Jamaican teachers still suffering from poor treatment at Harris academy, staff on the picket line warn

Treatment of overseas-trained teachers one of three issues at Harris Academy Beckenham, with teachers also telling Education Uncovered of difficulty they face accessing toilets during the working day.

Poor treatment of, and discrimination against, teachers recently recruited from Jamaica is continuing within the Harris Federation, staff told Education Uncovered this morning – despite the trust having recently committed to improving the situation.

Teachers at the Ofsted-outstanding Harris Academy Beckenham, in South London, took to the picket line on the first of two days of strikes this week about three issues at the secondary, with the management of its overseas-staff prominent among them.

One teacher told this website that she was still paid on the unqualified teacher scale, despite being recruited from the Caribbean island three years ago with multiple years’ teaching experience, and that this was costing her more than £10,000 in lost salary per year.

The school is requiring overseas-trained staff to complete six lesson observations as part of their progress towards QTS, teachers on the picket line told me, despite this not being a requirement by the Department for Education. Staff, and the National Education Union, also say that a high proportion of teachers recruited from Jamaica are being put on “support plans” after joining, which means intensive supervision after questions are raised about their performance.