Thank heaven they are at last seeing sense on lead teachers
I WAS encouraged to read your report of a proposal to establish the post of “lead teacher” in our schools (“£47k-a-year specialist teachers ‘will help plug recruitment gaps’”, The Herald, June 16).
One of the biggest mistakes in recent years was to abolish the post of the subject principal teacher. Some 20 years ago, the restructuring of promoted posts in secondary schools saw principal teachers, the key subject specialists, replaced by faculty heads. It was quite clear that this restructuring was carried through on the grounds of financial savings; it certainly was not as a consequence of an analysis of the relative educational merits of the respective posts.
We now have faculty heads with responsibility for a group of subject departments – for the members of these departments, the quality of their teaching, the strength of the different curricula, staff development needs, assessment, discipline, pupil support, the required resources, the internal and external exam requirements and SQA arrangements. The faculty heads meanwhile may only be qualified to teach one of the subjects for which they are responsible. This has meant a loss of crucial subject expertise and experience. In addition, the principal teachers, as key middle managers, played an absolutely vital part in the effective running of the school. Furthermore, the marked reduction in promoted posts in secondary schools seriously restricts career development for teachers and must be a disincentive for recruitment.
I’m sure the introduction of lead teacher posts will be welcomed by all with an interest in the success of our secondary schools.
Eric Melvin, Edinburgh.