How do we expect our young teachers to stay in this profession? The introduction of teaching and learning responsibility payments is the most divisive change to our profession since threshold payments.
Suddenly leadership teams huddle in meetings and come pouring out with directives to the full-time teachers - all of these posts come with vast amount of non-contact time!
The front-line young teachers are looking at this situation and are realising that unless one of the leadership team moves on, or passes away, their chances of a post of responsibility is nil.
I teach in a small school which had always worked as a collaborative team in the past ,but I recently have heard many young teachers declaring that, as well-qualified graduates, they might as well find other jobs with better prospects and rewards.
Young newly-qualified teachers have been given financial incentives to enter the profession on the understanding that greater rewards lie ahead.
They will soon learn that this is not the case and then may decide to move on. How is this going to help recruitment and retention in an already groaning profession?
Schools also seem to be running different systems for making these leadership appointments: in my own school we were told not to bother applying, as we would be be approached and asked - real cloak and dagger stuff. Yet there appear to be a number of other schools advertising these jobs.
And what will happen to all the external courses to update the knowledge of schools? Will these be attended solely by the leadership teams? Will no one else now get to leave school at 3.30 and attend such meetings?
Or will this be another initiative that will be tried and thrown out at the expense of our profession? Until it is, I fear it will cause a massive exodus of many excellent teachers.
Dee James 96 Park Lane Wallington, Surrey
