Lessons Learned

2024-5 A year of new opportunities for school leaders? An experimental first blog on Substack.

Since stepping down as General Secretary of ASCL I have worked with numerous school leaders who sought my assistance as an experienced educationalist. Ambitious to achieve the very best for the young people in their schools they invited me to be an external pair of eyes with whom they could have open and frank conversations about what they feel is going well, what is not yet as they would like it to be and the complex challenges they are facing. This role is absolutely not judgemental or inspectorial but rather to provide support, constructive challenge and suggested sources of useful contacts, collaboration, research etc.

As the 2024-5 academic year starts with a new government which has made the welcome pledge to ‘reset’ the relationship between government and schools there is a palpable feeling of positivity and hope amongst colleagues coupled with a sense of realism about the scale of the current challenges and the need for patience. The government does not have a magic wand or the resources to do everything it would wish to and much of the change will take time. For this reason it would be a mistake for school leaders to wait for the government before doing what needs to be done now.

I have called this blog Lessons Learned which is the title of the book I wrote a few years ago. I still believe that the refusal to heed and learn from the successes and mistakes of the past has been a major failure of education in Britain. That is not a plea to turn the clock back to a ‘golden age’ that never existed but a plea for open mindedness and respectful dialogue so that we can learn the lessons of the past.

During the years when I represented school leaders at the highest levels of government, the unwillingness by politicians to listen and engage professionally and respectfully with different points of view blocked practice that would have helped to alleviate some of the problems we currently face and improve the life chances of many students. Adherence to a particular ideology led to divisions in the profession and the exclusion of many experienced and able professionals who just wanted to help. Opposition and division prevented collaboration. The opportunity now is to change that culture and address the opportunity which is clearly recognised by Bridget Philipson. One benefit is that that bit does not need to cost anything!

Here therefore are some very general reflections on some of those opportunities. If feedback shows that would be helpful to explore some of these or other matters in greater depth and detail in further blogs I will be happy to do so. If not - no worries. After 45 years I am happy to continue enjoying my semi-retirement!

A key question for school leaders is ‘what can we do now?’ The answer is ‘plenty’. Schools (maintained and academies) have a lot more autonomy than some would believe. It is there to harness if leaders can make the space to step back from the relentless pressures of the everyday job. That autonomy covers the gamut of policies, school day, the school’s educational vision and values, the philosophy underpinning the curriculum, classroom pedagogy, the school’s relationship with its wider community and much more. The culture of waiting for Ofsted to issue its latest guidance and rushing to change everything to adopt it is counterproductive. Confident schools are comfortable to tell their own story to inspectors and thereby demonstrate how they are acting in the best interests of their staff and students. If Ofsted doesn’t recognise that it is the problem , not the schools. Some schools I have worked with have been understandably hesitant or lack the experience in their teams to embrace that autonomy and need external help of the kind I have described to nurture that confidence in leaders and the rest of their staff. There are plenty of experienced serving and retired school leaders who can help in this way.

One area ripe for further development is student voice and leadership. Most schools involve some of their students in year or school councils, ECO and other working groups, various ambassador roles and more provide opportunities for young people to play a part in the operation and development of their schools to varying degrees of depth. One thing that the post pandemic period has brought into sharp focus has been the lack of ownership of their education many young people feel they have. Many young people feel that the education system is forcing on them something which over which they have little say. The term ‘belonging’ has appeared in much of the discourse. If young people do not want to be in school, enjoy being there and feel that what they are being given is what they need we will not solve the attendance crisis. But this should not be confused with a lack of aspiration amongst students. Unleashing their interests and motivation, by listening to them and involving them in decisions that affect their lives can be transformational. By engaging them in matters society is facing such as climate change and equality schools can be powerful agents of change in their communities. The opportunity is to embed student voice and leadership more deeply. Schools of Tomorrow ‘s Ambassadors of Tomorrow and Student conferences are one attempt to do this . The Voice 21 Oracy commission will help with this by playing an important part in embedding speaking across the curriculum

The forthcoming curriculum review is a long overdue opportunity for serving professionals to engage with a process led by Becky Francis - an extremely experienced and knowledgable professional with a deep understanding of the topic. Of course many conflicting views will be put forward emphasising the need for respectful and inclusive dialogue. Our school system is very diverse and there are certainly no one size fits all solutions. Understandably in the context of what has felt like a constant stream of initiatives and changes there is little desire for radical or hastily implemented change but at the same time these is a widespread recognition of the need to broaden the curriculum beyond the current offer which is focused so heavily of a narrow range of academic qualifications. The is a real appetite for a proper discussion on the purpose of the curriculum that governments since 2010 never undertook and indeed for a definition of curriculum that goes beyond the arbitrary list of subjects that defined existing policy. In the meantime though there is plenty schools can do straight away. There is nothing to stop them for example from offering pathways which include practical and creative subjects and a strong PSHE and careers programme straight away. Some the barriers put in place by the accountability policy of the last government are certain to be lifted without losing sight for the need for a strong grounding in basics. There is no place for either….or divisions such as the tired knowledge versus skills debate.

Assessment is a key area of opportunity. Actually the circumstances of the pandemic unintentionally helped with this as schools had to embed internal and formative assessment rather than relying as they had been instructed to on summative exams. Though exams have an important role to play they are a deeply unreliable form of assessment when relying solely on performance in a set paper on one given day unsupported by internal assessment because of a deep lack of trust in professionals which few other jurisdictions can understand. This reliance on terminal exams has also led to classroom practice based on teaching students how to answer exam questions in ways that tick the boxes on a mark scheme rather than deepening their knowledge and understanding. Sadly this has often been at the expense of teachers’ capacity to harness their passion for their specialisms to bring subjects to life. That is not their fault; they have had no choice but it is far from the best way to motivate students and capture their interest let alone attract the people we need into the profession. The Rethinking Assessment movement has been a powerful forum for sharing innovative practice. It is interesting that independent schools , less hidebound by the accountability system, have been able to make considerable strides in this area. But there is an elephant in the assessment room . At the time of writing Ofqual has published a statement claiming that they ‘expect results to be broadly similar to last year when grading returned to pre-pandemic standards.’ What that means is that the proportions of grades will be roughly similar . What is doesn’t allow for is how we will know if what students know and understand has improved or deteriorated because this is simply a statistical adjustment. Schools employers/FE and HE desperately need a system which enables them to know that. Only the government can facilitate that by reforming the relationship between exams and the accountability system.

The 2024 pay settlement has sent out a strong signal about a move away from the previous blocking of the independent review body’s recommendations. There is a welcome recognition that flexible approaches to working are needed. The term workload is often unhelpful. All professionals work hard but current working hours for teachers are too long. However it is not just about hours worked and the tasks people are asked to do that are the problem. Working conditions for teachers are too inflexible particularly but not only in relation to those with family responsibilities. All staff need to be valued and given opportunities to flourish and grow in their working environment. I have seen excellent practice in schools I have worked with but it is not universal. In the best practice I have seen this is always linked to a culture and set of values owned by the staff and a genuine, deep commitment to professional learning. Such schools are places staff want to work in. We need to think outside the box on this and be helped over time by a government that recognises this if we are to address the chronic shortages of teachers. Let’s share what other people are finding effective and learn from each other.

I wish everyone in our education service well for 2024-5. It really is an exciting year of opportunity.

NOTE: This is my first, experimental blog on Substack. Feedback about whether there is any appetite for further one and suggested topics would therefore be particularly welcome.