It’s Down to Me

If the school has been successful, it is down to me as Head

If the school is failing, it is down to me as Head

If we accept that we are judged by our SATs results, I prefer other criteria, then at the Fulbridge Academy we have had almost 10 years of high level success.

Having taken the option to retire last year, the time was undoubtedly right, especially when I considered the ‘bigger picture’ of what was best for the school, staff and pupils. My son has taken over and he will take the school on to even greater achievements. I would not have had the ability to lead the school into this rapidly changing educational world so effectively.

So many factors have led to the schools success. However essentially, primarily, it was down to me as the leader of the school. I would like to take full credit for it all. Of course it is not as simple as that – or is it?

Had it been a different story and we had not enjoyed outstanding results then I would now be taking all the blame.

Why do I say this? As Principal I had a dream and a vision, then I led the creation of the climate, the ethos, the prevalent attitudes and the culture that now exists.

As Principal, I am the Principle Role Model.

What was our breakthrough? Why was I able to succeed in a failed school, in an area of high deprivation and a challenging multi-cultural community? How did we go from a school in Special Measures to a school that Ofsted judged as outstanding in all judgement areas?

In retirement I have had time to reflect.

Here are some of our vital ingredients:

• Introduction of creativity
• Working with top educationalists: Roger Cole, Mick Waters, Mathilda Joubert and Robin Alexander
• Gaining the status, the support and expertise that came with becoming a National School of Creativity
• Becoming a Cambridge Primary Review Trust Alliance School
• Joining the Whole Education network as a Partner and Pathfinder School
• Appointing the right staff to the right positions

All are indeed vital ingredients. However when we moved to believing that we could succeed, that our pupils had a great deal of potential and ability, that was the turning point. Once we had a no excuses mindset of high expectations – success became endemic. And that was down to me to lead this mindset change.

I had to be proactive and I wanted to escape the hamster wheel of educational fads and initiatives that were solely assessment, commercial or test based ….. and not focussed on the needs of the child. It was about seamlessly linking the short, medium and longer term vision to meet the needs of the accountability system but most importantly the needs of the child. I had to exude confidence but be realistic and impact focussed. It meant collaborating with others: within and between schools. But most importantly it was about creating a positive ‘can do’ culture.

It was also about realism. I had to recognise the choices we genuinely have as schools and not be submissive to all the government and local authority dictats. These were often not inspired by the moral purpose of improving our children’s life chances. They were more about simply improving test results. Most of all I had to be aware of the need to engage and positively motivate the school team.

I had to get leaders and staff to believe as well. We had to stop making excuses based on the children’s ethnicity, their social or cultural differences. We had to believe that a child who arrived on our doorstep from ‘Slovakia’, who had no English, had never been to school, with a Roma background was not destined to fail our imperfect educational system.

We had to stop blaming the SATs, the league tables, the high stakes accountability system, Government changes, community issues and anything else that cropped up. We had to look at ourselves and how we could improve our educational provision. We must look in the mirror, not out of the window.

What was the Solution?

• improve ourselves as leaders
• use research to improve our subject and pedagogical knowledge
• improve the quality of the teaching and learning
• create our own bespoke curriculum that suited the needs of our community of children
• create an immersive learning environment that makes you long for childhood
• develop a broad and balanced curriculum that embraces the Arts and PE
• place Oracy and Dialogic Teaching at the centre of our curriculum

                   But surpassing all of these vital factors is the attitude of mind that was created.                    Once this changed then our level of success changed.

First and foremost the Head must have a positive mindset, a dream and a belief. It then becomes contagious. Vice and Assistant Principals catch it and pass it onto subject leaders and staff generally. Staff then pass it onto the pupils in their class. Everyone believes! We are a team and we are all working together with a common goal and belief that anything is possible.

Once the culture is created then success can be rightly attributed to the staff team as a whole, including Governors. Every member of staff is an essential part of the recipe that leads to success. Staff must also believe, indeed realise, that the level of success or failure is down to them and the collective mindset.

Quality first teaching which is inclusive of all children has to be seen as the main standards raising solution. This means teachers must not turn to the booster group and intervention mentality, they are the last resort, once the teacher had failed the child’s needs. The other key was to get staff to believe in their ability, they do not need schemes of work or worksheets. They can design the curriculum and its content to the needs of the Fulbridge children, a bespoke approach.

This high quality teaching and learning approach is of paramount importance as is of course outstanding management and support systems. We must never underplay the importance of an excellent infrastructure. Those unseen and often uncelebrated aspects of schools that go under the radar and unnoticed.  

Now that staff are taking charge of improvement and the standards raising agenda, the ownership is moving away from me as Principal. My role is now becoming about ensuring that everyone is doing their job and role to the very high standard that our pupils needs demand they do. I must also ensure that our schools successful ethos, attitude, culture and climate is maintained.

How fragile is this collective mindset?

It will not surprise you that I believe the greatest danger to a schools continued success is a change of attitude at the most senior levels. The key is everyone pulling together and aligning to the culture of high expectations. However any member of staff can impact negatively on the schools climate if their negativity becomes contagious and others start to listen, believe and follow. Needless to say such a potential epidemic will spread to the children. The result will be declining standards in both their learning and their behaviour.

As Principal not only must you ensure all staff are doing their jobs well but also that agreed ethos and culture of the school, the core reason for its success, is maintained. Are attitudes changing, is there a change in the climate of the school? Look for early indications if anything in the culture of the school is changing. If changes are apparent then these should be recognised and addressed before any potential dysfunctional behaviours and disruption escalates.

A change in staffing may become a negative factor either for the whole school or a section of the school. It can of course also help maintain and even enhance the schools ethos. What should we look out for? Research and experience has identified types of staff who can impact negatively on the culture and ethos of the school or a department/phase of the school. Here are some examples and solutions to the types of staff who are often referred to as ‘mood hoovers’ :

The Objector: “I’m not against this but ….”

This is a team member who always points out the difficulties and seldom offers a solution. Use them as an asset by asking them to suggest a solution to the difficulty they have identified. View them as a resource against whom to bounce ideas and suggestions. Be prepared for the negative – and then use it to improve an idea. Regard their statement of difficulty as an invitation to build on, not as an obstacle to stop progress and new initiatives.

The Dominator

This type of individual dominates a meeting. Deal with this by taking control constructively, thank them for their contribution and restate pertinent points and then move on. Avoid eye contact and use your physical position in the room to assert your authority over them.

The Silent One

This is a non-contributing member of staff. Don’t put pressure on the participant, acknowledge their contributions – every time they speak and give them non-verbal invitations to speak. Ask them if they agree with what’s being said and ensure you capitalise on their knowledge.

Finally take any opportunity to talk to the reluctant participant outside the meeting.

The Know All – “I’ve been doing this for 10 years…”

This member of staff regards themselves as an expert. Be careful not to react defensively towards them, rather respect what they can offer. Use this person’s expertise – but set limits and encourage the ‘expert’ to listen to others. Another strategy is to invite the expert to present formally, give them an official role in answering peoples questions.

The Cynic “ I’ve heard it all before and it did not work then ….”

Don’t get defensive or angry with such a member of staff. Find some merit                  in what they are saying and involve them when you want them to. Encourage them to concentrate on the positive and if necessary talk to them privately – find out if they are upset or annoyed. In addition to this use the rest of the group to give different viewpoints.

The Fighters  “I am right and you are wrong…”

If there is conflict between two team members don’t intervene too early. Emphasise points of agreement, minimize points of disagreement. Direct their attention to the objectives of the meeting

and ask them to shelve or park the issue for the moment. Draw others into the discussion to reduce the one-to-one element and de-personalise it.

How do we know if staff are mood hoovers and bent on disruption?

They:

1. start arriving late and leaving early at meetings
2. become silent and disengaged
3. fold their arms and look away
4. have side conversations
5. do other work not relevant to the meeting
6. posture negatively
7. utter audible sighs
8. make negative comments
9. abuse others verbally
10. walk out in disgust
11. abuse others physically

Early forms of dysfunction are easier to deal with as ignoring them just stores up difficulty. Deal with number 1 and you’ll never get to number 11.

Conclusion: Let’s Finish on a more Positive Note

You have to appoint the best staff to perform at the highest level. You have to seek out the best and latest research. You cannot be behind the times. You need to be at the forefront of educational innovation and thinking.

But most importantly a leader needs firm convictions and deep inner beliefs that are shared and embraced by a team that supports this vision. A team where everyone stays true to those beliefs and convictions. For high level success staff must understand what is wanted and align themselves to it.

A leader’s job is to communicate what you believe in and identify what all the little things are that are needed. The leader clarifies what it is that is important and what everyone needs to care about.

However it is the community and the staff that must attend to them and ensure that they are in place.

We know that it can be easier to compromise or tolerate ugly situations than confront them. It can be the same with painful news or changes. It may, for some, be easier to confront and challenge than conform.

A great leader does not have the need to be universally loved and does not seek affection. Rather they seek respect and in doing so maintain a professional distance from less senior staff. This enables that leader to make decisions when others may avoid dealing with the situation.

It’s a lovely view from the top of the mountain

When you get to the top of the mountain and you want to keep the beautiful view and not go back down again – to achieve this you need a combination of maintaining, adapting and changing. But most importantly you must ensure alignment. You must maintain the school’s ethos, culture and climate, In addition ensure the fighters, cynics, know-it-alls, dominators and objectors, who cannot see or comprehend the ‘bigger picture’ do not have an adverse effect on the schools vision and winning formula. For, if they do, the main losers will be the pupils.