A school founder recently told me she thought a school leader, whatever the national context and culture, needed to have a “commercial CEO’s mind, an intellectually curious soul and an educator’s heart”.
It’s a lot to ask of any leader.
I have been pondering this last point and questioning whether this is indeed the case for all school leaders regardless of which sector or part of the world they teach in.
School leadership in the UK and in similar education systems around the world has been transformed on all levels since before the start of the Millennium. At Heritage International School, I often wonder what my successors will think of the challenges my leadership team face and whether we make the right calls.
“School leadership has been transformed on all levels since before the start of the Millennium.”
At Wyedean School, as principal, I often looked around my room and wondered what all four of my predecessors must have thought at various times as they faced the challenges of leading the school.
The strong emphasis on more autonomy in the role and the significant increase in accountability and responsibility means the job I had as Wyedean principal was very different from the very first Wyedean head — and probable role model for JK Rowling’s “Dumbledore” — Ken Smith.
There are many aspects of the role of leading a school community that have remained timeless, including the very crucial task of being the person who leads and guides the whole school community. When I first took up the role as principal it was this very fact that seemed the most daunting.
Looking ahead to the rest of the 2020s, pandemics, war, energy crisis, funding, ChatGPT and teacher recruitment aside, there is a real concern globally that there are not enough capable school leaders emerging through school systems.
“Working in education is not for the faint hearted.”
There is always an interesting debate around to what extent a head should “walk the walk” by being an accomplished teacher and demonstrating that constantly — to be able to “look colleagues in the eye in a Monday morning briefing”. My personal belief is that for a school leader to be effective in education they should have a background in teaching, but I am in no way the “best teacher” in my school.
I see so many colleagues teach daily and I am in awe of just how good they are in the classroom. I think it is very difficult to understand what you are leading in schools if you don’t have direct classroom experience. Conversely, it is a very “British” idea for the headteacher/principal to be in the classroom more whereas in the US senior leaders are not in the classroom. The most important role for me is to allow the teachers to teach in a well-run organisation with a strong educational vision and climate.
“I think it is very difficult to understand what you are leading in schools if you don’t have direct classroom experience.”
The students are their number one priority but, in order for that to be the sole focus, a school leader has to make sure the organisation is effective, efficient and has a plan to where it is going.
When I have spoken to aspiring heads/principals I have stressed the importance of being highly visible and energetic: walking the walk through scheduled assemblies, some classroom teaching, intervention groups and mentoring, covering colleagues, taking on some specialist classes/clubs outside the formal curriculum.
Being on the school gate daily to say hello and not just getting to know the ones who get sent to you for behaviour issues is as rewarding as it is useful.
Working in education is not for the faint hearted nor is it a career that you go into lightly. It is a vocation and from Day 1 it is apparent that this is like no other job. The rewards are incredible and the lows can leave you reflecting a long time after the event. Wellbeing, the perceived isolation and our sheer resilience as the roles grow more complex will mean that support for leaders in the 2020s must continue to develop.
School leaders are not machines, we have families and we do occasionally get things wrong. Back in the 1970s, I am fairly sure my predecessor at Wyedean, Ken Smith, didn’t contend with social media and daily life being played out online. This will only increase in the 2020s but so will our ability to use it in a positive way and close down the abuse and the negative way it is used.
“School leaders are not machines, we have families and we do occasionally get things wrong.”
The “educator’s heart” is something that is timeless and the best school leaders never lose sight of why they came into teaching. You don’t forget that thrill of watching fires being lit as you introduce a new topic.
Finally, school leaders in the 2020s will need to keep at the front of their minds the need for balance, family, rest, retaining a sense of humour, a break from routines and perspective, especially when the inevitable pressure points bite in the academic year.
As the old lags will tell you in the staffroom, this is a marathon not a sprint. Modelling this to aspiring colleagues who will take over one day soon in leadership roles is crucial.