http://www.naht.org.uk/carly-chynoweth.rss Last but not least, the minister: Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners. Well, technically he is only last in my list of transcriptions; at the event itself he was second-last. I left his speech until the end because there's quite a lot of it, although I suspect it can probably be boiled down to a few main points, viz.: he was delighted to be there; heads and schools have heavy responsibilities for the future and do a great job; the new school report cards that are being piloted and consulted upon (hmm, surely it's actually people being consulted about the cards rather than...aargh. If I start worrying about jargon now I won't finish anything) at the moment will do lots of things that heads and parents want/need; and he's not really keen to talk detail about what will happen if proposed union boycotts of KS2 Sats go ahead. Ok. So, that summary is what stuck in my head after 40 minutes of talking and questions. Now I'm going to turn to my notebook to see what the written record shows. Thank you, you're fabulous. Vernon* started by telling the audience that he was delighted (two "delighted"s and one "privileged" within the first minute) to be there before praising the National College for all its good work. "I wish when I had been aspiring as a school leader myself that somebody like the National College had existed," he said. He referred back to some of the points that Toby made about leading and educating in a time of change, then did some back-patting by drawing listeners' attention to the poll (mentioned in an earlier post) that found that parents think head teachers are just fab, thank you very much, although not quite as fab as Armed Forces officers. "That [popularity] does not just happen," he said. "It's because of your ability time after time to inspire pupils, teachers, parents and indeed communities alike. It epitomises what is best about public service." Well done everyone, top marks for both effort and attainment. Goodbye red tape, hello cash. We know that heads hate red tape, Vernon said; that's why we've spent the past 12 years taking steps to address the issue. For example, there are growing numbers of school business managers about the place who can take over a lot of non-educational management tasks, leaving heads free to concentrate on school leadership. "Heads are now freer to lead their schools and tackle the big-ticket items rather than box-ticking," he said. Oh, and he also said that salaries for both teachers and heads have increased considerably, and that standards are being raised across the country (he quoted a bunch of statistics about improvements and grades at this point) thanks to the hard work of schools and heads. But, despite all this good work, there's no room for complacency - there's still more to do. Let's cut more red tape, give teachers and heads more time to do their jobs. "[And] local authorities and governing bodies still need to do more to reduce these workloads, particularly among primary school heads," he said. Federate, good times, come on! (I hope you realised that the previous sub-heading should be sung to the tune of "Celebration"; wouldn't make much sense otherwise, I suspect). There's a lot of great things being done but still more to do when it comes to federation, extended schools and community leadership generally, he said. "Over time this evolution towards a more outward-looking brand of leadership will give you a far greater say over local services," Vernon said. "You will be leading and inspiring local communities, not just schools." He spoke about the way in which schools could be - and are being - catalysts for change within communities. "We will make it easier for schools, heads and governing bodies to take on those wider roles," he added. This means extending the power for them to start new schools or academies. Behaviour. "How do we support heads to make sure they're not spending all their time managing poor behaviour? How do we make sure that parents take their own responsibilities in this area seriously?" he asked. Helpfully answering his own question - after reminding us that there was a lot already being done and that the "overwhelming majority" of schools are doing fine and, look, here are some stats to demonstrate it, but don't let them distract you into thinking that there isn't more to be done, because there is, satisfactory simply isn't good enough when it comes to behaviour - he nominated the new home-school agreement as an important tool in this area. These agreements will outline parents' rights and responsibilities, he explained; they will be expected to sign them each year and will face sanctions, including parenting orders, if they flout them. There are no plans to pick on parents who try hard but struggle. School report cards. "This will provide a single, clear and prioritised set of outlines against which achievement can be measured," he said. "They will make it easier for heads to gauge their own school's performance...parents and teachers will have the report card to measure how well the school is doing." Straightforward online school profiles with the report card information means no more searching for Ofsted reports or comparing data - the answers will all be in one handy place. The cards will cover not just academic performance but pupils' emotional resilience, parental satisfaction and all sorts of other things. He did go into some of the detail but I drifted a little at this point, so jump on to Google if you want to know more about the ins and outs of just what's proposed. The gist of it is that the minister expects them to be a useful way of helping heads to drive up standards. More pressure. Like almost everyone else, Vernon seemed keen to tell head teachers that if the world goes to pot it's their fault. I mean, he didn't say it in those words, and he didn't show a video of a poor struggling polar bear or a western world grappling with terrorism or anything like that, and he did tend to focus entirely on positives and opportunities rather the possibility of doom, but I am pretty sure that was the subtext. What he actually said was: "You are the key to our schools, to the future of education. No task is more important than that...The future depends upon the thousands upon thousands of children in all the individual schools in your hands." See? Pressure. Next up, the Q&A session. Frankly, the answers went pretty much along the lines you'd expect, so I am going to paraphrase and condense as much as I can. Q: Does the government value the education of the whole child, and if so, why does it place so much emphasis on academic achievement?A: It does value the whole child; that's why it plans to bring in school report cards covering loads of different areas. "Of course academic achievement is absolutely essential, exam results, how well someone does in reading and writing" (he repeated versions of this statement several times to make sure we understood just how seriously he takes academic achievement) ... "but alongside that what the report card is actually doing is if you look at the different categories on the..." (here there is a lot more about report cards, the importance parents place on not sending their children to schools full of bullies, etc). Q: What's the future of KS2 Sats?A: They are going to happen in English and maths next year, not sure if in May or June. There will be sample tests in science. The government is consulting about what happens after that. Q: Does the government's emphasis on federations and creative leadership risk diminishing the role of the head within a school.A: No, not at all, Vernon said. He also reassured listeners that federation is an option, not something that will be forced on regions; he described it as a tool that could be very valuable and useful but that would only be used where it was both appropriate and wanted. Q: When will heads' salaries reflect their responsibilities?A: "I'm not sure I am best placed to talk about salaries at the moment," the minister said, to some laughter. He then spoke about how salaries had already been raised for heads and teachers and said that those who took on extra responsibilities, such as for a federation, could get extra money on top of their regular wage. Q: ...actually, this was more someone making a point than asking a question. The end result was the minister saying that he couldn't say that the government was going to abolish KS2 Sats. Q: What will happen if, as seems likely, the NAHT and NUT boycott the KS2 Sats tests next year?A: The minister didn't really answer the question but did say "we have made it clear that we will have KS2." Q: That's not an answer. (Technically, that wasn't really a question, but you get the spirit of it).A: "It is difficult to know exactly what the situation will be. We are obviously discussing things about this. All I can say to you is that our intention is for KS2 to happen. I know that does not answer the question in the way you want me to." Q&A: About behaviour and special needs. Unfortunately I lost track of the question somewhat, but Vernon responded by promising that the government will legislate to make sure that there are minimum standards around the country for people who are outside mainstream education. Q: How can we know what Ofsted wants from us when it comes to standards when the goalposts keep moving?A: This is an issue that gets raised with the minister quite a lot, he said. "My commitment is that I will speak to Christine Gilbert about that because if schools are making significant progress and achievement is being raised...we need to ensure that that is properly reflected in the Ofsted judgment." Note that he wasn't saying that Ofsted was changing its standards but that he will take a look at the issue in more depth. Right, I'm done here. Goodnight. *Using his first name feels odd to me, too, but NAHT publication style is to do this with everyone. http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/blogs/carly-chynoweth/?blogpost=219 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:42:13 GMT 20091112174213 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:42:13 GMT 20091112174213 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:42:13 GMT 200911121754213 Man, life with Kriss Akabusi must be exhausting. The 51-year-old Olympic medallist, motivational speaker and television personality, who also served in Armed Forces, is nothing but energy. He talks fast, moves fast and - he warned the front row - has a tendency to spit when he gets excited. Which seems to be quite a lot of the time. He was at the conference to motivate head teachers. To do what, exactly, I wasn't quite clear, but that's hardly the point. After all, there were humourous stories (he was mistaken for Sir Trevor McDonald as he stopped for petrol on the way here; he claims that he was such an ugly baby that when he was born the doctor slapped his mother, not him); uplifting stories (he spent part of his childhood in a children's home before growing up to be happy and successful); and poetry ("In the Arena", from a speech by Theodore Roosevelt). What's not to be motivated by? http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/blogs/carly-chynoweth/?blogpost=218 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:01:04 GMT 20091112160104 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:01:04 GMT 20091112160104 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:01:04 GMT 200911121640104 Shakespeare isn't just for audiences at The Globe and 14-year-olds struggling their way through archaic language to reach the romance of Romeo and Juliet. No, now Shakespeare is for managers, too. Richard Olivier, the artistic director of Olivier Mythodrama, a leadership training organisation, spent 20 entertaining minutes on a one-man race through Julius Caesar before turning the passionate power struggles of the play's protagonists into a way of looking at organisational politics. While Richard was a clear and interesting speaker, I have to admit that I snuck out the auditorium before he'd finished talking through his first slide (it had words such integrity, cunning, innocent, wise and inept on it). Partly this is because, in my day job, I write a lot about management and strategy and have thus come across quite a lot of these concepts before. And partly it was because, as a non-leader, I don't really have to worry about anyone stabbing me in the back in a desperate effort to increase their own status or limit mine. Mostly, though, it was because I can't afford to miss the next speaker, and the only way of doing that while still mentioning Richard's mini plenary was to leave early then come back. So, Vernon Coaker, you're up next. http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/blogs/carly-chynoweth/?blogpost=217 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:18:08 GMT 20091112141808 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:18:08 GMT 20091112141808 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:18:30 GMT 200911121421830 Next on the agenda was Toby Salt, the deputy chief executive of the National College. I rather think that he looks like a retired England cricketer, but as far as I know he isn't one. However, he is definitely someone who is keen to share the excitement, opportunities and challenges of headship with a new generation of school leaders. His speech was quite long and detailed, so I'm going to break this report into a couple of sections. The world has changed. Ten years ago this year's NQTs were sitting their stage 3 SATS and some members of the audience were studying for their A levels, possibly while listening to the Spice Girls on a walkman (no one in the audience actually admitted this loudly enough for me to hear). Back then, Google was an eight-person operation based in a garage and finding information meant finding a book. But today, Toby said, 90 per cent of teenagers have access to the internet, instant communication is the norm, China and India are looking increasingly dominant in the production of graduates and there are a million more unemployed people in Britain. "This simply isn't the same world in 2009 [as 10 years ago]," he said. "Our education system is preparing a generation to grow up and succeed in a very different world." Let's be clear, he added; it is the head teachers in the auditorium today and the pupils they will educate who will shape the future of that world. Again, no pressure there... From here Toby cut to an video featuring, in no particular order: Bill Clinton; Tony Blair; many children and young people from a range of backgrounds; some moodily lit black and white rooms; a polar bear struggling to make it on to an ice floe (or possibly struggling to avoid falling off it); and a rather nice song that made me realise just how good the conference centre's sound system is. Once the song was over there was a bit of a spiel from someone who sounded a lot like John Hannah (the Scottish chap from Four Weddings and a Funeral) telling us that the world was pretty close to being on its last legs and that the only way to improve things is through education. An aside: jeepers, people *really* want to make sure that heads know that what they do matters, don't they? I can't help thinking that most of them know that already. There's no need to scare people further. And having maybe-John-Hannah doing everything but telling them that if the world dies it's because they didn't get things right is pretty scary. Also just a bit mean. Now we return to your regularly scheduled speech. The loneliness of the long-distance leader. Once the video was done, Toby congratulated everyone for becoming heads. "I can tell you that leadership is exciting and rewarding and that no other role compares with it," he said. "But in this climate it is also a huge test." One of the biggest risks is becoming lonely, isolated and convinced that every single thing in the school is your responsibility, Toby said. "I can remember my first day in my first headship. When I sat in that chair I was instantly expected to be an expert in everything, from whether the berries that Dale had swallowed were poisonous...to where to find a new physics teacher." He also found himself, early on, sitting up all night with a calculator and a spreadsheet trying to get the school's budget sorted out. It was accepted by his senior leadership team at the next day's meeting and it wasn't until everyone else was leaving that the school secretary quietly asked him if he'd deliberately decided not to make any contribution to staff pensions that year. It was then that Toby - who'd wondered why he'd had plenty of money still kicking about at the end of his night's work - realised that doing everything himself wasn't the best approach. "I learnt a valuable lesson: never again stay up all night doing something that other people could do better than me, and that we can achieve a great deal more together than as individuals." So, pull together a great team (try to include a school business manager, if you can) and don't be afraid to include people in it who challenge you, he advised. Build your own replacement. Demographic analysis of heads is a depressing exercise: the average head is getting older because there are fewer youngsters stepping up. As a head, you can now do something about this by supporting and developing others so that they are equipped to move into senior leadership roles in the future, Toby said. Sure, you may not want to lose your best people, but knowing that they are now leading other schools (and thus, presumably, helping polar bears find a foothold on those icebergs) should give you enough of a warm fuzzy feeling to make you realise that it's worthwhile. (Please note that I have paraphrased here; Toby used much more formal language). Don't go it alone. This advice applies to schools, not just individual heads, Toby said. Schools need to work with other schools and other agencies to ensure that they offer children - and communities - the best possible service. And don't be cliquey about who you will and won't work with, either. "At the college we support schools to break through traditional boundaries so that they can do the best for all children," he said. That may mean maintained schools working with independents or primaries with secondaries. "It's an approach that puts aside old prejudices and divisions to ensure that we put the interests of all children, whatever schools they go to, first." The sweet smell of success. Great schools share a number of characteristics, he said; the most obvious is that they know what they stand for. As a leaders, its up to heads to ensure that high standards are applied consistently and comprehensively. That means having vision and values and whatnot, sure, but, more importantly, living them. As head you have to walk the talk, and be seen to do so. And keep your chin up, Toby added; if you give up hope, so will those around you. It's fine - important, really - to have quiet moments of reflection and the opportunity to "download" (I think this might be a euphemism for "rant about everything that's going wrong at the moment"), but you can't do this with just anyone watching. This is where a mentor from the college's peer support programme will be incredibly valuable, as it will provide a safe way to talk through issues. When you're the leader, you're always the leader. You're never off duty; what you do and say, how you behave, will always be observed. "It is easy to forget that on a day to day basis people still look to you as a leader," Toby said. "Every leadership conversation matters." http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/blogs/carly-chynoweth/?blogpost=216 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:26:03 GMT 20091112112603 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:26:03 GMT 20091112112603 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:26:04 GMT 2009111212122604 First to speak: Steve Munby, the affable chief executive of the National College. He's their longest-serving chief executive, though, as Tony pointed out, he is also only their second. Still, it's an achievement. Steve started the morning with a trip down memory lane (one well endowed with trees and sunshine, if the eerie green lighting behind him was anything to go by). "Next week I am going to visit my old secondary school, where, as a pupil, I walked the corridors for seven years," he told the audience. One would assume that he also ducked into the odd classroom in that time, what with him now being in a very senior leadership position, but he didn't mention this specifically. But what he wanted to tell us all about was the thing that really stuck with him: the impact that his teachers had on him. He remembered those who inspired him, comforted him and, indeed, those who made him feel small and inadequate. It wasn't just the memory of men and women standing at the chalkboard that stuck with him, either; his head teachers also made a lasting impression. "I remember how they conducted themselves as they walked around the school, how they behaved at assemblies," he said. Even as a child he knew that heads shaped the ethos of the school. "And now you are the person who will be making a lasting impact - for good or ill - and you are the person who will set the tone in your school. Thousands of children will carry memories of how you made them feel; some of them, into the 22nd century." So, no pressure there, then. Steve's central theme was that what school leaders do really, really matters - but that they don't have to do it alone. "Leadership is not about personally solving everyone's problems. Nobody is that good. It depends on good teams, on good alliances with others both within your school and beyond it." And, reassuringly, he reminded us that being a good leader does not mean being perfect at everything. More important is having insight into your own strengths and weaknesses - "your staff probably know your weaknesses, and if they don't, they will find out pretty soon" - and the ability to create a perfect team with the right balance of skills and abilities. With that, he introduced one of the members of his own leadership team, Toby Salt. A report on his speech will follow - possibly in several parts, because it was quite long and I have a *lot* of pages of scrawl in my notebook about it. (For some reason this post, which originally went up shortly after Steve's speech, disappeared into the internet for a while there. Anyway, it's back now. Sorry for the temporary non-existence.) http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/blogs/carly-chynoweth/?blogpost=215 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:07:50 GMT 20091112110750 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:07:50 GMT 20091112110750 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:04:22 GMT 200911121640422 I'd always thought that buildings were relatively safe, at least as far as the risk of falling out of the sky and crashing into the ocean goes, but apparently not the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in central London. Here speeches in the auditorium start not with someone tapping at a microphone to check that it works but with a disembodied voice warning us to make a note of our nearest exit and to pay attention to stewards in tabards should any trouble ensue. Rather worryingly, I checked under my seat and discovered that my lifejacket had been forgotten. http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/blogs/carly-chynoweth/?blogpost=214 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:00:31 GMT 20091112110031 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:00:31 GMT 20091112110031 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:00:31 GMT 2009111211110031 At first, conference organisers weren't sure whether or not inviting a journalist to their opening night was a good idea. After all, there would be trays of free wine and a hot buffet; they may have been afraid that if they let me in I'd never leave. Then there's the fact that the event was designed to help new heads network like crazy, not to give curious bystanders a glimpse of the next generation of school leaders. Fortunately, the nice people at the National College decided that they were perfectly happy to have me come along as long as I promised to stick to reporting the speeches rather than bothering delegates for quotes while they juggled wine, supper and several glossy brochures from the conference's supporters. So, here goes. Maggie Farrar, the National College's strategic director for policy, research and development, opened formalities by welcoming attendees and the general secretaries of the NAHT and ASCL, both of whom have announced that they are stepping down next summer. Next to speak was ASCL's John Dunford, who began by complimenting delegates on being in a better state of sobriety than last year's attendees. (This statement was greeted with a great deal of laughter and several murmurs of "so far"; among journalists John's remark would have been seen as a straightforward challenge). He followed with three tips for new heads: 1. Focus on what really matters. "Remember what the job is all about: teaching and learning. There are so many millions of things that you are expected to do that it's easy to lose focus." 2. Communicate. "Good leadership is 10 per cent action and 90 per cent communication. You and your senior leadership team can make as many decisions as you like but it's how you communicate those decisions and who you communicate them to that matters." 3. Hold on to your values. "Your values are what you have held to throughout your career. They are probably what brought you into teaching in the first place. These values are why you are now leading a school rather than running a corner shop." At this point he decided that his three-point strategy needed something more, and decided to add an extra piece of advice. 4. Smile. "If you walk around the school looking miserable you do not have a cat in hell's chance of other people being cheerful and enjoying what they do. You might feel lousy, you might have a terrible hangover, but smile." After John left the podium, Mick Brookes, general secretary of the NAHT, stepped up to give his last speech of welcome to new heads. "You have just embarked upon the most amazing journey," he said. "I was a head for 27 years - yes, I know that you are looking at me now and can't believe it - and it really was the most amazing job." There were probably only a handful of days during his entire career when he wished that he ran a Marks & Spencer rather than a school, he added. Next it was time for something of a rallying cry. "Now is a special time to be a head," he said. "People are completely fed up with politicians interfering with the running of schools. We are at a time when head teachers will pick up that moral agenda and...run with it." But he ended the evening with a bit more advice for the 400 or so assembled delegates. "I would go further than John," he said. "I say yes, smile, but also laugh...and enjoy the journey." He recalled a time he'd been invited to go on an official visit to a school in Bradford. He arrived early and ran into some of the pupils as they filed out of assembly. One child, presumably tipped off by an announcement in the assemby, asked him: "Are you the special visitor?" Mick agreed that he probably was. Then another child came up. "Are you the vicar?" he asked. Mick explained that he was not the vicar, or, indeed, a vicar. "Oh," the child said. "You look like a vicar." Despite his lack of dog collar Mick finished his speech with a bit of pastoral care: encouraging heads to make the most of networking opportunities to ensure that they did not become isolated, and drawing their attention to the peer support programme run by the National College. "We try to make sure that all new heads have someone who is not a number cruncher or an inspector but someone who is there for them," he said. With that, the hubbub returned and attendees queued for the buffet. http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/blogs/carly-chynoweth/?blogpost=213 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:55:33 GMT 20091111235533 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:55:33 GMT 20091111235533 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:20:53 GMT 2009111200122053 Tomorrow (Thursday) morning, delegates will start the day at 8.30am with refreshments (hooray, conference centre coffee - my favourite) and a choice of seminars on topics ranging from workforce reform to managing and reducing bureaucracy. As a member of the press, I won't be joining the action until the speeches start: Steve Munby and Toby Salt from the National College will speak at 10am; Vernon Coaker at 2.30pm and Kriss Akabusi at 3.10pm. I also hope to pop my head in to the mini plenary sessions and one or two workshops. http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/blogs/carly-chynoweth/?blogpost=212 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:30:44 GMT 20091111223044 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:30:44 GMT 20091111223044 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:59:24 GMT 2009111123115924 Here's something for head teachers to keep in mind on days when half your staff go out with flu, Ofsted inspectors criticise your record-keeping and a small child tells you that you've had toilet paper stuck to your shoe since morning assembly: parents love you. Delegates to this year's annual conference for new heads are being welcomed to the event with the news that only officers in the Armed Forces are rated more highly as leaders. A poll of 500 parents across England found that 29 per cent said that their local head teacher provided the best example that they could think of of leadership; Armed Forces officers scored 31 per cent, police officers 19 per cent and doctors 15 per cent. The survey, which was commissioned by the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services (hereafter called simply the National College, which is in line with its new branding and also convenient, because it's getting late and there's no way I could type an acronym as complicated as NCLSCS correctly with any consistency, even if I didn't have a glass of wine sitting next to me), placed local business people and ministers of religion at the bottom of the list, with 9 per cent and 8 per cent respectively. http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/blogs/carly-chynoweth/?blogpost=211 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:26:19 GMT 20091111212619 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:26:19 GMT 20091111212619 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:34:24 GMT 2009111122103424 My NAHT blogging career will start in earnest next week at the National New Heads conference in London. If you're at the conference, please come up and say hello; I'll be the person tapping away on a laptop while Vernon Coaker and Kriss Akabusi pace the stage. If you can't make it in person, feel free to leave suggestions on this blog as to what other events I should attend, or what issues you feel need a little journalistic investigation. http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/blogs/carly-chynoweth/?blogpost=208 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:50:44 GMT 20091106145044 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:50:44 GMT 20091106145044 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:50:44 GMT 200911061425044