League tables,targets,all part of governments interference in the workplaces,namely schools and hospitals which makes and creates the stresses that we see today.Other areas too like GP surgeries and retail----all dictated to which leaves the workers scrambling and in a frenzy to adhere to these rules which are impossible to meet. Cutting corners to meet deadlines are there for all to see in every workplace and where there's failure you have mental health problems among those who are dedicated to their jobs.
All the unnecessary " jobsworth " brigade of Ofwat,Oftel,Ofcom, Ofsted,etc etc ( made up jobs ) These " regulators " of services are non-starters in any industry,for it's those who are already in charge of areas of employments,e.g. bosses who are a sufficient body without the need to waste millions on organisations such as these.
There is an obscene waste of money in this country when it should be going into the NHS and education and not to the interfering busy bodies who haven't got a clue about either profession.
Mental illness will increase rapidly because of what is expected of everyone, and hundreds chasing very few job opportunities.
I've actually heard about a headmistress who rejects children into her school if they come from poorer families. All this woman cared about were her league tables and the Ofsted visits.No mention of encouraging these poor little souls into education,it was all about herself and this is how I see the country going------them and us,created by those " who follow the rules ".
I think the key to this murder-suicide may lie in the father's job, which must have become too much for him after juggling all other extra-curricular commitments. Maybe the individuals on selection panels at interviews will now realize that a teacher cannot be at someone's beck and call twenty-four hours a day and should be entitled to a proper work life balance.
One thing which I find hard to understand is why take your spouse and three children with you if you must embark on a course of suicide. Clodagh, his teacher wife had an hour-long commute to work, which makes me think she was shattered herself upon returning home and Alan may have felt the childcare was falling disproportionately on him. Of course it's all just speculation, and the blame if we are to use that word must lie with the husband and father, that control freak
par excellence who made the decision that if he was to die then the others would too.
