HT Unchained

@itvMLshow @MartinSLewis will home insurance (buildings) cover the rebuild of a home if it is bombed? We were discussing this today - we spend our lives paying off a mortgage and some were saying they would t be covered by insurance! Is this true?

Anyone else watching Epic Fury posts on social medial and have no idea what’s real or what’s AI?! 🤷

@HelpfulTeacher_ Strange post - A teacher is all of these things. That is the job. Or are you saying all you want to do is the teaching bit? Turning up, imparting knowledge and going home isn’t the job 😂

A teacher isn't a social worker 🧔 A teacher isn't a translator 🌍 A teacher isn't a therapist 🗣 A teacher isn't a nurse 👩‍⚕️ A teacher isn't a prison officer 👮‍♂️ A teacher isn't a surrogate parent 👩‍🍼 A teacher is a teacher. A subject specialist 👩‍🏫👨‍🏫 #edutwitter #Edchat

@EerBeard @DrBradJohnson Agreed - what’s the solution? Loads of people describing the problem. What can/should school leaders do about this? Genuinely interested in solutions here.

@DrBradJohnson We tell teachers to “just teach,” then pile everything else on them and blame them when they can’t be teacher, parent, and miracle‑worker on a shoestring budget. Kids don’t learn if their basic needs aren’t met — sleep and nutrition start at home.

We don’t have a classroom management problem. We have an emotional regulation crisis that teachers are being asked to handle. Somehow, “classroom management” has turned into: • de-escalating trauma • supporting anxiety and depression • calming panic attacks • being the counselor, social worker, and crisis team • carrying emotional loads no one sees And then we remove the very things that help like recess, movement, art, play, connection. Teachers aren’t trained for that. They shouldn’t have to be. Classroom management is about relationships, structure, routines, and connection. It was never meant to replace what families, communities, and systems failed to provide. And until we stop offloading every societal failure onto schools, teachers will keep drowning under expectations no human can meet.

@DrBradJohnson You describe the situation perfectly- I agree. What’s the solution? What can school leaders do with existing budgets and resources to support staff with what you have described? Any suggestions?

The media is so twisted it’s ridiculous. Starmer has not appeared in Epstein files but he’s getting more heat than Mandelson, Prince Andrew, Trump, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton… This right-wing supportive movement to undermine Starmer needs calling out.

@Ria1984 @Headteacherchat Unless you get sacked as a result of ofsted judgements

@Headteacherchat Breathe, Eat, Sleep and remember you’re there for the children. They’ll go, and you’ll carry on… for the children.

What is the best piece of advice you can give someone who has an OFSTED in the next few days?

@BarryNSmith79 And what are we doing with those 3 kids in every class - that’s 24 for each year at ks3 and then add options classes at ks4, it’s about 130 students across a school of 8 form entry, based on 3 per class. And you can’t perm exclude 130 kids!

And this is what parents should really complain about.

@SteeleThoughts Why is it only 2 weeks?!

...perfectly in order.

@carlosbufe99 @journalismtips @robprogressive 💯

@journalismtips @robprogressive So they had to pay for the services they were actually using and they got better quality services. Sounds like a win.

A £1m salary in the U.K. leaves you with £541,786 after tax  
A $1m salary in Dubai leaves you with $999,996 after tax See you on the next flight?

@adamboxer1 What a ridiculous opening sentence. Unless SLT came via pastoral route, they will have been a head of department. I think they know the job.

I think a lot of leadership teams really don't understand the role and function of Heads of Department (HoDs). In many schools, HoDs are purely technocratic. Their job is to deal with things like timetables, set changes, data deadlines, detention systems and cover. Occasionally they venture into the realms of more "curriculum" type issues, but often these are still things like ordering textbooks, setting homework centrally, making sure there are clubs and extra-curricular activities and the like. Come summer, they project manage curriculum improvement work, which again is often bureaucratic and mostly focused around "why haven't my colleagues hit their deadlines?" Rarely is the HoD considered the driver and champion of Teaching and Learning in their subject. But that's what they should be. A true leader or teaching and curriculum, helping their colleagues develop their practice and skills in the classroom, and coordinating the team to ensure that the curriculum and resources are effective and supportive. The important bit is that a lot of leaders *tell* me that actually their HoDs do fulfil this vision. Unfortunately, as I've written before, ideality rarely matches reality, and when I speak to the HoD they tell me they have no time to go observe lessons, no autonomy over policies, no meeting time to discuss T&L, and are drowning in the implementation of other people's priorities. If you want your HoDs to be able to do this job, you need to actively make it happen, rather than just hope it does. You need to - Give them free periods to go and observe - Reduce the number of tasks they need to do that are unrelated - Allow them the autonomy they need to make disciplinary changes and developments - Ring fence meeting time for T&L and, above all, trust them!

@IzziDaly @ccwild79 @kennygfrederick Many companies do this. For example, looked after children are guaranteed an interview @thameswater

@UnchainedHt @ccwild79 @kennygfrederick Kids leaving care should be first on list for apprenticeship/graduate apprenticeship options. They should be given safe housing with some kind of adult support. Mentors to help them transition. Above all else, we need to do much more as a society to get them out of care earlier.

I left care in 1996 with no qualifications—just a handshake and an expectation that I’d survive on my own. By 17, I was homeless. By 27, I was homeless again. There are no words strong enough to capture what it takes to rebuild your life from absolutely nothing. I became a published author because the truth about the care system needed to be said out loud. My adult life was shaped by 15 years of addiction, crippling mental health struggles, and moments when I stood on the edge of suicide—all because the support I desperately needed simply wasn’t there. And the most heartbreaking part is this, in 2025, young people are still leaving care and walking straight into the same brutal reality. The system hasn’t just failed me—it continues to fail them. This is a room for 16-year-old child, transitioning out of care, expected to cope alone. This is their reality. And nothing has changed in 28 years. Shame on this government. Make care experience a protected characteristic. @SkyNews @NickMartinSKY

@Nouz12345 @ccwild79 @kennygfrederick Agreed. This was the question, how do you engage and support someone in this situation, so they can see a brighter future and gain qualifications?

@UnchainedHt @ccwild79 @kennygfrederick But most are not in the right emotional space to learn let alone take exams. The school system is also broken & not set up to support & encourage engagement from children.

@Nouz12345 @ccwild79 @kennygfrederick My comment is in relation to how a tragic childhood can transform the rest of their life by giving chances and opportunities if we can somehow get them some qualifications.

@UnchainedHt @ccwild79 @kennygfrederick These children have already seen & experienced such extreme loss & trauma that not having qualifications pales into insignificance.

@sophielouisecc When you say free, who’s paying? Can’t come out of existing school budgets - where the extra £s coming from?

Breakfast clubs should be free to children whose parents work and who need to drop their children off a little early in order to be able to work. It should not be free for those who don’t work.

@oelma__ Ofsted have called

Write only 3 words..

Business studies teacher that’s never owned a business and a fat PE teacher educating on the importance of healthy lifestyle and exercise. Kids are starting to see through this. They can teach you to pass a GCSE though…but not prepared for life. 🤔

@Headteacherchat Build loyalty with the HT. You need to be their right hand person. Understand the vision. Sing from same hymn sheet.

Anon post: I am a few weeks away from starting my role as Deputy Headteacher, mostly out of class with teaching on Mondays. For those who have been in a similar position, what advice would you offer for managing the early months and settling confidently into what feels like a completely new role?

@ALadyNamedKatie Cheers to that 🥂

I know it probably isn’t a big deal to y’all but I am 16 months sober and feeling pretty proud of myself 🥹❤️