There are no silver bullets for college leadership. But, right here are a few of the methods that worked for me as a new headteacher at Hampstead College.
I offer you them with some diffidence, as I have usually been conscious that there are very many inspiring and excellent heads. Without a doubt, my way of preparing prior to starting up as a head was to sit for a day at the feet of outstanding headteachers like Bob Moon at The Peers College in Oxford and many London heads this kind of as Beryl Hussain from Thomas Tallis, and Daphne Gould at Mulberry School. Watching them with their teams, seeing their colleges in operation and listening to their suggestions and generous guidance was to be a continual support over the years.
Be very clear from the begin on your rules. Mine had been as follows.
Show belief in everyone’s potential for finding out and inherent good but have zero tolerance of destructive feedback, bullying and aggression
Trusting other individuals and encouraging group building with devolved responsibility is so crucial.
During my 30 many years of teaching I came to expect miracles specifically from several young children and employees that other people felt nothing at all could be accomplished for or who did not appear to want to learn.
In the situation of employees often a new task would revitalise them. Currently being listened to and valued was even much more critical. Every person has some special contribution to make. The extremely couple of exceptions in the situation of staff did not keep.
In the case of children, I only met two, the two psychopaths, whom we could not support.
Lead by example: we are mirrors and our behaviour will be copied by everybody
A single member of employees early on complained to me about the “appalling behaviour of the kids” and asked what I proposed to do about it. She said: “They never open a door for me!” I asked her: “Have you ever opened a door for them?”
I usually discovered the more courtesy you showed the more was returned. A smile is also helpful and hunting as if one particular is delighted to see each college students and staff pays fantastic dividends. In my 1st teaching job I was provided an eighth stream year 11 group who, when I asked what I was to teach them, I was advised to “just maintain them in the space”. I went ‘into role’ with those youngsters pretending they were my greatest group when I had them last lesson on a Friday. But, they grew to become my ideal group and in the end it was a joy to teach them.
Produce a clear credo for finding out with the entire college community
The school’s credo is nonetheless to this day, more than 30 many years on: understanding collectively, achieving together.
Teachers’ understanding sets a potent illustration for every person but most crucially for students. We often ask college students to “do as I do” – a far more potent message than “do as I tell you”. By learning for a master’s in schooling I was an illustration for other people. It is only as well effortless for heads to believe they have no time to give to their own understanding and nourishment. I am sure any good results I appreciated was in massive component as a consequence of my own understanding – although it took time. It led to several professionally considerable conversations and our staff area buzzed with thrilled learners.
Don’t forget you are both the anchor and the protector
I will in no way overlook getting asked to explain how I was going to carry out the ‘identification of teachers’ exercising we had been instructed to do by the Inner London Schooling Authority in 1996 when the authority was getting starved of funding and had to make significant cuts to staffing in every college. It was a horrific and unnecessary exercise but as a new headteacher I did not feel I could disobey.
At an early morning staff briefing I meticulously explained the procedure. Then, I had a meeting to attend away from the college and explained, without pondering how the workers would get this, “I am leaving now”. I left the school for my all day meeting to return at the end of the day and found that the workers had all gone into a frenzy, and would not educate or do anything. The neighborhood inspector had to be named in and they would not do anything at all for him either. The college was at a standstill.
I was warned on my return that there would be a terrible scene at my following personnel briefing that I should do the subsequent day. But the subsequent day the staff briefing was quiet and orderly. No concerns were asked and the personnel all went off to their lessons. I realised then that they had been frightened I was leaving them and, though they expressed dislike for me, they really needed me there as a assistance. It was a revelation. With the existing suspect inspection system the headteacher, as an anchor will be even much more critical.
Remember every single challenge is an opportunity
The 1980s teachers’ industrial action allowed me far better access to college students and mother and father. It meant I quickly knew all the students and mother and father and they me and what I stood for.
I was ready to establish an active school council that set policies – the student code of conduct and our security policy – and I was nonetheless able to organise complete school occasions with the help of college students and dad and mom. I took hour-extended total 12 months assemblies each week on my own to let teachers time to meet and prepare, as they would only attend timetabled meetings. I kept the entire year ten with me in the hall all morning 1 day when there was staggered industrial action. The students and I discussed school improvement and shared suggestions and values. I told them that I expected them all to do properly and keep on enjoying learning after the age of sixteen. One particular of my proudest moments was understanding that we had reached one hundred% staying on fee for our 12 months 11s in the 1990s. This is information that need to have been in the league tables.
Value all areas of the curriculum and all teams
When I came to Hampstead the allocation of departmental funding was secret and depended on how ‘in’ you have been with the deputy head accountable for the price range. We had a substantial reduce in funding in the mid 1980s, which was obviously going to be quite tough to control. I set up an open personnel committee to establish agreed criteria for funding allocations across the college so that every single division and funding location noticed that no cash was held back except an agreed contingency and that absolutely everyone had a fair deal. Everybody accepted the scenario in spite of the cuts.
We took advantage of all three rafts of technology university funding to increase the technology base across the school though we have been only to be evaluated in science, mathematics and technology. We made the decision that each location of the curriculum would have an equal share of this and that the greatest amount would go to creating a new independent learning centre fully equipped with personal computers inside of our library.
Locate the jewels hidden in the crown
I had fantastic hitherto unrecognised colleagues who grew to become the two allies and growth factors. In the midst of the destructive teacher action, these staff were extremely happy to meet me out of college for a glass of wine and an instant meal to discuss technique. The real way to uncover the jewels is to be out and about. Each and every tour of the school reveals good practice.
Maintain sowing seeds right up until one or two get hold
I usually looked to see if there were opportunities for my colleagues that would advantage them and students. By challenging the organisers of an accelerated understanding in mathematics undertaking currently being developed at Kings College London, I managed to get our mathematics division concerned. I advised the school all they had been doing was very good practice and they could use our college as a manage to see by introducing the system to half our groups and comparing benefits. What I was actually after was a way of stimulating colleagues in the department to up their game. It worked and persuaded the science division to adhere to suit.
Use monitoring and evaluation efficiently as a device for constructive improvement of both understanding and leading studying
This is so critical and, when I was head from 1982 to 2000, we had been only at the beginning of the effective information crunching in colleges. We located this a truly important instrument for focusing on finding out and school improvement raising achievement in the frequently hidden groups of underachieving college students. The teachers on our in-property master’s programme led by Chris Watkins and Louise Stoll from the Institute of Training took this a lot more.
Display pride in your colleagues and students
Personal schools are frequently significantly greater at this than we are. In state extensive colleges, like mine, we may well not have had the equipment or facilities of the independent sector but my employees had been 2nd to none as I could see when I was on the council of a nearby independent college.
We also at that time had the benefit of good quality inspectorate and education. In the 1990s we have been overtaking the independent sector rapidly. I was fortunate to have access to a lot of properly-identified folks who I generally persuaded to go to our school. Taking them round, I usually took the opportunity to highlight the fascinating practice that was going on in the school. I ensured both colleagues and college students had the possibility to describe what they had been performing. It created us all feel incredibly proud of our college and showed the college students how fortunate they have been to have this kind of outstanding teachers. It was a win win win scenario and a actually important part of my work.
Dame Tamsyn Imison is an training strategist and was former head of Hampstead School. She is a member of the National Advisory Committee on Innovative and Cultural Training.
Tamsyn is a co-editor of a new book about Hampstead College: Extensive Achievements – All our geese are swans, published by IOE Press.
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Heading up the famous Hampstead School: my leadership formula
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