Being a headteacher is like playing “Russian roulette” with your career because you can be given so little time to turn a school around, teachers have warned.
And heads are under such stress about losing their job that they are passing it on to teachers and pupils, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers will be told.
It comes after union leaders warned of the “football manager syndrome” which has seen headteachers fired without being given time to improve their schools.
Members of the ATL will vote tomorrow on whether to challenge Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw to justify his comments on stress which caused outrage among teachers.
Sir Michael, previously headteacher of Mossbourne academy in Hackney, said that heads and teachers do not know the true meaning of “stress”.
He added that the “stress of the job” was “too often” used as an excuse by staff. Brian Ward, branch secretary of the ATL, called for a scientific investigation into the effects of stress on teachers. He said heads are under huge stress from the schools watchdog Ofsted and are passing it onto their staff.
He said: “If a headteacher has only been in the school for six weeks and Ofsted comes in, that is not taken into account. It is getting very difficult for people to apply for a headship. It is the equivalent of Russian roulette.
“The chances of long-term success are pretty similar. Headteachers then pass the stress down the system.” Mr Ward, a biology teacher in Doncaster, admitted that teachers are unlikely to get much sympathy from people in other high pressure careers.
But he added: “We need to stop and think about tackling stress in different ways. You have to look at the cost in terms of people’s lives and education. This burn out, pile on more pressure strategy doesn’t seem to be the answer.
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“We should be looking to try to conserve the massive amount of experience and ability there is (in schools) rather than trying to burn it out.”
