The power of trust

THIS will be my last column. Kevin and I are coming to the end of our ve-year term as joint general secretaries. So, it is a time for re ection, and it is in this spirit that I write these nal words.

I have been a leader, in various organisations, for over 30 years: in schools, in higher education and in two unions, the ATL and as joint general secretary of the NEU.

E ective leadership is always challenging. ere is never enough time to achieve all that you want to do. e unexpected always takes up too much of your time. People management is often di cult and stressful. It can feel impossible for leaders to nd the time to be strategic, particularly when they routinely work hugely excessive hours and are frequently exhausted by the scale and number of obstacles and challenges they face.

Empowering teachers

So, what to do? How can leaders be most e ective? In my experience one quality forms the basis of e ective leadership – and that is trust. Leaders who trust their colleagues to do a good job create the conditions for their sta teams to thrive. Trust is empowering. As a teacher, I loved working in one school where my opinions were sought by the head, and where my expertise in my subject was valued. I thrived in this school and progressed in my subject knowledge, my approach to pedagogy and my career.

It can be very di cult for leaders to give trust in our education system where schools are subject to a rigid and oppressive accountability system. International comparisons show that leaders in England’s schools spend far more of their time than their international counterparts monitoring teacher performance, and far less time working with teachers, collaborating with them to develop teaching and learning approaches.

I understand the forces that push leaders towards monitoring teachers. And of course, adequate monitoring is essential if leaders are to be con dent that their sta are doing the right things at the right time. But excessive monitoring creates a toxic culture and it sti es teacher professionalism.

According to the OECD, teachers who feel respected for their professionalism, through careful attention being paid to their professional views, are more likely to engage their pupils in learning activities that are interesting, challenging and transform their pupils’ previous understanding. ese teachers feel more able to teach in ways which demand pupils’ attention and require their active engagement in learning. And teachers who work in a culture of trust and empowerment report higher levels of job satisfaction, which is such an important part of the decision they make at two, ve and ten years into their teaching careers – to stay in or to leave the profession.

Time for change

Keeping teachers and leaders in the profession is the most important way to raise education standards. So it is of huge concern that the latest Government gures reveal that the rate of teachers leaving the profession before retirement is greater now than it has ever been. In the last academic year 44,000 teachers left the school state-funded sector, 8,000 more than the year before. is represents one in ten of all quali ed teachers. And leaders are leaving too – their number rose to over 2,300, the highest rate since the Conservatives came to power. It is no surprise that the number of un lled teaching vacancies is now at an all-time high, and that governing bodies are reporting that they are simply unable, even after repeated advertising, to ll head teacher vacancies.

I have a strong sense that even the politicians are belatedly realising that things cannot carry on like this. And about time, I can hear you shouting! But of one thing you can be sure. Your union, the NEU, understands, values and supports the work done by all of its leadership members working in the most di cult circumstances, and it always will.