibility either by decision from the Principal or by accident. The sudden loss of the off-shoot primary school meant that some people who were promised a significant role in it found themselves inserted into the main school's structure. A surgical insertion that went against any logic. The main body found itself with extra arms and feet and WCC ended up looking like a deformed creature with oversized upper body and disproportionately small lower base or just like an inverted pyramid.

The members of LG went up through this layer cake without credible credentials or skills. Had the school chosen to go through a comprehensive process of applications and interviews, it might have offered a bit of legitimacy to that layer at least. However, it has become an exclusive club of people who are enjoying the safety of closed offices and working hard at not being seen. 

Meanwhile, the Marketing department is becoming ever more powerful. The financial resources invested in the department and the power its Head exercises over the Group is something to behold. Clever tactic as it is important for the school leadership to look good. This department makes several decisions every week about the running of the school. They are so busy doing whatever they are doing that you will have to email weeks in advance if you want their presence in an event. It goes to show how counter-intuitive the process has become. With the growing budget limitations, does the school really need such an oversized department? It is high time it went. The resources allocated to it would be better used to enhance academic subjects and initiatives or to fix the already crumbling building structure.

Going down a layer, the mysterious disappearance of the Talented Mr Conrad adds to the shadiness of whatever is lurking in the shadows of the management offices. Where is the man? What happened? What will happen? Such an important role and title but the person in question has been shelved or locked behind a thick and heavy door. The Talented Mr Conrad has good experience that he brings to his role. His assemblies with the students used to be informative and clear. He used to be a working gear in the big machine of things. He fitted nicely. Now, he is set aside waiting judgement.

Heads of Faculty present a more difficult verdict to return. This particular layer is a mix between experienced Heads and some who are a total incongruence in the system. Some HoFs preside over a mixed bag of subjects that have little in common. It is clear that it is the structure that is a challenge more than the individual HoFs. Some of them are really busy and some would find it difficult to justify their existence. The Heads of Departments and teachers are still busy and doing even more. The HoFs have not really taken any work off them. The table below draws up some of the differences across the roles:

	HoF	HoD	Teacher
Management points	10	5	0
Hours off timetable	10	2	0
Tutor Group	No	Yes	Yes
Responsibility for academic matters	Yes	Yes	Yes
Decision making	Yes	No	No
Work Meetings	Yes	No or very rare	None or Too many
Communication with parents	Rare	Yes – daily basis	Yes – daily basis
Direct student support	No	Yes	Yes
Exam responsibility	No	Yes	Yes
Report proofreading	Sometimes	Yes – always	Yes – Sometimes
Direct link with Management	Yes	No	No
Autonomy	No	No	No
How the role is viewed by staff	Negatively	Favourably	Taken for granted
Clear role	No	Yes	Not always
Role essential?	No	Yes	Yes

The HoFs, let's state it clearly, are all well meaning individuals who try to secure the smooth running of academic subjects in their faculties. However, they are crushed under the authority of LG who dictate their every move. Some are very eager to please and, therefore, fit the overall culture of the school. Some are powerless and some are really good and feel stuck between two layers. The fact that this layer has been added made a huge impact on communication flow and teacher initiatives. Everything has to go through them, adding yet more precious time and effort waiting for the approval from LG. They are meant to be the dedicated majordomo of the Leadership Group. Their job description makes no room for doubt about how they should operate: "Work as part of a team, submitting draft proposals and documents for further development by the Leadership Group, and accepting and supporting final decisions agreed by the Leadership Group. Express their views openly and honestly, but work to the majority decision or the final decision of the Leadership Group.."

 The support staff and those in offices in admin roles suffer the same fate. They are buried in offices behind their desks working hard and doing their utmost to keep the machine going. They are seldom seen and heard of. Without them, the school would come to a halt. Accounts, Admissions, HR, Exam Office, Library, Executive Secretaries, Front Offices and Nurses are indispensable to the school. They have been working hard and very efficiently and, without them, the school would stop functioning overnight. It would be hard to find fault with them.

The Human Resources Department is now under new management. Still early days to see what changes will be brought forward and how well they will treat the staff. Under the previous leadership, teachers were interrogated, questioned, shown the door, humiliated and made to feel helpless. It is hoped that it will support staff rather than exact revenge on certain teachers who are vocal or disagree with LG. So far, the new manager is keeping very quiet. Smart. Time will tell

If you direct your attention to the Business Development Director, you will hear that changes may be coming. The director, let's call him Tintin, may choose to move on and embrace a more adequate role that he feels suited for. How can he possibly be still dealing with signage around the school, or a blocked pipe or traffic cones? Is this really the best use of his time and skills? Where's the Estate Manager? Ah yes, he, too, left within weeks after his appointment. Tintin must feel either very lucky or very awkward. The role is important and he seems to have the right skills for it. Yet, he may choose to go back to what he does best and likes most. Some people would support his move.

The Key Stage staff who are responsible for everything student related are another layer of a huge importance. The work done behind the scenes is enormous. The Heads of Year work round the clock in and outside the school hours to keep the school a safe environment and tend to every child's needs. Again, they are overworked and under appreciated. With one or two hours off their timetable to do the million tasks they have to do, their efficiency is tested by the imbalance of workload. They carry every single task from teaching to emailing parents, from supervising breaks to helping students find their lost property. They are crushed under the workload and no review of their roles planned any time soon. It might help if HoFs lent a hand to alleviate the burden as the latter have no form groups. 

The teachers in all of this? We are squeezed tight. Stress levels are high. Work increased. Not teaching, admin work. Meaningless tasks that keep coming. Forms being filled out. Duties increased. Happiness diminished. Safeguarding cases keep coming. Not meeting colleagues..

The teachers, the bedrock of the institution, the cornerstone of the educational establishment and the foundation of any society have become the forgotten, the neglected, the coerced, the tool of marketing and the terminus of the blame train. Would you feel at ease if you knew your maid was unhappy and she was trusted to prepare your food? Would you feel at ease if you knew your surgeon was exhausted when holding the scalpel? Would you feel at ease if your builder was building your roof and the foreman was nowhere to be seen?

The recent visit of the independent consultant who was invited by the governors dived into the structure, the workings, the issues and the achievements of the school. It remains to see if any recommendations will be implemented to remedy the chaotic situation in which the school has found itself. The governors seem to have upped their game with a devoted interest now. In recent years, the governors have been almost absent from active duty. Their existence almost forgotten. They were not seen as a structural layer of the school. They may have now realised the extent of damage caused by the long term amnesia. Their children at school may have come back home telling some disturbing stories of how the school now operates. They may have tuned into the social media outlets to see what type of comments are left about the school. They may have started listening to the staff. The staff's loss is now their loss too. What affects one child will affect every other child. We are all in the same boat. There is still time to turn things around and save what's left of the school's reputation and more importantly its greatest assets: the students and staff. The proof is in the pudding.

The School will keep changing, although not sure if it will keep growing. The reasons will be detailed in our next article about The Legacy. The layers of management, it seems, were created only to work as fire buffers to keep responsibility at bay. Whatever happens someone down the line will be held responsible. The oversized top level and exhausted lower base are the two poles of a system that is now frail and threatening to collapse. It is time these poles shifted and some commonsense restored.