Pros
On the face of it, a teaching job at an independent Christian school with smaller than average class sizes looks like a dreamland for a teacher. Scratch a little deeper however, and you learn to see the idiosyncrasies and foibles of a “Global” Education Provider which is failing to provide life-long learning skills for tomorrow’s businessmen. OSG has however taken steps to modernise in recent years; Employment Contracts being signed as recently as a few years back stated that men having beards was unprofessional. The Brethren community I feel has become better at seeing that what is considering professional or otherwise in one community may not apply to all. A few years back, class sizes were generally small, but with time (and perhaps precipitated by the pandemic) classes largely moved online and so the majority of some teachers’ classes were between 25 and 32 and via the internet, sometimes with some of the class within the building and others elsewhere around the country. Work was therefore mostly set and marked via a VLE. On a practical level, for the teacher, this can be highly time-consuming if you happen to teach a subject where vast amounts of writing are involved. Working hours are however, shorted than you would expect within teaching, so this could be suitable for a teacher with children of school age locally. Pay for teaching staff is above national average, but during the majority of my time at OSG pay increases were very infrequent. Pay progression of sorts does now exist, and OSG are making efforts to stem the haemorrhage of good staff by improving pay. Conditions could further be improved by looking at contractual conditions including maternity pay, probation period and the possible introduction of staff employee incentives such as childcare vouchers or cycle to work scheme.
Cons
The biggest concern for teachers during my time at the school was job security. It was commonplace for friends and colleagues to disappear overnight and be made to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements to not be able to speak about it; not exactly a paragon for transparency or integrity. On one occasion a Headteacher (highly-regarded and well-liked by those who worked with them) called a staff meeting on a Friday with a member of the community so that staff were able to air their concerns on job security. The Headteacher did not return after the weekend (!) Behaviour of students can be challenging here like elsewhere too, as students have historically been able to make indirect but unilateral decisions on staff firing, and so teaching staff became aware of a hierarchy unlike any other within the sector. Students tend to be amenable and compliant one-on-one, but in groups could be divisive and uncooperative, so treading the discipline tightrope often left teachers teetering on the brink. Socially-speaking, the students’ world can be limited, so establishing boundaries, day-to-day interaction and (as previously mentioned) discipline is highly nuanced here. Students tend to be frequently lauded via certificates, ceremonies and Achievement Assemblies, which in some cases are entirely merited, but in many cases are not; a raising of the bar could have hugely positive impact on student expectations. On the other hand, the nature of the workplace means that colleagues tend to be supportive and close-knit, which is a great reason to work anywhere!
