How is the role of the Head Teacher Developing in the 21st Century School?
Since graduating
from university in the year 2000, I have been privileged to work
under 9 different head teachers across a range of different settings - some for a matter of weeks - others for several years.
Each one has been a fantastic professional in their own right with
different strengths and weaknesses. The position of head teacher is
increasingly unique in today's society and is one in which public
perception has barely shifted over the past 100 years. Head teachers are usually held in high esteem by the communities of the
schools in which they serve – placed on a pedestal; looked up to;
sometimes revered; often feared. Most people have a clear image in
their head of the persona that a Head Teacher should project - the aura- and
there can often be high levels of consternation – and often offence
caused when the person in question doesn't live up to that billing.
A
Changing Role in a Changing Climate:
It's clear that the traditional role of the Head
Teacher is one that is becoming more and more endangered with each
passing general election. Some may argue that that it is a good
thing. A government agenda of forced acadamisation – of large
numbers of schools run by one “Super Head” with Heads of Schools
underneath them is one that is becoming increasingly common. This
subtle change in title seeks to undermine the role of the head
teacher in the eyes of many. One could argue however that something
has to change. A national lack of suitable candidates for headship
has been evident for quite some time. It's not surprising really
given the incredible pressures placed on the role from relentless
government changes and tougher and tougher inspection regimes. One
bad cohort, or one unlucky appointment and potentially your job could
be at risk. Head teachers are not in the same league as football
managers. There is no seven figure severance package and a new job
waiting three months down the line. They often have families to
support, bills to pay and have their lives to live. It's clear that for too
many good people, the pressures associated with the role have often
been too much.
A friend of mine,
having recently completed his NPQH, has been scouring the job pages
looking for a Head Teacher role that would be a big enough change
from his current position as a non-teaching Deputy of a large two-form
entry primary school. Problems that have presented themselves include
a lack of genuine Head Teacher jobs in the local area that would
provide the step-up that he needs. Jobs such as Head of School roles
within local federations are of little interest, as quite often they
pay less than traditional head teacher jobs – and insist that
overall autonomy still rests with an executive Head teacher who may
visit the school one or two days per week. On paper, that is not
much of a change
from his current role as a non-teaching deputy so there is little
incentive to want to move on. Rates of pay as a head teacher of a
small village school would see him take a pay cut from his current
role - and a large increase in workload due to the lack of personnel
and financial clout that usually comes within the small-school
environment. Quite often these schools are at risk of being swallowed
up by larger academy chains as they are becoming increasingly
financially unviable given the pending collapse of many local authorities.
I
have recently met with one ex-colleague who has progressed to the
role of Principal within a local academy chain. Although experiences
were initially positive, increased top-slicing of the school budget,
coupled with a blanket ban on external CPD and a very limited
resource budget led to a range of problems. Teacher recruitment has
been a significant problem for her – so much so that she spent all
of term 6 teaching full time in a very challenging year 6 class –
as well as having to run a vibrant one form entry primary school in a
socially deprived area.
Her
passionate, yet inexperienced staff were at times crying to get out
and visit other schools and broaden their experiences, yet were
stifled by a chain that insisted on one way of doing things. As
principal, she saw middle leadership opportunities for her staff
diminish, as, for example, one teacher was appointed as literacy
coordinator for the nine schools across the chain with the
expectation that the policy, curriculum and practice across all
schools in the chain was identical. At times the literacy
coordinator (who was teaching full-time in Folkestone) would be
expected to deliver an after school staff meeting in Dartford one
week and then a similar meeting in Tenterden the next. A cynic
would say that the academy chain had developed a great way of saving
money, as hardly any staff across their schools would be able to
demonstrate impact across a range of schools needed to earn an upper
pay scale award. The work life balance of this literacy coordinator
cannot have been particularly good.
Someone
once said, “Leaders and managers are fundamentally
different; managers, it is said, do things right, but leaders do the
right things.” To be
a Principal in this academy chain, you had to follow your directions
from your executive as best as you could, however quite often when
this wasn't the right thing for your school, there was little or no
autonomy to change – at least without seeking prior authorisation
from on high and having to spend a great deal of time seeking permission. You were expected to be more of a manager than a
leader and implement the policies of your chain. It's hard to do the
right things if you are bound by regulations and rules from a
bureaucrat with no classroom experience who only visits your school once or twice a term. As a
leader, your wings are well and truly clipped – and that in my opinion is a
shame for the profession.
After
attending a local deputies meeting presentation given by my Principal
on action research strategies, I decided to complete a “Diamond 9”
based around what I felt at the time were the top nine roles and
responsibilities of a head teacher. I then ranked these, with the
most important at the top of the diamond and the others progressing
downwards. By reflecting on my choices – I have discovered that
there are certain working conditions that – should I choose to move
into headship – I would find very restrictive. To be unable to have complete autonomy over how I would choose to lead learning in my school would be something that I would find very hard to tolerate - especially if I disagreed with the policies being dictated from on high.
So – What have I
learnt about effective Head Teachers over the past year? I have tried to summarise my
reflections and thoughts below in no particular order:
The best Head
teachers are the ones who have a clear, well-articulated set of
values for their school. To quote Jim Collins, “Great leaders
embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will.”
This is level 5 leadership!
They carefully and
relentlessly recruit excellent staff- and take steps to move on those
who do not fit the best interests of the school. You can’t achieve
great things without great people!
They delegate
exceptionally well – and trust those in their teams, giving them
the freedom and autonomy to do their jobs. Trust is vital as if
staff feel trusted, then they will feel comfortable and supported
enough to push themselves as far as possible in all areas of their
professional lives.
They are visible and
accessible to all members of staff – and value the role and the
professionalism of all employees – whether they be the deputy or a
part time cleaner. To quote Bryant H McGill, “One of the most
sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to
say.” The best headteachers that I have known always have time to
listen to their staff – regardless of how busy or pressured they
may be feeling. That openness says a lot to staff and allows them to
feel valued and supported.
Simplicity
rules. I love the Woody Guthrie quote, “Any
fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it
simple.” I try to bare this in mind every time I work on
introducing something new to our staff at Warden House. The best
Headteachers that I have worked with
School-wide
discipline – and consistency in approach - is essential. When you
combine a culture of discipline and consistency of approach with an
ethic of “entrepreneurship”, - in other words the freedom to try
new things grounded in research - you are more likely to achieve
great results. A school where all members of staff are actively
researching ways of improving their practice is an exciting and
progressive place to be.
Consistency and
selective cherry-picking is an accelerator. Great schools and head
teachers do not jump on all of the latest bandwagons or chase after
fads. They determine what the issue is; research a range of solutions
and then decide on the best course of action for the job in hand.
The best heads that I have known have the courage of their
convictions and an unshakable focus on the desired outcomes and then
choose the best tools to enable them to reach that goal.
I love the hierarchy
below by Jim Collins that ranks the skills of the different types of
leader/manager in organisations of all different types and sizes.
It's interesting to analyse the traits of leaders and managers that
you have worked for or with and to place them at a certain level. It
raises the question of how easy it would be to “up-level” a
leader on the scale. Is it even possible to move a level one leader
to a level five leader?
Taken
from Jim Collins: Good to Great
Personally,
I am now at the stage in my career where I need to make a decision
about whether or not I want to pursue a career in headship. After
moving from a class teacher to the role of non-teaching Assistant
Principal this year, I feel more ready than ever to grasp the nettle
and start to explore the NPQH and to fill in the gaps that are
missing from my professional armoury. I am going to give it a go.
It's been great to have the support of my current school Principal,
Graham Chisnell whose wise words have
given me the final push that I needed to make the choice to step
forward and begin the journey. He eloquently says in his blog on the
subject:
“The
post of headteacher affords you great honour and with this, the
ability to make a genuine difference in supporting others when times
are hard and celebrating when times are great. The ride is
energising, inspiring, challenging and exhausting; but it is a ride
worth taking. Maybe, just maybe, Vic
Goddard is
right when he writes that this is indeed the best job in the world.
If you are aspiring for headship, my advice is believe in yourself,
take a deep breath and dive in.”
http://chizkent.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/aspiring-for-headship.html
