So the PANDA arrives. After several years one learns to read the message and sees one’s destiny. As a headteacher you ask how much in control of that destiny are you? The answer is very little or verging upon not at all.
If attendance at school is a clear indicator of success then how does one control the absences of pupils from families on the edge?
And how does one take control of children’s learning when faced with the real social dilemmas relating to drugs, violence and abuse that are all brought into school at every age?
All teachers leave school ex-hausted, some more so than others, because they have to deal with so many other issues yet receive so little support, understanding or sympathy.
It is very much about pay and conditions, yet if we are to be recognised as a profession with a realistic pay structure that attracts graduates and rewards experience then the Government has a prickly nettle to grasp. But grasping it before the next election may be the problem, and even more so the credibility gap between the Department for Education and Skills and the staffroom.
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