‘When you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you!’  Truer words were never spoken, or bellowed from the wooden rooftops as our children at Trinity regularly did with their hearts and souls!  This song is forever embedded in my soul.  Your spirit and soul can never really be broken, hurt but never broken.

 What led to the shocking and sudden turn of events in December 2015?  For me it seemed the world had stopped smiling.

On my last day, upon resigning, I was offered a settlement of a financial sum.  I declined the offer believing that it would be immoral to accept any form of settlement.  I questioned, on countless occasions, why I was not being allowed to speak.  I valued my freedom to speak over any financial gain. 

 I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I was not to speak to press or media.  I reluctantly agreed not to make any statements to the press yet at the time this went against any of my natural and moral instincts.  I am and always will be an open, honest and reflective person.

I have already said teaching is a hard job.  It should never be underestimated the hours it takes to create a school that all children feel safe and happy to learn and excel in.  Much of this takes place behind closed doors.  At Trinity, those doors were regularly and readily ‘flung open’ with warm greetings and great gusto!  Children, fathers, mothers, grandparents and friends of the school, could all be heard singing from the top of the hill, down to Radstock town!  

We had created a place that was truly at the heart of the community.  Mother’s Day parades, fathers frantically climbing walls (sporting hero style!) and grandparents enjoying tea dances galore. Fundraising pamper nights even saw me happily giving parents manicures and pedicures. I wanted everyone to feel that they were part of the Trinity family.  Inviting parents in for ‘Parent Sharing Learning’ sessions meant you saw a ‘live’ school on countless days throughout the year, even enjoying the odd bacon butty while you were there!  Our widely acclaimed themed days were indeed hard work for everyone, not least the parents who gave so much energy, fun and spirit.  I could see the whole atmosphere brought joy to their children.  “FIVE GOLD RINGS” from the Twelve Days of Christmas will never really be the same when I hear it…

In a few people’s eyes the school had ‘too much going on and with all these trips and fun when does the learning take place?’  To me this was ironic.  My firm educational belief is that children learn when they are inspired and are enjoying what they are taught.  All children are different and what does not work for one child may well work for another.  I encouraged the team of staff to think outside the box and appeal to all our children.  As a head teacher I taught, not because I had to but because I wanted to.  I have always thought the clue is in the job title: head teacher. 

As a head I knew the curriculum well and never gave into “the office is calling”.  Teaching makes me happy and excited!  I will never let go of this.  Taking the children to York to light fires as Vikings, shopping in France for ‘un kilo de pommes’, or using ‘Trinity currency’ to buy gifts from the tuck shop for our friends in Romania were all learning experiences our children embraced! Tobogganing at Christmas to aid every child in the school with their creative writing showed literacy in a whole new light!  History, French, geography and mathematics were ‘alive’, as were all the subject areas in the curriculum. 

I have found that when you are different and approach things in an unusual way you are viewed by some with suspicion and scepticism.  Success and achievement for our children should be celebrated.  Academic achievement through the awarding of our unique badges for times tables, splits, number bonds, Hooray 100 and 200 key words encouraged the children to develop their numeracy and literacy skills. Of course, no badge could ever be awarded without a song to accompany each one.  The ‘007 James Bond’ theme tune was highly appropriate for the number bonds badge and I will leave you to guess which badge earned the honour of the whole school blasting out the ‘Banana splits. One banana, two banana...la la la la la la la’ theme tune.  Happy days!

Building a team of people within a school to deliver an education that was for every child, bar none, meant supporting people if and when they required it. 

In twenty-five years of being in the teaching profession, with twelve of those years as a head teacher, I have never had to formally discipline or use the capability procedure.  Supporting through role modelling was my preferred approach.  I lose count of the times I have shared ideas and lessons, not just by discussing them but doing what I enjoyed most – being with the children and teaching them.

I took everyone I met at face value.  I thought my intuition to trust people was the right thing to do.

I have attended countless staff weddings, Christenings and baby showers and indeed have been on holidays with some. I enjoyed socialising with so many of the staff, including meals, spa days and believe it or not, a spray tanning session!!  Quite why I needed a spray tan remains a mystery to me, nonetheless, I gave it a go!

I readily supported staff with personal problems at home and professionally within their jobs as new teachers. Many staff came to me for advice and help involving their extended families.  This was part of who I was and still am, regardless of my job or position as a head teacher.  It was a joy to be able to share my experiences of being pregnant and early motherhood with those who were about to embark on the same journey.  I happily loaned my own pregnancy books and offered my support.  The stork visiting Trinity, as I often remarked in newsletters, was a time of happiness and celebration. 

Planning documents were supplied for all staff with the aim of reducing workload, in particular for those with less experience of working in an outstanding school.  Support staff were distributed effectively across the school, with many people commenting on the luxury of having a full-time teaching assistant all day!  Training days even included team building events at Mill on the Brue in Somerset and bread making at a bakery in Bath!  Some training days meant all staff worked from home, with the last being in October 2015.

We offered all staff free breakfast and after school care for their own children, including 50% off nursery childcare and priority on the admissions list.  A brand new staff room had been put in place.  Lunch breaks lasted one hour and ten minutes every day.  All staff were offered free school meals on a daily basis.

I do not make the above points in an attempt to portray a supportive and caring environment, I make these points because they are fact. Many teachers in other schools would ask ‘how was all of this possible?’ We prioritised this for staff in order that the job was made easier.  Some staff, upon joining the school, did not feel ready to take on a full classroom responsibility role.  Arrangements were made for several new teachers to shadow or ‘team teach’ with more experienced teachers and some enjoyed this for three years! 

Staff left the school to work elsewhere yet many returned to be part of the Trinity team.  Some returned after years or just a few months of being away working in other schools. Sadly, this and other information was omitted from media reports when staff turnover was reported.  I believe many people would be surprised at the number of those who returned. 

I am told by some people that work colleagues can never really be your friends when you are ‘the boss’.  I know many who will disagree with this statement, me being one of them.  I gained several special, close and lifelong friends while I was at Trinity.  I want to thank you all for your love and kindness. I once read ‘It is not the words of your enemies, but the silence of your friends that hurts the most’.  I am beginning to understand that people can be afraid to speak out against injustice.  I am learning that fear can drive our actions and silence us. Sometimes it is self-preservation.

I am not afraid to blow the whistle.  How can we as educators teach this to our children when we cannot stand up for what is right ourselves?  I have no anger or bitterness towards anyone.  I thank my beautiful pupils for showing me daily that anything is possible when you believe in yourself and it is always ‘cool to be kind’.  I recall a wonderful group of children designing ‘Cool to be Kind’ badges and then going on to award them to pupils throughout the school for various acts of kindness.  I send each and every one of you a virtual  ‘Cool to be Kind’ badge for teaching me this and hope that you continue to spread kindness in your life, ‘Making People Feel Good’.

Those that have known me throughout my teaching career know how abhorrent I think bullying is and how you need confidence to tackle it. Throughout my time as a teacher I have always strived to empower children and teach the basic values we all need to live in a tolerant and safe society.  The children once put on a magnificent performance of The Wizard of Oz, it was a real showstopper.  I remember saying to the children that Dorothy always thought she needed her ruby red slippers to get her back to Kansas.  Together we discovered that she didn’t.  She just needed to believe in herself.  I encouraged children to ‘Believe in yourself’.  During the last two years it has taken all my determination and strength, that I did not know I had, to do exactly this.  Believe in myself.  It has certainly been a time to practice what I preached.

Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) is a favourite on my playlist and one I regularly sing along to, much to the delight of Martin (my husband) and my two children!

It was only towards the end of November 2015 that the National Union of Teachers (NUT) requested to come in to The Academy of Trinity, informally.  This was unexpected as no concerns with regard to working conditions had ever been raised with me by staff since the school was set up in 2005.

I had just two meetings with the NUT in November 2015.  There were new staff at the School and at this point, some had only been there a matter of weeks.  Trinity had been established for ten years and the children were at the core of everything we did. In September 2015 we had been approved to take Dundry Primary School into our Trust.  Often people quote ‘Mrs Hart said the children will always come first’.  I am unashamed about making this statement and believe schools should always be about the children.  However, I have always voiced strongly that the staff within a school are its greatest and most valuable resource.

It was with a heavy heart that we agreed for staff not to attend all whole school assemblies and events such as clubs and fairs.  This went on to fundamentally change the whole ethos and atmosphere of the school.  We were asked to ring a bell at 5pm signalling the end of the working day for teachers. 

I know many teachers who work extremely hard with marking, displays, planning and preparation.  As a profession, we enjoy thirteen weeks’ holiday a year and are often reminded of this.  It is a job that we gain much satisfaction from.  Of course, many of us work during our holidays.  I also know many people who are not in education and work extremely long hours and shifts all year round, some for very little pay.  As teachers we are fortunate enough to be able to strike a balance.

I believe the changes that were being demanded would have been to the detriment of the children.  I was not prepared to water down the standard of education that the children had become accustomed to, indeed, the standard that they were entitled to.

To be clear, my resignation was not the result of any National Union of Teachers (NUT) grievances.  I was never presented with any of these at the time.

I feel it is worth me saying that when I initially resigned, I did this as the school was being affected by the negativity that had been created and appeared to come out of the blue.  While I did have other opportunities to move on to professionally, I did not want to leave a place that had become my second home.  I felt hugely torn.  I subsequently retracted my resignation, much to the relief and joy of many wonderful parents.  This decision was also supported by the Department for Education.  This is, in fact, when the situation escalated and the intensity of the vile and untrue social media postings heightened.  When people trivialise the impact of negative and toxic social media, as in my case, life changing events take place. 

I felt vilified by the social media campaign.  Fake names and accounts were openly allowed to post comments that would never have been said face-to-face.  With immense sadness, I resigned from my post as head teacher.  This was a decision that was not taken easily and will stay with me forever.  I had dedicated ten years of my life to a school and community I adored.  No one can take this away, they were ten years with children who were ‘Simply the best!’

 I had to consider not only my welfare, but that of my family, particularly my two children.  I was distraught and traumatised at what was happening to our little school on the hill.

Who was fuelling this, how and why?

 Today, the light at the end of my tunnel is much clearer, yet at the time I was in the dark.