You might not know that if a principal relinquishes his or her position, they are relegated to the most junior member of staff in a school. This is different to every other postholder in a school. For example, if a deputy principal steps down from his/her post, they simply lose their allowance but not their seniority. While it’s a huge decision for anyone to step down from any position, the double-humiliation of then losing all seniority must be a massive deterrent for anyone, and it would seem very unfair. Crueller people than me might suggest that if there wasn’t a deterrent then principals would be resigning left, right and centre, and that isn’t good for the education system, so some sort of deterrent is needed. In this episode, I’ll be trying to explore the role of the principal and why when someone simply can’t do it anymore, that if I were the Minister for Education, I would provide them with a dignified step-down facility.

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