School Development Planning (SDP) element #21

Staff welfare is of vital concern.  Staff deserve the same high level of wellbeing as the students.

A reality is that a school needs to have in place well documented procedures should a staff member not be performing to the standards expected by the school.  Staff need to feel that they will always be afforded natural justice and due process.  They also need to feel that a drop off in performance, while it needs to be addressed, is not necessarily seen as negative, as it may be a symptom of factors outside the school bearing down on the staff member with the school community there to lend support.

For a Principal to manage the situation of a staff member performing below par is tricky and requires wisdom and courage to manage it for what it is.  GD speaks from experience having been through the process that led to the dismissal of a teacher.  The process took 6 months to be resolved with the teacher being advised on remedial measures and being given every opportunity to put them into place.  GD also cites another case where a teacher being investigated decided during the process to retire, thanking GD for bringing to a head the closure of a career that the teacher never really wanted in the first place.  GD has to admit being a bit miffed when he later discovered that a teacher training institution admitted to GD that they let this teacher graduate even though there was much doubt about his capabilities for the job.  GD felt that the training institution should have bitten the bullet and saved the young man much anguish as he struggled with a job that did not suit him.  When GD officiated in these two cases he was a Superintendent of Schools so came in from the outside and assisted the Principal.  It was a tough gig but easier to do as someone from outside the school community. It is much harder for a Principal in situ.

SDP element #21	Staff welfare, inclusive of procedures when staff are performing below the core standards expected in the school.
Aligned SE criterion	Criterion #7:  My school cares about me as a staff member and has reasonable expectations of me. Criterion #10:  My school relieves me of the stress of severely disruptive students. Criterion #18:  We laugh a lot in our school.
Current school documentation and situation	The school documentation affirms a commitment to staff welfare and includes clear processes where a staff member is performing below the core standards of the school’s best practice.  No change is needed for 2016.
Development objectives for 2016	Induct new staff into the procedures so that they have confidence that they will always be afforded due process and natural justice.
Resources needed ·       people, ·       money ·       time ·       location ·       stationery ·       IT	·       Mentor teachers ·       Tine slots for induction ·       A school site process
Timeline to achieve the objective(s)	Prior to commencing at the school in 2016 the new staff will have read and agreed to the relevant policies.
Process for achieving the objectives	Mentor teachers to informally check that these policies are understood.
Outcome(s) of the assessment of the attainment of the objective(s)	New staff understand the welfare of staff policies and procedures.

Trust all this is helping some educational practitioners out there in school land.

May the Force be with you!



GD