Leadership Focus July 2019 - Growth, Community, Voice

Issue 84 / July 2019 / £5

THE MAGAZINE FOR NAHT AND NAHT EDGE MEMBERS

FOCUS TO TURN9 FOR 3 UR PAGES OF YO IL ER DETAW MEMB R NE OFFE

GROWT WTH, T COMMUNITY TY, Y VOICE How NAHT is delivering its vision vii locally, regionally and nationally to improve members’ working lives

RELATIONSHIPS EDUCATION Key questions answered

INSPECTION CHANGES

A look at Ofsted’s new framework

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Highlights of the speeches and debates

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LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

OPINION

JUDY SHAW: NAHT president 2019-20

Wonderful job, challenging times t is a huge honour to take up the role of national president.

My school is a small infant and nursery school, housed in a towering Victorian building, 140 years old, high on a hill above a former mill town in West Yorkshire.

It’s not an academy or a MAT, a free school, or part of a teaching school alliance. And it’s not outstanding. It’s good. A good place to be a child, and a good place to be a teacher.

As school leaders, we have the privilege of watching a lot of teaching and learning. Great teaching is a beautiful craft. When you see that moment, just the right moment, when the words, the explanation, the demonstration make a difference, and then the child speaks, reads, writes, counts, jumps, sings or paints with more confidence, more skill and more knowledge than before, then you know a life has been changed forever. It’s powerful stuff and it never fails to move and inspire me.

We also know that these are difficult and unsteady times for school leaders, and I have my share of sleepless nights. At our small school, we have already lost one teacher and 75 hours of teaching assistant time per week. There are fewer adults to give our children attention, to meet their educational and welfare needs, to talk to, to help.

The workload of the remaining staff grows. The most vulnerable children are affected most, as schools try to balance what they

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can afford with the desperate need to provide children with the support they are entitled to. We may work in Victorian buildings, but this is not Victorian Britain. This is the 21st century and our children deserve better.

My school is a small school, and when I stare at the figures on the spreadsheets, I can feel the threat.

To those who say small schools are not viable, I say they are vital.

In these challenging times, trade union membership is also vital. Years ago, when I first joined a union, I wanted it to be like a battering ram; loud, challenging, critical and confrontational. I thought that was the only way to get things done. I don’t believe that anymore. There’s a better way to be heard. It’s not a softly, softly approach; it’s not rolling over – it’s pragmatic, intelligent and determined. Not a battering ram, more a foot firmly and insistently wedged in the door. NAHT is a modern, influential and respected trade union. We draw upon the experience, knowledge and wisdom of 30,000 school leaders,

Above: Judy Shaw

We may work in Victorian buildings, but this is not Victorian Britain.

those doing the job day in and day out, as we stand and face those in power.

I am here, in part, because of my father, Jack. He died last autumn, just a few weeks before his 95th birthday. Two things mattered to him most of all: education and trade unions. He believed that a good education is the route out of poverty, ignorance and oppression of any kind. My parents were proud when they told people that all three of their children became teachers.

I hope I can do his memory justice over the coming year.

I want to say loudly and clearly throughout my year as president that, yes, this is a difficult job, but it is also a most wonderful job.

Wherever I go this year, I promise to speak with pride and optimism about the work we do; to take every opportunity to promote the growth of our union and to strengthen our community; to use NAHT’s voice and influence to challenge those who do not value our profession and our professionalism, and to make those who hold power listen to our collective experience and wisdom as they shape the policies that affect us all.

It’s time to make a start. I hope this issue of Leadership Focus provides you with some motivation and inspiration.

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CONTENTS

ASSOCIATION AND EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES NAHT and NAHT Edge 1 Heath Square, Boltro Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 1BL naht.org.uk nahtedge.org.uk Tel: 0300 30 30 333 Editorial strategy board: David Gilmore (chair), James Bowen, Tim Bowen, Nick Brook, Colm Davis, Guy Dudley, Judy Shaw, Steven George, Magnus Gorham, Steve Iredale, Anne Lyons, Alice Adams Lemon, Judith Stott, Paul Whiteman and Rob Williams. @nahtnews @nahtedge

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EDITORIAL TEAM Editor: Nic Paton.

Publisher: David Gale.

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SALES DIRECTOR Ian Carter.

Tel: 0207 183 1815 Leadership Focus is published on behalf of NAHT by Headlines Partnership Publishing, 51/52 Triangle Building, Wolverton Park Road, Milton Keynes, MK12 5FJ headlines.uk.com Tel: 01908 393303 Email: nic.paton@headlines.uk.com

Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation: 39,306 (July 2017 to June 2018)

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ISSN: 1472-6181 Š Copyright 2019 NAHT All rights reserved: no part of this publication may be copied or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. While every care has been taken in the compilation of this publication, neither the publisher nor NAHT can accept responsibility for any inaccuracies or changes since compilation, or for consequential loss arising from such changes or inaccuracies, or for any other loss, direct or consequential, arising in connection with information in this publication. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply recommendation by the publisher.

The views herein are not necessarily those of the publisher, the editor or NAHT.

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LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

Contents 6

News round-up The latest from across NAHT and NAHT Edge.

10 Stronger together How NAHT works locally, regionally and nationally to protect, support and improve the working lives of its members.

18 NAHT Aspire Supporting a school from ‘RI’ to ‘outstanding’.

20 A credible voice NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman on his vision for the union and for school leaders.

24 The value of advice Find out how NAHT’s advice and legal support is helping members.

28 Place2Be NAHT’s charity partner celebrates schools promoting positive mental health.

29 NAHT guidance Our popular advice documents for members.

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30 Annual Conference A round-up of the speeches and debate at this year’s conference.

34 New inspection framework What Ofsted’s new framework means for schools.

36 RSE policy update Answers to key questions around relationships and sex education (RSE).

38 Member benefits Take advantage of our partner offers.

43 NAHT Life The benefits of Life Membership.

45 A legal view A look at the law of direct discrimination.

46 Wales The latest news from Wales.

47 Northern Ireland The latest news from NAHT (NI).

48 Talking leadership NAHT’s school leadership podcast.

50 Technology in schools Why the government needs to listen to school leaders.

52 Mental health matters How schools can support children’s well-being.

54 Courses and conferences NAHT’s CPD and events designed for you.

57 Outdoor education How the AHOEC and outdoor experiences change lives.

58 The final word Susan Young on what makes a school sparkle.

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NEWS ROUND-UP

T H E L AT E S T F R O M A C R O S S N A H T A N D N A H T E D G E Get in touch and share your thoughts on this issue’s news via publications@naht.org.uk

‘Embarrassed and ashamed’: the impact of austerity on England’s schoolchildren oncern is growing among school leaders that the very youngest pupils are so aware of their families’ financial problems that they are struggling to learn and enjoy school.

Comments from more than 400 school leaders in an NAHT survey paint a vivid picture of the impact of austerity on their pupils’ lives. “Children are more aware of their parents’ money and troubles – it worries them,” said one school leader from Sandwell in the West Midlands.

“Children are just not ready to learn. They are embarrassed and ashamed,” said another, based in Derbyshire.

Another Derbyshire head teacher said: “I have observed children emotionally battered and unable to learn, pupils too hungry to think and deprived of sleep due to a lack of heating, bedding and clothing.

I’ve seen parents weep because they can’t afford uniform or pay the dinner bill. I’ve seen a pupil eat a biscuit for breakfast and have a mouldy piece of bread as their only lunch in their box and have had parents break down when confronted as they haven’t eaten all day either.”

“Many families work and therefore earn just enough money to disentitle them, and the school, to pupil premium funding,” said a head teacher from Swindon.

Other comments mentioned the insecurity of the family income, the threat of eviction, domestic violence and increased foodbank use. Overwhelmingly, school leaders report that these problems are more common than five years ago.

The survey, carried out as part of a project with Channel 4, also found that 75% of school leaders reported an increase or significant increase in the number of parents coming to school to ask for financial support or support with essentials in the last five years, while

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81% reported an increase or significant increase in the number of children coming to school hungry in the last five years.

More than eight in 10 (86%) said they provide more or significantly more support than they did five years ago, and a similar number – 85% – felt this level of support is not sustainable for their school to continue in the next five years.

Some of the remarks gathered were included in an open letter from NAHT and the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) to MPs in England demanding urgent action to bring child poverty to an end.

Judy Shaw, NAHT president, said: “Three quarters of school leaders reported seeing an increase or significant increase in the number of parents coming to school to ask for financial support or support with essentials in the last five years. Across the country, schools are supporting children who are hungry,

inadequately clothed, cold and tired because they are sharing a bed and living in cramped and crowded homes with little space and few amenities.”

Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: “As a country we want every child to enjoy school and to grow through learning but, as head teachers are testifying, rising child poverty is taking the joy out of school days – and limiting life chances – for more and more of our children.

“Years of austerity have left low-income families with too little to live on, and we have reached crisis point. Parents’ anxiety about money extends to children who carry it with them into the classroom so that they are not free to learn because they are focused on survival. That isn’t right – it undermines our shared belief that every child matters and deserves a chance to succeed.”

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

IF YOU HAVE A NEWS STORY TO SHARE PLEASE CONTACT THE EDITOR Email: nic.paton@headlines.uk.com

Join us on 27 September 2019 in Westminster to march for school funding When more than 2,000 school leaders marched through Westminster last September, we were hugely successful in highlighting the crisis in school funding and pushing the issue up the national agenda.

NAHT played a big role in publicising and supporting that event, and the overwhelming majority of school leaders who marched were NAHT members.

Since beginning this campaign in 2016, we have been successful in securing over £2 billion more for our schools. Following the general election in 2017, the government was forced to find an additional £1.3 billion as a direct result of the challenges made to politicians on doorsteps over this issue. A further £400 million for “the little extras” came 10 months later, again as a result of our campaigning, and we have seen an extra £350 million for SEND and £84 million for maintained nursery schools.

It’s not enough, but it is a step in the right direction, and it

shows what can be achieved if we campaign together for a just cause.

NAHT president Judy Shaw said: “We are on the front line of society, dealing with the fallout from years of austerity and picking up the pieces left behind by cuts to health and council services. It is essential that we keep making the case for more money for schools and colleges.”

When NAHT kicked off the school funding campaign in 2017, we were told there was no more money in the system and that schools would have to make do. Now, the ministers who previously said there was

Hundreds of NAHT members were among the head teachers who marched on Downing Streeet in 2018 calling for action on school funding.

7 more money in education than ever before are openly admitting there’s a problem. The contenders to be the next prime minister all put education spending at the top of their agenda.

Paul Whiteman, NAHT’s general secretary, said: “Our campaign is working but we can’t stop now.

We need instant financial relief to address the cuts since 2010, followed by a long-term commitment to education funding to guarantee that we never find ourselves in this dreadful situation again.

“When I stood on the streets of Westminster last September, I was full of pride for the effort that NAHT members were prepared to make. I know how busy you are, and I know your time is precious, but this issue is of such huge importance, I know we must make a stand.”

Our plan is to support another march, bigger than last year, on 27 September in Westminster. New for 2019 will be an NAHT rally after the march featuring high-profile political speakers.

For more information and to join the march on 27 September, go to naht.org.uk/fundingevents

NEWS ROUND-UP

Men in the early years NAHT has long campaigned for the government to do more to encourage men into the early years workforce and has welcomed an announcement from the Department for Education in April of funding for a new project aimed at challenging stereotypes around men’s roles in early education.

The project is run by the Fatherhood Institute and launched the Men in the Early Years (MITEY) website, miteyuk.org, in May. It hosts information for employers, men interested in early years careers and careers advisers.

MITEY is holding a conference on 4 September in London.

Arthur De Caux – obituary

Andy Mellor, fourth from left, and his team arrive in Westminster after his charity ride.

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Going the distance AHT past president Andy Mellor raised more than £3,400 in aid of mental health charity Place2Be by cycling from his home town of Blackpool to London in April.

Setting off from Blackpool Tower, he and a team including former England and Great Britain rugby league captain Jamie Peacock MBE cycled 261 miles over four days to deliver a letter asking Theresa May for more support for a mental health system ‘in crisis’.

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Andy said: “Head teachers I talk to tell me that the mental health of the children in their schools has deteriorated over recent years and for schools to fully address the learning needs of their children, the mental health needs of their children should be met.

“Place2Be offers a level of expertise and support for schools which does just that. It addresses the mental health needs of the child so that, as schools, we can address learning needs.”

Arthur De Caux, who retired as head of NAHT’s education department in 2005, died peacefully on 10 February at the age of 75.

Alongside his professional contribution to NAHT, many members will remember Arthur for the after-dinner speeches that he entertained audiences with – including at NAHT’s annual conference dinners – and his backpage columns for Leadership Focus.

In his retirement, Arthur wrote a novel, An Island Preoccupied, based on the three weeks before the Germans occupied Jersey in 1940.

SCHOOL EXCLUSIONS: more support, not sanctions A review of how head teachers use exclusion and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school was published in May. Summarising NAHT’s evidence to the Timpson review, general secretary Paul Whiteman said: “In our view it is not possible or helpful to consider exclusion as a standalone problem. Schools and young people are facing a double-whammy of cuts to education funding, as well as the impact of cuts to the health and social care services on which they desperately rely for support.

“Funding shortages, the existing curriculum and accountability system, and the unavailability and inaccessibility of specialist health and social care all work against schools’ best efforts to avoid excluding children.

“What is most clear is that more support for schools, rather than more sanctions, is what will make the difference for pupils at risk of exclusion.”

The illustration of Arthur used in his days as a Leadership Focus columnist

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

IF YOU HAVE A NEWS STORY TO SHARE PLEASE CONTACT THE EDITOR Email: nic.paton@headlines.uk.com

Making the case for more nursery funding NAHT members were among more than 700 head teachers, parents, teachers, teaching assistants, governors and nursery nurses who lobbied MPs and marched to Downing Street to deliver a letter to the chancellor calling on him to safeguard the future of maintained nursery schools.

The letter was signed by more than 320 maintained nursery schools from across the country and it demanded that the Treasury fully funds nursery schools for the long term. Nadhim Zahawi MP, parliamentary under-secretary of state for children and families, was joined by MPs from all sides of the house at the lobby.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, said: “Maintained nursery schools have a critical role to play in the delivery of high-quality early years education, especially for children with special educational needs, but their future has been left uncertain by the government’s new approach to early years funding.”

Almost two thirds (64%) of maintained nursery schools are in the 30% most deprived areas of England. They received a small reprieve in February with the announcement of £24 million stopgap funding to ensure they could offer places for the full 2019-20 year, but the lack of a guarantee of adequate funding beyond this could leave thousands of children without a specialist nursery place in the future.

The lobby and march were coordinated by NAHT, Early Education and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Nursery Schools, Nursery and Reception Classes. The group’s chair, Lucy Powell MP, said: “These vital institutions need long-term sustainability if we’re to shift the dial and eliminate the development gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. That’s why I’m proud to march with heads on Downing Street, and support their calls for sustainable future funding.”

NAHT also organised regional summits and meetings around the country to shine a light on the impact of the funding crisis on UK schools. On 10 May, school leaders joined NAHT officials and politicians in Newquay, Cornwall, to discuss the crisis faced by the county’s schools, which are set to see a real-terms cut of £51.3 million between 2015 and 2019.

On 22 June, education staff, parents, unions, politicians and campaign groups took part in the ‘Together for Education’, event at Central Hall, Westminster.

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Photos: Pennie Quinton

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Therefore, we must ensure your personal details are up-to-date. Please call us on 0300 30 30 333 (option 2) or email us at membersupport@ naht.org.uk. Alternatively, you can update your details by visiting, naht.org.uk/ update-details and NAHT Edge members can let us know of any changes by contacting us on membersupport@ nahtedge.org.uk.

SUPPORTING OUR MEMBERS 10

STRON TOGET At a time when school leaders are facing unprecedented challenges and changes, NIC PATON explores how NAHT works locally, regionally and nationally to protect, support and improve the working lives of its members.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

NGER THER

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SUPPORTING OUR MEMBERS 12

ven though it started from something very painful and stressful, the response and support through NAHT has been amazing.”

So says Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, head teacher at Anderton Park Primary School in Birmingham, recalling the parent-led anti-LGBT+ teaching protests that swept through the Midlands during March and April.

A petition was handed in calling g for her to resign and for the LGBT+ inclusive education to be suspended; she and her teachers were leafleted and subjected to chants by crowds outside the school; and both teachers and parents repeatedly had to call the police after feeling harassed during the daily protests.

All of this left staff feeling “incredibly intimidated”, she says, adding: “It has been like living through half a term in a parallel universe.”

As well as being head teacher at Anderton Park, Sarah is an executive member of NAHT’s Birmingham branch. The robust and proactive support from NAHT, both nationally and locally through the Birmingham

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branch, was a key part of helping her and other head teachers similarly affected get through what was an extremely challenging and difficult period.

As Sarah says: “Part of being a member of a strong union like NAHT is that it allows you to realise there are other people going through what you’re living through too. It is about being able to talk about things to each other, and not feel you are completely on your own. It is about sending out a strong message that you are not the only one out there.”

In the context of the LGBT+ protests, as well as ongoing individual support on the ground, NAHT held a local ‘summit’ that brought together officials from the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofsted as well as 85 other NAHT members, including head teachers from all over the country.

“We were calling out to people around the country to say ‘this is happening, let’s support each other and put some pressure on the DfE to sort it out’. Teachers and leadership teams were being put under a lot of pressure,” says Sarah.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

What with a we are deali sh ng both o ead teache and ou n the groun rs, t gates side the sch d increa or playgrou ool n singly challe d, is nging .

Above: NAHT members protest about cuts to school funding in bath in June.

Photo: Tom Smith Photography

Left: Members came from across the UK to join NAHT’s call for more early years funding in March.

Photo: Pennie Quinton

“The fragmentation off schools in recent years between n MATs and local authority maintaine ed schools means that people can sometimes be nervous to speak outt. It can feel like it’s somehow a ‘weakness’ to say that ‘this is happening in n my school’.

NAHT provides that sup pport.

“Just to be able to gatther people together to chatt, to get peers together in the same ro oom,, iss so imp porttantt. And d being g a local branch, we can often react and move quickly; issues these days can themselv ves move so quickly, especia ally with social media,” she adds.

“When school leaderss look around, often it is the ca ase that the only people nowada ays who have their back is their union, NAHT. NAHT is not just four letters, it is what our 30,,000 members make it,” agrees NAHT national secretary, organ nising and campaigns, Rob Kelsall.

Regional support

With its 12 regions, circa 180 branches across England, Wale es and Northern Ireland and more e than 900 local officials, all of whom are volunteers, NAHT’s local infrastructure plays a critical, if sometimes unsung, role in supporting individual memberss.

“The infrastructure we have built strengthens and underpin ns eve ery ything g we e do fro om the e centre. It is a virtuous circle,” emphasisess Rob. The support is three-pronged, he explains (see p17 for more deta ail)).

First, it is about providing mem mbers with individual protection and advice, often peer-to-peer sup pport to help school leaders who find d themselves in difficult or challe enging positions – such as we saw witth the LGBT+ protests.

Second, it is about enabling and articulating NAHT’s collective voice.

“It is about bringing people tog gether within regions and branches,

ensuring we have a collective voice that we can then take forward on all matters around education, leadership and young people,” Rob says.

Finally, the region and branch network is about enabling NAHT to campaign with strength and credibility on the key issues facing the profession and senior leaders, notably (of late) accou untability, assessment, workload and funding.

“Lasst year through our innovattive national training programm me we trained more than 70 new branch and regional officials to take on n work, to step up and get involved and take on a role with NAHT. Th his year we are already seeing the e same sort of numbers coming fo orward and wanting to get inv volved. Members often say it is th he best CPD they have ever had, and the union provides training fo or officials free of charge.

NAHT pro ovides an arm around the shoulder; we are here to look after one anoth her,” Rob says.

“What we are dealing with as head te eachers, both on the groun nd and outside the school ga ates or playground, is increasing gly challenging,” agrees Sarah Hew witt-Clarkson.

“Fundin ng, of course, remains a very big issue. It affects everything in differen nt ways. But there can be other link ked issues that are maybe not so vissible; for example, falling birth rates in some areas of the country. The Year 5 and 6 ‘bulge’ is going to hit secondary schools imminenttly but, after this, we’re seeing birrth rates lowering again.

So you co ould go from having, say, a receptio on year of 90 children to one of 65, and that is going to have a ma assive financial knockon effect potentially, on top of every ything else.”

Anothe er worrying trend is schools, especially y MATs, restructuring to make hea ad teacher roles redundant, she points out.

“We are e all part of a great union, a union th hat is making a massive difference e nationally on major issues.

There is also real pride among people wo orking at a local as well as a national level. We can be pivotal to these deb bates,” Sarah emphasises.

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SUPPORTING OUR MEMBERS

We ha stro d to h neg ng voi ave a v o c ens tiating e at th ery thro u e ugh re noth table t be h o t i arm hat wa ng got ful to ms going emb to ers.

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“My advice would be ‘pick up the phone’. Even if it’s just for a chat or to let off steam about something; that is what we’re there for. Co ome and talk to us too, get involved d in meetings, take an interest in th he motions being put forward, follow us on Twitter,” she adds.

NAHT has also been instrum mental with supporting members on the ground in Northern Ireland to cope with the twin challenges of the e country’s long-running work to o rule by teach hers, and d now the loom ming prospect of school principals taking industrial action themselves.

As NAHT (NI) president Gerri Cameron explains, the eight-ye ear work to rule by teachers has ha ad a significant knock-on effect in terms of extra pressure and workload d on school principals and senior lea aders.

“The eight years of teachers’ action has, naturally, had a hug ge impact on school principals in

Northern Ireland. There have been no after-school meetings, no action plans, no contribution to school development planning, and so on. Anything notionally ‘superfluous’ to teaching has not been done,” she says.

“Our members, as school leaders, have been struggling therefore to keep things going, to ensure, for example, that progress or data still gets measured, that poor performance is still challenged, and so on. Moreover, the inspecttion regime has continued throughout, and teachers have not been cooperating with ETI (the Northern Irish equivalent of Ofsted) so there has been added pressure on school principals in terms of accountability within schools. It has been something of a perfect storm for school principals.

“NAHT has had a key role during this time in terms of supporting

members. We have be een trying to take the temperature constantly in terms of what impact this has been having on school principals and schools. We have been reassuring that we are cognisant of the pressure they are under, and we have been lobbying on their behalf,” she adds.

To that end, NAHT has played a key role in te erms of the negotiations with the Teachers’ Negotiating Committe ee to bring the acttion to a concllusion, which (at time of writing in April) was due to happen soon.

“School principals want teachers to come off their actio on and to return to ‘normal’ working pra actices. I get probably 20 to 30 pho one calls a day from members who arre concerned about what is happening. I have done some serious miles around Northern Ireland, meetting and talking to members fac ce-to-face.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

“We had to have a very strong voice at the negotiating table to ensure nothing got through that was going to be harmful to members. We have also run a series of member engagement events across the country.”

The prospect of NAHT members themselves taking industrial action means that a return to normality in Northern Ireland may still be some way off. The ballot carried out in February returned a 93% show of support for action short of a strike, and 58% support for action including strike action, something Geri concedes is “u unheard of” and which members, of course, would d prefer not to be forced into. “It is unprecedented for school leaderrs to do this, but NAHT members are ready to take their own action,” she says.

The unprecedented prospect of head teachers walking out on strik ke is also something very much on the cards in Jersey where, again, NAHT T’s branch has played a vital role in battling for a better deal for memb bers.

“For the past 12 years head teachers in Jersey have been receiving below-cost-of-living pay y award ds – 1% to 2% att mostt and d occasionally nothing at all – and when I took over as branch president a year ago, I pledged enough was enough, and we have been trying to address that,” explains Sam Cooper,

NAHT branch president for Jersey, and head teacher at St Helier’s d’Auvergne School.

“We have been working with other unions on Jersey – the other teaching unions, the public sector, nurses and civil servants and the uniformed services predominantly.

We have come together to demonstrate against this continued erosion and degradation of pay.”

As well as the actual figures on the table (or lack of them), the dismissive attitude of the States Employment Board (SEB) has been a bone of contention.

For example, in November “F 2017 we presented the SEB with a request for a pay award for 2018 and then heard nothing until August last year when it came back with a ‘final offer’ award that was, once again, below the cost of living. So there was absolutely no negotiation process,” points out Sam. “We understand the economic rationale behind building up a consolidation fund – Jersey is a relatively small economy and island – but for head teachers and teachers to be bearing the brunt was unaccepttab ble.

“Along with Rob Kelsall, in February we organised and led a ier rally through the centre of St Helier e. that attracted around 900 people e.

It was very welll attended; genera al al

secretary Paul Whiteman as well as members of the National Executive were there, among others.

“We also lodged a formal dispute with the SEB and at the end of January held a ballot of members to take industrial action up to and including strike action. That was almost unanimously backed by members, with 87% voting to take strike action, 100% to support action short of a strike and a 75% turnout.

“This prompted the SEB finally to sit down and hold negotiations; but it has only been the direct threat of strike action that has forced it into this. As a result of these negottiations we have received an offer from the SEB that matches the majority of other state employees, and have also secured an improvement in the pay spine structure e, something we have been trying to improve for the past decade,” Sam explains.

This offer is for 2% for 2018 and again for 2019, and then from 2020 an extra 1.3% above the cost of living. Including the revised spine, which should add between 2-6%, and assuming RPI of around 3.5%, this could mea an some members see eing pay rise es of more than 7%.

“Th his will certa ainly go some way tow wards makin ng up the shortfall me embers have e experienced.”

This offer has now been accepted y our membe ers. by

‘IT IS ABOUT HAVING A SENSE OF COLLECTIVE PURPOSE, LIVING IT AND BREATHING IT’

Ruth Davies is head teacher of Waunarlwydd Primary School in Swansea and secretary of NAHT’s Swansea branch.

“Swansea is one of the poorest-funded local authority areas in Wales. So we have been at the forefront of needing to tackle and highlight increasing poverty and decreasing budgets.

“For an individual school you can only go so far in terms of having these conversations. But as both a branch here in Swansea and across Wales, NAHT is able to have those conversations with both the national government and the Welsh government.

“At the same time, we have recognised that just having a whinge in the press about not having enough money is not the answer. You need to be going out there and winning hearts and minds. It is also vital to be clear about what, for you, is the key issue – the key message you want to be getting across.

You need to be clear about what is the big picture and what really concerns you.

“To that end, we have completely reconstructed the conversations we are having with local authorities and government. For us, that has been about constantly bringing the focus back to the impact this funding situation has on our children, and on society more widely. It is about the impact of poverty on learners, and allowing parents often to take the lead.

“As a group of head teachers here in Swansea we are very active, and so are our parents. Being involved in NAHT at a local level is an opportunity to take matters into your own hands.

“The big message for me is that, by being part of NAHT, you can be a part of sustaining that change rather than, as a single school, perhaps only being able to be reactive. It is about having a sense of collective purpose, living it and breathing it.”

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SUPPORTING OUR MEMBERS 16

“We didn’t get anywhere with being polite. In order to achieve this, we have had the firm support and backing of NAHT National Executive and the strength of the demonstration by members. It has certainly helped to focus the mind of the SEB which, obviously, does not want to be faced with a combination of school teachers and head teachers going out on strike,” says Sam. “None of us, of course, wanted to take such action or disrupt the education of children in any way, but after 10-12 years of this, we were determined that enough was enough.

The involvement and engagement of grassroots members across Jersey has clearly made a difference.

“Ninety-nine per cent of the time head teachers are quiet, calm and just get on with things. When you have pictures of 60 to 70 school leaders parading through St Helier on the front of the newspaper, showing solidarity, that is what has tipped the balance; it is what brought the SEB to the table and helped us secure a credible pay award,” he adds.

Your union

The potentially spiralling situations in Northern Ireland and Jersey are symptomatic of the wider, increasingly unsustainable, pressures facing head teachers and senior leaders across the UK, concedes Rob Kelsall, which means NAHT’s national, branch and regional support will become more important, more pivotal, than ever.

As he explains: “We have definitely seen an acceleration

in issues and pressures facing head teachers. The pressure being applied to school leaders from different quarters is now really punitive, especially around accountability, employment practices and school funding.

“NAHT has been around for 122 years and I think that is one of its biggest strengths, along with the fact that as a model, it is based from the ground upwards. It has stood the test of time for more than a century. Our education system at present is arguably one of the most turbulent in a generation. NAHT is a constant for members, a protection and a support, and a body that brings head teachers and school leaders together. Speaking with one voice. The old slogan ‘stronger together’ has never been so important than it is now.

“We are bringing more and more people into NAHT, working with officials and taking on roles, and we have new members joining all the time,” he says.

So the message is, however busy and under pressure you are day-to-day within your school, don’t forget that NAHT is there for you.

Beyond this, if you can carve out the time to engage and get involved on the ground with your branch, do so – whatever you can commit, however great or small. Because, after all, as a union, NAHT draws its strength, authority and effectiveness from you, the members.

N I K A SPE OR F P U O O H SC R E D A LE Our educa tion system a present is arguably o t ne of the mos t turbulent in a generatio n. NAHT is constant f or member a s, protection and a supp a ort.

‘BRANCHES PLAY AN ABSOLUTELY KEY ROLE IN KEEPING MEMBERS UP TO DATE AND WELL INFORMED’

A head teacher for 21 years before retiring, Steve Breeze is now secretary of NAHT’s Staffordshire branch.

“I’ve found being involved in my branch has been a fantastic opportunity to work with similarly minded people. As a retiring head who wanted to keep his connections with schooling and education, it has resulted in lots of new ideas and bolstered my confidence.

“I visit members in schools regularly – we have just over 400 schools in Staffordshire – and I attend weekly meetings, local authority meetings, and trade union official meetings. We’re also very active as a branch in terms of conferences and events.

“We are only able to be self-sufficient through the active support and involvement of members. At our most recent conference, for

example, more than 140 people attended, and we picked up 20 new members, which was fantastic. Our annual Staffordshire conference for school leaders is also normally very well attended. We also hold termly branch meetings, which are normally very well attended; you get a good meal and there is a range of additional speakers.

“We do a lot in terms of supporting members, often at the informal stages of disciplinary or grievance procedures.

Thankfully we are able to resolve a lot of issues at school level, and the regional officers also provide a lot of support.

“Branches play an absolutely key role in keeping members up to date and well informed; we are very active in that respect.”

NG R OL RS

HOW NAHT IS STRUCTURED REGIONALLY AND LOCALLY REPRESENTATIVES Local representatives (commonly known as union reps) will be familiar to most NAHT members. They will respond quickly and courteously to provide members with best-quality advice.

Reps can negotiate and take action on our members’ behalf as well as provide members with the emotional and professional strength to deal with a variety of situations.

The regional officer network also supports officials, who connect to local branches.

BRANCHES NAHT branches provide the collective voice that allows NAHT to effect real change. NAHT has branches in all regions of England

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(normally centralised around local authority areas), Wales and Northern Ireland, and in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Branches combine knowledge and expertise to tackle and campaign around issues affecting school leaders and learners. They also bring local members’ calls for change to the national annual conference and AGM. On top of this, branches nominate members to hold office in NAHT as part of the national executive, as national officers or even as general secretary.

Throughout the year, branches will provide opportunities for members to network and learn from like-minded colleagues at branch meetings.

REGIONS NAHT has 12 regions, which coordinate local efforts on the ground. The regions ensure members get the best service locally and nationally by assisting branches, building capacity at a local level and providing insight.

They also work to amplify the voice of the activists, and so are an important cog for communication both up from the grassroots and down from annual conference and National Executive.

Similar to branches, branches regions can nominate members to hold office in NAHT as national officers or even as general secretary.

With each region, regional officers represent and negotiate on members’ behalf as well as provide ongoing support. For example, if a member’s job is at risk, a regional officer will take over their case. Regional officers also provide branches and regions with the tools to build strong campaigns, negotiate with employers and secure the best deal for members.

• You can find out more about NAHT’s structure and how you can get involved at naht.org.uk/about-us/how-we-work/, and discover your local region and branch by logging in at naht.org.uk.

NAHT ASPIRE

NAHT Aspire How NAHT Aspire supported Knowsley Lane Primary School in moving from ‘RI’ to ‘outstanding’. he NAHT Aspire TLIF programme began in autumn 2017 and is working with 96 schools from category 5 and 6 districts across England. Our one-year programme, which is based on the teaching and leadership elements of the full NAHT Aspire programme, is receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants who are seeing the results recognised externally.

Knowsley Lane Primary School is a school from our Liverpool NAHT Aspire TLIF network that has recently completed the one-year programme. Here, Linda Lord, principal of Knowsley Lane since January 2017, shares her experience and provides details about the strategies used that have supported the school in progressing from ‘RI’ to ‘outstanding’.

What was the driver for joining the programme? “To develop middle leadership within school and increase the capacity of middle leaders to see the wider picture, think strategically and operate effectively.”

So was this achieved? “Yes, the Ofsted inspection in January 2019 recognised the impact of the middle leaders: ‘All middle leaders play an important role in school improvement and are proud to do so’.”

However, the programme is much wider than middle leader development, with teaching and leadership strategies being used to develop practice.

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It reassured the school that exemplary practice is in place.

The School Development Rubric was used to evaluate the strengths and development areas in the school and support school effectiveness. Completing it with middle leaders enabled professional dialogue and it supported their leadership development; it reassured the school that exemplary practice is in place in specific areas, as well as clarifying areas for further development. The rubric was shared with staff, who understand their roles, responsibilities and contribution to continued school improvement. Ofsted accessed the rubric during its inspection and agreed with school evaluation that the vast majority of features are ‘leading’.

The Quality Framework for Learning and Teaching (QFLT) was used extensively during development days, and lesson visits were carried out with senior and middle leaders, all of whom were themselves observed teaching. The QFLT lesson visits focused on learner behaviours and professional learning conversations. It enabled teachers and leaders to have a consistent language to talk about learning, and to share good practice. It has also been used by subject leaders to support them in giving feedback following lesson visits and learning walks.

The Quality Framework for Leadership (QFL) has supported middle leaders in identifying individual and team leadership strengths and key priorities.

FAST Learning was introduced as a key strategy to support pupils in improving accuracy, fluency and confidence with foundational skills in reading, writing and maths. It is now embedded across the school and is having a positive impact on pupil outcomes in core subjects.

What was the impact on the school’s development? “Ensuring that existing systems were enhanced by cross-referencing the development rubric and QFL and QFLT. This provided further external validations of quality assurance of lesson observations.”

The impact of the strategies was confirmed when, in January 2019, Ofsted found Knowsley Lane to be ‘outstanding’ in all areas.

Finally, we asked Linda how being part of an Aspire network helped her own professional development. “It provided an opportunity to expand my professional network – this was key as I am just entering my third year of headship”.

ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Knowsley Lane Primary School serves a community within the seventh most deprived local authority in the country. With 246 pupils, it is of average size, serving mainly white British children (94%).

The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is low – 5%. The figure for pupils eligible for the pupil premium grant is 67%, and the figure for pupils with SEND stands at 12%.

Knowsley Lane joined the Vantage Academy Trust in September 2014, which provided a programme of support, and an HMI monitoring visit in 2017 praised the work of the school and the Trust. In January 2018 Knowsley Lane embarked on the NAHT Aspire TLIF programme.

You can read the case study in full at nahtaspire.co.uk/casestudy.

The NAHT Aspire TLIF programme is fully recruited, however the programme is available on a self-funded basis.

To find out more please visit nahtaspire.co.uk or phone us on 0844 809 9219.

A CREDIBLE VOICE

A credible voice NIC PATON speaks to NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman about his vision for the union and for school leaders.

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o one goes into headship or school leadership expecting it to be easy. But a strong case can be made that the ‘heat and burden’ head teachers and school leaders face nowadays is unprecedented, whether we’re talking about punitive accountability; funding, recruitment and retention challenges; societal and parental expectations; or constantly shifting

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governmental and policy goalposts.

As both a trade union and a professional association, NAHT is, and always has been, a beacon of stability and support for head teachers and school leaders within this maelstrom. More than ever, NAHT’s strength in depth – now with some 30,000 active members, and represented in almost every school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

– and its respect within government circles can make a difference.

Nevertheless, as NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman explains, an organisation such as NAHT is only as good as its membership and, crucially, the engagement of its membership.

The more members understand and recognise what NAHT can do and offer at grassroots, local,

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

regional and national levels, and at an individual level, the more powerful it is. Moreover, the more NAHT members can articulate the purpose and value of their union to peers, parents, policy-makers, the wider profession and others, the more effective it can be as a voice for, and of, the profession.

“One of the problems with trade union membership is that, too often, the decision to join is passive. A lot of people join because they think, ‘if ever I am in trouble one day I’ve got something there’. For most of our members, I’m glad to say, that never happens,” Paul says.

“Yet, actually being able to show what we’re doing as a union and professional association – simply because of virtue of the fact that you’re a member – is equally valuable; that we can effect change in our education system, that we can campaign for

Our role is to create the best conditions we can for leadership to thrive.

and achieve positive outcomes.

Therefore, we need to make things tangible for people,” he adds.

All of which brings us to Paul’s vision for NAHT going forward.

Paul, of course, took over as general secretary from Russell Hobby in September 2017. It has been a period of intense change and turmoil both inside and outside the profession, not least because of Brexit, a new national curriculum, a new inspection framework and, perhaps of most day-to-day significance to members on the ground, the deepening schools’ funding crisis.

“We are working in a completely different environment to where we were in late 2015 into 2016, which in turn means we need to do our job differently. Since coming in as general secretary I have spent time thinking ‘how do we describe the job that we now have to do; what is it that we need to do as both a trade union and professional association?’ It took a while to articulate it, but we have boiled it down to three words: ‘growth’, ‘community’ and ‘voice’,” Paul says.

Leadership Focus sat down with Paul at NAHT’s head office in Haywards Heath to find out more about his thinking behind

this vision – growth, community and voice – and what it means for members.

“The delivery, and the quality of delivery, of education in this country does not sit on the shoulders of the secretary of state; he makes policy, but he doesn’t deliver it. It doesn’t sit on the shoulders of the chief inspector; she makes sure education is delivered right, but, again, she doesn’t actually deliver it. No, it rests on the shoulders of school leaders and NAHT members,” emphasises Paul.

“Our role, as the professional body and trade union for school leaders and head teachers, therefore is to create the best conditions we can for leadership to thrive. If school leadership can thrive, then everything else follows, and everything else should come along with it.

“That is a simple description, but how do you do it? For me, this is what growth, community and voice encapsulate. It is about creating a virtuous circle, one where it does not matter where we start as long as these three tenets remain our focus,” he adds.

But what does this vision actually mean? Let’s look at each in turn.

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A CREDIBLE VOICE

Growth

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‘Growth’ at one level simply refers to the need for NAHT to sustain and continue to grow its membership base, to continue to build its representation among head teachers, senior leaders, school business leaders and middle leaders. But, of course, that would be a priority for any member organisation. ‘Growth’ therefore as a tenet goes much deeper than that; it is about professional growth, growth to innovate (both individually and as an organisation), growth to be strong, credible, resilient, and growth that enables NAHT to be listened to.

As Paul outlines: “Although we are in a really prominent position as an organisation, all of the pressures that are on the system mean that, actually, you can see changes in who might be our members, and who might not be our members. Just from our name – it talks about ‘head teachers’, and of course we look after head teachers, but also deputy head teachers, assistant head teachers, school business leaders; we also have middle leaders in membership now. We want to make sure we have vibrant membership levels in all of those roles.”

‘Growth’, too, in this context is about sharing best practice, collaboration and peer-to-peer networking, Paul emphasises.

“One of the things the school system talks about is collaboration, another is system leadership.

Yet the way the system is set

up – with accountability and the competition for school places, and having to have the ‘outstanding’ banner on the front of the school, and all the rest of it – actually works against true collaboration and true system leadership.

“Where it can take place, however, is within that collective environment of your professional association, your trade union, where all of that worry about school places and that is off, and you can really engage with one another in a safe environment.”

Community

This growth agenda – and the emphasis on developing and sustaining a safe space for development, conversation

and support – leads, in turn, to Paul’s focus on ‘community’.

“Unions have historically been organised into branches, but the traditional view of what a trade union local branch meeting might look at fills me with dread! A very formal agenda with points of order and everything else that goes with that. They have their place for certain things – annual general meetings and things like that, so you can sort out who is elected as an official. But what we want around that structure is to organise points of professional community,” Paul explains.

“What do I mean by this? I mean communities of leaders who can meet in a safe space to talk about whatever is affecting them and whatever issues are on their mind at the time. The safe space element is very important. You know you’re free from being marked by your peers or by any of the system that might be making decisions about your strengths or weaknesses as a leader.

“You can come to that space and say, ‘I need help with…’ or ‘I can help you with…’ and that creates a really strong sense of community. And out of that sense of community we want to create a sense of belonging.

I want us to see ourselves as a profession that has the same value as the medical profession or the law or accountancy, that kind of profession,” Paul says.

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Voice

‘Community’ of course also means your local community and – as a school leader – engaging, being a part of, leading and shaping the educational conversation at that level, too. This in turn feeds into and complements Paul’s third tenet of ‘voice’.

As Paul explains: “If we’re bigger and well-organised and wellrepresented in the community, then our voice grows – which is fiercely independent and not politically affiliated – and becomes more and more credible. We’ve always been able to exercise some influence in the corridors of power, whether it be in Westminster, Cardiff or Belfast. That is great and it is brilliant to be able to do.

“But in the political circumstances we are in now we have to do so much more than that. We need to hit that balance that comes with strength of membership, the credibility that comes from that community, and feed that into having a powerful voice. It is about talking quietly to ourselves, among the profession, and to government about what is right and about what we should do. But also being able to go on the front foot and campaign for things.”

A good example of this is how NAHT (and, to be fair, other education trade unions) have been

able to change the conversation, the narrative, around school funding cuts. “Two and a half years ago, our members would have been seen by many parents as part of ‘the problem’; they were cutting posts, they were reducing spending money, it was the head teacher or the school leadership team making those awful decisions,” says Paul.

“We have been able to educate parents that, actually, school leaders are doing the very best they can, and we are worthy of your support rather than your criticism as a parent. But that only takes place when you do it collectively, and everybody is telling their parental groups the same thing at the same time, otherwise you appear to be one school in trouble on your own.

“Having the confidence to be able to say that in an isolated position is almost impossible. It is through our collective voice that we can build that confidence to tell the truth about what is going on in schools,” Paul adds.

HOW YOU CAN MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN What should this vision mean to a hard-pressed head teacher, school leader or school business leader in, say, Manchester, Ipswich, Cardiff, Belfast or London? What can individual members with 101 other challenges on their plate every day be doing to help NAHT to make this vision a reality?

The first thing, Paul emphasises, is that NAHT is not asking you to sign your life away. Sure, members can be (and many are) very active at branch and regional level, and that is absolutely great and welcomed.

But you don’t need to commit to that level of engagement and involvement to make a difference.

“Simply be proud of the organisation you are part of.

Recruit a friend. Or your colleagues. Make sure that when you talk about this stuff you talk about it from a point of pride. Not just ‘oh I joined in case I found myself in trouble one day’. It is so much more than that,” Paul points out.

Having said that, taking the time to go along to branch meetings can be a good starting point. “When it comes to ‘voice’, it is not what I think that is important, it is what 30,000 school leaders think, those who are running the system,” says Paul. “It is about your considered and thoughtful voice through your communities, rather than the voice of a few people who happen to be elected to positions.

“When our communities get together in either an old-fashioned branch meeting or an event that [national secretary, organising and campaigning] Rob Kelsall runs on the ground, probably the most important thing I will do in a week is go and attend one of those. And, for me, the most important part of that is the questionand-answer session. I get to hear what it is like on the ground, and I can articulate that straight back.

“Recognise your union to be what it is: an effective voice to campaign for what is right in education; to influence government and to influence those who hold power to do the right thing. Make sure through your wider membership and pride in the organisation that school leaders are taken seriously by the public and everybody who has an interest in what goes on in schools,” Paul emphasises.

“Also, be part of your local conversation. Dependent on whether you are in a MAT or whether you are still part of a local authority, there will be things that affect you and your colleagues on a wider basis that you will want to talk about, whether that is relieving stress or workload, tackling funding issues or whatever it may be.

Local engagement – local training, bringing branches together – can make you feel part of something.

“Ultimately, my message to members is simply: get involved. Don’t see getting involved as another thing that you should do but put off. Being involved could be the difference between being successful and having a desire to remain in education.

“Being involved is the thing that is going to bring about change. Involvement doesn’t have to mean hours and hours; it doesn’t mean being elected to a committee. It means once every now and again coming to a meeting and telling us what you think and telling us what you need solved.

“Give us an hour once every three months, give us a day a week – whatever you can do. But be part of the organisation that is here to look after you. Be part of growing NAHT. Be part of that creating and sustaining our community so that our voice is credible,” Paul says.

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NAHT ADVICE AND GUIDANCE

The value of advice

ou don’t have to look far to understand why NAHT’s, advice and legal support is so valued by NAHT members.

Take, first, the parent-led protests about LGBT+-inclusive sex education that exploded at school gates, especially in the Midlands, during March and April. As NAHT national secretary, organising and campaigns, Rob Kelsall highlights, the speed and intensity with which these protests spread was shocking.

“The protests went from one school in the West Midlands to

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seven different local authority areas covering scores of schools in a matter of days. That would not have happened without the power of social media. I’m not saying that social media is a bad thing, but it can fan issues,” he points out.

The protests led to school teachers being offered security advice by police and, shockingly, Andrew Moffat, the assistant head teacher at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham who wrote the ‘No Outsiders’ programme, receiving death threats.

Then there’s knife crime, with home secretary Sajid Javid’s recent consultation around holding teachers, among others, accountable for failing to spot violent crime among young people.

As NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman puts it: “Suddenly you are going to have a statutory obligation to do all you can to prevent knife crime, too. I don’t know what that looks like in a practical context yet, but LGBT and knife crime are two really sensitive and potentially controversial issues.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

“If you are isolated, when do you speak out about the problems of reporting knife crime in your school, or reporting children who you are worried about? Because there are genuine worries as a school leader about when do I report; how do I report; what would that look like; would that destroy relationships with families and children on the ground?”

This is, of course, before we even get to the wider day-today pressures on head teachers and school leaders from the accountability system, from funding challenges, from personnel and staffing disputes, from relationship breakdowns with governing bodies and academy trustees, and from disciplinary questions and concerns.

NAHT’s expert advice is one of the key reasons many school leaders join NAHT. As well as the online support, tools and advice offered through NAHT’s website, naht.org.uk, NAHT’s network of 17 regional officers is complemented by a head office team led by head of advice Guy Dudley, head of representation and bargaining John Hakes, and senior solicitor Simon Thomas. All of them are on hand to provide members with muchneeded support and guidance.

Sudden problems flaring up, such as the LGBT protests, can be very difficult for head teachers to manage and navigate, and put members under intense professional and personal pressure, agrees Guy. “Once issues such as this develop traction – as we saw with the anti-LGBT protests – they can hit a school, and the head teacher, hard,” he says.

But Guy adds: “We were one of the first trade unions to work with Stonewall to issue advice to our members on these issues. We can offer a lot of advice on pupils to school leaders about how to manage these questions effectively and sympathetically in schools.”

Representation

When it comes to representation, John Hakes explains that support for members is at one of four levels: general pastoral support and advice; managing low-level grievance disputes and parental

It is very much about helping people as individuals, helping head teachers to get through their day.

complaints; supporting members facing disciplinary hearings; and supporting members faced with the prospect of gross misconduct hearings.

“The regional officer team provides local professional advice and support to members but also take calls on employment issues.

If representation at meetings and hearings is required, this may be passed to a local NAHT official, but, if of a serious nature, they will then normally pass the case on to the regional officer who will manage the case through the internal employment procedures.

In the rare cases where there is a point of law, the team will liaise with colleagues in the legal team.

Where a case goes to law, the legal team will assess the merits of the case before proceeding to an employment tribunal.

All members will, of course, normally be entitled to union representation as part of their membership. “It could be anything from somebody being off sick for a while and having to go through an absence review meeting when they return, through to a situation where a member has been accused of misappropriating money,” John highlights.

“One of the biggest difficulties we have at the moment is the high-stakes accountability system, especially for head teachers. Increasingly, employers are using the threat of implementing capability procedures to force members to leave their jobs. Capability should be about support and should not be used in a punitive manner. We will always make this clear to the employer.

“As you would expect, disciplinary processes and grievance claims are also a big part of our workload. One of the things that often underpins all these is relationships – most cases of this nature will come back to relationships,” John adds.

Academisation has also complicated the picture. While it used to be that NAHT officials would be dealing with approximately (in England) 150 local authority employers, now officials will still be dealing with local authorities but also some 3,000 MATs in England alone.

“It is relatively easy to have relationships with 150. But if you have 3,000 organisations to deal with, they can have 3,000 different HR providers or teams, so a myriad of different providers. So, whereas before you might have been able to say, ‘let’s try to work this out before it gets to a hearing’, now almost everything ends up going to a hearing,” says John.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the team’s caseload has, as a result, been rising in recent years, though John is careful to emphasise that simply quantifying numbers does not necessarily paint an accurate picture.

“Somebody rang me up the other day because they had found out they had been underpaid by £5,000 because of an issue with their contract. I got that call at 3pm. By 3.30pm the local authority had made sure that person’s pay had been put up. It was all sorted in half an hour.

“But we’ve had other cases that have lasted as long as three years and have 18 lever-arch files of evidence. So it is not just about the numbers, but the complexity,” he says.

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NAHT ADVICE AND GUIDANCE 26

Legal caseload

Simon Thomas and his legal team at NAHT are currently handling about 40 criminal cases, 41 regulatory cases, 35 employment cases and 15 personal injury cases.

“I have noticed a fairly steady increase, especially in regulatory cases,” he tells Leadership Focus.

Cases will vary between employment claims, which includes unfair dismissal, discrimination, redundancy and contract disputes, some of which result in employment tribunal proceedings through to personal injury claims (often accidents and illnesses that have arisen at work), through to allegations of criminal offences.

“That could be allegations of assault on children, indecent assault, fraud, theft. But the majority are low-level allegations of assault that do not lead to prosecution,” he points out.

“If a member is fully paid up and if the allegations relate to work in the period they were an NAHT member, then [subject to NAHTs rules and protocols] we will provide support for their defence, whether they plead guilty or not guilty. We will either help them with their defence or their plea in mitigation. Criminal cases are outsourced to specialist criminal lawyers,” he explains.

“In a lot (but not all) of the employment and regulatory cases we deal with, the member’s employment has ended and we

are seeking financial compensation in employment tribunals or courts or defending them in proceedings brought by their professional regulator. In England the regulator is the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), in Wales the Education Workforce Council (EWC) and in Northern Ireland it is the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI). We may be defending members on the basis they deny allegations or arguing that even if they admit allegations they should not be prohibited from teaching.

“The bottom line for a lot of people is they say they joined their union because as a school leader they are vulnerable to allegations and they wanted some peace of mind they will be supported and protected if the worst happens,” Simon adds.

Membership support

Guy Dudley’s team of five full-time advisers and five assistants deals with approximately 1,500 calls and more than 400 individual consultations a month. “The number of calls we receive has gone up quite a lot; probably by around 20% in the past year,” Guy Dudley estimates.

What’s more, the nature and scope of calls have changed subtly over the years, reflecting the changing pressures and stresses facing senior leadership and headship teams.

NAHT’s advice team deals with 1,500 calls and more than 400 individual consultations a month.

“The days when head teachers used to call us up to discuss pedagogy or technical issues about the curriculum are long gone.

Now it is very much about helping people as individuals, helping head teachers to get through their day as professional people, helping them manage and maintain their health and well-being,” he says.

Probably around three-quarters of calls received by his team relate to relationship difficulties – which can also be symptomatic of general funding, accountability and workload pressures – and bullying, he estimates.

“There is often nowhere for them to go. Often, too, there is a sense that somehow it is a sign of weakness to need to go and speak to your governing body. Then you can get relationship difficulties between school leaders and governing bodies too of course.

“With bullying, you’d be surprised how often it is a head being bullied by one of their deputies. They can see it was an opportunity to ‘go for the kill’, especially following an Ofsted inspection. Ofsted is often a bit of a killer for any head teacher role, even if it is often not their fault. Once a school is in a spiral it can be very difficult to get out of it, and it is often again symptomatic of the wider pressures around accountability and funding.

“We can often just help each party to see things from the other side; just being able to sit down and talk things through can help to take the sting out of things; it is about harmonising relationships.

Often, too, we will recommend mediation, and that will often be provided through the employer.

Yet often head teachers do not know about mediation and how to access it. We can help them to understand whether that is a possible remedy to resolving their differences,” Guy explains.

“We get a lot of calls from first leaders. Especially in the first year there can be a ‘fear factor’ around having to deal with things they have never encountered before as a deputy or assistant head, for example a significant disciplinary case. We also have a lot of online resources and documents around ‘firsts’ that members can access.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

What members really want is just a phone number they can ring, someone they can speak to, someone who can help put them back in control.

“The sheer workload coming through is another massive issue.

Government appears to shove everything that is new and shiny on to head teachers in September.

September is the busiest month of the school year for school leaders because you have a new intake of children, plus every new piece of teaching practice, policy or change in the law. So there is a lot of work needed to be done around well-being and welfare,” Guy continues, estimating that around a third of the calls NAHT receives are now to do with well-being and illness “It is all around ‘how do I survive?’, ‘how do I get to retirement?’. So we do a lot of work around tips and advice on how to manage the role and not let it take over your life; how to have a life beyond the school gate. Head teachers are often very driven; they’ll rarely have a break beyond two weeks over the summer and a few days at Christmas. It is about recognising that this cannot go on.

“Nationally too, of course, we are very active in terms of lobbying the government around workload.

School and head teachers these days are expected to be social workers as well as professional educators. Head teachers often come under fire from all sorts of groups. There are often huge expectations on head teachers; it is not just the direct workload, it is the expectation,” he adds.

As well as direct support, NAHT offers telephone, online and branch support, and

members can also access an Employee Assistance Programme providing confidential counselling support provided through the Education Support Partnership (see panel for more details).

“Managing exclusions is another significant area of concern to members; children who present with poor behaviour. Along with the latest moves around knife crime by the government, this is likely to become even more of an issue.

What if you, say, have a policy of no exclusions but a child has brought a knife into school? Especially in an academy setting where it may be that the head teacher is dealing with an employer who has a policy of no exclusions,” argues Guy. “What I call ‘rogue’ parents or governors is another big issue. As I highlighted earlier, it could be governors who are pushing an issue or an agenda, often because their own children are at the school. Or it could be parental pressure. I had a call from one member the other day who said they were spending half their time dealing with parental complaints. The power of social media is such that things can escalate very quickly. You can have an issue that goes viral very quickly.”

Finally, what advice would they give to members who feel they are caught between a rock and a hard place and need to get in touch with the NAHT support team?

“My advice would always be to seek advice from NAHT at the earliest possible opportunity. Don’t leave it to contact us the day before the hearing,” says John.

“My advice would be similar – seek advice at the earliest opportunity. Probably the majority of cases that come to us will previously have been regional officer cases. But if we are going to deal with it, it is better to be dealing with it from the outset rather than coming in late in the day,” adds Simon.

“People are more litigious than they once were, and things can get out of hand much more quickly than they used to, in part because of social media. One email can become a campaign in 48 hours,” Guy points out.

“But, remember, there is great advice on the website, and we do also have a great team here you can lean on; we provide sound and pragmatic advice, so do use NAHT’s expertise. What members really want is just a phone number they can ring, someone they can speak to, someone who can help put them back in control,” he adds.

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HELPLINES

NAHT’s advice team is here to help. You can get in touch either by calling 0300 30 30 333 (option one) or by emailing specialistadvice@naht.org.uk.

NAHT membership also entitles members to access the Employee Assistance Programme counselling helpline provided for NAHT by the Education Support Partnership.

This helpline is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

It is completely confidential and can provide support by telephone or online from specialist call handlers and counsellors who understand the demands of working in education.

This helpline provides: • emotional support and counselling • specialist information on work-life balance • specialist information on eldercare, childcare and disabled care support • financial and legal information • management consultation to support those responsible for managing others • up to six sessions of telephone counselling • access to Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CCBT) • information on local services, such as eldercare and childcare.

This helpline can be accessed at 0800 917 4055.

For further information go to educationsupportpartnership.org.uk or support@edsupport.org.uk.

PLACE2BE

Despite today’s climate, schools are growing into mentally healthy communities CATHERINE ROCHE is chief executive of NAHT’s charity partner, Place2Be. Here she celebrates schools promoting positive mental health and cultivating well-being under challenging circumstances. upils cannot flourish in school if they are distracted by their emotional issues and anxiety. Yet teachers who are already under huge pressure to deliver results often don’t have the capacity to provide the additional support needed. With funding falling and expectations on staff increasing, becoming more mentally healthy may feel like blue-sky thinking for many leadership teams.

As a former teacher myself, as well as a mother and chief executive of a charity with 25 years of experience in schools, I understand the many pressures on pupils today – not to mention the adults who support them.

In England, at least three children in every class have a diagnosable mental health condition, while the number of children with reported mental health issues in Scotland went up by a staggering 252% between 2012 and 2018.

It’s hard to tell whether this increased prevalence means more young people are struggling or if adults are simply getting better at spotting it. Either way, it’s often in classrooms and playgrounds that the problems emerge, frequently in the form of difficult or challenging behaviour that school staff have to manage every day.

Yet spending has decreased in real terms across much of the country.

Specialist services simply cannot meet demand and only a third of teachers report receiving mental health training in the past year.

Place2Be is working to meet this need with our Mental Health

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Above: Catherine Roche

Top right: NAHT past president Andy Mellor with Place2Be ambassador Katie Thistleton and chairman Simon Mackenzie Smith, and Progress trophy winners from Oasis Academy Oldham

Champions training for school leaders and class teachers respectively; expert programmes that empower participants to build more mentally healthy schools. We also offer consultations and one-off workshops that build understanding and capacity to nurture and promote well-being.

Many schools are finding ways to flourish. In a diverse and disadvantaged part of Greater Manchester, Oasis Academy Oldham is cultivating well-being by getting the whole community behind them.

We were delighted to celebrate their work in our Wellbeing in Schools Awards, where they were presented with the Progress trophy by 2018-19 NAHT president Andy Mellor and our chairman Simon Mackenzie-Smith. The Academy has onsite support and advice from Place2Be – but what really impressed our judges was its commitment to embedding mental health within all aspects of school life.

Its ‘nine habits’ encourage everyone, from students to SENCOs, to be compassionate, patient, humble, joyful, honest, hopeful, considerate, forgiving and selfcontrolled. This is backed up by a PSHE curriculum that addresses self-esteem, bullying, expressing feelings and discrimination, to ensure that, in the words of teacher Gemma, “our children know how to look after themselves, know the

world around them and decide who they want to be”.

When it comes to identifying young people who are struggling, staff like Gemma are at the grassroots – so the academy also provides CPD that is dedicated to student well-being and safeguarding, empowering them and giving them capacity to deal with different scenarios.

On top of the one-to-one and group support that the Place2Be team provides, there’s also a community farm where the most vulnerable students, primary pupils from different schools and the local community are invited to take part in activities that tend to be calming and nurture a sense of responsibility, such as looking after animals and gardening.

This encouraging growth at Oasis Academy Oldham – literal and figurative – comes at a time when children and young people’s mental health issues are the subject of unprecedented national attention. We’re looking forward to working with new NAHT president Judy Shaw over the next year to ensure that school communities are supported as a whole. We were pleased to see the Department for Education putting the well-being of school staff on the agenda with its new advisory group, and there’s plenty more we can all do to create the conditions for everyone to flourish.

Visit place2be.org.uk/train to find out more about Place2Be’s expert training for schools, including the Mental Health Champions programmes.

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The right advice School leaders face a multitude of challenges throughout the school year, and NAHT produces guidance for members on a wide variety of issues.

Updated guidance on school complaints

AHT’s advice team has created a range of advice documents offering suggestions and providing answers on a number of day-to-day issues, from management and pupil well-being to school finances. Here are some of the most popular advice guides NAHT has produced in the last six months.

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The best practice guidance for school complaints procedures for maintained schools was updated by the Department for Education in January. While the bulk of the guidance remains similar, there are some significant differences. These relate to the number of recommended procedural stages, complaint campaigns, the recording of complaints meetings and support with dealing with difficult complainants who resist going through the complaints procedure.

NAHT’s advice document provides an overview of the key features school leaders should know about.

CCTV in schools

With CCTV becoming commonplace in schools, what considerations are needed before installing or expanding CCTV networks? Objections include the view that CCTV has no place in a learning environment, scepticism about whether CCTV can achieve its purported aims, and more specific worries about the use of the images.

However, to others its presence comes as no surprise given the extent to which the UK has become a ‘surveillance society’, with CCTV a ubiquitous feature of the contemporary urban landscape.

NAHT’s advice provides an analysis of the legislative background on the use of CCTV and provides practical tips for compliance.

There is a link between low school attendance and poor life outcomes. particularly in schools where this is a new idea or approach.

NAHT’s advice outlines some of the advantages and disadvantages of mixed-age classes and provides some models you can consider.

Dealing with low Mixed-age classes: attendance planning and managing expectations All teachers are aware that if

The significant challenges faced by school leaders trying to manage school budgets and resources as effectively as possible can sometimes trigger a review of teaching practices and established class structures.

Where a school’s resources are particularly limited, a review may lead to combining single year group classes into classes of pupils with a mixed-age range. However, persuading staff and parents to accept the concept of mixedage classes can be challenging,

children have poor attendance at school, the likelihood is very strong they will underachieve significantly.

We are also only too aware that children who are frequently absent from school are much more vulnerable to sexual exploitation and criminal activity, including gangs and county lines. There is a link between low school attendance and poor life outcomes.

How do we keep attendance at the highest level possible? NAHT’s advice suggests some approaches to help achieve this.

FIND OUT MORE… All our advice and guidance for members is available at naht.org.uk/ advice-andsupport (you’ll need to log in to view each document).

NAHT publishes new advice for members every week in term time – so make sure you check our weekly email newsletter to find out more.

Job shares and flexible working

With a marked increase in parttime working in schools over recent years, NAHT receives enquiries from members about teachers returning from maternity leave, and from members who wish to reduce their own working hours for a variety of reasons – whether phasing down towards retirement, creating time to study or achieving an improved work-life balance.

NAHT’s advice outlines some of the benefits and considerations for school leaders.

Challenging an inspection judgement

NAHT often receives calls from members who want to challenge an inspection judgement awarded to their school.

NAHT’s advice describes the successful High Court challenge in 2016 brought by Durand Academy Trust against Ofsted and outlines the support NAHT can offer members.

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ANNUAL CONFERENCE 30

NAHT Annual Conference 2019

NAHT members gathered at The International Centre in Telford in May to debate the key issues facing school leaders and hear from leading figures from across the sector.

Education secretary launches SEND funding ‘call for evidence’ and answers members’ questions

Speaking to members on the first day of conference, secretary of state for education Damian Hinds announced a ’call for evidence’ into how funding arrangements for pupils with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can be made more effective.

“Teachers change lives, we all know this, and nowhere more so than in the incredible work they do to support children with special educational needs and disabilities.

They have my huge admiration and thanks for that work,” Hinds told delegates.

“We introduced education, health and care (EHC) plans to help that work and thousands of children with the most complex needs are now receiving more tailored support to help their learning. That support needs investment and while we have already hugely increased spending in this area, I recognise that providing for additional complexities can put additional pressures on schools.”

He continued: “I want to make sure we have the best understanding of how our system for funding children with high needs is operating on the ground – and whether there are improvements we can make so every pound of public money we

Secretary of state Damian Hinds

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

spend is building opportunities for young people.

“I’ve made clear that I will back head teachers to have the resources they need to provide the best education possible for every child – that ambition is no different for children with SEND, nor should it be. So I hope teachers and leaders will work with me to lead a system that unlocks every child’s potential.”

Since introducing EHC plans, the Department for Education (DfE) has announced £250 million up until 2020 to help local authorities manage high needs cost pressures, £100 million for more SEND places and £31.6 million for more than 600 new educational psychologists.

The DfE wants to work with all those involved in the SEND system to hear how it can work better to improve outcomes for young people and whether funding could be distributed more effectively. The call for evidence runs until 31 July.

The secretary of state also took the time to answer questions from delegates and ended the session by addressing the topic of Brexit.

He remarked that he and many of his colleagues felt frustrated by the challenge of trying to make the case for other priorities such as schools, hospitals, and crime.

To this point, Paul Whiteman responded by assuring the secretary that NAHT members would do everything possible to ensure the case for schools cut through the noise of Brexit.

Ofsted’s Amanda Spielman

‘We are a community’

In her inaugural speech, NAHT president Judy Shaw celebrated the work of those in education before describing the effects of austerity and accountability on the small West Yorkshire infant and nursery school where she is head teacher.

“This is our time and I am proud to be part of NAHT,” she told members. “We are growing.

We are a community. We deliver reasoned argument and alternative solutions to ensure policies are founded in evidence and research, rather than ideology and whim.

We draw upon the experience, knowledge and wisdom of 30,000 school leaders, those doing the job day in and day out, as we stand and face those in power.”

You can read more from Judy in her column on page 3.

NAHT president Judy Shaw

Ofsted’s chief inspector addresses members

Speaking to members on the second day of conference, Amanda Spielman set the scene for the delivery of the new inspection framework and highlighted some of the key challenges faced by school leaders.

Spielman referenced the consultation that took place earlier this year, attracting more than 15,000 responses, ahead of the new framework coming into effect this September.

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We are growing. We are a community.

We deliver reasoned argument and alternative solutions to ensure policies are founded in evidence and research, rather than ideology and whim.

“Having reviewed the comments, we are deciding how they can be used to improve the framework in the interests of children first and foremost, their parents and of course of schools and the wider education sector,” she told members.

“And that order – children first, parents, providers – is important to me, because it reminds us not only of the core reason why Ofsted exists, but also of the multiple purposes that our inspections must serve.”

Spielman went on to cover some of the key challenges being experienced by schools and their

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 32

It is so often the case that schools are expected to be the magic bullet to deal with a whole range of societal issues. communities, including knife crime, children dropping out before the end of compulsory education, and tensions surrounding religious beliefs and relationships education in the context of LGBT issues.

She said: “It is so often the case that schools are expected to be the magic bullet to deal with a whole range of societal issues, even when they may be ill-equipped, or inadequately resourced, or simply the wrong place to tackle the issues.”

She also said head teachers must not lose the right to exclude.

“I have defended the right of heads to exclude permanently in the small number of cases where it is necessary to do so. It cannot be right that the ultimate sanction, used properly, be removed from head teachers,” she said.

You can read more about the new inspection framework announced in May, and NAHT’s response to it, on page 34.

Pay rise vital to address recruitment crisis, says TUC’s O’Grady

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady championed the work of school staff at NAHT’s Annual Conference, describing how schools “instil a real sense of community, confidence and pride”, with communities dependent on the talented professionals that keep our school systems running on a daily basis.

She said the government must address the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis plaguing the sector through a restorative pay rise for the whole education workforce and stressed the need for increased national school funding. “Schools have already cut their funding to the bone.

They’re now having to cut into the bone,” she said.

O’Grady assured delegates that the TUC will keep fighting for fair rights and taxes for working people.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady

SETTING THE AGENDA

A significant portion of Annual Conference involves members debating motions that have been submitted by the union’s regions and branches, with those passed contributing to NAHT’s policy for the year ahead. Here are some of the motions debated by delegates at NAHT’s 2019 conference.

OFSTED JUDGEMENTS: THE RIGHT TO APPEAL While NAHT recognises the need for a certain level of accountability in schools, it is not right that Ofsted polices its own complaints, members heard, and they carried a motion to campaign for the establishment of an independent review panel to give schools the opportunity of a statutory right to appeal against an Ofsted judgement where they believe the outcome is irrational or unfair.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SMALL SCHOOLS We need to strengthen the case for the invaluable contribution of small schools to their communities and the world of education at a time when their existence is under threat, conference heard. A motion was passed calling on NAHT to work with organisations such as the National Association for Small Schools and the Chartered College of Teaching, to champion the work of small schools in local communities.

SOCIAL MEDIA: A STATUTORY DUTY OF CARE To protect children online, members passed a motion calling for a campaign for a statutory duty of care for social media companies to protect and safeguard children and to improve age verification systems.

SUPPORTING STAFF COPING WITH ONLINE HARASSMENT The safety and well-being of staff can be put at risk by online harassment and victimisation, while comments posted online can damage professional reputations, conference heard. A motion calling for clear advice on the steps school leaders can take to prevent these issues, including effective social media, parental engagement and complaints policies, and deal with such incidents when they do occur, was carried.

SPECIALIST SEND PROVISION Special schools are in danger of becoming a one-size-fits-all provision, and a motion was carried at conference calling for NAHT to urge the government to demonstrate its support for specialist SEND provision, including resourced mainstream schools and specialist support services, before we lose the expertise and environments that enable some pupils not only to survive but to thrive.

SPEAKING OUT ABOUT SCHOOL BUDGETS A motion outlining the need for increased funding for schools and criticising the DfE’s misuse of data to justify ongoing real-term cuts to school budgets was carried. Discussion touched on the experiences of school leaders across the country

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman

who are having to run their schools while dealing with the chaos of the school cuts, including making both cutbacks to resources and redundancies.

Members also heard how the funding crisis is being felt by school leaders in Northern Ireland, where children have the lowest amount per capita spent on them, and in Wales, where leaders face a storm of school cuts and uncertainty about where additional funding should come from.

PROTECTING THE PENSION SCHEME A motion calling for NAHT to be prepared to challenge any detriment to teachers’ pensions that could result from the increase of employers’ pension costs that could undermine the viability of the teachers’ pension scheme was carried.

RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION The recruitment and retention crisis faced by school leaders was debated by members, who carried a motion calling on the government to ensure career pathways into school leadership are attractive to new recruits, through increasing pay and introducing further support mechanisms, including mentoring schemes.

SCHOOL STRUCTURES A motion making the case for exposing and addressing the erosion of local, democratic, community accountability in parts of the increasingly fragmented education system was carried. School leaders from both academies and state-maintained schools shared their experiences. Members outlined how changing a school’s structure should not be seen as a panacea for school improvement, and challenged the argument that academy status is inherently restrictive. They also called for the sharing of best practice with colleagues across all school structures.

NAHT general secretary: ‘we will use our voice’

Paul Whiteman opened his address to delegates on the last day of conference by praising the tenacity and determination of members in the most challenging financial climate schools have known.

“Despite the chaos, despite the frequent heartbreak, despite the hard work, despite the toll taken on you and your family, you carry on. Not only do you carry on, but you find solutions and push for improvement. You don’t just throw criticism from the side-lines, you take part, you step up,” he said.

Reflecting on the growing strength of the union and the number of women in senior roles, he continued: “NAHT’s 30,000 membership is overwhelmingly female. Look at the conference platform and you will see the three most senior elected roles – treasurer, vice president and president – are all now held by

women. Women are at the heart of this association. They always have been. They always will be.”

Whatever the outcome of Brexit, he said the UK will “need the best educated and productive generation we have ever known”. He continued: “They will need to be equipped to undertake roles that we have not yet even imagined. We will need school leavers confident in reading, writing and recalling their times tables, but if we limit our measure of achievement to this, we will cheat our children and our future. We need young adults leaving education confident of their place in the world.”

On NAHT’s calls to end child poverty, he said: “The issues that underpin inequality reach far beyond the school gates and exist throughout the communities that schools serve. It would be wrong to expect schools to carry the can or fix the problem on their own.

I won’t allow the government to make that mistake.”

He closed conference with his vision for the future of the union. “The quality, delivery and standards of education in schools across England, Wales and Northern Ireland rest upon the shoulders of school leaders, NAHT members. Our task is simple to describe: to create the best conditions within which school leadership can succeed. In doing so, children will receive the very best education possible,” he said.

“Growing the union will create strength and security. Promoting professional communities will create belonging, confidence and professional growth. Our voice will be credible and powerful, delivering the influence necessary to succeed. We will work with government, we will advise, and we will campaign with vigour to highlight what is wrong in the system and encourage those in power to make the right decisions.

We will use our voice.”

We will work with government, we will advise, and we will campaign with vigour to highlight what is wrong in the system and encourage those in power to make the right decisions.

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NEW INSPECTION FRAMEWORK

What will Ofsted’s new inspection framework mean for school leaders?

Ofsted has announced the final version of its new framework for school inspections that will apply from September. n May, less than six weeks after the end of a 12-week consultation that received 15,000 responses, the inspectorate unveiled the new handbook which will form the basis of school inspections from September. Much of it remained largely as originally proposed, with some key changes.

Responding to the new framework, NAHT’s deputy general secretary Nick Brook expressed serious concerns. “The ambition in Ofsted’s plans is sound, but we are deeply concerned that it will prove to be unworkable in practice.

Under these new arrangements, inspectors are being asked to do too much, with too little resource, and with too great a degree of subjectivity,” he said.

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“It is right that Ofsted looks at the ‘quality of education’ on offer in schools – one would not expect them to look at anything else. But Ofsted has given its inspectors an impossible task to perform.”

He also questioned whether inspection judgements, delivered from September, will be any more useful than the current system, particularly for parents. “Ofsted has got a massive job on its hands to explain why it thinks this new framework is better than the old one,” he said.

One of the key changes is that Ofsted has dropped its original plans for inspectors to undertake ‘on-site preparation’ within hours of the notification call. Instead, the published handbook reveals that a 90-minute

FIND OUT MORE…

You can read more about the new inspection framework for schools and NAHT’s response to it at naht.org. uk/ofsted.

NAHT will be issuing detailed guidance to members in due course.

phone call will take place between the head teacher and the lead inspector on the day of notification.

This goes far beyond the proposals for on-site preparation activity. During the call, head teachers will be asked to account for progress made since the last inspection, for their assessment of their school’s strengths and weaknesses and to identify the specific areas that should be the focus for inspectors during the following two days on site. Inspection effectively starts the moment the inspector calls – a change which was not consulted on at all.

Brook said: “We believe this will be almost as problematic for school leaders as on-site preparation would have been. At present, head

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

teachers value having the evening between notification and inspection to reflect on how best to articulate to inspectors the strengths and weaknesses of the school and describe progress made.

“It is not an unreasonable request that head teachers should be given sufficient time to steady their staff and marshal their thoughts in those few short hours after notification of inspection.”

Secondly, and despite significantly more opposition than support, inspections of ‘good’ schools with over 150 pupils will double in length to two days.

Running directly counter to the recommendations of NAHT’s independent Accountability Commission, the inspectorate has ignored the call to focus its limited resources where it can make the greatest impact – supporting schools that are struggling to improve. It remains unclear how the inspectorate will be able to extend the time spent inspecting good schools without any additional resource being made available.

More positively, Ofsted has confirmed that schools will have time to adjust to some of the new requirements around curriculum and will phase in how it uses the ‘intent’ grade descriptor in the quality of education judgement.

For the next academic year, it says the judgement will not be negatively affected if it is clear to an inspector that leaders have a plan for updating the curriculum and are taking genuine action to do so. This is welcome, but more details are needed to better understand what constitutes an acceptable plan and what passes as genuine action.

“Overall, we remain concerned that a lack of specialist phase and subject inspectors, combined with nebulous evaluation criteria and grade descriptors, will fail to address the issues of consistency and reliability that have plagued inspection,” highlights Brook.

“Significant questions remain, while new questions have emerged, all of which will need answering before the September start. It remains to be seen how workable the framework is in practice and what it means for inspectors and school leaders.”

NAHT responded to Ofsted’s consultation on behalf of members.

Here are the key points we made.

NAHT disagreed with Ofsted’s first proposal to introduce a ‘quality of education’ judgement.

While NAHT supports a shift towards a more detailed examination of the structure, coherence and sequencing of a curriculum, and believes a broad, balanced and rich curriculum matched to the needs of pupils lies at the heart of every school’s work, we did not support the introduction of the ‘quality of education’ judgement.

There is simply too much content to be evaluated within a single judgement; nothing has been taken away from the framework, while more has been added.

The new language and terminology to guide inspectors also carries a significant risk of creating a completely new set of workload drivers and unintended consequences, with many schools feeling the need to demonstrate their compliance with the inspectorate’s new direction by revising their curriculum planning, delivery and evaluation.

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NAHT agreed with the separation of inspection judgements about learners’ personal development and learners’ behaviour and attitudes.

In NAHT’s poll of members, 63% agreed that personal development and behaviour are different and important aspects of a school’s work, and there is a good case for separating these two judgements. We do have serious concerns about the drafting of the evaluation criteria and grade descriptors – but the consultation did not seek views on these.

We also do not believe inspectors will have the capacity to complete the range of evidence gathering required to evaluate behaviour, and have concerns about serious inconsistencies in the approach to off-rolling, which will result in subjective, inconsistent or unreliable judgements. Inspectors need to recognise the very different contexts, circumstances and challenges schools face when addressing behaviour and promoting positive attitudes.

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NAHT strongly disagreed with the focus of section 8 inspections of ‘good’ schools and non-exempt ‘outstanding’ schools, and the increase in length of these inspections to two days.

Increasing the burden of inspection on ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools is a step in the wrong direction. This is largely the result of adding more to the evaluation schedule for inspection, rather than streamlining and simplifying it.

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NAHT believes the inspectorate should focus its resources on identifying failure and providing a stronger diagnostic insight for schools struggling to improve. It makes little sense to deprioritise the focus on leadership and management and to increase the cost of inspection of ‘good’ schools by doubling the inspection tariff.

NAHT strongly disagreed with the introduction of on-site preparation for all section 5 inspections, and for section 8 inspections of ‘good’ schools, on the afternoon prior to the inspection.

We are opposed to the introduction of what equates to near no-notice inspection, however it may be badged. The announcement of a high-stakes 90-minute phone call (which was not included in the consultation) on the same day as notification ratchets up the pressure and burden of inspection and is likely to drive unintended consequences and additional workload.

All school leaders should be entitled to a period of professional reflection in which to marshal their thoughts once an inspection has been announced.

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NAHT disagreed with the proposal not to look at non-statutory internal progress and attainment data.

NAHT welcomed Ofsted’s intention to ‘dial down’ the influence of data and reduce associated workload. However, this is likely to drive a different range of undesirable and unintended consequences. Ofsted’s rationale is that the consideration of internal school data carries the risk of an inspector’s actions ‘skewing’ the data – but this potential exists for everything inspectors evaluate.

It also risks driving an increase in the priority and focus on external data, incentivising schools to teach to the test and attaching a greater significance to these tests than they deserve.

It would be useful for inspectors to evaluate the efficacy of schools’ monitoring systems and share good practice, rather than assuming in-school data is either valueless or unreliable. NAHT is also unconvinced book scrutiny and pupil interviews will provide a more robust and reliable view of outcomes.

Comparative performance data should be used, based on a three-year average, to ensure all schools are fairly treated and schools should be able to present their own in-year monitoring analyses if they choose to do so.

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For more information, see naht.org.uk/ofsted.

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RELATIONSHIPS EDUCATION

NA AHT policy update: The Equality Act and Relationships Education in primarry schools NAHT se enior policy advisor SARAH HANNAFIN answers some key questions.

What att is the iss sue?

Primary school leaderrs in some areas of the country have be een the targets of campaigning, protestss and abuse relating to their commitment to equality and diversity.

LGBT+ inclusion has been the focus of these protests.

Protesters have argued that this learning should not happen in primary schools and that parents should be e able to withdraw their children from it.

Are these prote estors right?

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No – the parental right to withdraw is from sex education only. Th he learning that has been taking place rela ating to equality and diversity in affected sc chools has not been part of a sex educatio on curriculum.

Schools have the responsibility to determine what their pupils need to be taught about equality and diversity in the important context of other requirements, such as British Values,, spiritual, moral, social and cultural developm ment (SMSC), and their duties under the Equality Act and the Public Sector Equality y Duty (PSED).

This is part of a who ole-school approach in most schools and iss a strong part of their ethos. It involves learn ning about equality, diversity, British laws and society, tolerance and respect. It should involve children learning about the com mmunity and world they live in, in an age-a appropria ate way.

What att are scho ools’ responsibilities s unde er the Equality ty y Act?

The Equality Act 2010 0 and Scho ools provides non-statutory advice from the Department for Education (DfE) to o help sch hools to understand how the Equality Act affects them and how to fulfil their dutties under the Act. Of particular relevan nce is the PSED that applies to mainta ained scho ools and academies and extend ds to all of the protected characteristtics – race e, disability, sex, age, religion or be elief, sexua al orientation, pregnancy y and matternity,

gender reassignment and marriage and d civil partnership.

As part of this duty, schools have a responsibility to consider the need to fosster good relations across all characteristics.

Promoting good relations between peop ple and groups of all kinds is inherent in man ny things which schools do through, for example, aspects of the curriculum that promote tolerance and friendship or thro ough assemblies dealing with relevant issues.

Importantly, the Equality Act states that the content of the school curriculum is excluded from discrimination law. The e guidance states that excluding the conttent of the curriculum ensures that schools are free to include a full range of issues and d

It should involve children learning abou ut the community and world they live in, in an ageappropriate way.

ideas, however challenging or controversial, without fear of legal challenge based on a protected characteristic. But schools do need to ensure that the way in which issues are taught does not subject individual pupils to discrimination.

How does schools’ responsibility ty y to promote SMSC and British Values support this learning?

The DfE published Promoting Fundamental British Values as Part of SMSC in Schools in 2014. This non-statutory advice states: “it is expected that pupils should understand that while different people may hold

different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law. The school’s ethos and teaching, which schools should make parents aware of, should support the rule of English civil and criminal law and schools should not teach anything that undermines it. If schools teach about religious law, particular care should be taken to explore the relationship between state and religious law. Pupils should be made aware of the difference between the law of the land and religious law.”

Can parents withdraw their children from this learning?

These elements of learning are not part of sex education. There is therefore no parental right to withdraw as such a right only applies to sex education, Religious Education and collective worship.

How is Relat ationships t Educat ation t different?

Relationships and Health Education will become compulsory for all primary children from 2020, although early adopter schools, and other schools who choose to do so, will start teaching from September 2019.

DfE Teacher Voice Omnibus survey y data suggests that Relattionships Education n is already taught thro ough personal, socia al,

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

health and economic (PS SHE) education in at least 85% of schools and NAHT supports this approach.

The new guidance makes clear the distinction between ‘relattionships’ and ‘sex’ education that will help primary schools in their delivery of appropriiate Relationships Education to all pupils.

The new statutory guid dance outlines content for primary scho ools. The draft guidance can be accesse ed at gov.uk/ government/consultatio ons/relationshipsand-sex-education-and-health-education and covers ‘Families and people who care for me’, ‘Caring frien ndships’ and ‘Respectful relationships’’. Once schools are using the new statuto ory guidance, the content is clearly set out by the DfE, and schools have a responsib bility to deliver it.

Can parents witthdraw their children fro om Relat ationships t Ed ducat ation? t There is no right to withd draw from Relationships Education.

Will the new Rela ationships t Educat ation t be LGB BT+ inclusive?

The draft statutory guida ance states that in teaching Relationships Education, schools should ensure that the ne eeds of all pupils are appropriately met, an nd that all pupils understand the importance of equality and respect. Schools must en nsure that they comply with the relevantt provisions of the Equality Act 2010.

It goes on to say that schools should ensure that all of their tea aching is sensitive and age appropriate in approach and content. At the point at which schools consider it appropriate to o teach their pupilss about LGBT+ relationship ps, they should ensure that this content is fully integrated into their prog grammes of study y for this area a of the curriculum rather th han delivered as a stand-alone unit or lesson n.

NAHT has sought further clarity on the situation for primary schools. In Damian Hinds’ letter to Paul Whiteman, he states: “We have been clear that pupils should receive teaching on LGBT relationships during their school years – we expect secondary schools to include LGBT content. Primary schools are enabled and encouraged to cover LGBT content if they y consider it age appropriate to do so.”

So how can primary ry y schools s decide what att content is age appropriate te?

The outcomes for Relationships Education n contained in the new statutory guidance are expressed as ‘by the end of primary school pupils should know…’. They are not allocated to a particular key stage or year group. Therefore, schools can decide whatt is appropriate for each key stage and yearr group in their school.

The DfE does signpost suggested resourc ces in Annex B of the statutory guidance including those from the PSHE Association, Stonewall, NSPCC PANTS and the Catholic Education Service. These organisations have particular expertise and experience and so their resources can help schools in planning a curriculum that is age appropriate e.

The DfE regularly signposts to the PSHE Association, the national body for PSHE education, and has funded the Association in recent years to develop guidance for schools on topics such as consent, mental health and character education.

The PSHE Association publishes the Programme of Study for PSHE Education (Key stages 1–5). This programme is availab ble for schools to follow when planning their PSHE provision, and is signposted to by the DfE, in the new statutory guidance on Relationships and Health Education. This programme includes three core themes – Relationships; Health and Well-being; and Living in the Wider World. At primary level, the ‘Relationships’ theme includes a focus on how to respect equality and diversity in relationships, and there are specific outcomes related to this. The PSHE E Association also publishes a PSHE Educatio on Planning Toolkit for Key Stages 1 and 2, whic ch expands on these learning aims detailing how to address these issues in lessons.

What att role do parents play in these decisions about the curriculum content of Relat ationships t Educat ation? t

The draft statutory guidance says that all schools should work closely with parents when planning and delivering relationshipss education. Schools should ensure that

Schoo ols can decide e what is appropriatte for ea ach key stage and d year group in their sch hoo ol.

parents know what will be taught and when. Most schools have existing mechanisms in place to engage parents and should continue to use these as their means of engaging parents with Relationships Education – there is no requirement that this should involve additional mechanisms.

NAHT has sought clarity from the DfE about the role of parents in deciding curriculum content. Damian Hinds, secretary of state for education, wrote in his letter to Paul Whiteman: “What is taught, and how, is ultimately a decision for the school. Central to the government’s entire education policy is trust for professionals and we trust and support head teachers to make decisions that are in the best interests of their pupils.

“I want to reassure you and the members you represent that consultation does not provide a parental veto on curriculum content. We want schools to consult parents, listen to their views, and make reasonable decisions about how to proceed (including through consideration of their wider duties) – and we will support them in this.”

What att about sex educat ation t in primary ry y schools?

Sex education is not compulsory in primary schools. It is for primary schools to determine whether they need to cover any additional content on sex education to meet the needs of their pupils. However, the DfE continues to recommend that all primary schools should have a sex education programme tailored to the age and the physical and emotional maturity of the pupils.

Where a maintained primary school chooses to teach aspects of sex education (which go beyond the national curriculum for science), the school must set this out in their policy and all schools should consult with parents on what is to be covered.

Prima ary y scho oolss tha at cho oose to teach sex education must allow parents a right to withdraw their children. Head teachers must comply with a parent’s wish to withdraw their child from sex education that goes beyond the national curriculum for science.

37

PARTNERS

Have you taken advantage of your membership benefits from our partners?

New partners for 2019 FlashAcademy® EAL

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FlashAcademy® EAL is a new platform for schools, supporting teachers to deliver learning for pupils who don’t have English as their first language.

FlashAcademy® accelerates English language acquisition through curriculum-mapped lessons, challenges and games that simultaneously teach and test pupils. NAHT members receive a 5% discount towards a FlashAcademy® school licence, when quoting code ‘NAHT’.

Judicium Education’s data protection officer (DPO) service helps schools and MATs comply with the requirements set out in the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Judicium Education acts as the DPO for over 1,200 schools and also provides GDPR training for NAHT. Its DPO service is now offered at a discount to NAHT members.

your needs. Being a member of NAHT brings a range of benefits, including services and discounts from our carefully selected partners.

NAHT Assured

NAHT Assured partners can provide your school with professional services such as HR, payroll, health and safety, effectiveness, SIMS, and more.

NAHT Extras

NAHT has partnered with Edenred to deliver NAHT Extras to all members.

The member-savings platform gives you access to many discounts and offers, including an unrivalled range of retail gift vouchers and gift cards

redeemable at hundreds of high street names, online and instore. The discounted eGift Card range means you can get instant savings sent straight to your email address, allowing you to save anytime, anywhere.

Visit naht.org.uk/assured for more information.

Your membership, your benefits

We’re always on the lookout for the best money-saving deals for you and regularly update our membership offers. Tell us who you want to receive discounts from and we’ll see what we can do. Email affinity@naht.org.uk.

Visit naht.org.uk/affinity to see the latest offers from our partners.

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Please note that NAHT’s partner offers are not provided by NAHT but by NAHT’s partners. Accordingly, NAHT or NAHT Edge members wishing to purchase selected products and services must do so directly from the relevant partner. In connection with the promotion of these selected products and services, NAHT grants its partners the right to use the name NAHT partner or the NAHT Assured logo. As part of its investigations, and taking account of ongoing members’ feedback, NAHT is confident the products and services offered by its partners, in connection with the NAHT name and NAHT Assured logo, are worthy of serious consideration by school leaders interested in selecting such products and services.

Notwithstanding this, each NAHT or NAHT Edge member acknowledges that in selecting such products and services, they have not relied on any endorsement or association with NAHT in respect of the relevant product or service and shall have no remedies against NAHT and its employees in respect of such endorsement or association.

COMING SOON FOR ALL ME MBE RS

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LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

Lessons for life

NAHT Life Membership gives retired members the opportunity to continue membership of the biggest union for school leaders. Here, retired head teacher and former member CAROL HINE talks about her experiences following retirement and the benefits of Life Membership.

What is your background?

After qualifying as a teacher in 1973, I taught in primary, secondary, and tertiary education, and then I became a head teacher in 1998. I thoroughly enjoyed being head of a junior school, leading it through amalgamation and significant reorganisation.

Following a change in family circumstances, I took on headship of a school in another part of the country, but my tenure was dogged with issues out of my control, so I called upon the services of NAHT for support and guidance. With its help, I reached a suitable resolution and gave up being a head teacher.

How is retirement?

Retirement has been great, and my pension is enough for my lifestyle. However, six years after retiring I was horrified to be told that Teachers’ Pensions had recalculated my service: I now owed them over £1,000, and my monthly pension would be reduced.

Despite the being told of the importance of Life Membership, I just didn’t think I’d need it. How wrong I was. NAHT was there when I needed protection during my career, and would have been right by my side during my retirement. Unfortunately, I’m left to fight this myself.

Do you think Life Membership would have made a difference?

Having spent the past six months trying to communicate with Teachers’ Pensions and Capita, my stress levels have been through the roof. Knowing how well I was supported during service, I feel confident that NAHT would’ve had the expertise to advise me on this very important issue.

What stopped you transferring to this membership type?

The last thing I wanted to do was maintain connections with a profession that had become a challenging experience. Mentally, I wasn’t thinking ahead.

Could NAHT have done anything else to help the transition?

Q & A

I never really gave it much thought at the time. While in post, I took for granted the information and support NAHT provided – I’d called upon NAHT in a time of crisis and they were right there. I didn’t expect to need them after retirement. It may have been different if I had been shown examples of what NAHT can provide post-retirement.

What advice would you give to retiring leaders about Life Membership?

We all move into retirement with different ideas and goals. No matter how much we plan, the future’s unknown. In retrospect, I believe I’d have benefitted from still belonging to a community and support network that shared and understood some of my life experiences.

I believe I’d have benefitted from still belonging to a community and support network that shared and understood some of my life experiences.

A lot has been said about how overwhelming retirement can be. Do retiring school leaders need guidance on this, and if so what would this look like?

It would’ve been helpful to know just what NAHT can offer postretirement. Updates about education issues through regular newsletters may not seem relevant, but they just might be. We all travel in different directions; some maintain strong links with schools, while others, like myself, choose to pursue avenues far removed from education.

Some find the transition easy, but I’ve also known colleagues suffer terribly without the structure and demands their work provided.

While serving as a head teacher, I found little time for community involvement, and I’ve subsequently taken on a number of voluntary roles. Ultimately, this is a hard question to answer as often we don’t know what we need until we’ve experienced it. Maybe profiles of retired leaders after one, three, and five years would help, especially if NAHT has played a significant role for them during this time.

Although, I haven’t found retirement overwhelming, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the freedom after 40 years, it would’ve been so much better had I not had to deal with this horrible experience alone.

Retired members of NAHT receive trade union services and have the opportunity to continue to play an active volunteer role within our regions and branches.

To find out more and to become a life member, see naht.org.uk/join-life.

43

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019 A LEGAL VIEW

Direct discrimination and comparison of treatment NAHT solicitor YIN-WAI WONG outlines a recent Court of Appeal judgment on gender segregation in a school that sheds light on the law of direct discrimination. t NAHT, we regularly advise members on discrimination issues. Under the Equality Act 2010, direct discrimination occurs where person A treats person B less favourably than A treats, or would treat, others, and where A does so because of a protected characteristic. An example of direct discrimination would be a woman being passed over for a development opportunity due to her sex.

Its definition makes clear that direct discrimination is not just about unfavourable treatment, but less favourable treatment. At the heart of the concept is a comparison of treatment with another person (known as a ‘comparator’); merely treating a worker unreasonably, albeit obviously ill advised, will not amount to direct discrimination.

The Court of Appeal previously held that if an employer could show it would have treated all workers equally badly, then there would have been no ‘less favourable treatment’ and, accordingly, no direct discrimination. This is hardly a dignified assertion to make, but therein lies a potential lawful defence.

A comparator can be real or hypothetical: in the absence of a suitable real-life person, a claimant may seek the inference that the employer would have treated a hypothetical comparator more favourably. The circumstances relating to the case of the claimant and the chosen comparator must not be materially different, though the comparator need not be an exact clone of the claimant in every respect.

In a recent case involving a school, the issue was whether gender segregation amounted to direct discrimination. The school in question was a voluntary aided

A

faith school for girls and boys aged four to 16. For religious reasons, the school believed the separation of boys and girls at a stage of their development was obligatory, and it operated a policy of complete segregation from nine to 16 by sex for all lessons, breaks, school clubs and trips.

Girls and boys were taught on separate corridors, had separate break times and were not allowed to mix during the shared lunch hour. Access to facilities such as the school library was also restricted to separate times for girls and boys.

The segregation policy was public and apparent both to parents of prospective pupils and to regulators.

Following an inspection, Ofsted concluded that the school was ‘inadequate’ for a number of reasons, and specifically deemed the segregation practice discriminatory. The school challenged the finding at the High Court. The High Court compared the treatment of girls and boys as two groups and concluded that since they were both denied the opportunity to interact/socialise/ learn with or from the other group, discrimination could not be established, as it had in effect been cancelled out on either side.

The Court of Appeal overturned the decision and held that the correct approach was to ask whether any individual girl pupil was denied the opportunity to interact with boy pupils because she was a girl. The answer to this was undoubtedly ‘yes’, as she could have socialised with boy pupils had she been a boy, therefore her treatment amounted to direct sex discrimination. The same was true for an individual boy pupil.

The Court held that, even though the pupils were subjected to the equal

The issue was whether gender segregation amounted to direct discrimination.

provision of segregation, they were each placed at a detriment due to their sex. The Court also held that it was not the mere fact of segregation being discriminatory against both boys and girls, but that it was particularly discriminatory against girls due to the reinforcement of stereotypes, which accorded boys and girls differential and unequal status.

In light of this judgment, schools that operate a policy of segregation will need to change their arrangements to avoid future negative findings by Ofsted.

The Department for Education has published non-statutory guidance on this subject.

On a broader scale, although this case concerns the education provisions of the Equality Act, it has potential implications on equality in the employment context, not least in terms of how we think about comparators.

The judgment of this case invites scrutiny of ‘separate but equal’ treatment in the workplace.

The defence of ‘equally bad treatment for all’, an unattractive one and often a last resort in any event, may now be more difficult than ever to run.

The recent judgment highlights the importance of making the correct comparison of treatment, which requires looking at the treatment of the individual, rather than treatment as part of a group.

It is useful to remember that there is no reference to ‘group’ discrimination in the Equality Act. Where a group of individuals is being discriminated against, each individual in the group is entitled to freedom from direct discrimination looking at the matter from their individual perspective.

45

WALES

Wales

POLICY UPDATE

ROB WILLIAMS, director of policy at NAHT Cymru, shares a summary of the work being done in Wales to protect, support and empower members.

Funding

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Press and media coverage of the school funding campaign in Wales increased considerably from March 2019 onwards.

In a number of localities, school leaders and their governing bodies sent letters to parents outlining the problems, and they also spoke in the media about the challenges they are now facing in order to maintain a safe and productive learning environment.

NAHT Cymru expressed the concerns of many school leaders in discussions with Welsh government. We stated that new policy reforms – including the new curriculum and the additional learning needs system – are in danger of failure before they have been fully implemented as a result of the woefully inadequate school funding settlement this financial year.

Therefore, it was disappointing to note the first minister, Mark Drakeford AM, put the blame for challenges in school funding squarely at the feet of some local authorities. The situation was subsequently compounded when the leaders of those same local authorities passed the blame directly back to Welsh government.

Caught in the crossfire of such political spats are children and young people, and it is the responsibility of government at every level – Westminster, the Welsh government and local government – to show leadership and ensure the education they oversee is supported to be the best it can possibly be through the right level of investment at every level.

NAHT Cymru submitted oral evidence to the Welsh Assembly Children, Young People and Education Committee inquiry on school funding. Our submission made it clear that: • overall, there is insufficient funding for schools in Wales • school funding distribution by Welsh government is outdated – it is further compounded by 22 different local authority funding formulae – and, as a result, it creates huge inequality at individual school level

• additional complexities within the system, including the variety of organisations occupying the middle tier, create a lack of transparency resulting in difficulty identifying how much of the education funding not arriving in schools is actually used for the good of children and young people.

Increasing numbers of schools are coping with budget deficits and are faced with the impossible task of managing increased expectations with falling resource. Many have made all the possible savings available and are now undertaking compulsory redundancy processes or even starting to consider reducing the school week for pupils in order to balance the books.

The school funding campaign continues in Wales. If your school, NAHT Cymru branch or local schools wish to become involved, contact cymru@naht.org.uk.

Pay and conditions

During the spring term, we submitted our written and supplementary evidence to the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body under its first remit. As a result of this new process and a hugely short and challenging timetable, this first remit focused solely on matters related to pay.

Our position, agreed with most of the other teaching and leadership unions, is that all teachers and school leaders in England and Wales alike should receive a 5% pay increase in September 2019, fully

funded for all schools, to be followed by further increases as soon as possible to restore the value of teacher pay to 2010 levels. Beyond that, a further review of teachers’ pay would be needed, with a view to establishing appropriate pay levels for the long term.

Consultation responses

NAHT Cymru responses to Welsh government consultations since February 2019: • Our National Mission: A Transformational Curriculum • Draft additional learning needs code • Changes to target-setting requirements on schools.

Submissions to inquiries

NAHT Cymru submissions to Welsh Assembly Committee inquiries: • Children, Young People and Education Committee – inquiry into the sufficiency of school funding in Wales and the way school budgets are determined and allocated • Children, Young People and Education Committee – scrutiny of the Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales strategy • Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee – scrutiny of the Senedd and Election (Wales) Bill, including: > renaming the National Assembly to Senedd > lowering the minimum voting age of National Assembly elections to 16 > delivering other reforms to the National Assembly’s electoral and operational arrangements.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

Northern Ireland

Alice Adams Lemon, interim director of NAHT (NI), provides an update on the work being done to support members and represent their interests in Northern Ireland.

NAHT consultative ballot provides mandate for further action

Following member support events held in the autumn of 2018, NAHT (NI) put the strength of feeling expressed by leaders to the whole NAHT (NI) membership on matters such as the Education Authority’s (EA’s) services to schools and unreasonable workload pressures, including the results of the eight-year-long industrial dispute by unions other than NAHT.

NAHT (NI) members voted on the following demands:

1

2 3 4

an easing of the workload being placed on school leaders and the removal of unjustified and inappropriate pressure until this is addressed in terms of a settlement;

the establishment of a school principals’/teachers’ consultative body with clear terms of reference jointly agreed by employers and school leaders to consider workload, the inspection process, budget and support for schools; a process of ‘fit for purpose’ evaluation of the EA’s Children and Young People’s Service to schools, including the school support service; an independent complaints procedure weighing up evidence from the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) and schools.

The result was definitive – more than 90% of respondents were in agreement

with the demands. What’s more, of the respondents to the consultative ballot, a significant majority were in favour of NAHT members in Northern Ireland taking action short of strike action or indeed full strike action.

Unless there is significant movement from the employers’ side, members have been advised that they will be called to ballot at the start of the new school year. So, time is running out for a solution to be found and the EA continues to place additional workload pressures on our school leaders, either due to their inability to resolve the existing industrial dispute or by implementing initiatives that, while welcome, may place further responsibilities on our members. All of this at a time when school funding is at crisis point and the day-to-day job is made more complicated by the need to accommodate industrial action.

Education in crisis

The Parliament Buildings at Stormont was the venue for NAHT (NI)’s Education in Crisis Summit in February. Representatives of all main Northern Ireland parties attended the summit and spoke their views on the issues facing schools and school leaders. The consensus was that education in Northern Ireland is in crisis.

The disappointing result was that until the collapse of Stormont is resolved, Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) had no solutions to offer. Since the summit, some movement has been made to set out party lines, however this may be futile until

POLICY UPDATE

politicians find a way to get back to the business of legislating for Northern Ireland.

It must be noted that monies have been found to accommodate pension increases (although queries about whether allocations are sufficient to cover the full cost of the increase are ongoing), and indeed to present what is likely to become a formal pay offer to teachers and school leaders in due course. However, funding for schools remains wholly inadequate and schools are stretched to breaking point.

In October 2018, the Northern Ireland Audit Office report found that funding for education had fallen by 10% over five years.

Presidential election

At the NAHT (NI) AGM held prior to the Education in Crisis Summit, Geri Cameron was unanimously elected as NAHT (NI) president for her second year. In her first year as president, Geri represented NAHT (NI) in all manner of high-level negotiations, including hosting public meetings that generated regional and national media interest, supporting individual members with respect to SEN casework, convening meetings with politicians and representing NAHT (NI) at the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in Westminster; the list goes on.

She continues, alongside the NAHT (NI) Committee, in a tireless effort to represent the best interests of NAHT (NI) members and navigate extraordinarily difficult waters, as we work to see significant improvements to leaders’ workload, school funding, employer support and improved inspections processes.

47

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP PODCAST

Tallking lead dersh hip As NAHT’s school lea adership podcast series approaches its 25th episode, we explore some of th he highlights so far and explain how you can join the growing community of listeners and contribute ideas for future fu u episodes. rom shared leadership and low-stakes testing to professional developmen nt, closing the attainment gap and workload, NAHT’s school leadership podcast series explores some of the key issue affecting leaders, teachers and learners in our schools.

The series sees James Bowen, director of NAHT policy and NAH HT Edge, in conversation with key figures, leaders and thinkers from m across the education sector. Jam mes explains: “What we’re trying to do is let people hear from really interesting, insightful people in the world of education who they y otherwise might not hear from, or

F

48

The English special with Pie Corbett – episode 2 “When children come to our great schools, how lucky the communities are, and we need to work together on that basis of mutual respect.”

Pie Corbett is an author, former head teacher and Ofsted inspector

they’d have to pay a lot of money to hear from.

“It might be letting people hear from decision-makers, whether they be politicians, policy-makers or people running influential organisations that have an impact on their lives. Perhaps one of our most interesting guests was Amanda Spielman within her first few months of being appointed chief inspector of Ofsted. It was an opportunity for the chief inspector to speak to head teachers about the kind of organisation she wanted to run.

“Alongside that, it’s also about CPD. It’s about asking ‘are there people out there who are absolute experts in their field, who either you wouldn’t get to hear from, or you may have to pay to go on a training course hundreds of miles away to hear?’, and bringing them directly to you, on your drive to school or your run at the weekend, for nothing.”

In one episode, James speaks to author, former head teacher and Ofsted inspector, Pie Corbett about the English primary curriculum. “Pie is an expert in teaching English and we were able to get Pie on, talking about what he would do to improve standards in reading and writing in a school, and what’s the first thing is he would look at. School leaders

Fiona Millar – episode 16 “I think the dark side [to competition] is the unintended consequences of the perverse incentives that pursuing very narrow data introduced into schools. First of all we had focusing on particular groups, the C/D borderline, on children who are not going to get level 4 in their SATs, and then we moved on to gaming the curriculum ....”

Fiona Millar is a journalist, governor and campaigner on education issues, and author of The Best For My Child: Did the school market deliver?

The characteristics of effective middle leaders with Dr Jill Berry – episode 15 “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Leading – getting the best from people, that’s what you’re doing at all levels, including with the children in your classroom.”

Jill Berry is the former head of Dame Alice Harpur school in Bedford and author of Making the Leap: Moving from deputy to head

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

Speakers for Schools: Jimmy Wales – episode 13 “I have had a lot of failed businesses, of bad ideas that seemed like good ideas at the time, but I do think it’s more important to get out there and try something and fear of failure often prevents people from ever even trying.

So what I tell people is, look, if you try something and it doesn’t work out, at least you tried something interesting and the truth is employers prefer that.”

Jimmy Wales is an entrepreneur and the cofounder of online encyclopaedia Wikipedia

ge etttin ng acce ess to o thiss kin nd of ma aterrial is invalu uab ble,” sa ays James.

He add ds: “Gettting g to in nterview the under of Wikiiped dia a, Jim mmy Wales, fou as ve ery y exc citin ng to oo. To suddenly wa e satt in n The e Sh hard d speaking to be Jim mmy y Wale es, tha at was so omething.”

Rec cen nt ep piso odess in nclud de a po odca ast on chilldho ood be ereavement witth th he cha arity y Wiinston n’s Wish, wh hich is abo out worrkin ng with dre en who o ha ave sufferred child be ere eav vem men nt or wh here th here’s a deatth in n th he scho ool. An nother exa amine es ex xclussion n and improving the e life e outc comes of vuln nerable child dre en by raisin ng th he status and exp perttise e off tho ose who educate the em, with charritty The Difference.

“We wantt peo ople e to fin nish ng to the pod dcast thinking listtenin hat was really y inte eresting eitther ‘th d in ncittefull, an nd I know more now and tha an I did d att the e beg gin nnin ng’, or ‘that’s ven me e so ome really y goo od ideas giv an go awa ay and try’. If we get it I ca ght, maybe e bo oth,”” says James. rig

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Closing the attainment gap, early years and the importance of selfbelief with Professor Sonia Blandford – episode 14 “The knowledgebased curriculum is really ‘how big is your hippocampus’, but actually what we want is a different type of education that is relevant to today and which will encourage all children to learn.”

Sonia Blandford is chief executive of education charity Achievement for All and the author of the book Born to Fail

All epiisodes of the podcast are availab ble on Apple Podcasts and Sp potify – simply search for ‘schoo ol leadership podcast’. You u can alsso access recent episodess and fin nd out more at naht.org.uk k/ news-a and-opinion/podcasts.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION If you’re doing something really interesting or different in your school, and you’d like to share it with the NAHT community, we’d love to hear about it. We are also always keen to hear new suggestions for guests – whether they are highprofile figures or simply really interesting. Email james.bowen@naht.org.uk with your suggestions.

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

Technology in schools Earlier this year, the government unveiled its £10 million edtech strategy, promising a ‘new era’ for schools in which technology will cut teacher workload, support professional development and improve outcomes. NAHT director of policy JAMES BOWEN believes the government needs to listen to school leaders and teachers when looking for technological solutions. t a recent edtech event, I was invited to join a panel to discuss the seemingly intractable problem of excessive teacher workload. On the way, I started to think about the kind of questions that might come up. It seemed a fairly good bet that something along the lines of “how has technology helped to reduce teacher workload?” would be asked.

In an effort to be prepared, I decided to make a list of all the different examples I could think of where technology has reduced workload in schools. After half an hour, all I had to show for my efforts was a blank piece of paper. The best I could come up with was the humble photocopier, and given the number of teacher hours that have been wasted trying to fix one, I’m not sure even this serves as a particularly good example.

I need to make it clear that I am in no way a technophobe. I’m as much a sucker for an expensive, unnecessary new gadget as the next person. I’m also not entirely dismissing the positive impact that technology has had on the classroom. There are plenty of examples I can think of where I have

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seen teachers use technology to enhance learning.

Devices such as visualisers have been a real boon when it comes to feedback and assessment. I’ve also seen how technology can be used to give children access to new places and people in a way that would have been impossible just a few decades ago. However, when it comes to the specific issue of workload, I’m just not convinced it has had much of a positive impact.

There are quite a few examples where technology has inadvertently added to teacher workload, rather than reduced it.

Take tracking software: this was supposed to make it easier for teachers to record and analyse the progress of pupils. However, we ended up with a situation where teachers were expected to enter countless data points for every pupil on a half-termly basis and, because the system allowed it, to analyse that data in a myriad of different ways. The technology allowed us to do more, so we did.

There are quite a few examples where technology has inadvertently added to teacher workload, rather than reduced it.

The interactive whiteboard is often cited as another example of a potential classroom time-saver.

Again, I’m not so sure. In many cases, the presence of a digital screen simply raised expectations, with many teachers spending their evenings designing all-singing and dancing slides in an attempt to add the ‘wow factor’ to lessons.

Even email, which for virtually all of us has become an indispensable and extremely useful method of communication, can be seen to have added to teacher workload rather than reduced it. Prior to having email in school, you had to make the effort to walk down the corridor and find the person you wanted to speak with. Failing that, you might wait until the weekly briefing if you had something to update everyone on. Now, it’s all too easy to fire-off a quick email without too much thought for the time it will take to read and respond.

All too often I hear of teachers logging back in during their evenings and weekends just to get on top of the daily stream of internal communications, let alone those coming in from outside the building.

I genuinely hope my technological scepticism is misplaced and that large tech firms can help find solutions to the workload crisis that undeniably remains a real problem.

If technology companies are interested in helping to tackle the workload issue through IT, then the first thing they need to do is spend time listening to teachers.

School budgets and teachers’ time are already at breaking point. We need to be sure new technology genuinely makes teachers’ lives easier and demonstrably adds to pupils’ learning experiences before splashing the cash on shiny new kit.

MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS

M E N TA L H E A L NAHT senior policy advisor SARAH HANNAFIN on the role of schools in supporting children’s well-being and the latest on the government’s improvements to mental health services.

AHT is very clear that the role of schools in supporting children and young people’s mental well-being is to: • contribute to promoting good mental and emotional well-being among pupils of all ages • play a part in recognising potential emerging mental health needs of pupils • refer those pupils on to health professionals for appropriate assessment, diagnosis, specialist support and treatment • support pupils with mental health needs in the school environment and in their learning.

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There is no role for education staff in the diagnosis of mental health problems, nor in the delivery of treatment or therapeutic support.

These responsibilities rest with health services.

Schools, their leaders and their staff are identifying concerns and issues with their pupils early. Regular day-to-day contact and the formation of key relationships between school staff, pupils and parents mean that schools are uniquely placed in identifying issues, referring concerns and promoting the overall welfare of their school population.

However, schools and teachers cannot take care of children and young people’s mental well-being all on their own. Schools need to be supported by properly funded, high-quality health and social care services so that they can fulfil their role in promoting pupil well-being, rather than making up for cuts to other services.

Currently the services needed to step in to provide this specialist support at an early stage are not consistently available or accessible, and cuts to school funding mean that schools are unable to continue to plug these gaps. Significant investment in schools, health and

social care services is fundamental to improving early intervention and so improving children’s mental health. The proposals in the mental health green paper are a step in the right direction but the scale and pace of improvements is too slow.

Will mental health support teams improve access?

NAHT welcomes the introduction of mental health support teams (MHSTs) under the proposals in the government’s 2017 mental health green paper. The integration of more mental health professionals in schools, to provide early support and intervention, has the potential to really make a difference to children and young people.

MHSTs will treat those with mild to moderate mental health issues in schools and will help children and young people with more severe needs access the right support and provide a link to specialist NHS services. Each MHST will work across a group of schools. The trailblazer areas across the country from autumn 2019 will test how teams can work with other services and how they can accelerate the wider transformation of mental health care for children and young people.

We understand that developing and training this new workforce, as well as finding effective and sustainable ways to implement them in different areas, will take time. However, many of our members report a system in crisis, where unsupported children and young people are at best struggling to learn, and at worst at serious risk.

Schools refer children to specialist mental health services when they have legitimate concerns, but our members believe that the current thresholds for intervention are too

high and waiting times for support and treatment are too long.

We have urged the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care to actively seek ways to increase the pace of the rollout of these teams across the country. If only 20% to 25% of the country will be involved over the next five years, this means significant numbers of schools, children and young people will not benefit as there will be little, or even no, improvement to provision in their area. Those children and young people have only one chance at education – we must enable them to engage with it now.

The integration of more mental health professionals in schools, to provide early support and intervention, has the potential to really make a difference.

CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH: KEY FINDINGS

In November 2018, the NHS published a survey that found: Primary school is a major stage in early childhood.

About one in 10 (9.5%) five- to 10-year-olds had at least one disorder, and one in 30 (3.4%) met the criteria for two or more mental disorders at the time of the interview.

Behavioural disorders (5%) and emotional disorders (4.1%) were the most common types in this age group.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

LT H M AT T E R S Helping you develop a whole-school approach. entally Healthy Schools is an easy-to-use website for primary schools, offering a one-stop shop for teachers to access a range of quality-assured resources to promote mental health and well-being among primary pupils.

With one in 10 five- to 10-yearolds having an identifiable mental health condition, and more than half of mental health issues in adults beginning before they are 14, extra help in school can make a significant difference in a person's life. NAHT and the Centre for Mental Health supported the creation of the Mentally Healthy Schools site mentallyhealthyschools.org. uk, which was launched by the Duchess of Cambridge.

A legacy of the Heads Together campaign, child mental health and education experts from the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, Place2Be and YoungMinds worked in partnership to curate over 600 resources for schools, all reviewed and qualityassured by experts in the sector.

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The Mentally Health Schools website contains all the advice and resources school leaders need to be able to promote the value of a whole-school approach to mental health.

A mentally healthy school: • adopts a whole-school approach to mental health and well-being • helps children flourish, learn and succeed by providing opportunities for them, and the adults around them, to develop the strengths and coping skills that underpin resilience • sees positive mental health and well-being as fundamental to its values, mission and culture, and is a school where child, staff and parent/carer mental health and well-being is seen as ‘everybody’s business’ • is a school where all the parts work together and are committed to a wholeschool approach; this needs partnership working between governors, senior leaders, teachers and all school staff, as well as parents, carers and the wider community.

A HEAD TEACHER’S VIEW

Melissa Loosemore is a head teacher at Roe Green Junior School in Kingsbury, London.

“At Roe Green Juniors, we have been concerned with the well-being of our young people for many years.

However, most of us are not experts in mental health.

When we were approached to be a pilot school for the Royal Foundation to use the Mentally Healthy School’s website, my reaction was ‘at last some resources that have been quality assured, and I won’t have to hunt around for hours looking for something appropriate’.

“As a result, we have incorporated some of the resources into our personal, social, health and citizenship education curriculum and circle time plans, as well as using the anti-bullying, internet safety and healthy living ideas. Following the launch of the portal by HRH Duchess of Cambridge, the uptake of the resources has been well received by many schools and the focus on being mentally healthy has become a priority.

“At a time in education when children use the word ‘stressed’ as part of their everyday language, we need to be alert to the early signs of mental health needs. The portal is ready to help out, thanks to the partnership with YoungMinds, Place2Be, the Anna Freud Centre and all those professionals who have contributed to this important resource.”

See mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk for more information.

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COURSES AND CONFERENCES

courses designed for you NAHT’s professional development programme provides CPD and leadership development courses that have been created to give you knowledge and skills to take back and implement in your school. They reflect your professional needs and government initiatives, and are delivered by course leaders who are highly respected in their fields.

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LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

PLANNING FOR R THE FUT TURE: ASHFORD, 20 SEPTEMBER. This course will provide you with tools to put you in control of the next phase of your life.

To plan your future, you need to understand the options available to you, and these can be more extensive than you think – including retiring and taking your pension and changing your current working arrangements, among others.

Course facilitators: Members of NAHT’s specialist advice team – Kate Atkinson and Liam McIlvenny – alongside colleagues from NAHT Personal Financial Services (Skipton Building Society).

“This is a fantastic course. I attended with a colleague and we both felt this was something to be considered five to 10 years before your likely retirement.

I consider that I am quite knowledgeable about finances but, following the course, I took up the offer of a free financial consultation, and I have since saved almost £200 per month in outgoings and am treating myself to a new car.”

KF, head teacher, Lincolnshire

OFSTED D INS SPE ECTION N UP PDAT TE: LONDON – 18 SEPTEMBER, 13 NOVEMBER; YORK – 3 OCTOBER; NOTTINGHAM – 16 OCTOBER; BIRMINGHAM – 31 OCTOBER; MANCHESTER – 28 NOVEMBER; TAUNTON – 11 DECEMBER. With Ofsted’s new framework set to bring the biggest changes to school inspection in a decade, this course will take you through the key points and how to prepare for them.

Course facilitator: Phillipa Ollerhead “As a head teacher, many of the courses on offer just make you think slightly differently about the way you do things. Very rarely do I come back with a whole list of ideas that will improve the way we run our school whilst enhancing our provision. I like that your advice and suggestions weren’t just about the dreaded visit, but were sound school improvement strategies.” NAHT member “Highly effective training. Well thought out and delivered content, which was up to date, relevant and highly informative.”

NAHT member

There are many more courses available at a discounted rate to NAHT members. Visit naht.org.uk/professionaldevelopment for more information.

NEW AUTUMN CPD PROGRAMME You spoke, we listened – and as a result we have redesigned our CPD offer from the ground up to include courses for curriculum design, relatiionships and sex education, staff well-b being and now e-courses too – your ne ew online learning portal.

See naht.org.uk/autumn-cpd.

Tailored training There are occasions where ‘off-the-shelf’ training might not fit your requirements.

You may need in-house training for a group of staff, your whole school or a cluster, branch or group of peers such as deputies or school business leaders. Or you may be interested in a specific course, but travel isn’t an option. Whether half days, full days or longer, we have a range of options to deliver the best CPD in your school, tailor made for you.

NAHT’s personally tailored training offers: • Convenience – we can deliver the course at your venue; we will discuss your requirements and work with you to create a programme that suits your needs, whatever your phase, sector or group size • Customisation – we can either tailor existing courses or create new programmes around your ideas • Value for money – we work with you to get make the most of your budg • Credibility – we offer hand-picked, highquality and credible facilitators who work with you to ensure that you get the best from your event • Off-the-shelf or bespoke, it’s your choice.

All of our national training courses can also be delivered on a consultancy basis. Additionally, the following courses are only available on a consultancy basis: • Appraisals and Difficult Conversations • Assessing Pupil Progress for Those Working Below National Standard: Life beyond d the Roch hford d Reviiew • An Introduction to Executive Headship • Proactive Leadership: Understanding, Action, Improvement • The Challenge of Change – Leading d Managiing Change to Driive Sch hooll and Improvement • Securing Long-term Financial Viability for Your School • Early Years – Fewer Things in Greater Depth • Generate Income and Raise Funds for Your School.

To discuss your school’s individual needs, call 01444 472 405 or email events@naht.org.uk.

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COURSES AND CONFERENCES

Looking ahead: NAHT’s Early Years and Primary Conferences

Looking back: NAHT’s Girls and Autism – Many Voices, and Leading on SEND – Diversity, Difference, Dynamics conferences n 2 and 3 April, NAHT’s much anticipated Girls and Autism – Many Voices and Leading on SEND – Diversity, difference, dynamics conferences took place back-to-back in London.

On the first day, leaders from SEN schools and parents and carers of those with autism gathered for Girls and Autism - Many Voices. Professor Barry Carpenter CBE welcomed delegates and explained how the conference was the culmination of three years of intensive work by the National Forum on Girls and Autism, hosted by NAHT. It also saw the launch of the forum’s book, Girls and Autism: Educational, family and personal perspectives.

One of the most powerful pieces of the day was Dr Carrie Grant’s film of 60 female voices – of whom 46 have autism – speaking out for autistic girls and families. Other inspiring speakers for the day included Talia Grant, Sophie Walker and Grace Dolan, who shared her poem on living with autism.

The day finished with an ‘in conversation’ with Dame Philippa Russell, Professor Dame Uta Frith and Dr Judith Gould, with Carrie Grant presenting the conference’s finale on raising the voice of the lost girls.

The Leading on SEND conference was opened by Marijke Miles, chair of NAHT’s SEND Council, who highlighted the conference’s theme of diversity, difference and dynamics, and recognised the wide range of provision and context for leaders and the diverse journeys of the young

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Above: Keynote speakers Barry Carpenter, Carrie Grant, Francesca Happé and Baroness Sheila Hollins joined NAHT official Rona Tutt and members of the Girls and Autism Forum at the conference this spring.

people with SEND whom they serve.

Kamini Gadhok from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy then shared her thoughts on the implementation of the Bercow Report 10 years on, and a system-wide approach to improving outcomes for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs.

Dr Bernadka Dubicka from the Royal College of Psychiatrists spoke next on bridging the divide and how whole systems need to work together for our most vulnerable children. The conference closed with Dean Beadle sharing his experience of living with autism, which both shocked the audience and made them laugh.

You can watch Carrie Grant’s film at naht.org.uk/girls-and-autism.

Date for your diary: The next Leading on SEND for all Schools conference takes place on Friday 6 March 2020.

Judy Shaw, chair of NAHT’s Early Years Sector Council and NAHT president, provides an update on the union’s work in the sector.

Two years after its formation, NAHT’s Early Years Sector Council is thriving. Our discussions are lively and informed by respected academics, alongside school leaders and practioners. We have formed alliances across the sector and developed NAHT’s policy and guidance for members.

Much of my own teaching and leadership experience is in early years, and I will continue to speak about the importance of early years education throughout my year as NAHT president.

The early years are the foundation on which all else is built. We are there at the very beginning of the learning journey.

What we do has a huge and lasting impact on later learning outcomes and life chances. But early years is just one piece of the jigsaw of our education system.

Education is everything and we are all in it together, which is why I’m delighted that our Early Years Conference will run this year in partnership with our Primary Conference, over consecutive days. It’s a unique opportunity for school leaders, leadership teams, teachers and support staff to reflect on and develop policy and practice in their schools across both phases, making sure that the learning journey continues seamlessly for our children as they move through school.

Our keynote speakers and workshops across both days have been carefully chosen to inform and inspire delegates, provoke discussion and debate, and highlight the very latest and best research and pedagogy in early years and primary education. I look forward to meeting you there.

Date for your diary: NAHT’s Early Years Conference and Primary Conference take place on 21 and 22 November 2019 in London. Register at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/earlyyearsprimary-conference-2019registration-60118782898.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS | JULY 2019

Outside influence MARTIN SMITH, associate member of the Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres (AHOEC), chair of the Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel and the English Outdoor Council, considers Ofsted’s new framework and how outdoor experiences can benefit children’s development inside the classroom.

aving noted NAHT’s response, it was with an air of cautious optimism that I welcomed some elements contained in Ofsted’s draft inspection framework. There are obviously challenges, but incorporating a strong outdoor learning pedagogy across a school will greatly enhance the delivery of a broad, rich and flexible curriculum.

Of particular interest to me is recognition of the need to develop long-term memory, in light of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority’s thoughts on compelling and memorable learning experiences. When asked about their school experiences, most people will be able to recall residential experiences, school visits or fieldwork. Yet, the real impact of such experiences only emerges through scaffolding learning from the classroom to the field, and back to the classroom, resulting in memorable, comprehensive and long-term learning. Effective curriculum planning enables such outcomes to be achieved and for it to go on to impact wider learning – such as writing.

What the proposed Ofsted framework encourages us to do is to effectively plan for, and integrate, the wide range of outdoor learning opportunities we can offer young people throughout the curriculum. This will lead to evidenced-based outcomes in cognitive development, better engagement in learning, and improved behaviour.

Residentials are an excellent opportunity to apply this approach, and they link to the inspection judgement on personal

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High Quality Outdoor Learning

High Quality Outdoor Learning

© 2015 English Outdoor Council

Above: the publication High Quality Outdoor Learning contains lots of tips and advice for leaders.

development. Undertaking challenging activities or being in different surroundings can reinforce confidence and resilience, and there are also opportunities to reinforce and implement social and cooperative skills through interacting with peers, staff and other adults and children. These are all essential skills for when our students leave school.

Undertaking challenging activities or being in different surroundings can reinforce confidence and resilience.

The value of first-hand experiences of differing cultures and communities that can be visited, both within this country and beyond, can also never be underestimated – whether as part of a residential or a more local visit. And the value of all these experiences is vastly enhanced when they are purposefully planned – especially around the social and emotional aspects of learning, something that rarely happens. In many ways, these experiences should not be considered extracurricular but ‘intracurricular’, because that is where they are best placed to help leaders address the challenges of Ofsted’s proposed framework.

So whatever outdoor learning you are undertaking, challenge yourself to deliver high-quality outdoor learning. Take a fresh look at it and maximise learning outcomes through effective curriculum planning. There is lots of information available in the English Outdoor Council’s publication High Quality Outdoor Learning, which is available at englishoutdoorcouncil. org/wp-content/uploads/2049High-quality-outdoor-learningweb-version.pdf.

For more information about how pupils can start their outdoor learning adventure, see ahoec.org.

AHOEC is an association of leaders in outdoor learning who hold senior positions in outdoor learning centres across the UK and oversees. The aim of the relationship between AHOEC and NAHT is to raise the profiles of both associations through having a presence at each other’s national conferences and establishing links through attendance at other events.

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THE FINAL WORD

SUSAN YOUNG: Education columnist

Full of bright ideas he website for Anderton Park school proudly proclaims that it’s all about relationships, determination - and sparkle. Sparkle? “Oh, sparkle is our thing. It’s about enthusiasm, asking questions and not being passive. And sparkle is literally oxytocin – sparkly eyes means you’ve got oxytocin in your system, and that’s the happy chemical,” says Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, head of the 700-pupil primary in Birmingham.

How do you make a school sparkle? Hewitt-Clarkson, who’s pretty sparkly herself, says staff recruitment is vital. Everyone who’s interviewed – even as a volunteer – has to talk about their passion. “We piloted the new Ofsted framework, and one of the inspectors said ‘you want your children to be sparkly and categorically they are – but your staff’s sparkle is infectious’. They are a pretty amazing bunch of people.”

It was that 100-strong bunch who demanded sparkle a decade ago, and it’s still working well. Sparkling took on a new significance when Anderton Park found itself part of Birmingham’s ‘Trojan Horse’ episode (sparked by allegations that Islamists were plotting to take over some local schools), resulting in Sarah doing counter-terrorism training.

“It stuck with me that groomers and abusers exploit any ‘us and them’ feeling. When ISIS recruits, they tell people not to think, but to feel and do: don’t ask questions, we’ll do the thinking. People exploit the opposite of sparkle, so we do more: we reward the children for asking questions where teachers have to go and find the answer.”

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That was the first time Anderton Park was at the eye of a storm: it has been back there this year, targeted in a campaign against the government’s introduction of relationships education in primary schools. But, says Sarah, the main protesters don’t have children at the school, it doesn’t teach the programme that has caused controversy at other primaries, and she will not compromise on the school’s public sector equality duty.

“When the Equality Act came in we decided not to have a programme: we didn’t have one about black people, so we didn’t want to have one for LGBT. So when they say ‘you are teaching children lessons about being gay’, we are not – we are just using the language of equality. The actionpacked primary school day has us teaching English, maths, music, history, PE – it’s packed full of activity and learning and every now and again when it comes up in conversation we say, ‘yes, some people have two mummies’. It’s absolutely crazy.”

While there have been challenges, Sarah sees her school and its staff as being at the heart

Above: Susan Young

You’re a citizen if you’re four; you have a place and a voice.

We do lots of work on children’s voice.

of the community. Parents come in for free English lessons – Gypsy families and other Europeans are moving into what was an almost entirely South Asian catchment – and Ofsted’s comment that Anderton Park children are “exceptionally well-prepared for life in modern Britain” delights Sarah. It shows the school’s commitment to growth and community, she says.

“I hate it when people say they’re training kids to be citizens of the future – you’re a citizen if you’re four; you have a place and a voice. We do lots of work on children’s voice, hoping that will help with inference and deduction in not only texts and English, but life. Making connections is absolutely crucial.”

That work – underpinned by the school’s growth mindset work – includes the whole school studying a Shakespeare play every year, with children performing on the Royal Shakespeare Company’s stage at Stratford.

While Anderton Park is in the top 12 schools for maths progress, the new SATs reading tests – relying on inference, are particularly challenging for a primary where 85% of children don’t hear English at home. But they’re up for the challenge. She says: “To hear children talking in such an informed way about Shakespeare texts is absolutely incredible.”