I wrote about this in Midnight Rambler yesterday. But Helen Pellegrino, in a letter to the Herald, has summed it up more succinctly than I could.
As a British teacher, I cannot imagine why teaching unions would oppose principals having the right to choose their staff (Letters, February 6). I understand that hard-to-staff areas might struggle to attract teachers, as do inner-city schools in England. However, a teacher whose main goal is to earn enough points to choose their next school is not focused on the best interests of pupils.
Of course, teachers are able to sidestep the policy by choosing to work in the Catholic or independent sectors. This means that public education misses out on some excellent teachers.Having worked with excellent principals and weaker ones, I insist on choosing a school whose ethos is aligned with my own. Likewise, a principal needs to choose staff who are committed to shared goals.