In case you missed it… recent highlights from NCSL in Dialogue, talk2learn’s online community for national education debate:
Download a pdf version of talk2learn highlights: issue 7a (160kb, 1 page)
Download a pdf version of talk2learn highlights: issue 7b (212kb, 1 page)
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What’s the secret of a successful headteacher? Good quality relationships with staff, according to Tim Brighouse, a theory he elaborated on in his recent talk2learn hotseat.
The creation of the school business manager or bursar role has given office staff the chance to spread their wings and make a deeper, more active contribution to the running of a school. But, in an especially impassioned discussion on the subject, many contributors argued that the role is widely undervalued.
What’s the secret of a successful headteacher? Good quality relationships with staff, according to Tim Brighouse, a theory he elaborated on in his recent talk2learn hotseat.
Professor Brighouse, Chief Advisor to London Schools and Visiting Professor at the Institute of Education, listed six key tasks frequently undertaken by successful heads (right).
Simon Carson, a newly-appointed assistant head, agreed wholeheartedly that actively seeking improvement in staff was of paramount importance. It means being creative about finding time for staff – teaching and non-teaching alike – to develop their skills and to collaborate, he said. "Doing that is fun and rewarding: to see an NQT lead the professional development of an established curriculum leader is to see real professional development and dialogue in action."
Matthew Pike, a new head from Leicestershire, explained his own approach to the task of enlarging the school’s vision by reading widely: "Subscribing to Ofsted e-mail alerts allows you to ‘extend the vision’ with new material. It prompts debate and ideas…I have enjoyed reading and summarising the 2020 vision report and will be able to hand over seven sides of A4 to my leadership team, rather than the full 50."
Reading and reflection are vital for heads, Tim Brighouse agreed – "and if you share something with colleagues it increases intellectual curiosity and energy, especially if you put an item on the staff meeting from time-to-time."
Deborah Sheppard, a head of languages from Norfolk, pointed out that building quality relationships is a more difficult task to fulfil for a new head working with staff who are resistant to new ways of working: "The assumption is going to be that the established staff know the context better and should, therefore influence the direction of the school more fully than a head might wish. I guess you have to be prepared to upset a few people if you wish to make changes."
Tim Brighouse’s suggestion that good heads need to be ‘first in, last out’ was challenged by some: "I see no reason for the leader of an organisation to be the one that puts in the most hours," said Dave Vero, a Northumberland head. "It is the quality of the time you put in that is important surely, not the quantity."
Asked whether schools could be led effectively by people from a non-teaching background, Professor Brighouse admitted he was not convinced of the case:
The creation of the school business manager (SBM) or bursar role has given office staff the chance to spread their wings and make a deeper, more active contribution to the running of a school. But, in an especially impassioned discussion on the subject in talk2learn, many contributors argued that the role is widely undervalued.
Primary SBMs in particular feel their potential goes unexplored.
Margaret Richards said: "My headteacher is constantly met with astonished reactions when discussing my role with other primary heads, either because they would not contemplate delegating such responsibility to a member of support staff or because they were unaware of the role at all."
Much dissatisfaction was focused on local authorities for the pay and other restrictions they impose on the SBM role, which undermines its credibility.
"I do think there is a reluctance to see us as professionals in the same way as teachers," said one contributor from a special school. "Our authority is only just recognising that SBMs exist but this doesn’t seem to have reached HR. They seem determined to play down the level of responsibility an SBM has."
"I do think there is a reluctance to see us as professionals in the same way as teachers," Lyn Burton, a bursar in a large primary school, said their contribution could only be maximised if the senior management team was genuinely supportive.
I do think there is a reluctance to see us as professionals in the same way as teachers.
"My vision has always been to be able to take on the responsibility of the non-teaching aspects of the school to enable the head and other senior managers to focus on teaching and learning. This can only be done if the senior management team is willing to delegate these areas of responsibility."
Also SBMs have a specific role to play in easing the burden on the headteacher, as many contributors underlined.
"My headteacher, who came to our school a year ago, is really focused on getting the standards of literacy and numeracy raised and therefore hasn’t got the time to spend on managing many other aspects of the school," Jane Fletcher said. "The SBM is ideal to get on with managing all the non-teaching tasks."
Finally, there was an overwhelming cry from the majority of contributors for the job title to be clarified. "The title is important," said one ‘office manager’. "Until we all share the same title it is difficult for those outside of education to easily identify our role or think of us as one profession."