The International Schools Review Forum

Hi,
I have recently told my school I wil be leaving next year. I asked my Head of School and Head of Secondary to complete online evaluations for agencies I am using.

I asked them both for an open reference letter too, but was refused one by my Head of School. He said he doesn't know me well enough, I am in the 2nd year of my contract.

I want open reference letters so I can show them in all my applications. Is it normal practice to refuse writing one or is it the responsibility of the Head of School to provide this for all teachers?

Any advice would be great.
Nomadic Teacher

There is no regulation or law that requires a head/principal to provide an open letter. Pushing the issue isnt going to accomplish much. Your likely to just get a brief generic letter that says little more then your employment dates and grade/subject. Which isnt worth anything.

Its not unusual for a head who supervises intermediate admins to not know much about a teacher. Your secondary head/principal is the one most likely to be familiar with your performance.

Once the closed references are in, you can ask your associate to look at them if any of them would be a problem, and if needed remove one and request a replacement from someone else.