This is tricky. No one should be made to feel useless. Nor should bullying be tolerated. Teaching relies on self-confidence, and NQTs are particularly vulnerable. You should keep a log of incidents where you feel you’ve been bullied so you have evidence for grievance procedures. You can contact your union for more details, but I wouldn’t do that yet. It would be stressful and unnecessary given that the head is sometimes nice and that you’re enjoying your job.

Remember that being a head is tough and stress makes people act in odd ways. The fact that he often acts as if he’s your best friend makes me think that basically he’s a good guy who hits out when he’s under pressure. Heads want the best possible education for the children and seeing people do it less well than they could can be frustrating. In an ideal world, a head will handle this sensitively, balancing constructive criticism with lots of praise - but when under pressure for improvements, this balance can sometimes get lost.

Obviously, this doesn’t excuse bad behaviour, but understanding it will make it easier for you to cope with. Try to distance yourself by looking down at the situation objectively or as part of a management training video about how not to manage people. You’ll probably laugh next time.

Your induction tutor should intervene to protect you, and ideally say that all criticisms of you should be passed by them as they are responsible for your development on a day-to-day basis. Try not to get upset. Instead, believe in yourself. Nobody’s perfect - but remember that you’re good enough.

E-mail questions to susan.young@newsint.co.uk. Sara Bubb cannot enter into personal correspondence. More questions at www.tes.co.uk.