75% of school leaders say they have a ‘difficult person’ in their team (aka the person you struggle to place when planning classes for next year).
That makes a hard job (placing people in year groups) even harder.
You might find yourself thinking ‘who’s turn is it?’.
It’s not great for you, them, your team or your children.
So what can you do?
- Option 1: Nothing. You’ve coped this long and it’s manageable.
- Option 2: Fire them. Not without good reason and following the right process. But as teachers we like to support people to do well and improve. So this is a no go in most instances.
- Option 3: Have an honest and helpful conversation so they can improve.
‘But what if they leave?!’ I hear you cry.
And that’s a very real concern with recruitment being so challenging right now.
But fear of a potential problem shouldn’t cloud your response to an actual problem – poor conduct or performance. Whether someone leaves is not an issue you can control.
And in my experience recruitment is a higher quality problem – you have control of that process and doing it well can have a great upside. I’ve found that in most cases, headteachers find someone great and they are delighted to have them in their team.
How can you talk to someone about whatever the issue is that makes them ‘difficult’ or hard to place when planning classes for next year? I have lots of suggestions covering a range of scenarios in my archive of Top tips for more successful difficult conversations.
Not subscribed? Sign up here: https://ukheadsup.com/top-tips-for-successful-difficult-conversations/
If I don’t have a video that covers the issue you want to address, email me and let me know the challenge you face and I’ll make a video (without mentioning your name). Just reply to this email to let me know.
Spotlight Resource
Do you know how much conflict is costing your school? Click the link to find out.
And if you’d like to ‘Tackle under-performance quickly, kindly and legally’, come along to ‘Capability Conference’
where Clare Fowler, Employment Solicitor at the charity YESS Law, Maria Brosnan of Everyday Wellbeing and I will be helping you navigate these tricky situations with kindness for all.