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The extra dimension
It’s not about changing everything you do,
or might do. Instead it’s about speaking to school
leaders that have experienced similar challenges,
ensuring your ideas are appropriate, and then
applying them confidently
The trust appointed a new Headteacher,
Paul Glover, to Applegarth Junior
School 18 months after it was placed in
special measures. Within six months,
the school was judged ‘good’ by Ofsted.
According to Mark, the trust’s emphasis
on consistency across its schools does
not stifle exceptional leaders like Paul.
Instead, schools are unlikely to be capable
of systematic improvement if processes
lack cohesion. So developing common
practice and procedures can help to free
up Headteachers to lead their schools. In
other words, these processes are a solid
foundation for rapid school improvement.
So, what can schools not involved in
formal partnerships learn from this? Elaine
Brook says you should not underestimate
the importance of getting the basics right at
your school, and support from your peers
can help you to hone ideas and develop
your confidence to create the conditions
for ongoing improvement. It’s not about
changing everything you do, or might do.
Instead it’s about speaking to school leaders
that have experienced similar challenges,
ensuring your ideas are appropriate, and
then applying them confidently. After
taking over at her school, Elaine spoke to
colleagues within the REAch2 network
and decided to introduce fortnightly pupil
progress meetings with her class teachers.
The meetings provide space to discuss the
achievements of six pupils in reading, six in
writing, and six in mathematics, and have
helped improve the provision in place for
each individual pupil. Systems like this have
helped move Langtons Junior Academy
from special measures to ‘good’ in little over
a year, with Ofsted remarking in its March
2013 report that the school had improved
rapidly, and was well placed to continue to
make further improvement.
Establishing a culture that
communicates your priorities as
a leader
Whatever the setting, the glue holding
everything together is trust, says Nick
Blackburn. Without a culture of trust,
staff won’t buy into what you’re saying,
so you should use your professional
networks and relationships to help you
reflect on what pupils and teachers need
to produce results, and then put in place
a decisive and robust set of responses. It’s
about finding sustainable solutions to
challenges. Surface-level interventions can
grab attention, but won’t necessarily bring
about genuine improvement.
Brett Elliott, the principal of Bodmin
College in Cornwall, which became an
academy in 2011, encourages his staff to
develop collaborative ties in the school’s
networks and beyond. The college works
closely with local primary schools. It is
also developing a foundation qualification
with Falmouth University and, as a
science specialist school, has worked
with universities in the UK and Europe
to develop its curriculum. Brett says he
encourages a culture of enterprise, and
strongly supports staff who look for new
ways of developing and improving practice.
Within the STEP trust, Mark Ducker
says, “passion, urgency, positivity,
aspiration and commitment are the
principles that guide everything.”
Everyone buys into this culture, so staff
within all the trust’s schools are pulling in
the same direction. Mark and his team are
very clear about what their expectations
are, and this culture helps each
Headteacher to deliver excellent results.
Whatever the model, The Key’s
members are telling us that it’s important
to be open to learning from other schools.
For all of these Headteachers, reflecting
on what others do and taking on the best
ideas can open up new possibilities on the
school improvement journey.
Will Millard is a senior
researcher for The Key, a
question-answering service
used by more than 7,000
schools and almost 40,000
school leaders.
Summer 2014 | 69