ABSTRACT
Mary had always been a conscientious deputy, who willingly undertook any task given to her by the headteacher, and generally handled it effectively. Her relationships with staff had always been good: she treated them fairly and they respected her competence. Now she was often irritable. Work seemed to be taking her longer, and she complained about deadlines. Mistakes began to occur quite frequently in the arrangements she made for daily cover and room changes, and she was very short with anyone who pointed out the errors.
