5 Things Every School Leader Should Ask Herself, and Why
The leading questions that you need to consider to steer your school to success…
To address this, we need to see a shift in our thinking and how we develop teacher engagement with deeper learning that ensures student direction (with advice) over curriculum content and learning strategies alongside a strong focus on personal engagement and self-management.
5 | Do we care for the whole person’s wellbeing and achievement?
It is crucial that leaders answer this defining question: is the core purpose of the school to wring out every last possible mark when it comes to academic attainment or to secure the development of the whole person based on a humanistic model of learning?
The two are not incompatible but it does seem to be particularly challenging to reconcile them in Years 6 and 11.
A good curriculum puts learning first, and is underpinned by a commitment to pupil skills, dispositions and wellbeing that go above and beyond any national or examination curriculum. The same applies with teachers.
Staff wellbeing is a very high priority for a school leader who understands the intrinsic connection between a teacher’s state of mind and mood and the enjoyment of pupils in their care.
Libby Nicholas is chief executive of Reach4 Academy Trust and co-author of Understanding Leadership: Challenges and Reflections (Crown House Publishing, £25).
This puts the belief in pupil-first thinking firmly in the driving seat, accompanied by a commitment to thinking as a leader, rather than a manager.
4 | Are we as good at enabling learning as we are at teaching the curriculum?
We work in a world where accountability is, quite rightly, forever in the spotlight. But given this context, it is understandable that teachers default to thinking along the lines of ‘I just have to get through the exam specification’.
But, as we all know, this way of thinking can lead to hoop-jumping ‘performance’ at a shallow level, rather than deep and meaningful learning.
To address this, we need to see a shift in our thinking and how we develop teacher engagement with deeper learning that ensures student direction (with advice) over curriculum content and learning strategies alongside a strong focus on personal engagement and self-management.
5 | Do we care for the whole person’s wellbeing and achievement?
It is crucial that leaders answer this defining question: is the core purpose of the school to wring out every last possible mark when it comes to academic attainment or to secure the development of the whole person based on a humanistic model of learning?
The two are not incompatible but it does seem to be particularly challenging to reconcile them in Years 6 and 11.
A good curriculum puts learning first, and is underpinned by a commitment to pupil skills, dispositions and wellbeing that go above and beyond any national or examination curriculum. The same applies with teachers.
Staff wellbeing is a very high priority for a school leader who understands the intrinsic connection between a teacher’s state of mind and mood and the enjoyment of pupils in their care.
Libby Nicholas is chief executive of Reach4 Academy Trust and co-author of Understanding Leadership: Challenges and Reflections (Crown House Publishing, £25).
So, it may be that love and compassion are more powerful motivators of change than a well-intentioned, (but essentially bland) School Development Plan or SEF.
3 | Do we respect and value the personal dignity of each and every pupil?
Personalisation is a process that seeks to respect the dignity and uniqueness of every pupil, enhance equity in education and enhance learner and teacher engagement.
The five key components of personalised learning – Learning to Learn, Mentoring and Support, Assessment for Learning, Teaching and Learning strategies, and Curriculum Choice – enable leaders to ensure that the needs of each pupil is put first, way ahead of any thoughts of timetabling and operational considerations and challenges.
This puts the belief in pupil-first thinking firmly in the driving seat, accompanied by a commitment to thinking as a leader, rather than a manager.
4 | Are we as good at enabling learning as we are at teaching the curriculum?
We work in a world where accountability is, quite rightly, forever in the spotlight. But given this context, it is understandable that teachers default to thinking along the lines of ‘I just have to get through the exam specification’.
But, as we all know, this way of thinking can lead to hoop-jumping ‘performance’ at a shallow level, rather than deep and meaningful learning.
To address this, we need to see a shift in our thinking and how we develop teacher engagement with deeper learning that ensures student direction (with advice) over curriculum content and learning strategies alongside a strong focus on personal engagement and self-management.
5 | Do we care for the whole person’s wellbeing and achievement?
It is crucial that leaders answer this defining question: is the core purpose of the school to wring out every last possible mark when it comes to academic attainment or to secure the development of the whole person based on a humanistic model of learning?
The two are not incompatible but it does seem to be particularly challenging to reconcile them in Years 6 and 11.
A good curriculum puts learning first, and is underpinned by a commitment to pupil skills, dispositions and wellbeing that go above and beyond any national or examination curriculum. The same applies with teachers.
Staff wellbeing is a very high priority for a school leader who understands the intrinsic connection between a teacher’s state of mind and mood and the enjoyment of pupils in their care.
Libby Nicholas is chief executive of Reach4 Academy Trust and co-author of Understanding Leadership: Challenges and Reflections (Crown House Publishing, £25).
What we need now is a further turn of the wheel: the complexity of leadership – especially within education – means there has to be a movement away from the emotional intelligence of the individual, and towards a collaborative culture of shared leadership – a shift from ‘my school’ to ‘our community’ – to ‘distributed leadership’. This transition puts both personal and organisational morality back at heart of education, with a particular focus on trust, intuition and compassion.
2 | Does every member of the community know they are loved?
‘Love’ is a tricky term that some people are uncomfortable using in education. The first time I used it in a leadership conference I was met with a somewhat-stunned silence.
But, love is a dominant feature in every other aspect of the world around us, so it seems strange to so explicitly exclude it from work and community – key elements of our lives. Why else did we decide to work in education if not for a love of learning, a love of our subject and a love for developing ourselves and others?
Feelings and relationships form the basis of how we make sense of our own experience of the world. This is the context where authentic collaboration, empathy, trust and a common language built around a shared sense of community become true catalysts for change.
So, it may be that love and compassion are more powerful motivators of change than a well-intentioned, (but essentially bland) School Development Plan or SEF.
3 | Do we respect and value the personal dignity of each and every pupil?
Personalisation is a process that seeks to respect the dignity and uniqueness of every pupil, enhance equity in education and enhance learner and teacher engagement.
The five key components of personalised learning – Learning to Learn, Mentoring and Support, Assessment for Learning, Teaching and Learning strategies, and Curriculum Choice – enable leaders to ensure that the needs of each pupil is put first, way ahead of any thoughts of timetabling and operational considerations and challenges.
This puts the belief in pupil-first thinking firmly in the driving seat, accompanied by a commitment to thinking as a leader, rather than a manager.
4 | Are we as good at enabling learning as we are at teaching the curriculum?
We work in a world where accountability is, quite rightly, forever in the spotlight. But given this context, it is understandable that teachers default to thinking along the lines of ‘I just have to get through the exam specification’.
But, as we all know, this way of thinking can lead to hoop-jumping ‘performance’ at a shallow level, rather than deep and meaningful learning.
To address this, we need to see a shift in our thinking and how we develop teacher engagement with deeper learning that ensures student direction (with advice) over curriculum content and learning strategies alongside a strong focus on personal engagement and self-management.
5 | Do we care for the whole person’s wellbeing and achievement?
It is crucial that leaders answer this defining question: is the core purpose of the school to wring out every last possible mark when it comes to academic attainment or to secure the development of the whole person based on a humanistic model of learning?
The two are not incompatible but it does seem to be particularly challenging to reconcile them in Years 6 and 11.
A good curriculum puts learning first, and is underpinned by a commitment to pupil skills, dispositions and wellbeing that go above and beyond any national or examination curriculum. The same applies with teachers.
Staff wellbeing is a very high priority for a school leader who understands the intrinsic connection between a teacher’s state of mind and mood and the enjoyment of pupils in their care.
Libby Nicholas is chief executive of Reach4 Academy Trust and co-author of Understanding Leadership: Challenges and Reflections (Crown House Publishing, £25).
1 | Is it ‘my school’ or ‘our community’?
There’s still a tendency in education for headteachers to be seen as the ‘hero leader’ and for schools to be ‘leader-centric’. Early in my career schools were referred to as ‘the last dictatorships’ as heads were presumed to be the only people with any decision-making power.
More recently we’ve seen a shift towards a view of school leadership that focuses on the headteacher driving the emotional intelligence of the people within, and the culture of, ‘their’ organisation. In other words, another leader-centric approach.
What we need now is a further turn of the wheel: the complexity of leadership – especially within education – means there has to be a movement away from the emotional intelligence of the individual, and towards a collaborative culture of shared leadership – a shift from ‘my school’ to ‘our community’ – to ‘distributed leadership’. This transition puts both personal and organisational morality back at heart of education, with a particular focus on trust, intuition and compassion.
2 | Does every member of the community know they are loved?
‘Love’ is a tricky term that some people are uncomfortable using in education. The first time I used it in a leadership conference I was met with a somewhat-stunned silence.
But, love is a dominant feature in every other aspect of the world around us, so it seems strange to so explicitly exclude it from work and community – key elements of our lives. Why else did we decide to work in education if not for a love of learning, a love of our subject and a love for developing ourselves and others?
Feelings and relationships form the basis of how we make sense of our own experience of the world. This is the context where authentic collaboration, empathy, trust and a common language built around a shared sense of community become true catalysts for change.
So, it may be that love and compassion are more powerful motivators of change than a well-intentioned, (but essentially bland) School Development Plan or SEF.
3 | Do we respect and value the personal dignity of each and every pupil?
Personalisation is a process that seeks to respect the dignity and uniqueness of every pupil, enhance equity in education and enhance learner and teacher engagement.
The five key components of personalised learning – Learning to Learn, Mentoring and Support, Assessment for Learning, Teaching and Learning strategies, and Curriculum Choice – enable leaders to ensure that the needs of each pupil is put first, way ahead of any thoughts of timetabling and operational considerations and challenges.
This puts the belief in pupil-first thinking firmly in the driving seat, accompanied by a commitment to thinking as a leader, rather than a manager.
4 | Are we as good at enabling learning as we are at teaching the curriculum?
We work in a world where accountability is, quite rightly, forever in the spotlight. But given this context, it is understandable that teachers default to thinking along the lines of ‘I just have to get through the exam specification’.
But, as we all know, this way of thinking can lead to hoop-jumping ‘performance’ at a shallow level, rather than deep and meaningful learning.
To address this, we need to see a shift in our thinking and how we develop teacher engagement with deeper learning that ensures student direction (with advice) over curriculum content and learning strategies alongside a strong focus on personal engagement and self-management.
5 | Do we care for the whole person’s wellbeing and achievement?
It is crucial that leaders answer this defining question: is the core purpose of the school to wring out every last possible mark when it comes to academic attainment or to secure the development of the whole person based on a humanistic model of learning?
The two are not incompatible but it does seem to be particularly challenging to reconcile them in Years 6 and 11.
A good curriculum puts learning first, and is underpinned by a commitment to pupil skills, dispositions and wellbeing that go above and beyond any national or examination curriculum. The same applies with teachers.
Staff wellbeing is a very high priority for a school leader who understands the intrinsic connection between a teacher’s state of mind and mood and the enjoyment of pupils in their care.
Libby Nicholas is chief executive of Reach4 Academy Trust and co-author of Understanding Leadership: Challenges and Reflections (Crown House Publishing, £25).
