Lead Spring 2020

Coronavirus Schools closed, exams off, inspections halted. See page 4.

Accessible schools Making simple changes for disabled staff. See page 20.

The magazine for NEU Leadership members

Kathryn Riley

Understanding the link between belonging and behaviour See page 11

#PauseOfsted Why we’re backing the call for reform. See page 8.

Spring 2020

Welcome

Lead.

Spring 2020 Professor Kathryn Riley Photo: Paula Duck

NEU president: Amanda Martin NEU joint general secretaries: Mary Bousted & Kevin Courtney Editor: Sally Gillen Administration: Sarah Thompson

IT’S a brave person who takes on a headship at a school where five heads have come and gone in a year. But NEU Leadership member Chris Dyson took on the challenge, achieving great success. The transformation of Parklands Primary, which at its worst had 150 fixed-term exclusions in a year and a set of isolation rooms, has been achieved by injecting respect and positivity, by making staff and students feel they belong [see page 16].

Chris ripped out the isolation rooms when he arrived. He rewrote the behaviour policy with the help of the children. He banned shouting. His school is proof that a zerotolerance approach to behaviour and excluding children doesn’t work. Plenty of other schools, of course, know that. That’s why the NEU commissioned Professor Kathryn Riley to look in-depth at some that have made systemic changes which have impacted positively on behaviour [see page 11]. The union has produced a booklet on her research, which includes practical changes schools can make to improve behaviour.

On page 8 two NEU Leadership members explain why they are supporting the campaign to #PauseOfsted and my colleague Mary Bousted sets out why the union is backing the campaign by heads [see page 22].

Finally, in response to the risks posed by coronavirus, the union had to take the very difficult decision to cancel annual conference, which was due to take place in Bournemouth, 6-9 April. But we hope to be able to hold a smaller event later this year.

Kevin Courtney Joint general secretary National Education Union

neu.org.uk

Contents

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Features

Regulars

8

4

11

15

#PauseOfsted

Why the inspectorate needs urgent reform

The Interview

Professor Kathryn Riley

16 How I…

22 Final word

19 Campaigns

Directed time calendars

20 Masterclass

15 Leading question How to win over disillusioned staff

Dropping the ‘zero tolerance’ culture

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Update

Coronavirus closes schools, sixth form colleges strike, and Women’s TUC conference

Improving accessibility

Why the NEU backs the Headteachers’ Roundtable’s #PauseOfsted campaign

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Update

Government forced to close schools and colleges as coronavirus spreads PRIME minister Boris Johnson closed schools on 20 March until further notice, after coming under pressure from the NEU and other unions to protect staff and students from the growing risks of Covid-19.

Welcoming the decision, NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: “It is better for this to take place in an ordered way than the chaotic pattern of closures that was developing.”

SATs, GCSEs and A-level exams were cancelled.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the children of key workers, such as NHS staff, and vulnerable children, including those with a social worker or education health and care plan, will still attend school.

“This is a testing time for the whole nation. But by asking schools and other settings to look after the children of key workers, and the most vulnerable, we will be directly saving lives,” he said. “I recognise that what schools will be doing in these circumstances will look very different to the normal state of affairs, and we will ensure leaders have the flexibility they need to face this challenge.

NEU joint general secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney addressed union members

“Our school leaders are central to the country’s response to this current crisis and I am reassured by their readiness to step up and to take the lead in supporting families through this difficult time.”

Extra financial support will be sought from the Treasury and a national food voucher scheme will be introduced.

Mr Williamson said: “All of those who work in our schools, colleges and universities rightly take their place next to our NHS staff and other key workers

Coronavirus halts inspections across UK OFSTED was instructed to suspend inspections last month in response to coronavirus, two days after the NEU wrote to Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman urging her to allow school leaders to focus on what is important.

The NEU welcomed the decision to halt inspections. Joint general secretary Mary Bousted said: “Schools are operating in extraordinary circumstances and must be able to focus on what is essential. This does not include Ofsted inspections.”

Welsh inspectorate Estyn had already

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said it would cease inspections. Wales secretary of NEU Cymru David Evans said: “We welcome the pragmatic approach of the chief inspector and hope that schools and colleges will receive all the support they need at this critical time.”

In Scotland, the same action was taken. In a statement, Education Scotland said: “During this period, we believe it is vitally important that staff working in education can focus entirely on their establishment, on supporting their colleagues, pupils and local community.”

as central to our efforts as a country in battling this virus and I thank them wholeheartedly for their support.”

Kevin welcomed the clarity that SATs, GCSE, AS- and A-level exams would not take place, adding that it would provide some degree of reassurance to teachers, students and parents.

He added: “Now, more than anything else, the Government needs to concentrate on ensuring that children in food poverty are fed properly.”

NEU FORCES GOVERNMENT RETHINK ON SCHOOL CLOSURES THE union wrote to the Prime Minister twice urging him to explain why he was refusing to close schools in the days leading up to the announcement.

The NEU stepped up its pressure on the Government after it continued to insist schools remain open, even after it had banned mass gatherings, advised against all non-essential travel and put in place a social distancing strategy.

Update BACK CAMPAIGN TO #PAUSEOFSTED, URGES NEU

NEU joint general secretary Mary Bousted said the Government needs to listen

Petition for more nursery cash handed into Number 10 A PETITION with 25,000 signatures that calls on the Government to provide longterm funding for hundreds of maintained nurseries was handed in to Downing Street.

Chronic underfunding has placed many of the 389 nurseries in England, which serve 40,000 children, under threat of closure.

Stopgap funding announced ahead of the election in December only lasts until 2021.

A coalition of organisations pressing for proper funding of nurseries, which includes the

NEU and NAHT, handed in the petition on 2 March.

NEU joint general secretary Mary Bousted said: “The Government’s attitude to nursery schools, characterised by indifference and piecemeal measures, is having a detrimental effect on children at a critical stage in their development. We cannot afford for this to continue.

“It is vital the Government listens as a matter of urgency to the thousands of people who have signed our petition for additional funding.”

Annual conference cancelled THIS year’s conference was called off following warnings by the Government about the risks of coronavirus spreading at mass gatherings. More than 1,500 delegates and guests were due to attend the event, 6-9 April, in Bournemouth. NEU joint general

secretary Mary Bousted said: “The nature of the conference environment, in close quarters in an enclosed building for more than four days, could create an elevated risk. In turn, this could have led to many education workers becoming ill or having to self-isolate.”

NEU HELP ON CORONAVIRUS ADVICE for leaders on managing during the coronavirus is available here: neu.org.uk/coronavirus

THE NEU has thrown its weight behind a campaign launched by the Headteachers’ Roundtable that calls on school-based staff who work for Ofsted as additional inspectors to resign.

Chair of the Roundtable Stephen Tierney said: “We believe the accountability system and its inspectorate need fundamental reform.”

NEU joint general secretary Mary Bousted said: “It is time for an independent inspectorate, which is trustworthy and trusted by teachers and leaders.

It is time to radically reform Ofsted.”

For more, visit neu.org.uk/ ofsted. See feature page 8 and final word page 22

FUNDING BOOST FOR FE IN WALES NEU Cymru has welcomed £23 million announced for further education. Wales secretary David Evans said: “Pay parity with teachers was always the commitment of the Welsh Government, as recognition of the parity of the roles.

Education professionals in FE are under a lot of pressure, but we hope this will go some way towards helping support the sector. We hope the funding will enable FE to continue as a much-valued service, supporting young people in Wales.”

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Update

New research shows teachers have no trust in Baseline NEU-commissioned research into the Reception Baseline Assessment has found half of teachers believe it has a negative impact on children.

Researchers at the Institute of Education, University College London, also found that 80 per cent do not think the test provides an accurate assessment of a child’s attainment, and 77 per cent say it doesn’t provide information that wouldn’t otherwise be available.

The test will be compulsory in schools across England from September, despite evidence showing it does not produce reliable results. Teachers who took part in the research described Baseline as a “tick-box” exercise and a “monumental waste of time”.

NEU joint general secretary Mary Bousted said: “The Government wants to introduce yet another test to primary schools. It is not doing this to support children’s learning but to produce a score by which it claims it will be possible to measure the quality of education.

“It ignores the evidence, which is stacking up against Baseline. The experts of the British Educational Research Association have said that it is not possible to test four-year-olds and get reliable data.

Now, in this report, teachers’ lack of trust in Baseline is all too clear. The Government persists in spending millions on assessment systems for which there is no evidence of value, when teachers and parents are crying out for serious investment in early years education.”

Inappropriate stress Researcher Guy Roberts-Holmes said: “Baseline assessment is at odds with what we know about child development.

Instead of building confidence and trusting relationships through active play, children are forced to sit still for up to half an hour to complete an inappropriate screen-based, tightly-scripted literacy and numeracy test.”

He added: “For some four-year-olds, trying to settle into their first experience

The NEU’s research into the pilot found teachers viewed Baseline as a “waste of time”

of school, it creates inappropriate stress, emotional upset and uncertainty. Contrary to claims that children don’t know they’re being tested, we found that children are well aware that they are taking a scripted computer test, and that they have a sense of whether they’ve performed well or badly. There is a danger they will then label themselves as good or bad learners.

There are strong grounds here for parents to be concerned.”

To read the full research, go to neu.org. uk/media/9116/view

Sixth form colleges strike over pay and conditions NEU members working in 34 sixth form colleges and 16-19 academies took a fifth day of strike action on 27 February to demand more funding.

Strikers carried sandwich boards detailing cuts to their colleges. The dispute, with the Secretary of State, is for improved pay and conditions through better funding for 16-19 education. The funding shortfall is at least £700 million.

Kevin Courtney, NEU joint general secretary, declared at the rally: “We don’t want to strike, but we can, and we will.”

Tanith James, NEU representative at Thomas 6

Rotherham Sixth Form College, said: “Our sector has been desperately underfunded for the last ten years. That has led to poorer terms and conditions, poorer pay for us, and that has a knock-on effect on our students. We think our students are worth a top-quality education. If you don’t look after your sixth form colleges, you’re not looking after the future of our country.”

Other speakers at the rally included Jean Evanson, NEU Executive, Labour’s education spokesperson Angela Rayner, and Natalie Bennett from the Green Party

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Strikers marched from Parliament Square to the Department for Education

John Clifford, NEU rep at Notre Dame Sixth Form College in Leeds said: “People are sick to the back teeth of the extent of the cuts and how difficult it’s making our jobs, whether

we’re teachers or support workers. We’re working hours that aren’t sustainable. Class sizes aren’t sustainable. We’re seeing colleagues leave the profession in droves, and it can’t go on.”

Update BEHAVIOUR PLANS “IGNORE THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM”

The NEU’s delegation to the Women’s TUC conference included union president Amanda Martin (front row, second from left)

NEU delegates join Women’s TUC conference PRESIDENT of the NEU Amanda Martin was among the union’s delegation to the Women’s TUC conference in March, where she called on members to support our motion on families and poverty. She said it was time to talk frankly about the reality of austerity and family poverty. “Self-harm and mental health problems are rising, parents are starving because they cannot afford to eat,” she said. “An end to women’s poverty would help end child poverty… for some, time is running out.”

Cuts to education have had a “horrendous” effect, she added.

“It is time to reinvest in schools, put an end to school and college cuts, abolish Universal Credit and end cuts to public services.”

Another of the NEU’s delegation, Camille LondonMiyo, urged delegates to vote for the NEU’s motion calling on the Women’s TUC Committee and education unions to campaign for a diverse curriculum that celebrates the achievements and contributions of Black girls and women.

“The NEU believes that we

need to challenge the narrative that a curriculum that continues to serve the male-dominated, heteronormative and Eurocentric is the only curriculum we should teach,” said Camille.

Taking a lead She added that the union is leading the way by circulating an anti-racist charter for schools to adopt, producing resources, including posters, and holding a conference on decolonising the curriculum.

Chair of the NEU women’s organising forum Heather McKenzie spoke in support of a motion on women and state pension inequality.

“If ever there was a women’s issue regarding inequality, this is it,” she said. Calling the pension changes a “disgraceful miscarriage of justice,” Heather said: “We fully support WASPI women’s right to full restoration of their pension, and to all women being able to access the state pension.”

She went on to say: “Women were told their pensions were safe. We must never let this happen again.”

PLANS to give 20 schools with “exemplary behaviour records” cash to help 500 others improve fail to acknowledge the many challenges including poverty and mental ill health that are making children’s lives harder.

That was the NEU’s response to the announcement last month that schools will be helped to “curb unruly behaviour” and prevent disruption. The £10 million Behaviour Hub Programme will run for three years from September.

A panel of seven behaviour experts, some of them head teachers, has also been appointed to help schools.

However, NEU joint general secretary Mary Bousted said: “This announcement ignores the elephant in the room. Too many children’s lives are getting much harder – many more are moving into care, are trapped in poverty, and have acute mental health conditions. This announcement ignores the practical barriers, for instance the unacceptable waiting lists for counselling for the under 18s.”

She added: “The Government wants to pretend that ‘levelling up’ can be achieved solely through educational interventions, but it cannot. We have three decades of evidence showing that preventing and reducing pupil exclusions requires collaboration across children’s services.”

Levelling up must include restoring funding that schools require for effective pastoral systems and time for teachers to share strategies and to work individually with struggling children, said Mary.

“Heads and teachers are only too aware of what they want to do more of in order to support students, but they can’t because of funding and staffing cuts. This frustration is one of the drivers of the teacher recruitment crisis and so the Government must engage constructively with the profession if we’re to find long term solutions.”

See the interview with Professor Kathryn Riley on page 11 and How I… page 16

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Feature

“The pause is essential – inspection has to be fit for purpose” The union is backing a campaign by head teachers to #PauseOfsted.

Two NEU Leadership members explain why leaders must support the campaign and push for urgent reform of the inspectorate.

IT was clear within weeks of Ofsted launching its new inspection framework last September that it had got the changes spectacularly wrong.

Complaints from union members that the new-style inspection, with its intense focus on curriculum, was generating yet more workload and subjecting middle leaders to interrogations by inspectors arrived one after the other. Social media was swamped by leaders and teachers sharing their awful experiences of the new process. Months on, the chorus of criticism has grown and grown.

Joining forces That is why the NEU is getting behind the Headteachers’ Roundtable’s #PauseOfsted campaign (see box, opposite, to find out how you can get involved). The campaign calls for school-based staff working as additional inspectors to stop working for Ofsted and stop it functioning.

Chair of the Headteachers’ Roundtable Stephen Tierney says England’s highstakes, cliff-edged accountability system “has now served its purpose” and the campaign calls for the inspection cycle to stop, initially for between six and nine months.

Stephen says: “With your support, we seek to change accountability for the better – creating a more just, balanced and proportionate regulatory system built on sustainable school improvement.”

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John Hayes

Gospel Oak Primary School in Camden, London WITH its framework, Ofsted is saying it wants to see curricula that have been designed by the school and which fit with the locality and children’s needs. I understand all of that, but what is it looking for with these deep dives, where inspectors forensically take apart a subject area? It is very stressful, very focused on individual middle leaders, and seems to be a high-stakes test rather than a contribution to school improvement. I have talked to those who have felt emotionally destroyed by the process, even when the final judgement has been positive. That must be wrong, particularly at a time when school leaders are held accountable for teacher workload. Ofsted must look at its own impact on workload and morale.

The deep dives into subject areas reach a point where you think, “What is it you want me to say?” The feeling is Ofsted is trying to catch you out for taking a particular approach. The pressure it has brought to bear on schools and subject leaders is far greater than we have seen in all the previous frameworks.

I’m supporting the campaign because, while accountability is vital, it should happen in a way that enables us to reflect and improve, not in a way that puts even the best leaders in fear of unwarranted failure.

Ofsted needs to think about what the purpose of its inspection is. It needs to step back and look at the framework again. Lots of heads are also inspectors because they think it gives them the inside track on how decisions are made.

There is now the danger that it could turn your organisation into one that works solely towards ticking Ofsted boxes rather than ensuring your school does the right thing for every child.

If you think Ofsted takes the wrong approach to school inspection, you shouldn’t be carrying out school inspections under this framework. I would not want to release any of my staff to do inspection work, should they apply.

In addition to withdrawing labour from inspections, wouldn’t it be good if we could also pledge to not train as Ofsted inspectors?

Feature Carmen Wood-Hope

Friars Primary School in Salford I’M so proud it’s the NEU, my union, that is supporting this campaign. It’s a really positive step.

I’ve been through five Ofsted inspections and not one has been in any way positive, partly because Ofsted keeps moving the goalposts. It takes a long time for schools to take everything on board and put everything in place, which places pressure on staff and resources. You do that, then everything changes again. From a primary perspective, the new framework doesn’t work. Ofsted is viewing us through a secondary lens. The focus is on deep dives into a subject, but as a primary teacher you may be teaching 12 subjects across the year and you are not an expert in every field – not in the way secondary teachers are. That’s a huge problem for primaries.

We have 41 per cent of pupils qualifying for pupil premium, and 51 per cent who have English as an additional language. We are the nearest school to the city centre. Yet we are inspected in the same way as a school five miles down the road in a leafy suburb. All schools are treated the same and that’s unfair.

The pause is essential. Ofsted should be looking to find the good stuff, the stuff teachers do day in, day out. Then, as an inspectorate, it should be sharing examples of good practice with schools to help them improve. It’s not about that. It’s damaging and significantly affects the wellbeing of teachers and leaders. When we are already losing so many new teachers, this new framework risks undermining our recruitment and retention strategies.

Schools feel compelled to generate these curriculum plans that map and sequence the knowledge in order to evidence the curriculum intention, implementation and impact. People are producing reams of extra detailed work to fit in with it, when we know teachers’ mental health is being eroded by work pressures.

The inspectors I’ve spoken to are harassed to hell and back again. Ofsted has initiated deep dives, which is all well and good if you have subject expertise, but inspectors often haven’t got it.

For Mary Bousted’s view, see page 22.

JOIN THE CAMPAIGN TO #PAUSEOFSTED IT is time to take back our pride and professionalism. It is time for an independent inspectorate,which is both trustworthy and trusted by teachers and leaders.

It is time to radically reform Ofsted. It is time to take decisive action against Ofsted. Our union supports ethical leadership and we call upon our members who are additional inspectors to stop working for Ofsted.

Go to neu.org.uk/ofsted to pledge.

#PAUSEOFSTED Join and support the campaign on Twitter and find out more by following #PauseOfsted Mary Bousted @ MaryBoustedNEU What is most worrying, in addition to the nonsense which is the new inspection framework, is the steady stream of leaders telling of the aggressive, unprofessional behaviour of inspectors Just been sent another appalling account of an inspection. It really is a shocking read. In this case, the lead inspector was aggressive and rude. We cannot carry on like this.

Anne Swift @swift4_Anne Ofsted framework is not fit for purpose. Other highperforming countries don’t hold schools to account like this.

Tom Sherrington @teacherhead Folk who think they can walk into a school for a couple of days and reach a secure judgement about curriculum quality beyond some broad hypotheses are deluding themselves and everyone else.

Deep dive? Shallow scrape more like. Don’t do it.

Jeremy Hannay @ HannayJeremy Ofsted only serves to widen the advantage gap. For us to be called outstanding another needs to be called special measures. For every winner, there must be a loser. The winners are predominantly affluent and the losers disadvantaged – things must change.

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If schools want to boost student wellbeing and outcomes they should focus less on behaviour policies and more on making pupils feel they belong, Professor Kathryn Riley tells Sally Gillen.

Photography: Paula Duck

Meet the belonging lady

Professor Kathryn Riley is given a tour of Parklands Primary School by students

“ONE in four children feel they don’t belong at school, according to the OECD,” Professor Kathryn Riley tells me. “A lot of our children and young people are so sidelined, and if you think about the money we invest in education, for more than one in four children to feel they don’t belong in school… well, we’ve got a problem.”

In her book-lined office within the learning and leadership department of the Institute of Education, University College

London, Professor Riley is animated as she talks about the twin subjects of place and belonging.

She has been researching them for about 20 years. As she talks, every so often she pulls from the shelves one of her books or research papers and quotes a young person on how it feels to belong – or not belong – at school.

“Most children go to school pretty happy about it,” says Kathryn. “They want

to do well, be part of that community, so why is it that so many get turned off and what is going on for them?”

There are three spectacular ways in which we have let our children down, she argues. Firstly, the stack of evidence showing that belonging has a huge impact on children and staff wellbeing and student outcomes has been ignored.

“In 2019, a Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study showed lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

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Interview a strong statistical correlation between children’s sense of safety – physical and emotional – which is a key part of belonging, and their performance in maths and science. So we have hard data like that and it’s still ignored.”

Secondly, the impact on children who are excluded from school, and their vulnerability to exploitation, is not being recognised by policymakers. In January, England’s children’s commissioner Anne Longfield sounded an alarm about the numbers of schools building isolation booths to accommodate “disruptive” children. This is perhaps unsurprising when the Department for Education’s behaviour tsar is busy promoting a zero-tolerance approach to poor behaviour.

And, thirdly, funding cuts and increasing demands mean school leaders are being driven by performance targets, not by the needs of young people. Those needs are often significant – the result of poverty, domestic abuse, mental illness.

And the list goes on.

“If you think of behaviour, a lot of kids feel really miserable in school so why are

“Belonging is not branding… It is the sense of being somewhere where you are safe in your identity.” they going to behave?” Kathryn says.

School leaders, of course, recognise the need to create a sense of collective identity among their students, hoping perhaps, that it equates to a sense of shared belonging. School uniforms, and school pledges – normally three words, often alliterative – are two such examples, I suggest.

Kathryn shakes her head.

“Belonging is not branding. Some schools have really got into branding – we must all look the same. It’s not that I’m against uniform, but we are at a point

where everybody has to behave the same.

Belonging is something different. It is the sense of being somewhere where you can be confident about who you are and safe in your identity. That’s about being able to be gay, straight, have different views, be a bit studious.”

Summed up, belonging is when you can “be the person you are in your own skin”, explains Kathryn. “What we are doing is trying to get kids to conform. If you don’t do this, then X will follow, but there will be children and young people who just conform and grit their teeth and be bored witless just to get through it.”

Many schools are aware of the link between belonging and behaviour. At the workshops on belonging she runs at schools across the country, the focus is on staff as well as students.

At St Anthony’s Primary School, in Bromley, the children call her The Belonging Lady, Kathryn smiles. What she has found is that school leaders are key when it comes to creating a sense of belonging. “It is stifled or grown by leadership. Leaders need to look at their

THE STORY BEHIND A BELONGING STRATEGY… HEATHER Loveridge, director of education and skills at Telford and Wrekin Council, explains its belonging strategy for schools.

In 2018, I attended an event at which Professor Kathryn Riley shared her research findings in relation to belonging. Its aim is to “promote a move away from traditional behaviour management approaches towards a more humanist, relational approach, which is inclusive and can benefit the whole school community.

Increases in fixedterm exclusions, children educated at home and children entering care since 2016 were causing

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increasing concern.

This was accompanied by an increase in demand for support for children with mental health issues. A different approach was needed and in 2019 we published a belonging strategy.

A safe place Children have to make sense of life-changing events and frequently arrive at school unhappy, disengaged and displaying challenging behaviour. School can be a safe place to talk, to be listened to, to receive understanding and reassurance. In Telford, our ambition is that every child will have

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a sense of belonging, and our approach aims: to support the wellbeing and mental health needs of all young people; to work with partners to develop a systemic approach to working with the families of our most vulnerable learners; to ensure that young people are ready for the next phase of their lives; and to ensure support is available where there is a breakdown.

Mental health needs, family circumstances, domestic abuse, alcohol misuse – all of these things contribute to the way a child might behave.

It is vital we develop a system-wide response to these issues.

Success measures include reduced exclusions, in-year transfers, modified timetables, referrals to higher level services, increased mental health and emotional resilience, successful transition to secondary school, reduced dropout rates at year 12 and reduced numbers of young people requiring the support of statutory safeguarding services.

The strategy sets out approaches schools can adopt, identifies training, eg free autism awareness training, and signposts schools to statutory and non-statutory services. It is a partnership approach with our schools.

Kathryn with pupils at Parklands Primary School in Leeds, helping them explore what it means to them to belong

“Leaders need to look at their schools through the prism of place and belonging.” schools through the prism of place and belonging and first of all they need to understand themselves, what motivates them, what presses their buttons, what was their own experience of learning.

We all bring what we are to the business of schooling.”

A good starting point for any leader who wants to find out how much their students feel they belong is an exercise that Kathryn often does in schools, where she asks children to think about the spaces in the school where they feel at home, safe, and those where they are ill at ease. They draw a map of the school, colour-coding those areas. It will reveal the hotspots,

she says, adding that if you do the same with staff there will be areas – parts of the playground or particular rooms – that nobody likes.

Earlier this year, the NEU commissioned Kathryn to carry out research at six schools – primary and secondary – where leaders have taken a different, systemic approach to behaviour and are investing more in the relationships staff develop with children.

“The point is to show there is a different way of managing children other than putting them in little booths and have them staring at the wall. Where does that get you?”

From her work across the country, Kathryn sees plenty of examples of leaders and teachers who are rethinking how they interact with children. Eyebrows were raised at one school when a teacher introduced a no shouting policy in his classroom, striking an agreement with his students that if he didn’t shout at them, they wouldn’t shout at him.

At a school she visited in Luton, Kathryn saw how a simple change had a positive impact on behaviour: teachers welcome students to their lesson with a

handshake and a “hello, how are you?”

Elsewhere, some local authorities are working on a grander scale. The belonging strategy Telford and Wrekin Council has drawn up to tackle its high number of fixed-term exclusions (see box, facing page) is “magic”, says Kathryn.

It’s believed to be the first in the country and she is now working with Islington and Hackney councils on adopting a similar approach.

“You can get a groundswell of change within schools,” she argues. “About two years ago, I was at a meeting talking about belonging and someone said ‘it’s all very well talking about this, but the Government is cutting back’ and I said ‘how you meet and greet every child who comes in is down to you. That is separate from more money is needed and some policies are harmful. That’s your agency.’”

To find out more about the work some schools are doing on belonging go to theartofpossibilities.org.uk and read Chris Dyson’s story on page 16 lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

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Leading question

How can I win over disillusioned staff if I become head?

Empathy, visibility and praise can help to heal a dysfunctional culture, advises NEU national official (leadership) Steve Cooper.

I’M a deputy and my very unpopular head is moving on. I’m keen to apply for her job but I’m concerned about whether the staff will accept me, when many believe I was as much to blame for the regime at the school. I wasn’t.

I voiced concerns many times. How can I win the hearts and minds of staff if I get the job?

That you are considering how staff might react to your appointment – if you were to be successful in obtaining the headship – demonstrates that you are aware of an uncertain working environment or perception others may have of you. This is important in any new leadership challenge.

You have already identified that staff may be mistrusting of you, so change that mindset with action.

Leadership three Rs: relationships, responsibility and results. In order of sequence, perhaps relationships are the most important of all. So, give of your time to staff freely, make them feel good about themselves. Empower your staff from the start of your headship, make people believe in themselves and don’t dwell on mistakes. We all make mistakes and, if not repeated, the individual and organisation can learn from them.

Relational value: make people feel appreciated and valued. Good leaders demonstrate empathy, which is vital to building a successful team. Know what it is really like for your staff, from teacher to caretaker, to support staff to regular external contractor.

Be visible, be interested in their working experience and proactively listen to their concerns, even if the busy working day only allows time for brief conversations. Make an effort to

Be visible... be interested in your staff’s working experience

remember things about your staff, their interests, how many children they have, as this helps build relationships.

Praise, praise, praise… it’s important. We crave praise as humans, it’s in our DNA. We love being valued and appreciated, so communicate it. Triangulate praise via line managers, peers and staff and use formal and informal means to say “well done” to your team.

Climate and culture are set by the leader or a leadership team in all organisations, so make it a positive one.

Strive to keep the positive vibe going all day and every day. It’s hard work trying to achieve this but it will get easier with time and, as your staff grow and embrace the new culture, so will you and the school or college.

Be a transparent, open-minded,

supportive and, above all, kind manager and leader as you start your headship journey. Review the school policies to establish if they are fit for purpose and remember all policies should be linked to teaching and learning.

Mentor and coach your staff and encourage others to do the same.

Remember that good leaders know they are not always a leader in every situation and base all decisions on reality. Take your people with you on this journey so they never feel that it has been done to them.

Lastly, ethical leaders are brave and are prepared to put their heads above the parapet for what is perceived to be the right course of action. So be true to yourself and the values that brought you into education and you will succeed and flourish. lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

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How I…

“We have built a school on love” Results were low, behaviour poor and exclusions high. Head teacher Chris Dyson explains how he transformed Parklands Primary in Leeds.

“TIG on the roof was one of the most popular games when I started at Parklands,” remembers head teacher and NEU Leadership member Chris Dyson.

That was five-and-a-half years ago, when there were 150 fixed-term exclusions in a year, children were regularly sent out of the classroom to isolation rooms, and there was even what he describes as a padded cell, which children who misbehaved in the isolation rooms were sent to. Now music is played all day and shouting has been banned.

Soon after starting the job – his first headship – Chris ripped out the cell and got rid of the isolation rooms.

It was a first step towards improving the school. At that time, there were just two children in the reception class.

Nobody wanted to send their child to 16

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Parklands. Only 240 of the 360 school places were taken. There are now 140 first-choice applications for the 45 reception places.

“We have built a school on love,” says Chris. “I have shouted four times

“There is no place for zerotolerance. Instead the focus is on positivity, respect and love.”

since I’ve been here. A lot of the kids are used to being shouted at, so, apart from anything else, it isn’t an effective way of dealing with them.”

There are boundaries, of course, but there is no place for a zero-tolerance approach to poor behaviour, he says.

Instead the focus is on restorative practice, positivity, respect and love.

The school’s behaviour policy was rewritten by staff and children.

The pupils’ request for time-outs for consistently disruptive behaviour – with the chance to leave the class and rejoin it, rather than being sent out for the whole day – was written into the policy. Children who exit the classroom work with learning mentors, whereas before they would be given lines or worksheets.

How I…

Photography: Paula Duck

It is an example of an approach based on respect for the children that has impressed Ofsted, with inspectors noting in their last report: “Pupils are very involved in decision-making about issues that concern them in school.”

Given a clean slate Only one child has been permanently excluded in the time Chris has been at Parklands.

“I did that first assembly and said to staff ‘I’m going to make this the best school in Leeds’, and the eyes were rolling,” he laughs. “I said ‘everyone has a clean slate’, I shared lessons, taught alongside teachers. We did a lot of coaching. We did a lot of wellbeing work before it became a buzzword.

Staff can take up to five time-off-inlieu days a year.”

Importantly, the school has made the students, staff and parents feel they belong. Chris spent a lot of time generating funding from businesses for the school to pay for, among other things, the Christmas celebrations. He opens his school on Christmas eve, and last year Santa handed out almost 800 presents donated by businesses including Lloyds Bank and Unilever. Global businesses also donated presents after Chris was interviewed on Sky News. Children and their families had Christmas dinner at the school.

On Fridays, 140 parents are invited to the Best Seats in the House Assembly, where children enjoy pizzas and lemonade.

“THE SCHOOL IS A BEACON OF SUNSHINE” PARKLANDS is one of six schools that took part in NEU-commissioned research into belonging in schools. Professor Kathryn Riley spent a day at the primary school and shares her impressions…

“ON a wet Friday in Leeds, Parklands Primary is a beacon of sunshine.

Perched in the middle of Seacroft, a large council housing estate to the east of the city, parents are in and out of the school, all ready

to find out who are the ‘stars’ of the week.

“The children bounce along the corridors, agog to visit the new book vending machine.

When I interview them, they struggle to give me examples of when they don’t feel they belong.

Everyone is on the same page about behaviour.

Staff and pupils know what it is; have helped shape it; think it’s fair.

“This is a school of belonging for adults, as well as young people.”

See interview page 11

Photography: Paula Duck

“I shared lessons, taught alongside teachers. We did a lot of wellbeing work before it was a buzzword.”

Chris Dyson with researcher Professor Kathryn Riley, who works with schools on creating a sense of belonging among staff and students

lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

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Campaigns

Time to stop the clock The NEU is advising schools to bring back directed time calendars to manage workload.

FOR six years, since the launch of its Workload Challenge, the Department for Education has been saying it wants to reduce workload, but the problem has only increased. And it remains the biggest reason for the recruitment and retention crises – with 33 per cent of new teachers leaving within five years.

Directed time of a maximum 1,265 hours over 190 days is a way to make sure teachers have a fair and manageable workload, as set out in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (pages 46-47).

At one time directed time calendars, which include the time spent on tasks including teaching, PPA, parents’ evenings and school meetings, were routinely used in schools. They are best practice, but over time some schools have stopped producing them, says NEU national official Steve Cooper.

“Without directed time calendars, how on earth do you organise workload? It is important to make sure work is distributed fairly, which helps staff health and wellbeing,” he points out. “Calendars are a professional standard, and a key part of leading ethically.”

An example of a directed time calendar for a secondary school teacher, with a limit of 1,265 hours of planned work

Fresh start The NEU has launched a campaign to remind members that schools should have a directed time calendar to help with resourcing and staff wellbeing.

Collaborating towards an agreed directed time calendar with the NEU union group is a positive step towards addressing workload.

All schools should have a calendar that clearly sets out the activities which form part of the teachers’ directed time – this should be published in the summer term for the whole of the academic year and should be subject to consultation with staff via trade unions.

Heads and leadership teams should provide calendars for individuals and departments.

For further information around directed time go to neu.org.uk/directedtime lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

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Creating an accessible workplace Simple changes in your workplace can make it welcoming and accessible to all, as Sarah Thompson discovered.

FUNDING cuts are having an impact on all aspects of school and colleges.

And there is evidence that the growing financial squeeze is making it increasingly difficult for staff who have a disability, ranging from mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety to physical disability, to get the support and resources they need at work. This is forcing experienced disabled teachers to quit and creating a barrier to new entrants.

The NEU has 4,728 members who identify as disabled. The true number,

however, is likely to be higher. Many teachers who have a disability, such as depression, hide it from their employer, fearing they won’t be supported if they need reasonable adjustments, a requirement under the Equality Act 2010.

Worse still, they may be concerned they will face discrimination. The union is concerned that talented teachers are being lost, especially at a time of a recruitment and retention crisis.

These two mainstream schools have created an inclusive workplace.

“I’m just asking for mutual respect, for people to see past the walking aid and to value my three decades of experience.”

Brimsdown Primary School, north London ALYSHA ALLEN

Award-winning maths teacher Alysha, who is profoundly deaf, is employed at Brimsdown Primary School in north London. Initially concerned at how she would cope in a mainstream school, Alysha was supported by the leadership team from the start, she says.

She teaches using a combination of sign language and lip reading, and every pupil, from nursery to year 6, learns British Sign Language (BSL).

There are lessons for staff and families, too. Staff have pagers and, if there is a fire alarm, deaf staff will get a text. Training videos have subtitles, where possible. Deaf children are assigned a communication support worker (CSW), who uses BSL and also supports Alysha.

All staff attend deaf awareness training covering basic audiology, what it’s like to wear a hearing aid and how sound is amplified, explains Alysha. “For example, the hall has an echo, so half of it will be blocked off when it’s not needed so sound is contained.”

Alysha believes her disability means she understands some of the challenges her students face.

“As a pupil, I couldn’t access the learning at school, so I have a lot of empathy now, not just for deaf children, but for any child who is struggling,” she says. “I want the children to

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see me as a deaf person who is their teacher, and who is able to do everything a hearing person can.

“The leadership team tries to place me with a class that has a deaf child so I can access the CSW if needed. Putting adjustments in place is good, but what’s important firstly is that leaders are open to the idea of employing disabled staff and not thinking it will cost.”

DANI LANG Brimsdown head teacher Dani says there was anxiety when Alysha was appointed among some parents, so she met them one-to-one to hear their concerns and explain Alysha’s qualifications.

“Once they see Alysha teaching, her relationship with the children and the progress that they make, that changes everything,” she says. “We’ve got lots of children who have a variety of needs, and I think it’s really important they see role models around the school who have some of the needs they have.”

Dani advises schools to use funding streams to help with making reasonable adjustments, such as Access to Work, which pays for the school’s interpreter – £35 to £40 an hour. The school pays and then claims it back.

Masterclass Bishop John Robinson school, south-east London JO HOWCROFT-SCOTT

Jo is an outreach worker in south London, providing support for children with additional needs. As a former head, Jo invested thousands of pounds in specialist lighting for a staff member who was losing her sight, allowing her to stay in her job for another 14 years.

Now, as a teacher with complex health issues, including fibromyalgia and arthritis, and reduced cognition from medication, Jo has herself benefited from a supportive manager. Her head ensures Jo is matched with schools built on one level or which have a lift. One of those schools is Bishop John Robinson.

“I call it a sunshine school,” smiles Jo. “They treat me with humanity and respect. Small things make a wealth of difference – the warm welcome, a suitable table and chair, a parking space near the entrance.”

Fortunate though she is to have a supportive head and colleagues, Jo says many disabled members feel they can’t be open about their disability.

“There is a culture of fear, that the disability may affect chances of promotion, and in a climate of cuts, disabled members feel they could be the first to go. But we need to feel safe enough to self-declare.”

In 2016, Jo fell and fractured her spine and was supported back to work by her head teacher. Together, they contacted Access to Work, which part-funded an ergonomic electric office chair.

Jo believes disabled educators make fantastic role models.

“Disability often gives you a ‘can-do’ attitude. You have to be creative and that can only benefit the children who are in your care.

You can put yourself in that child’s shoes.”

“It only takes minor adjustments to make things inclusive and

accessible. They needn’t be expensive. I’m just asking for mutual respect, for people to see past the walking aid and to value my three decades of experience.”

JO RICHARDSON

Jo is deputy head at Bishop John Robinson in south-east London, which has a high number of special educational needs and disability (SEND) students and several teachers with disabilities. “Finances seem to be getting tighter,” she acknowledges, but adds: “Lots of staff don’t require many adjustments, they just need a bit of understanding. Talk to them, they will know if there is anything that’s not working for them.”

A simple change enabled staff with mobility problems, including Jo, to park next to the school. Before, staff had to walk up a step. A ramp was added, and it’s now easier to get from the car onto the kerb.

Being inclusive is about knowing your staff and putting them in the right place, Jo says. When a hearing-impaired staff member found playground duty difficult because of the noise, she was asked to cover the early years break instead. “She was still doing the same as everyone else. It was just in a different, quieter environment.”

Adjustments are made so staff can attend medical appointments during school hours, if needed. Classrooms have access to the outside, but they all have a step. A mobile ramp for wheelchair users has been bought.

“It’s important to appoint the right person for the school. If that person happens to have a disability, then that’s the person we appoint. Then, what’s important is for us to support them,” says Jo.

NEU TIPS ON CREATING AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE WHILE some adjustments have financial implications, others just require a change in practice and policy.

Talking and listening is a great place to start – staff will often know best the adjustments that can assist them. You can also: n train reception staff to welcome

visitors who may communicate in different ways n provide calm/quiet spaces for pupils and staff

n provide training to understand

the uses of adaptive technology n develop an inclusive ethos for all activities, trips, lessons n provide advance notice of changes in routine/timetables to help reduce stress/anxiety for staff with mental health conditions n make adjustments to lighting and other physical adaptations.

Disability leave policy: This is essential as it enables disabled staff to take

paid time off for treatment, assessment and rehabilitation and often means they will stay in the job longer. Absence recording should consider a staff member’s disability and a phased return to work plan should be offered after a period of longer term disability leave.

For advice and guidance visit neu.org.uk/disability The NEU’s Model Disability Leave policy will be available soon.

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Final word

It’s time to #PauseOfsted and to consider a new independent school inspectorate

Mary Bousted Joint general secretary, National Education Union neu.org.uk facebook.com/ national education union NEUnion

IT was an appalling act of judgement for Amanda Spielman to write that there was a danger of “squandering” the desperately needed increase in school funding announced by the Prime Minister before the election. School leaders who have struggled mightily to protect their pupils from the effects of ten years of underfunding of our schools were rightly outraged by the chief inspector’s use of this derogatory term.

Unfortunately for Ofsted, this is just one example in a long list of mishaps that are increasingly calling into question whether it has a viable future. And this question has been further highlighted by the Headteachers’ Roundtable’s campaign to #PauseOfsted.

The Headteachers’ Roundtable is an influential independent group of school leaders who have decided that enough is enough. They are calling for school and college leaders to stop working as Ofsted inspectors until Ofsted is reformed and fit for purpose as a regulator.

Because it is now abundantly clear that the new Ofsted inspection framework is unfit for its purpose.

New framework fails Launched with fanfare in September, the framework has failed to be fairer to schools in deprived areas, which are still likely to be given negative judgements.

Teachers in primary schools, and heads of small departments in secondary schools, tell the NEU that their already intensive and excessive workload has increased dramatically as they write intent, implementation and impact statements. Mock ‘deep dives’ into subject areas are creating huge stress in an already stressed out profession.

Even worse, the evidence is mounting that Ofsted is unable to operate this new framework competently. It was always obvious that a generalist inspectorate would have huge difficulty in coming to valid and reliable

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judgements about curriculum quality in subjects that inspectors have neither a degree in, nor any teaching experience of.

The training provided by Ofsted focused on the general principles of curriculum design.

While this might have been very interesting, it did nothing to prepare inspectors for coming to judgements about the quality of a school’s curriculum in discrete subject areas and age phases.

Indeed, it is only now that Ofsted has stirred its stumps to appoint lead inspectors for subjects and age phases. Subject guidance for inspectors is only in draft form in two subjects.

Ofsted would definitely have something to say if schools launched into a new initiative with this level of unpreparedness and ineptness. But Ofsted appears to believe that it is immune to criticism and has a free pass to behave in ways which it would roundly condemn others for doing.

Time to rethink Stephen Tierney, chair of the Headteachers’ Roundtable, and a recently retired multiacademy trust CEO, puts the case for Pausing Ofsted powerfully. He writes: “Knowing the systemic disadvantages of schools serving poorer communities, are we doing good by inspecting and degrading other schools? Knowing the effects of high-stakes accountability on retention, especially in those same schools, are we actually doing harm?

Knowing that for all its intent, the implementation and impact of the new framework are already perpetuating this inequality, are our actions just?

And in the end, is it really the best way to improve school performance?”

The NEU believes these are important questions. Like the Headteachers’ Roundtable, we support an independent school inspectorate – but not the one we have, operating so destructively.

It is time for a rethink. It is time to #PauseOfsted and to consider just what system of school and college inspection is needed to give parents the guarantee that their children are being well educated, and teachers and leaders the assurance that their professional lives will not be ended on the whim of a poorly prepared inspectorate.

“The impact of the new framework is already perpetuating inequality.”