Entire staff of Bristol's Our Lady of Lourdes School quits
A local teacher's union rep said teachers off with stress had blamed executive headteacher Louisa Wilson (pictured)
Every teacher at a struggling school has left after reported clashes with an executive head who was brought in to drive up standards.
Pupils at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School will start the September term with an entirely new set of teaching staff following nine months of upheaval.
A total of 16 teachers have left the school in Kingswood, Gloucestershire, over the course of the academic year, with many signed off with stress.
Yesterday it emerged that seven long-serving teachers have quit since November, as well as an eighth who had been there a short time.
The school has eight class teacher positions â€" including one class run by two teachers on a job sh are â€" plus acting headmistress Teresa Harvey.
Mrs Harvey finished yesterday for a new school. She was followed out of the door by seven teachers brought in on fixed-term contracts, which ended yesterday, to replace the others who had quit.
Staff at the school, which was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in 2013 but performed poorly in last year’s SATs, claimed it was impossible to cope with the high workloads imposed on them. Executive head Louisa Wilson, who is also head at nearby St Stephen’s CofE Junior School â€" where maths SATs results were recently annulled â€" took over at the end of October last year.
Last summer, Key Stage 2 SATs results at Our Lady of Lourdes were well below the national average, with just 24 per cent of pupils reaching expected standards in reading, writing and maths, compared with 53 per cent nationwide.
South Gloucestershir e Council told the school, whose last full-time head had left the previous Easter, that it needed to improve.
By then deputy headmistress Mrs Harvey had stepped up to take over as acting head. But in November last year, governors wrote to parents saying staff sickness was ‘out of control’.
The resignations started soon after, leaving the school in chaos.
The entire permanent staff of Our Lady of Lourdes Primary, Bristol have quit over the last year
The entire staff of the school have left over the year or are leaving today, the last day of term
One teacher, who did not want to be named, said: ‘Many were signed off with stress, and the pressure was unreasonable. We were told if we did not follow the head’s methods, we would not be welcome at the school.’ Another member of staff added: ‘In November, many teachers were off with stress. They all went at different times, because it had become so difficult.’
Karla Wheeler, of the National Union of Teachers, said she was aware of five members going off sick with stress who ‘said it was down to the new executive head’.
She added: ‘Headteachers have a duty of care to their staff... We’re worried for the children.’
Parents are worried about the lack of continuity at the school when it starts back in September
Speaking on behalf of the heads and the school, a South Gloucestershire Council spokesman said: ‘Our Lady of Lourdes has experienced a lot of change over the past year, but we are pleased that thanks to a lot of hard work, the school and its pupils are in a strong position for the future.’
Miss Wilson will remain in charge until new permanent head Nick Bracey joins in January.
Maths SATs results at St Stephen’s in Soundwell, Bristol, were declared invalid earlier this week amid concerns the test had not been administered properly.
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