Leadership Focus journalist Nic Paton looks at how a values-led approach to school leadership might be a way forward.
SIR TIM BRIGHOUSE,
FORMER SCHOOLS COMMISSIONER FOR LONDON AND LEADING EDUCATIONALIST PROFESSOR
Former schools commissioner for London and leading educationalist Professor Sir Tim Brighouse is well-known within education circles for articulating the concept of ‘gaps in the hedges’, or the value of being brave enough as a school leader to identify, try out, pursue and then share new or different ways of thinking or approaches.
The idea of gaps in the hedges isn’t, of course, originally Sir Tim’s, as he always fully recognises and accredits. It was first spelt out by educationalist and former head teacher Harry Rée. Harry was a member of the Special Operations Executive who worked behind enemy lines during the Second World War and told in his book ‘A School Master’s War’ of how you needed to spot the gaps (whether in hedges or otherwise) so that you could, often quite literally, scramble through them to escape.
Ofsted’s inspection regime may not, thankfully, be about such literal high-stakes peril (at least not yet). Nevertheless, if school leaders aren’t careful, high-stakes accountability can bring with it the temptation to take a ‘how-high’ approach to leadership – or, in other words, when Ofsted says ‘jump’, you ask, ‘how high?’.
How school leaders push back – how they regain even a modicum of control and agency over their leadership, expertise and professionalism – is something NAHT has been wrestling with for some time. We’ve seen its commission on assessment, its accountability commission and its commission on school improvement. There have been multiple reports, including the 2018 ‘Improving school accountability’ and 2020 ‘Improving schools’. And there have been initiatives such as ‘Instead’, which encouraged the development of more head teacher-led sharing of knowledge, ‘inspection’ and best practice.
Yet, even though Ofsted’s new inspection framework may be an improvement on what went before, there is still often a significant disconnect between the values and priorities being articulated from the centre (such as chief inspector Amanda Spielman’s recent controversial comment that schools were too focused on distributing food parcels during the pandemic) and those of school leaders on the ground being buffeted by educational reality while also battling to do the very best for their children and communities.
NICK BROOK,
NAHT DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY
One way to square this circle, argues NAHT deputy general secretary Nick Brook, is for school leaders to try to carve out more of a values-led or values-based approach to school leadership. As he puts it: “The challenge for us all going forward is how to create supportive environments in which leaders can focus on what matters most to their schools’ communities, instead of being driven and distracted by the pressure to conform to the government’s diktats.
“If you look at the ‘Improving school accountability’ and ‘Improving schools’ reports, one of the common themes has been that sense of the profession stepping forward and taking responsibility for one another and ownership of standards.
“I think that is going to become all the more important in the months and years ahead; how do we, as leaders, stay true to our values and moral compass when the direction of travel from the government may try to pull us a different way? How do we maintain the courage of our convictions? I passionately believe the answer lies in not standing alone. If you stand alone, it is harder to do the right thing; if we work together, we have the support and strength in numbers,” Nick adds.
It is here that Sir Tim’s gaps in the hedges analogy, again, comes through strongly, he emphasises. “In terms of whatever is coming your way, find the thing that enables you to go through the gaps and keep true to your own North Star.
“It is about finding the confidence to act that comes with having faith in our own abilities; the freedom that flows from professional confidence. The motivation that comes from the certainty that our insights and expertise will serve children far better than the latest directive from Ofsted,” Nick adds.
Of course, this is all well and good, but in practice – in the teeth of a pandemic, covid-19 recovery, a funding crisis (as we highlight elsewhere in this Leadership Focus), a recruitment and retention crisis, and our ongoing high-stakes accountability and inspection regime – how can or should head teachers actually do this?
SIR TIM BRIGHOUSE,
FORMER SCHOOLS COMMISSIONER FOR LONDON AND LEADING EDUCATIONALIST PROFESSOR
Former schools commissioner for London and leading educationalist Professor Sir Tim Brighouse is well-known within education circles for articulating the concept of ‘gaps in the hedges’, or the value of being brave enough as a school leader to identify, try out, pursue and then share new or different ways of thinking or approaches.
The idea of gaps in the hedges isn’t, of course, originally Sir Tim’s, as he always fully recognises and accredits. It was first spelt out by educationalist and former head teacher Harry Rée. Harry was a member of the Special Operations Executive who worked behind enemy lines during the Second World War and told in his book ‘A School Master’s War’ of how you needed to spot the gaps (whether in hedges or otherwise) so that you could, often quite literally, scramble through them to escape.
Ofsted’s inspection regime may not, thankfully, be about such literal high-stakes peril (at least not yet). Nevertheless, if school leaders aren’t careful, high-stakes accountability can bring with it the temptation to take a ‘how-high’ approach to leadership – or, in other words, when Ofsted says ‘jump’, you ask, ‘how high?’.
How school leaders push back – how they regain even a modicum of control and agency over their leadership, expertise and professionalism – is something NAHT has been wrestling with for some time. We’ve seen its commission on assessment, its accountability commission and its commission on school improvement. There have been multiple reports, including the 2018 ‘Improving school accountability’ and 2020 ‘Improving schools’. And there have been initiatives such as ‘Instead’, which encouraged the development of more head teacher-led sharing of knowledge, ‘inspection’ and best practice.
Yet, even though Ofsted’s new inspection framework may be an improvement on what went before, there is still often a significant disconnect between the values and priorities being articulated from the centre (such as chief inspector Amanda Spielman’s recent controversial comment that schools were too focused on distributing food parcels during the pandemic) and those of school leaders on the ground being buffeted by educational reality while also battling to do the very best for their children and communities.
NICK BROOK,
NAHT DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY
One way to square this circle, argues NAHT deputy general secretary Nick Brook, is for school leaders to try to carve out more of a values-led or values-based approach to school leadership. As he puts it: “The challenge for us all going forward is how to create supportive environments in which leaders can focus on what matters most to their schools’ communities, instead of being driven and distracted by the pressure to conform to the government’s diktats.
“If you look at the ‘Improving school accountability’ and ‘Improving schools’ reports, one of the common themes has been that sense of the profession stepping forward and taking responsibility for one another and ownership of standards.
“I think that is going to become all the more important in the months and years ahead; how do we, as leaders, stay true to our values and moral compass when the direction of travel from the government may try to pull us a different way? How do we maintain the courage of our convictions? I passionately believe the answer lies in not standing alone. If you stand alone, it is harder to do the right thing; if we work together, we have the support and strength in numbers,” Nick adds.
It is here that Sir Tim’s gaps in the hedges analogy, again, comes through strongly, he emphasises. “In terms of whatever is coming your way, find the thing that enables you to go through the gaps and keep true to your own North Star.
“It is about finding the confidence to act that comes with having faith in our own abilities; the freedom that flows from professional confidence. The motivation that comes from the certainty that our insights and expertise will serve children far better than the latest directive from Ofsted,” Nick adds.
Of course, this is all well and good, but in practice – in the teeth of a pandemic, covid-19 recovery, a funding crisis (as we highlight elsewhere in this Leadership Focus), a recruitment and retention crisis, and our ongoing high-stakes accountability and inspection regime – how can or should head teachers actually do this?
NAHT certainly has a role to play here – and we’ll come back to this shortly – but other organisations and networks are also working to help school leaders in this space.
JAMES POPE,
WHOLE EDUCATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR SCHOOLS AND FOUNDER OF THE HEADSUP4HTS NETWORK
One such is the Whole Education network of more than 500 schools. Along with the complementary, values-aligned HeadsUp4HTs network, it brings school leaders together to reflect on and share best practices, as well as encouraging head teachers to think beyond simply running faster and faster on the spot to meet the next Ofsted diktat, as three NAHT and Whole Education members show at the end of this article.
“So, you can have a much easier ride if your outcomes are really high. Consequently, schools can end up focusing on outcomes as the starting rather than the end point, and there is a danger that you will become overly focused on knowledge and knowledge acquisition.”
There is, of course, nothing wrong with knowledge acquisition in itself. But, as James emphasises, it shouldn’t be the sole focus of a ‘whole’ education. “Schools in our network have bought into the notion that a ‘whole’ education does three things. The first is that it develops a range of skills, qualities and knowledge for learners to thrive in life, learning and work – the ‘whole’. It is not skills or knowledge; it is skills and knowledge,” he says.
“The second is to prioritise making learning relevant and engaging with students and pupils to take ownership of their learning. We look at the practice of teaching and learning and the curriculum’s structure to enable young people to take ownership and have agency in their learning. The third is the notion that a ‘whole education’ supports learning across various learning environments. Learning doesn’t, and shouldn’t, just happen in a classroom between 9am and 3pm.
“One of the things that has defined the last 10 years for leaders in our system is this nagging, sometimes more than nagging, doubt that the head teacher they wanted to be and set out to be is not what they’re currently doing on a day-to-day basis. The reason why is that they’re trying to play the game of a system that has a very narrow set of values, based solely on outcomes for young people, and they’re sometimes failing to marry that up with their much broader value set and view of education. At Whole Education and HeadsUp4HTs, we are determined to support leaders and create spaces where they can reconnect with their purpose and deliver a more nourishing education for their community,” James adds.
LIZ ROBINSON,
CO-DIRECTOR OF BIG EDUCATION
“For me, values-led leadership is about setting a vision for the school that is ambitious for the children and based on a holistic approach of what a school could or should be about; one that transcends the demands of Ofsted and accountability frameworks and focuses on what your school and community actually need,” agrees Liz Robinson, co-director of Big Education. Like Whole Education, Big Education aims to work with schools and school leaders to encourage new thinking and approaches and values-led and values-based leadership.
Of course, what schools need is going to be different for every school and every community. “But if you have that ambitious, expansive vision that exists over time and it doesn’t keep altering to reflect changes in the Ofsted framework – oh, now we’re jumping through this hoop, sort of thing – then the strategic decisions, the resourcing, the culture and the behaviour in the building will be aligned with what you’re then saying,” Liz emphasises.
“The thing with values as a tool in an organisation is that they can mean everything and nothing. The leadership aspect is how you, as a leader, as the head and other leaders, embody the values you espouse. It is about the congruence of what you say you believe in, and how you behave and what you do.
“I get it; the rational decision is to optimise for exam results in your school – that is the rational thing to do. So, it does take courage to step outside of that. Acknowledge that it is important, but combine that with powerfully reconnecting with your ‘why’: why are you here, why are you doing it, and what matters to you? That is where courage is found,” she adds.
JAMES POPE,
WHOLE EDUCATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR SCHOOLS AND FOUNDER OF THE HEADSUP4HTS NETWORK
One such is the Whole Education network of more than 500 schools. Along with the complementary, values-aligned HeadsUp4HTs network, it brings school leaders together to reflect on and share best practices, as well as encouraging head teachers to think beyond simply running faster and faster on the spot to meet the next Ofsted diktat, as three NAHT and Whole Education members show at the end of this article.
“So, you can have a much easier ride if your outcomes are really high. Consequently, schools can end up focusing on outcomes as the starting rather than the end point, and there is a danger that you will become overly focused on knowledge and knowledge acquisition.”
There is, of course, nothing wrong with knowledge acquisition in itself. But, as James emphasises, it shouldn’t be the sole focus of a ‘whole’ education. “Schools in our network have bought into the notion that a ‘whole’ education does three things. The first is that it develops a range of skills, qualities and knowledge for learners to thrive in life, learning and work – the ‘whole’. It is not skills or knowledge; it is skills and knowledge,” he says.
“The second is to prioritise making learning relevant and engaging with students and pupils to take ownership of their learning. We look at the practice of teaching and learning and the curriculum’s structure to enable young people to take ownership and have agency in their learning. The third is the notion that a ‘whole education’ supports learning across various learning environments. Learning doesn’t, and shouldn’t, just happen in a classroom between 9am and 3pm.
“One of the things that has defined the last 10 years for leaders in our system is this nagging, sometimes more than nagging, doubt that the head teacher they wanted to be and set out to be is not what they’re currently doing on a day-to-day basis. The reason why is that they’re trying to play the game of a system that has a very narrow set of values, based solely on outcomes for young people, and they’re sometimes failing to marry that up with their much broader value set and view of education. At Whole Education and HeadsUp4HTs, we are determined to support leaders and create spaces where they can reconnect with their purpose and deliver a more nourishing education for their community,” James adds.
LIZ ROBINSON,
CO-DIRECTOR OF BIG EDUCATION
“For me, values-led leadership is about setting a vision for the school that is ambitious for the children and based on a holistic approach of what a school could or should be about; one that transcends the demands of Ofsted and accountability frameworks and focuses on what your school and community actually need,” agrees Liz Robinson, co-director of Big Education. Like Whole Education, Big Education aims to work with schools and school leaders to encourage new thinking and approaches and values-led and values-based leadership.
Of course, what schools need is going to be different for every school and every community. “But if you have that ambitious, expansive vision that exists over time and it doesn’t keep altering to reflect changes in the Ofsted framework – oh, now we’re jumping through this hoop, sort of thing – then the strategic decisions, the resourcing, the culture and the behaviour in the building will be aligned with what you’re then saying,” Liz emphasises.
“The thing with values as a tool in an organisation is that they can mean everything and nothing. The leadership aspect is how you, as a leader, as the head and other leaders, embody the values you espouse. It is about the congruence of what you say you believe in, and how you behave and what you do.
“I get it; the rational decision is to optimise for exam results in your school – that is the rational thing to do. So, it does take courage to step outside of that. Acknowledge that it is important, but combine that with powerfully reconnecting with your ‘why’: why are you here, why are you doing it, and what matters to you? That is where courage is found,” she adds.
CAROLYN ROBERTS, CO-DIRECTOR OF THE PTI
What’s more, argues Carolyn Roberts, co-director of The PTI (formerly The Prince’s Teaching Institute), if you can do this as a school leader – although it is unlikely to be easy or be something that happens overnight – other things are likely to fall into place, such as teachers and middle leaders feeling more fulfilled in their roles and more likely, as a result, not to move on.
“Job satisfaction is what will keep people there. And that job satisfaction has to be about having a real stake in the learning and having a lifelong intellectual endeavour,” she highlights.
“I think it is important that teachers are not just trained up to be tick-box performers. There needs to be a better discussion and understanding about what it takes to be an educator in society. There needs to be an expectation that teachers will be treated well enough to enable them to do a difficult job for 30 to 40 years,” Carolyn adds.
In terms of how NAHT can help foster and embed this change, it comes back to two things. First, NAHT needs to – and will – continue to articulate the case for wholesale reform of the inspection system. As Nick explains: “During the pandemic, Ofsted trialled light-touch inspection visits to understand what was going on in schools better. Schools that experienced these visits were, on the whole, positive about how they were conducted.
“This type of activity has enormous potential, both as a proportionate check (that schools are delivering a good standard of education and safeguarding remains effective) and (more importantly, as we address the impact of the pandemic on education) as a mechanism to move learning and knowledge around the system. The top priorities right now are to support childhood and education recovery. Identifying interesting and effective practices that make a difference in individual schools and sharing that across the system would have been a worthy contribution to recovery.
“Instead, we have simply returned to an overly bloated inspection framework, with no apparent acknowledgement of the impact of covid-19. That is a failure of ambition as much as it is a failure of imagination. Consequently, we have schools worrying, ‘are we ready for Ofsted’s inspection?’ rather than focusing on covid-19 recovery. And that is a tragedy,” Nick adds.
Second, there is an opportunity for NAHT to become a ‘haven’ for values-led leadership, to use its pre-existing branch and regional networks and membership infrastructure to build and accelerate a conversation around values-led leadership. One where members can share experiences and leaders are encouraged and supported to plunge into embedding a values-led approach: finding their own gaps in the hedges.
“What we have seen during the past 18 months or so of lockdowns is that the local branch meetings we had with members shifted online overnight, and we had an enormous increase in attendance to these. The reason that is important is that members can support one another through mechanisms and forums such as that,” highlights Nick.
CAROLYN ROBERTS, CO-DIRECTOR OF THE PTI
What’s more, argues Carolyn Roberts, co-director of The PTI (formerly The Prince’s Teaching Institute), if you can do this as a school leader – although it is unlikely to be easy or be something that happens overnight – other things are likely to fall into place, such as teachers and middle leaders feeling more fulfilled in their roles and more likely, as a result, not to move on.
“Job satisfaction is what will keep people there. And that job satisfaction has to be about having a real stake in the learning and having a lifelong intellectual endeavour,” she highlights.
“I think it is important that teachers are not just trained up to be tick-box performers. There needs to be a better discussion and understanding about what it takes to be an educator in society. There needs to be an expectation that teachers will be treated well enough to enable them to do a difficult job for 30 to 40 years,” Carolyn adds.
In terms of how NAHT can help foster and embed this change, it comes back to two things. First, NAHT needs to – and will – continue to articulate the case for wholesale reform of the inspection system. As Nick explains: “During the pandemic, Ofsted trialled light-touch inspection visits to understand what was going on in schools better. Schools that experienced these visits were, on the whole, positive about how they were conducted.
“This type of activity has enormous potential, both as a proportionate check (that schools are delivering a good standard of education and safeguarding remains effective) and (more importantly, as we address the impact of the pandemic on education) as a mechanism to move learning and knowledge around the system. The top priorities right now are to support childhood and education recovery. Identifying interesting and effective practices that make a difference in individual schools and sharing that across the system would have been a worthy contribution to recovery.
“Instead, we have simply returned to an overly bloated inspection framework, with no apparent acknowledgement of the impact of covid-19. That is a failure of ambition as much as it is a failure of imagination. Consequently, we have schools worrying, ‘are we ready for Ofsted’s inspection?’ rather than focusing on covid-19 recovery. And that is a tragedy,” Nick adds.
Second, there is an opportunity for NAHT to become a ‘haven’ for values-led leadership, to use its pre-existing branch and regional networks and membership infrastructure to build and accelerate a conversation around values-led leadership. One where members can share experiences and leaders are encouraged and supported to plunge into embedding a values-led approach: finding their own gaps in the hedges.
“What we have seen during the past 18 months or so of lockdowns is that the local branch meetings we had with members shifted online overnight, and we had an enormous increase in attendance to these. The reason that is important is that members can support one another through mechanisms and forums such as that,” highlights Nick.
PAUL WHITEMAN, NAHT GENERAL SECRETARY
“Our branches and branch networks can be the key to building this professional community, which has been rock-solid throughout the pandemic,” agrees NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman. “People seeking mutual support and mutual reassurance have used us as a safe place to speak, a safe place to think and a safe place to develop their practice but, equally, their confidence; so, the profession can be heard rather than pushed around by politicians who should know better.
“Be bold, have the confidence of your profession and – with NAHT’s help – push back when you are asked to do things that simply aren’t right, and you know aren’t right,” he adds.
VIEW FROM THE NATIONS
Reforms around accountability and inspection remain as high on the agenda in Northern Ireland and Wales as in England.
HELENA MACORMAC,
NAHT(NI) DIRECTOR
With Northern Ireland having a new chief inspector of schools, Faustina Graham, NAHT Northern Ireland is pushing for comprehensive reform of the Education and Training Inspectorate as part of the review of accountability arising from the pay and workload agreement 2020.
“We do think there should be scope for change. Again, it will be a key driver within our manifesto [ahead of next May’s Northern Ireland Assembly elections].
“We are very much advocating the establishment of a school improvement service that will work collaboratively with school-based professionals,” she adds.
LAURA DOEL, NAHT CYMRU DIRECTOR
For Wales, NAHT Cymru is looking to emulate NAHT in England by setting up an accountability and assessment commission, highlights NAHT Cymru director Laura Doel, but it is also keen to foster and embed more of a values-led leadership approach and ethos.
“What we’re looking to do in Wales is follow in the footsteps of our colleagues in England and form our own accountability and assessment commission to look at those key themes; to see what that will look like in the light of the new curriculum in Wales and in the light of the changes, such as the introduction of additional learning needs coordinators (ALNCos),” Laura explains.
“We especially want to make sure we have an accountability and assessment system in place in Wales that reflects the ambitions of the new curriculum and supports that. We don’t want a system so draconian that it dictates to schools what they need to do in the curriculum; that is a backwards way of working.
“We don’t want that. We want a system that reflects freedom and flexibility – one that doesn’t punish schools for thinking a bit outside of the box and where we’re not afraid to say, ‘well, actually, that doesn’t work for my school. I want to do something a little bit different’,” she adds.
VIEW FROM THE NATIONS
Reforms around accountability and inspection remain as high on the agenda in Northern Ireland and Wales as in England.
HELENA MACORMAC,
NAHT(NI) DIRECTOR
With Northern Ireland having a new chief inspector of schools, Faustina Graham, NAHT Northern Ireland is pushing for comprehensive reform of the Education and Training Inspectorate as part of the review of accountability arising from the pay and workload agreement 2020.
“We do think there should be scope for change. Again, it will be a key driver within our manifesto [ahead of next May’s Northern Ireland Assembly elections].
“We are very much advocating the establishment of a school improvement service that will work collaboratively with school-based professionals,” she adds.
LAURA DOEL, NAHT CYMRU DIRECTOR
For Wales, NAHT Cymru is looking to emulate NAHT in England by setting up an accountability and assessment commission, highlights NAHT Cymru director Laura Doel, but it is also keen to foster and embed more of a values-led leadership approach and ethos.
“What we’re looking to do in Wales is follow in the footsteps of our colleagues in England and form our own accountability and assessment commission to look at those key themes; to see what that will look like in the light of the new curriculum in Wales and in the light of the changes, such as the introduction of additional learning needs coordinators (ALNCos),” Laura explains.
“We especially want to make sure we have an accountability and assessment system in place in Wales that reflects the ambitions of the new curriculum and supports that. We don’t want a system so draconian that it dictates to schools what they need to do in the curriculum; that is a backwards way of working.
“We don’t want that. We want a system that reflects freedom and flexibility – one that doesn’t punish schools for thinking a bit outside of the box and where we’re not afraid to say, ‘well, actually, that doesn’t work for my school. I want to do something a little bit different’,” she adds.
KERRY SCOTT IS HEAD TEACHER AT AINSLIE WOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL IN EAST LONDON
“I came to Ainslie Wood in 2013 as a brand-new head teacher. Even though I’d researched before my interview, I didn’t quite realise the state the school was in. We were in the bottom 1% of all schools nationally for the progress our kids were making. Two months after I arrived, the government moved in to academise the school. And, I guess, rightly so; the children had been failed systemically here for a long time.
“Luckily, the local authority backed me and gave me a year to hit the floor targets. I’d never thought about floor targets in my life. I decided – stupidly or boldly, I’m not sure – to ignore those and instead focus on what, for me, was the important stuff. As far as I am concerned, that was – and always is – the people.
“I gathered the staff together and asked them to share their values with me. We talked about what they felt a school should be for, what pupils should learn and how they should learn. ‘What is the point of what we do?’ When everybody was sharing that, they did have those strong values; all teachers do. I believe it is in there, but we just get caught up in the job.
“Once we were able to have those conversations, I was saying, ‘well, why aren’t you doing this then?’ and ‘why am I not seeing the joy and the aha moment around the school?’. That was the start of our conversation about what was important. By the end of that first year, while our target had been floor, which was 65% at old level four or above, we smashed through that – because we weren’t focused on it.
“We don’t focus on tests or any of those things. But our kids, when they do take the statutory assessments, we smash them.
“The school is now rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, which last inspected us pre-pandemic. It is such a calm, purposeful, happy place now. The behaviour here used to be a nightmare, results were low, and adults were angry. We have such a different environment now.
“We’re due Ofsted again this year. But we won’t be doing anything different to what we normally do because I’m not focused on Ofsted. I’m glad to say that the most recent changes to Ofsted have moved it towards something that is much more akin to how we work, which says let’s develop people rather than let’s pass exams.
“It would be completely remiss of us to pretend Ofsted is not there, of course. I always have an eye on what’s going on. My school’s self-evaluation, which I write every year and show to the governors, always refers to Ofsted. While I might be thinking differently, I need to ensure we’re still meeting all the standard requirements and still hitting and exceeding all these areas. As long as we’re doing that, we get to play, if you see what I mean.
“We still work within the system; it is about working in partnership with it, rather than fighting, ignoring or being scared of it.”
CARMELLA REECE JOINED ST PETER’S CHURCH OF ENGLAND AIDED JUNIOR SCHOOL IN FARNBOROUGH, SURREY, AS HEAD TEACHER IN FEBRUARY 2020, INITIALLY ON SECONDMENT, BUT THEN PERMANENTLY LAST SEPTEMBER
“St Peter’s is my first headship, and I joined four weeks before the first national lockdown. It has certainly been something of a baptism of fire!
“The school was judged double ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted. So, it has been a real journey – one of leading from the heart, through my vision and values and those of the school. It has been a huge journey of changing the culture, responding to covid-19, embracing two Ofsted monitoring visit inspections, staying true to a leadership style that I believe in and then bringing that vision to life across the school.
“The school was in a difficult place when I first arrived, so it was a time of real challenge. I believe in ‘servant leadership’, which, in the context of the school, has meant being absolutely on the ground level with the staff, nurturing people and fostering loving, respectful relationships. I am wholly committed to leading a school where every member of staff feels valued and appreciated.
“It has been about giving staff back that autonomy, that sense of value, and about being very approachable. But it has also been a journey of very much having to hold people to account, though in what I believe has been a respectful, values-driven way and with integrity.
“I guess it was that buy-in. I hadn’t invented the school’s vision, and I might be here as a new leader, but [it was about] really helping staff clarify what that means [in terms of] the all-round development of every child and our community.
“We’ve had two monitoring visits from Ofsted. We were delighted when Ofsted reflected our vision of ‘life in all its fullness’ within its report, which has been a real validation. The school has since been recognised as a place where our ethos and values are central to everything that we do.”
ROBERT CLEARY IS HEAD TEACHER AT SANDRINGHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL, FOREST GATE, EAST LONDON
“Our vision is to make sure our children have the skills, attributes and learning dispositions to be successful at each stage of their education. It is important that our children are literate and numerate, but we also need to talk about ‘the holistic child’ and make sure they have a wide range of learning experiences that underpin what we do.
“This isn’t about a school trying to circumnavigate Ofsted; it is important that we are publicly accountable for the things that we do, and we want to celebrate that. Hopefully, we will be validated by Ofsted, but it is also about identifying what is important for our community.
“That journey has been supported through our governing body. When we’re constructing our strategic plan, it is about, ‘what does our community need, and how does that go back to our values of children first, putting the children first?’. Be it when we’re setting the budget, supporting children at lunchtimes, how we’re teaching our maths or how we’re making sure we engage with the wider community. This values-led approach is important for the whole school community.
“Ofsted is Ofsted; it is part of being a school leader, and we have to make sure we do that well. But if you have your values and have spent time creating your values, sharing them, picking them over, going backwards and forward, and grappling with them, then we can use them in holding ourselves to account. While also making sure there is humility and benevolence in how the leadership team goes about doing this.
“So, what is the method of making sure that we identify what is really important in our school and then saying, ‘OK, this is about professional practice, and we’re really sticking with this’.
“We say to our teachers, ‘the person best placed to make you a better teacher is yourself’. We should be the experts; we shouldn’t create a vacuum that allows non-educational professionals to say what should be going on in the classroom. We need to articulate our approach and why it is important for our children to have those approaches, rather than be pushed and pulled and having our professionalism undermined.
“Ofsted can talk to any staff member about what they’re doing in their classroom, and they’ll be articulate and proficient about it. Or Ofsted can speak to any school team member about, say, Jerome Bruner and the concrete to the pictorial to the abstract approach within maths. Or about how the reason why we allow our children in early years foundation stage to play is to do with Vygotsky and the zone of proximal development and social learning.
“In my experience, Ofsted inspectors are delighted to speak with members of staff who are well-informed in theoretical understanding and how this is reflected in their classroom. As a profession, we need to articulate why we do something in our classroom and share the impact. Then Ofsted will find it increasingly difficult to say, ‘this is what we want to see in the classroom’.
“The first thing I would do is develop a stump speech about what your school is; that’s a speech you can give without looking back at your notes. Can you articulate what it means to be a child in your school and how you’re going to enable that child to do that? If you can have that speech and give it to parents, staff or other partners, it shows you are clear about what you want to achieve, what your values are behind that and how you will get there.
“It shows that you have deeply considered what you are doing, that it’s based in research and not on a gut feeling or a hunch. Finally, give yourself time. It’s a journey that’s not going to take six or 12 months; it’s going to take time.”
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