Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Popular head leaves as funding cuts worsen
ONE of Bristol’s most popular headteachers has stepped down after more than 26 years in the classroom.
Jon Bird resigned from his role as head of St Mary’s CofE Primary School in Yate as of December 31, 2018.
The 48-year-old has been one of the most vocal opponents to funding cuts which have hit South Gloucestershire pupils, leaving them the worst-funded children in the country.
Heading up the South Gloucestershire Primary School Executive, he had written to the council in the summer to warn it against making more cuts to the education system.
Central Government cuts mean the council is facing a £12 million deficit after years of underfunding and is having to find £3 million in savings for the coming academic year.
Mr Bird said the pressure of being a teacher while fighting to balance the books had put a huge amount of pressure on schools.
“The job takes a lot out of you and sometimes the family gets what’s left. I feel like it’s time for a new adventure and to try something new,” he added.
He said the “accountability culture” had now created a “climate of fear”, rather than inspiration and encouragement.
A Bristolian born-and-bred, Mr Bird grew up in Staple Hill and Mangotsfield. After finishing his degree at Bristol University, he started his career at Crossways Schools, where he spent eight years as a teacher.
He moved to Mangotsfield Primary to become deputy headteacher and three years later took on his first headship at Raysfield School in Chipping Sodbury.
After 11 years at Raysfield, he decided to move on to St Mary’s, where he had been leading the school for the last four years. It was over the those few years when the funding squeeze started to hit home.
He said: “The highlights of the job are still seeing children have those ‘lightbulb moments’ when they learn something new or achieve something for the first time. The good bits about education are still the same, all the way through.
“But the increasing accountability culture has created a climate of fear, instead of inspiration and encouragement, and it’s not good for longterm improvement.”
When asked about the funding cuts to schools, he said: “That has been a challenge for school leaders for a while. Schools have become the most central support network for the most vulnerable people in society.
“That would be a good thing if we actually have the resources to deliver that support. The capacity to do that is not always there – we are stretched too thin. I have no regrets of doing the job. The difficult thing for me has been the impact on my family.”
He is set to continue to as chair- man of the area’s Primary School Executive and will do some supply teaching in the new year.
In a heartfelt letter to parents, Mr Bird wrote: “Education changes people. Done well, it grows confidence, deepens understanding, inspires people, shapes character and hones skills and talents.
“I have often said that I believe in an education that transforms, rather than simply informs. It is a privilege to play a part in this.
“Over my time as a head, in the last 15 years, I have seen many changes in education, not all of them for the good.
“As the BBC Schools programme illustrated, schools are facing tough times, with the curriculum really raising the bar, reduced services being available to support our most vulnerable children and families, increased expectations on schools taking the lead professional role in much of this support and reduced real-time funding making our job even more challenging.
“We cannot keep on trying to achieve more with less, but we can, and will, remain committed to providing the best education possible for all our children, with the resources we have.”
When asked about his favourite moment as a teacher, he enthused about the moments he watched a child learn something new.
“When you watch them overcome their fear, or when they understand something, that is the moment. That is why we became teachers.”
We cannot keep on trying to achieve more with less
JON BIRD