How much discount do Teachers get this Easter?

So the Easter holidays are upon us! Rich and I spent last night listing our top 5 egg choices (the creme egg got my number 1 spot, despite my dairy intolerance!) During a school holiday period my mind always turns to teachers. My Mum was a teacher all her working life. I remember coming downstairs, stuck on a homework problem, to see her sat marking piles of books at 8pm at night. This happened on Sundays as well. And school holidays. A teacher friend texted me the other day with woes of having to re-apply for her teaching job along with the gift of her hours being cut! Notwithstanding the endless assessments and criteria check boxes she had to keep on doing on her students, bookending her teaching day, she was pretty pissed off. My sister-in-law, Janet, who so excellently writes over at Words That Can Only Be Your Own, left the teaching profession at Christmas for a myriad of reasons including stress. 

I have never wanted to be a teacher. At uni the careers officer told me that with an English degree it was either teaching or journalism. Journalism - ok, sounded great, Teaching? No. Way. A uni friend went into teaching because he didn't know what else to do. He trained, taught, then tanked it and went into physiotherapy. But it works the other way - my friend's brother went into banking out of uni, then turned to teaching later on and has found his calling. 

Half my friends are teachers, both parents were before they retired and a fair few clients hold the responsibility of stuffing information into tiny minds. So with the utmost respect for all those engaged in reaching Government targets whilst trying to get everyone to listen and the homework marked, this Easter 

I'm giving all teachers 10% off any Wardrobe Angel service. 

If you are a teacher and want to go back to work post-Easter rockin' and raring to go with a really awesome wardrobe to boot then drop me an email to info@wardrobeangel.co.uk with Teacher 10 in the subject line. 

Please share where you see fit. Thank you!

Stay wardrobe happy....til next time

The Wardrobe Angel

My thoughts on the Ofsted report slamming scruffy teachers

This morning I was invited to go on BBC Radio Humberside to talk about the Ofsted report criticising scruffy teachers at the Acland Burghley School in Camden, London. They had callers on debating whether what you wore was important or not in the place of work. The caller before me said that a more informal style of dress worn by a teacher would make the teacher more accessible and promote greater learning. Wrong. Ofsted had drawn a direct correlation between the state of the teachers' clothing, the presentation of the building and the poor standard of work - the overall lack of pride in the school - to the schools poor level of achievement. The head is stepping down in August.

So what was my opinion? That guidance on what to wear in any business has to come from the top down but in the article in the Evening Standard it says, "Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofsted, said that too many trainees are sent into schools without proper guidance on professional dress." If that is the case did the teachers even stand a chance against Ofsted? So what proper guidance do you give? 

A DRESS CODE which is the level of expectation you convey to your staff about their appearance: simply put it is what to wear and what not to wear.   

I talked to Burnsy on air about the importance of a Dress Code and the work I had done with Raynes Architecture. When the firm expanded, Lisa, the Director, contacted me to help shape their company image and write their Dress Code so that when a new member or staff that was taken on they would be in no doubt about what was acceptable dress in the Raynes work place. I mentioned a great quote on air from the E-myth revisited which talks about why some companies excel and others don't:

“Is it any wonder that McDonalds, Federal Express, Disney …and many more extraordinary companies spend so much time and money on determining how they look? It pays!” (E Myth Revisited)

Enough said! Even if you aren't running a multi-million pound business (and let's face it, how many of us are?!), or are running a not-for-profit business like a school, what your staff wear is a direct result of the management and leadership at the top and a direct reflection of how they feel about the job they are in.  After I bid Burnsy good day I remembered a Julie Walters programme called Ahead of the Class that was based on the failing school in London outside which the Head Teacher Phillip Lawrence was fatally stabbed in 1995. Do you know what the first thing she said  to her staff as the new "super head" brought it to ring the changes ? She  didn't ask them about the curriculum, the behaviour of the students, or what colour they wanted the staff room painting. No, she asked the teachers to dress smarter. 

(If you haven't read about what all the hoo-ha is about then check out the article in the Evening Standard by clicking here.)