Growing our own - How Headteachers invest in the future of a community and build the change that they want to see

Since the closure of schools and the subsequent lockdown I have been thinking about the work I have been doing recently and I wanted to share some of my thoughts on leaders, schools and their vital role in our most vulnerable communities 

Working with primary schools in an inner London MAT recently, gave me pause to think about, and reminded me of, how vital the peripheral reach of schools are to the community and individuals within them. Having worked in three London boroughs for 25 years I recognised early on in my career, the unique power a school holds with a social community. They providing employment, positive role models, community support, and a community hub,  to vulnerable, under resourced and socio economically deprived areas. The initial wariness of parents towards teachers and support staff was slowly replaced by those same parents becoming positive advocates in the neighbourhood, and a trusting relationship is built.  

Working with a range of teachers who held a position of responsibility, the start of our sessions involved an exploration of how we had got to where we were. Time and again, the teachers told stories of how the school that they were now working in had :-

·      been the school that they had attended and supported their family through difficult times, 

·      volunteered as their children attended the school and, although they had a teaching qualification from their birth country, it was not recognised in the UK, they were then supported to gain a UK qualification

·      supported them to become a teacher after they had started in a none teaching role,

·      encouraged them to pursue professional development and improve their career,

·      acted as a career advisor, counsellor and sometimes bank, as well as their employer

These stories also usually involved one particular leader, often the head, who was instrumental in believing in them and providing the friendly, if sometimes forceful, hand that was needed to set them on their way. I was also the beneficiary of such a Head in my first school. A visionary in community cohesion and inclusion, that could spot talent through commitment and ethos in her workforce. Often going out on a limb to do what was right for the staff and students rather than what was expected or asked of her. I now regularly work with my cohort of staff from that time, heads, exec heads, HMI and consultants. In fact I was with that head attending a WomenEd conference last year, and an impressive, young assistant head, who had just delivered a workshop, headed over to her and exclaimed “Oh my goodness it’s you, you were my Headteacher” 

I am sure that these stories are not unique to my experience, and are replicated the country over, as teaching is ultimately a caring profession, and our leaders have the care of their students, families and staff in the forefront of their minds. However, especially in these unusual times, it leads me to wonder “where would we be without the support and foresight of those leaders?” 

Simple, we would be without some of the most incredibly talented teachers, committed and gifted managers, and inspirational leaders. 

2.     Staff well being – in these current times – who looks after the people who look after the people? SLT ok? Stuck in a rut of old school thinking maybe? Time to reassess.. 

Who looks after the people, looking after our students? 

This week I overheard the start of a virtual pastoral team meeting where the senior leader launched straight into the business of the meeting without even a ‘Hello’. This was after the preceding ‘gathering chatter’, amongst the team, had  been about the fresh challenges of homelife that week; lack of food delivery slots for a self isolator, a newly born family member, only viewed via facetime, and crippling concerns about an elderly parent in a care home where Covid has taken 6 residents already.

This experience and other anecdotes from teacher and support staff friends, as well as reading posts from colleagues has made me think about what will happen when schools do reopen, in whatever form that turns out to be. Like many people, I have had the time and headspace to reflect on many areas of education, the professional and personal world that has consumed me for the majority of my adult life. My social media interactions have become more varied and take up more of my day, as I search for the daily human interactions I am used to, and I have been fascinated by the changing landscape, and the new connections we are having with each other. Despite some school leaders discussing the difficulty they are having coping with on-line meetings and interviews, and how unexpectedly draining they are, staff are still expected to juggle the array of challenges at home and perform the new tasks directed by managers. 

All school staff are having to consider their teaching or job responsibilities, coping with working remotely, as well as having to handle the increased parental contact and the anxieties of those parents, with regard to schoolwork and attitude of their child. The majority of people will have some form of family responsibilities and, maybe, home schooling their own children. They may be physically ill themselves, or be caring for a family member, or maybe even dealing with a bereavement. Staff may have financial concerns if they are now the sole wage earner, or they may be dealing with tensions this may highlight, which could morph into domestic abuse, if it wasn’t already present and exacerbated by the lockdown. They may have little or no family and coping with social isolation and loneliness, they or a family member may have developed an addiction or be misusing substances. The list of possible life altering experiences our staff may be experiencing is alarming.

ASCL has reported that Heads and Principals have logged an increase in work hours since March 22nd and they are running provisions in schools that some people think are closed. They are facing new challenges that demand skills that could be new to them, making ‘big’ calls that could weigh heavily on them, keeping the educational and holistic welfare of their students at the front of their mind all the time. All the while they will be experiencing some of the challenges already mentioned. So, who is looking after our educators? How will we know that all our staff members are ready to return to work? Who will need support, and what form should that support take? Or do we just assume that everyone will be fit and able to pick up where we left off, in our high stakes, high accountability schools? It is vital that all our schools think about the care of their staff before reopening, and this needs to be our next big discussion for the welfare of our education community.