Kinver High School and Sixth Form

Pros

What have Idi Amin and Nikki Clifton got in common? One is a brutal despot and the other was once the leader of Uganda.

Cons

Every conceivable con imaginable. This is a terrible place to work with a truly terribly leader. Steer clear.

Pros

Seriously none!!!!!!

Cons

Every day I am here I’m miserable. Everyone is miserable and if they’re not, they’re pretending. Lots of staff are lovely, very supportive and they need to be as SLT are as far from supportive as they can be. They push, push, push. Until you break. The school is so badly run. You can’t plan your own time as tasks are always dropped on you without notice and need doing that day. Nobody seems to have a bloody clue what they’re doing. It’s embarrassing. There’s not enough resources to run the school properly. Shortage of staff (can’t imagine why?!!) There are support staff (site team, facilities managers etc) doing break duties?!! You’re forced to teach subjects you’re not qualified for or understand because there’s not enough staff to fulfil what’s needed, not exactly great for the kids and you’re not given extra time to accommodate this. Staff go out of their way to avoid the head as she is just such an unreasonable person. I’ve seen grown men quiver as she speaks to them like dirt in front of other staff and students. It’s shocking. Staff are scared to speak to anyone on corridors in case they are being listened to! I was told of I ever went on this website on a school computer (chance would be a fine thing!) I’d get called into her office! Been told that any meeting in her office would end with “and nobody will hear of this conversation”! What on Earth? She needs standing up to! Any kind of TLR is paid a pittance but you’re expected to completely slog your guts out all day and all night! PPA used up for meetings and cover. I feel sorry for all the kids that went in for recent open day; being fed a pack of lies. Their catchment schools are clearly terrible and parents think Kinver is a good option. How the hell this dump got rated ‘good’ I’ll never know. Probably because staff pulled out all the stops because they were scared not to and SLT are full of shit??! Head is convinced they’ll get outstanding when she calls them to come in again… dream on! Your mental health and physical health will suffer if you work here. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. Toxic, toxic, toxic!

Pros

There is non

Cons

I worked here for a long time and I quickly left as she and her slt Team were vile to me and made me cry many times the kids have no chance with a school like this half the teachers are about the kids age what chance do they kids stand with teachers about there age most of them don’t know what they are doing so do not work here

Pros

If its one thing I can say about Nikki Clifton she really has a talent of bringing the worst out of people. The majority of the teachers are great, but are being held back by a toxic and disheartening work environment created by the head and her puppets (who I am sure are just nodding along for fear of ruining their job.)

Cons

I also ran a text recognition software on the reviews and it seems a lot of the positive reviews are penned by the same hand, obviously someone is trying bury the facts about this school. Quite telling.

Pros

None

Cons

I worked here with the new head teacher and very quickly left. In the short space I worked with her she was horrible to me on several occasions, shouted at me infront of pupils and other members of staff. She doesn’t know her own staffs names and will just refer to you as madam if she’s not telling you off for something. Her leadership team are equally as bad, rather than helping and supporting staff, they will just try to get staff into trouble with the head which again leads to more bullying. Since leaving, I still suffer with anxiety. My new head will request a meeting and this will cause me to have a panic attack when I’m not even in trouble or going to be shouted at. This school and head teacher has had serious detrimental effects on my mental health unfortunately. I am glad that people are now speaking up on this forum as it seems everyone is too scared to report her to the ceo of invictus. Something needs to be done about her and the management

Pros

There are some lovely children and there were also some fantastic staff. Sadly for the school and pupils, a huge number have now left and are working elsewhere due to the horrendous treatment they received at the hands of the headteacher and her gang of bullies. Many more excellent staff are also planning to leave for the same reasons.

Cons

A school should be a nurturing, safe place for all. In the past few years, since the arrival of the new headteacher, Nikki Clifton, nothing has been further from the truth. This school is now led by a toxic, narcissistic bully and no one is safe from her venom. The most hard-working, dedicated and excellent professionals are systematically treated like dirt. Staff are spied on, their emails and other correspondence monitored and should the headteacher see fit, she will not hesitate to stamp on anyone who dares to put their head above the parapet. Excellent people, who have the children at the very centre of everything they do, work at Kinver High School in constant fear for how the headteacher may treat them, should she feel it necessary to do so. I have honestly never known of or experienced anything like what happens at this school and given the very high numbers of staff who have left in the past couple of years, it is clear to see that the headteacher’s treatment of staff is not a one-off occasional occurrence. Even worse, the headteacher is clearly supported by the equally toxic and bullying Trust CEO. The two of them are a perfect fit. While ever they are in post, this school should be avoided by anyone wishing to work in education and by anyone looking for a school for their children . No good leader should feel the need to treat fellow human beings with such contempt. This is not the way to run a school or any other organisation. A good leader should lead by example so that colleagues look up to them and want to do their best for them in a united way. Kinver High School has the exact opposite approach to this where a small number of senior people surround the head and support her toxicity at the expense of every other person working there.

Pros

None

Cons

I still work here and actively searching tes day and night to get out of here . Amazing head of English and humanities gone. A head of science who excelled in 2019 results pushed out to be replaced with someone from her old school. No head of maths is completely unheard of in schools but happening at kinver. Hopefully I get out soon. Please for your own mental health do not work here

Pros

Getting out!

Cons

Head made me cry on a number of occasions, I've never been treated in such a way before. Frightening experience which put me off working in educational settings.

Pros

None recently

Cons

This school is a tragedy for those who work there.

Pros

!!!!!?????!!!!!

Cons

A genuine poor working environment. Absolutely awful bullying of staff.

Pros

Ha ha!

Cons

Headteacher has a particular special move to defeat the hardest working and most genuine of staff. On a whim she will berate you in front of the students! Making you feel about 2cms tall. Incredibly cruel, cold and calculating.

Pros

Nice part new build

Cons

Stress on an unimaginable scale. Took a massive toll on me. Bullied at every turn.

Pros

The management team are so gifted at manipulation they write their own responses in here. They also fill in multiple entries into the OFSTED survey.

Cons

For instance, how can Kinver a small school have 133 responses? That means just shy of a quarter of all parents have responded. Happy people don't respond to surveys....the fed up ones tend too..so why is the result of the oftsed survey massively positive? Because the management team filled them in themselves! Cheats! Liars and.master manipulators!!!

Pros

None

Cons

Supply now, I can pick and choose where I work, I'd never work here again. Kids ok, however despite the idyllic setting not all of them are well behaved, some are really mismanaged by senior leaders and left to run wild.

Pros

None

Cons

Feared for my mental health and career. I sincerely thought I'd never have another teaching job.. terrible treatment of good honest and capable professionals.

Pros

None

Cons

Working conditions intolerable.

Pros

!!!!!! N/A

Cons

A narcissistic environment. Where backstabbing prevails and is positively rewarded. This is not as the headteacher terms as old news or old trouble. It's alive and happening in her school......terrible work conditions.

Pros

When you get out the door.

Cons

I worked at Kinver for just under five years. When I first joined it was fantastic. However, the headteacher is a wicked witch. She is totally inadequate. She is only able to prosper through treating people badly and scaring them. She is vicious. Avoid getting a job here!

Pros

None

Cons

Why do staff continue to leave in huge numbers, including newly appointed ones? How many Sencos has this place gone through during the current heads tenure? How many Heads of Humanities? How many Heads of Science? Why is there no head of maths,? There is a reason, don't be pulled in by the fake news and positive reviews. She's writing them herself!!!

Pros

None

Cons

Never had another job which has repeatedly stopped me sleeping at night. Never had another job where I've had to take sleeping tablets to get a modicum of sleep. Never had another job where I've had to have counselling to stop myself from going over the edge. The WORST place and management team I have ever worked under. It is beyond toxic!!!!

Pros

If you like Orwellian Dystopias...then this is the real deal.

Cons

If you like to be treated with dignity and humility, avoid.

Pros

? The kids?

Cons

The poor treatment of colleagues., From caretakers to kitchen staff, to teaching assistants to drivers. The whole strata of staff are mismanaged and subject to extreme mental abuse in this toxic environment. Avoid. Don't read the positive reviews and think that this is your Nirvana, it's hell and critically, it's the headteacher and her inner circle writing these seemingly super statements.

Pros

Home time and holiday time!

Cons

Inexcusable behaviour of senior leaders. Excessive culture of bullying and downright lies. If you join here ensure you've paid your union fees. You'll need them

Pros

None

Cons

Mental health issues Bullying Limitless work load Expectations to do after hours work until 9pm - virtual teaching for a pittance or free While the senior leaders quoff their way through huge pay packets and manage their inflated sense of self purpose

Pros

If you like autocratic regimes with a healthy dose of media manipulation. You don't need to invent a time machine and travel to Tzarist Russia or catch a flight to Putin's moscow. Instead procure a job at Kinver High School and enjoy the full delights of totalitarianism. Ruthless purged, fear and terror all in an Ofsted stamped 'good' environment.

Cons

If you want to work in an environment where you are nurtured, respected and not the victim of prolific bullying then maybe this is not the place for you.

Pros

N/A

Cons

I’m happy to see the immature comments from students have been removed. However, a lot of genuine reviews from staff have also been removed along with those comments, which is unfair in my opinion as all of the positive comments from Nikki and the SLT team I dare say has been left on leaving an inaccurate opinion. It isn’t a good school to work at, no support is offered, you’re run down to the ground consistently and nothing you do is ever appreciated. Nothing is good about working there. Nikki is a horrible person to work under, no person should be scared to approach their boss but the majority of the staff were and it shouldn’t be like that. She’d walk straight passed you and only ever talk to you unless she wanted something. She’d scream and shout in your face in front of students, she comes across lovely to begin with but don’t be fooled. Stay clear of Kinver High School, oh and another thing which was deleted, the IT department would sit and spy and watch cctv of staff. Made me feel uncomfortable and uneasy.

Pros

None

Cons

Glad to see that staff rate schools have deleted the students silly comments on here about staff. Sadly though, lots of genuine reviews from teachers who suffered at kinver have also been deleted leaving many positive statements that have been written by the head teacher and slt. The genuine reviews which warn staff about bullying from the head teacher and how the school has negatively impacted on the mental health of many colleagues have been deleted. This page no longer reflects life at kinver high as a teacher so is not a reputable source. However in the education world which is a small world as everyone knows everyone, it is very well known about the bullying that happens at kinver.

Pros

I joined Kinver High at the start of this academic year. I said in my interview that it would have to be a special school to attract me from where I was and I have been proven right. Since arriving I have been impressed with the school on all counts. With regard to support from leadership, I can't equate some of the reviews I have seen on this site with my personal experience. I have found positive support and advice any time I have personally sought it out; with the headteacher being one of the most supportive managers I have experienced in and out of teaching.

Cons

It is a school where you have to work hard, but this isn't so much a con as a statement of fact. This is the situation in modern education, with hard work needing to be applied in whichever setting you find yourself.

Pros

Leaving the car park at the end of the day.

Cons

I can notice there are a lot of false reviews on this page so I’d like to put my genuine experience across. Kinver high school was a good place to work for the first couple of months. Everyone seemed to be supportive but everything soon changed. The staff are either hit or miss, you tell a member of staff what your concerns are and all of a sudden the whole of SLT knows and looks down to you for it. They take your mental health and your problems to their advantage by running you down constantly. The head teacher is very arrogant and cold to approach. For instance she called me in for a meeting about my mental health (which was because of work and how everyone treated me) and how it was affecting me and told me if I don’t sort myself out within two weeks which was the end of term she was letting me go. Since that meeting I worked my arse off, proving her wrong, working overtime doing everything I could to possibly please her. Months down the line out of nowhere she let me go, and just laughed and sniggered in my face. Since I’ve been absolutely petrified to work for another company, now I work for myself. My anxiety is the worst it’s ever been. You don’t know whether staff are your friends or spy’s, reporting everything back to *****. I know half of these good reviews on here are either from herself or the SLT as they have been submitted one after the other, also because I know every person who I spoke to hated it there, everyone was trying to get out as quick as they could and find another job. If you are ever thinking about working here, ask yourself is it really worth it, because it’ll be the worst thing you could ever do for yourself.

Pros

None

Cons

It’s gone a bit crazy on here. Students are clearly writing reviews on here too which is not what the website is intended for. Also very clear that the head teacher herself has wrote a lot of reviews (I have worked with her and the reviews say exactly what she would say). Also I have it on good authority that the staff and slt have been made to write positive reviews. Also note the positive reviews from genuine teachers (not slt who are equally as bad as the head teacher) still say nothing positive about the head teacher. So I will end this review by saying it is not a pleasant place to work at … 21 staff leaving last year sums it up. I wanted to quit teaching when I worked at kinver with this current head teacher. Luckily I got out and now at a lovely supportive school. Staff rate schools need to regulate who can write reviews on here as this is meant to be a forum that allows teachers etc to find out if a school is a happy school or not. Anyone who asks me about jobs at kinver… I tell them to avoid avoid avoid for the sake of their mental health. Genuine review

Pros

Since joining Kinver I have noticed a lot of positive changes that have been brought in to support students. The curriculum is good, the staff work hard and the students care about their education.

Pros

The staff are hard working and caring. The refurbished buildings are lovely and welcoming. The students are great to be around. An all round good school.

Pros

Have enjoyed working here.

Pros

The staff, the students and the school.

Pros

Everything

Cons

Not only to mention the awful attitude around the school from staff which blatantly shows onto the students with teachers treating some students like prisoners to them, the building is falling apart, class rooms aren’t heated and are leaving the kids shaking there is no room at all at lunch with some benches having 6-7 students on when signed for 2, the staff are trying to fit 300+ students into a single canteen due to pure laziness to open the entire school and staff it correctly SUB PAR

Cons

Reading some of the reviews on this page really paints a negative picture already, however seeing the pay I thought it must be worth a go as a supply teacher at this school especially knowing the nice village, however I can say from minute 1 of walking in the door it was toxic, like everyone was ready to snap at any moment with the headteacher barking orders at the staff inside the staff rooms ruining everyone’s mood already just for her to do it every single day causing me to quit working here. MISERABLE women

Cons

Surely you must realise things are bad when you’re up till midnight writing fake positive reviews about your school and forcing your SLT to do the same. Come on. Spend some time on school improvement and trying to retain staff. Be proactive, speak to your staff, spend some time with them and see what their issues are and how you can make things better for them rather than trying to cover up everything. Glad I am out, what a circus this has become.

Pros

I already love being a part of the Kinver community. The school has had a lot of refurbishments which are excellent and make the environment homely. The school is a warm and welcoming with core values which always put the students at the centre of everything. The students (and staff) are able to visit the guinea pigs for some TLC- what more could you want?

Pros

I have loved being a part of the team. There are so many wonderful teachers at this school and it is great to be amongst them. Not only that, but the students are lovely too. Yes, the school isn't perfect but if we keep working hard then there is no reason that we won't get our outstanding judgement soon.

Pros

A really great school to be a part of. We all work hard and we do it for the students. Every day, in every way, our students come first.

Cons

Listening to sad people on here who have nothing better to do than hide beyond a screen.

Pros

A wonderful school community. Great opportunities for students and staff. A dedicated and committed team of staff working together to make sure our students get the very best teaching and learning. Our students are our biggest asset and we are proud of the achievements of each and every one of them.

Pros

Amazing happy place to work, great camaraderie and team to work with. An intelligent and highly articulate staff body who communicate well since they can write and spell, unlike this website host and certain illiterate reviewers. Time at school or Kinver was obviously not well spent. Maybe, they should consider applying to be Alan Sugar’s next Apprentice. But, I guess the result would be a replay of what happened at Kinver with similar parting words ‘You’re fired’.

Cons

None