Leadership Focus March/April 2012 by Redactive Media Group

Issue 53 March/April 2012

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THE BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR ALL SCHOOL LEADERS

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A SPECIAL EDITION TO MARK INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY INSIDE EQUALITIES MINISTER SAVING THE PLANET TROUBLED GIRLS

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BOOKS2U This service is designed to save teachers and SMT time and money along with providing schools with quality resources. An experienced Jubileebooks.co.uk consultant is available to put together and bring into your school a quality collection of books. Providing the following opportunities Resource inset after school by appointment. An opportunity for staff and pupils to view and purchase a wide range of resources on site. Purchase up to date quality texts including clpe core books. To view and purchase topic boxes, library/NC subject texts suited to individual year groups and key stage curriculum maps. What makes this service distinctive? We bring the books to you!. Saves time going through catalogues. View books before purchase. Service is modular and provided based on your requirements, needs and budget. Easy to plan and accommodate. Bespoke element saves on unwanted purchases.

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FAIRER REPRESENTATION GROUP EDITORIAL

Celebrating women Welcome to a very special edition of Leadership Focus with a distinctly female flavour. There’s even a female guest editor this issue, in fact there are several of us, and we’re all members of the fairer representation group on the NAHT’s National Executive. Our aim is to ensure that women and other under-represented groups are encouraged to take a more active role in your Association. This edition is also linked to International Women’s Day (IWD), which takes place on 8 March. It’s a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. The theme for IWD this year is ‘Connecting girls, inspiring futures’ (see page 22 for more details). Many of us in school leadership will have seen significant changes in attitudes to women in our lifetimes, including greater equality in legal rights, access to a wider range of careers and an ever-increasing number of impressive female role models in many walks of life. But have we achieved real equality? It would seem not, as Susan Young discovers on page 50. Despite great improvements since the days of our 1940s cover star, Rosie the riveter, women are still not equally represented in the boardroom, in politics or even on the NAHT’s own National Executive (see page 30). And what about the younger generation? As school leaders we have a unique opportunity to inspire thousands of young minds. With this in mind, who do the girls in your school look up to? What are their aspirations?

Unfortunately, far too many seem to be impressed with the cult of celebrity and the invidious influence of media messages about body image. This is something we cover in our interview with equalities minister Lynne Featherstone on page 26. She argues that we need to do more to ‘feminise the workplace’ to take advantage of the different ways in which men and women think – and to encourage more women to speak up with their ideas. This edition also contains stories of ordinary women who are achieving great things, both internationally (see page 32) and locally (see pages 36 and 40). But we want to encourage all school leaders to make a difference, to think globally and to act locally. • We want you to enjoy, and be inspired by, this special edition of LF. Let us know what you think. You can follow us on Twitter (@LFmagNAHT) or you can email us with your thoughts at naht@redactive.co.uk The fairer representation group

‘Despite great improvements, women are still not equally represented in the boardroom, in politics or even on the NAHT’s own National Executive’

redactive publishing limited EDITORIAL & ASSOCIATION ENQUIRIES NAHT, 1 Heath Square, Boltro Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 1BL www.naht.org.uk Tel: 01444 472 472 Editor: Robert Sanders Editorial board: Russell Hobby, Steve Iredale, Mike Welsh, Chris Harrison and Robert Sanders @nahtnews @LFmagNAHT Leadership Focus is published by Redactive Publishing Limited on behalf of the NAHT

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EDITORIAL TEAM Managing editor: Steve Smethurst Assistant editors: Rebecca Grant and Sarah Campbell News and features reporter: Hollie Ewers Designer: Adrian Taylor Senior picture editor: Claire Echavarry Production manager: Jane Easterman Cover illustration: J Howard Miller Printed by: Wyndeham Heron

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ISSN: 1472–6181 © Copyright 2012 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 electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers. While every care has been taken in the compilation of this publication, neither the publisher nor the 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 publishers. The views herein are not necessarily those of the publisher, the editor or the NAHT.

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CONTENTS

COVER STORY PAGE

INSPIRE & CONNECT

International Women’s Day is 101 years old in 2012 but women across the globe are still fighting for equal rights and equal treatment. BY JOY PERSAUD

20 NEWS FOCUS 6 OFSTED RAISES THE BAR ‘Satisfactory’ schools are no longer good enough – and neither are some 5,000 head teachers, according to Sir Michael Wilshaw, the ‘super head’ turned Ofsted chief.

6 NEW YEAR HONOURS Head teacher and NAHT Past President Dr Chris Howard is among those recognised for services to education.

7 FORCED ACADEMIES NOT THE ANSWER The Government’s plan to force struggling schools to become academies will not provide an improvement ‘magic bullet’, said General Secretary Russell Hobby.

8 MEMBER SERVICES The NAHT’s legal eagles can help members facing hearings about conduct, competence, employment and injury. 4

9 VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS More than 3,000 vocational qualifications that used to count as equivalent to GCSEs will not be included in performance league tables published from the start of 2015, the Government has announced.

9 ASSESSMENT REFORM UPDATE Spelling, punctuation and grammar are the big focus of the assessment reform debate at the moment as the Association waits to hear the Department for Education’s latest plans.

10 PENSIONS TALKS CONTINUE Government and unions, including the NAHT, are finally nearing agreement on proposed changes to teachers’ pensions, but questions about contribution rates still need to be resolved and may prove tricky, the General Secretary said.

11 EDUCATION CONFERENCES Phonics, funding and the Schools Financial Value Standard are just three of the topics up for debate at the NAHT’s annual education conferences, to be held in London and Manchester.

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FEATURES 26 PUSHING BACK

Lynne Featherstone, the Equalities Minister, talks about the importance of challenging sexist language in the playground.

30 JUST DO IT Joining the National Executive is a great development opportunity and a chance for women to have their say.

32 IT’S A WOMAN’S WORLD Female head teachers from as far afield as Nigeria, Cambodia, China and Malta share their experiences of school leadership.

36 BACK ON TRACK Rebecca Grant learns more about how specialist programmes are helping troubled girls to re-engage with learning.

40 FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD A woman-led scheme in Burnley is helping children learn more about healthy eating – with impressive results.

46 PURCHASING MASTERCLASS Ten top tips on how to improve your buying power.

REGULARS 15 RUSSELL HOBBY’S COLUMN What our schools can learn from those in Finland – and what we should be proud of in our own classrooms.

17 RONA TUTT’S COLUMN It’s as easy as ABCJXUYQ: the NAHT Past President talks us through the alphabet soup of education acronyms.

18 STRANGE BUT TRUE This issue we learn how elocution lessons can improve spelling and why it might be time to ban the school run.

20 HEADS UP Three female school leaders take LF’s big question challenge by telling us about their favourite biscuits, best excuse, and the greatest challenge... their top joke.

22 BEHIND THE HEADLINES The themes of International Women’s Day. See cover feature.

48 WHAT’S NEW? All the latest books and educational resources.

50 AND FINALLY: SUSAN YOUNG Women still face a number of barriers on their way to the top, according to research seen by our regular columnist. MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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NEWS FOCUS

OFSTED

Satisfactory is not good enough ‘Satisfactory’ schools are not good enough – and neither are at least 5,000 head teachers. That’s the hard-hitting message from Sir Michael Wilshaw, the former Hackney head teacher who took over at Ofsted in January. He has announced that the inspectorate’s ‘satisfactory’ rating would be replaced with ‘requires improvement’, and added that the expectations of outstanding schools would also be increased. Sir Michael, who has said that Clint Eastwood’s characters in Westerns are a model for school leadership, told a conference in London: “Quite simply, I believe we need radical improvements to the education system in this country. My view is that we have tolerated mediocrity for far too long – it has settled into the system.” And in an interview with The Sunday Times he said that head teachers in more than 5,000 schools were not up to scratch. He told the newspaper that he wanted ‘less tolerance of poor leadership’ and said that poverty should not be used as an excuse for low grades. He said that some heads allow teachers to coast and blamed poor leadership – including heads failing to enforce rules around good behaviour for children – for the number of teachers who quit the profession shortly after qualifying, the newspaper reported. NAHT General Secretary Russell Hobby said that Sir Michael’s criticism of head teachers was unlikely to inspire the desired improvement. “At a time of massive cuts to teachers’ income and constant criticism, I find it astonishing to claim that poor leadership is driving people 6

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New Ofsted chief says category does not inspire school leaders to make improvements

Sir Michael: “We have tolerated mediocrity for far too long.”

from the profession,” he said. “It’s a huge step from the aspiration that every school should be good to the inference that 5,000 heads are failing.” Sir Michael’s statements had a populist tone that would probably play well with the public but would simply make head teachers feel the profession was undervalued, Russell added. “It is not going to help them to improve their schools. It will make them want to keep their heads down and not take any of the risks that are a

necessary part of improving things. “If you want to be kind you could say that his comments were designed to put a rocket up people with the hope that they would change, but I do not believe it will have that effect.” The General Secretary also raised concerns about the institution of no-notice inspections and the ParentView website, but agreed that plans to require schools to have outstanding teaching in order to be rated ‘outstanding’ made sense.

NEW YEAR HONOURS FOR NAHT MEMBERS Former NAHT President Dr Chris Howard is one of a number of school leaders who have been honoured in the 2012 New Year Honours list. The 59-year-old Caerphilly head, who began teaching in 1977, received an OBE. Sylvia Morris, the ‘superhead’ who turned around the Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary Overy in Southwark, has been made a dame. Dame Sylvia, a former member of the NAHT who retired at the end of 2011, told the BBC: “I thought I was doing an ordinary job but I am really thrilled that people have recognised the work that I have done.” Other school leaders honoured included Paul Doherty, Trinity Catholic High; June Foster, Moorside Community Primary; William Mann, St Hilary School; Lynn Slinger, Forest Way Special School; Janette Steel, Chelsea Community Hospital School; and Ann Picton, Clytha Primary School.

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FORCED ACADEMIES

Academies not a silver bullet Forcing struggling schools to become academies will not solve anything and may actually derail improvements that are already underway, NAHT General Secretary Russell Hobby said. “If a school has been underperforming for a long time there may be a need to get tough in order to get that school to do something different, but that does not necessarily mean becoming

‘Heads faced with forced conversion should develop a credible alternative’ an academy,” he said. Government proposals mean that 200 of England’s worst-performing schools face being converted into academies. In some cases the Government is pushing for the change in the face of strong community resistance; Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, has accused opponents of academies of being ‘happy with failure’. A spokeswoman for the DfE told the BBC: “We have been clear that we consider academy status to be the best way to improve schools that are consistently underperforming. “Academies have already turned around hundreds of struggling secondary schools across the country and are improving their results at twice the national

average rate. We can’t just stand by and do nothing when schools are substandard year after year.” Yet in some cases the information being used to decide which schools face a compulsory change is incorrect or out of date, the General Secretary said. “We are putting together a toolkit for heads whose schools are threatened with forced conversion,” he said. “The first step is to demand to see the data being used to drive the decision, because we have found that in some cases it is not accurate. “For example, in a number of cases those pushing for conversion are using data from 2005-2010 without paying any regard to much better reports from 2011. “Next, find out who is driving it – on some occasions it seems to be the local authority. “Finally, and crucially, you need to come up with a credible alternative. It’s no good simply saying ‘I don’t want to change’, because that suggests you haven’t grasped the situation, and it will encourage people to intervene.” However, if schools can demonstrate that they have a strong plan in place – better yet, one that is beginning to show results – they will be in a much better position to resist pressure to make unwanted changes.

NEWS IN BRIEF SHOPPING FOR GOVERNORS Schools could find it easier to recruit new governors thanks to an online tool created by the School Governors’ One Stop Shop. The charity works with schools and local authorities across England to help them to build links with potential governors. Over the past two years it has placed more than 3,500 volunteers. Janet Scott, its operations director, said: “We currently have highly skilled and enthusiastic volunteers ready to go; schools simply need to register to take advantage. We want to help schools find their ideal governors and the more information and contact we receive from a school regarding its vacancies, the better we can help them.” www.sgoss.org.uk

WHERE TO EDUCATE NEXT? Channel 4 has shown the public how it’s done in Essex: now it wants to educate the public about school life elsewhere in the UK. Television company Twofour Broadcast, which was behind the acclaimed Educating Essex series, is now looking for a school to star in the follow-up. It plans to use the same shooting technique of fixing cameras to the walls, allowing for unobtrusive filming. Vic Goddard, head teacher of Passmores Academy, the school featured in the original series, said that she would be happy to talk to any heads considering putting their school forward. For more information email vicky.mitchell@ twofour.co.uk or call 020 7438 1861.

BUY MORE PHONICS KIT, MINISTER SAYS Nick Gibb, the schools minister, criticised schools and local authorities for not using the Government’s offer of match funding to buy phonics schemes and training from a catalogue of products it approved. “The match-funding scheme, which runs until March 2013, is a chance for schools to gain extra funding to improve reading standards, so I am naturally concerned at the number of areas where few schools have not yet taken the opportunity to do so,” the minister told the TES.

MAKE LEADERSHIP FOCUS YOUR MAGAZINE The LF team would love to hear from you. Why not tell us about the exciting work you’re doing in your schools and allow us to banish all the doom and gloom. The best submissions (and photographs) will find their way into print. Email us at naht@redactive.co.uk

See www.naht.org.uk for guidance MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS 7

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NEWS FOCUS

MEMBER SERVICES

Legal eagles swoop in to help NAHT solicitors have helped hundreds of members with legal advice and representation

NAHT has helped 180 members with their GTCE hearings.

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The GTCE will close at the end of March and its responsibility for dealing with allegations of professional misconduct will be transferred to the Teaching Agency (TA). Fortunately NAHT members will continue to be able to get legal support on this and other legal issues from the Association’s legal department, said Simon Thomas, a senior solicitor in the team. “Our job is to help members in connection with any legal issues that arise out of their employment. That includes employment law, personal injury claims for accidents at work and criminal injuries claims, which might arise if a member was assaulted by a student or a parent, for example.” But one of their larger areas of work over the last decade – and one in which Simon and his colleagues have been very successful – is supporting head teachers facing a hearing at the GTCE. Since 2000, when it was set up, the Association has helped some 180 members who were referred to the council; in the majority of cases the result was that

the member had no case to answer. “For example we had one case where, after a four-day hearing in which allegations of serious professional incompetence were made against a member by witnesses from a local authority inspector and school governors, the GTCE found that there was no case to answer. “In some other cases the allegations are proved but we are able to limit the sanction. We have had a number of successful cases where there has been no sanction at all, and others where there was only a reprimand, which does not affect the individual’s ability to carry on teaching.” The two strongest sanctions –

SUCCESSFUL TRACK RECORD FOR NAHT’S LEGAL TEAM Since 2006 the NAHT’s legal department has represented 126 members in connection with allegations brought before the General Teaching Council. Of the 118 cases that have been concluded so far, 75 resulted in no case to answer while in another three no disciplinary order was imposed. Of those remaining – 34% of the total – 15 resulted in reprimands, 18 in conditional registration orders, four in suspensions and three in prohibitions, one of which is currently under appeal. Some of their more notable cases have seen one member awarded £110,000 for a back injury that means she may never be able to work as a head teacher again, while another is likely to receive around £93,000 in compensation after an employment tribunal found that he had been dismissed unfairly.

suspension, which is a temporary ban that can be lifted after two years, and prohibition, which is permanent – are applied only rarely. The new TA-led regime will see some changes in the way in which cases are handled. For example, employers can now use their discretion when deciding whether or not to refer cases to the TA, rather than being obligated to do so. Two more important differences are that the TA will not deal with issues of professional competence, which is now treated as purely an issue for employers; and that the only sanction available to it will be prohibition, not reprimand or suspension. How to get help • Members who need to access NAHT advice and support can call 030 0303 0333, email info@naht. org.uk or visit www.naht.org.uk The helpline is open 8am to 6pm Monday to Thursday and until 5pm on Fridays; during the holidays this is cut back slightly to 9am-5pm. • Any calls where your employment is at risk are immediately forwarded to the relevant regional officer. • Please ensure that you have your NAHT membership number to hand when you call.

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VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Crackdown on ‘equivalent’ GCSEs not mean that all vocational courses should be worth only one GCSE.” He also accused the DfE of taking a ‘populist’ approach to the changes by highlighting that courses such as horse husbandry would be affected. “I don’t think that there would have been many people enrolled on that course anyway,” he said. The changes will not make much of a difference to performance tables, either, he said. “When you take out the vocational equivalent courses you only get a very small change in GCSE score – something like 6 per cent overall. However, academies may

GETTY

More than 3,000 vocational qualifications will no longer count as equivalent to GCSEs in secondary school performance tables, the Government announced at the end of January. At the moment there are 3,175 ‘equivalent qualifications’, some of which are worth four, five or six GCSEs, but only 125 of these will be included in performance tables published from the start of 2015. The Department for Education hopes that the move, which follows Professor Alison Wolf ’s 2011 review of vocational education, will stop schools entering young people for subjects that boost league table results without improving students’ opportunities. Education Secretary Michael Gove said: “The changes we are making will take time but will transform the lives of young people. “For too long the system has been devalued by attempts to pretend that all qualifications are intrinsically the same. Young people have taken courses that have led nowhere.” Some of the slashed qualifications were overrated and it made sense to change things, said Russell Hobby, the NAHT’s General Secretary. “But this is not true of all of them and does

be more affected by the decision and may drop further than this, as they tend to use more GCSE equivalents.” Only 70 equivalent qualifications will count towards the five A*-C measure in tables published from 2015, while another 55 will be included in the performance table but not the five A*-C measure. The DfE said: “Teachers will still be able to use their professional judgment to offer the qualifications they believe are right for their pupils, but only those meeting the Department’s rigorous requirements will count in performance tables.”

Horse husbandry: possibly not the most popular course.

ASSESSMENT REFORM

Marking time waiting for practical answers Spelling, punctuation and grammar are the big focus of the assessment reform debate at the moment as schools wait to hear the Department for Education’s latest plans. “We are waiting for them to tell us what they are up to,” said Russell Hobby, the NAHT’s General Secretary. “From our point of view,

the teacher-assessed written component needs to occupy the bulk of any marking scheme. However, the fact that writing is teacher assessed and reading will be tested externally raises practical questions about how the grade for the first will be blended with the score for the second.”

At last year’s annual conference, NAHT members agreed to suspend industrial action over assessment as a gesture of good faith in light of the Government’s agreement to commission a full independent review of the current system at KS2. However, it made clear that it expected the

Government to engage in meaningful, transparent discussions once the review was complete. The motion also reserved the right to consult the membership about further action should the Government fail to deliver a fairer system of assessment and accountability.

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NEWS FOCUS

PENSIONS

Pension talks near resolution The Government and unions were finally nearing agreement on proposed changes to teachers’ pensions as Leadership Focus went to press but questions remained about contribution rates. While positive negotiations had been underway since the public sector’s day of action in November last year, school leaders were determined to withhold judgment until the deal was complete. “There are still some outstanding issues – for example, we need more clarity around contribution rates and how they will go up in 2015 when we enter the next regime – but we are reaching the end of the

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Progress on pension talks but contribution rates are still a sticking point, NAHT says

negotiation process,” said NAHT General Secretary Russell Hobby. The contribution issue is particularly relevant to heads as a tiered contribution system linked to earnings would mean that many would end up paying more. “For a number of members this would mean a significant increase,” he said. This particular issue is likely to take months to resolve, the General

‘Tiered pension contributions linked to earnings would mean many members would pay significantly more’

THE BEST OF THE BLOGS ‘OFFER HEADS A CARROT’ Ofsted head Sir Michael Wilshaw should spend more time offering carrots and a bit less bashing away at head teachers with his ‘5,000 head teachers are not up to the job’ stick, says Susan Young. “Sir Michael is effectively saying that a quarter of school leaders aren’t good enough,” she writes. “If he wants to move the goalposts on what is or isn’t satisfactory, that’s his prerogative. I’m just not sure that this is the way to manage people effectively. “If I were a head whose rating was ‘satisfactory’ I suspect I’d be feeling

Secretary said, adding: “And I am not vastly optimistic, either.” The Government also needed to be aware of the risk that newlyqualified teachers and other relatively low earners will choose to opt out of the system. This has risks for the scheme as a whole, because having fewer people contribute will affect its financial viability, and for individuals, who will be jeopardising their future financial security. “If people have no spare money they can’t not pay their mortgage or their student loan or other bills, so it may be pension contributions that are seen as expendable – it’s entirely understandable,” he said. “But in a sense if people do that they are borrowing from their future.” • A judicial review of the Government’s decision to switch inflation increases from the RPI to the CPI has failed, but the campaign against the change continued as LF went to press.

more demotivated than determined in the aftermath of those comments.”

are more likely to have high enrolment rates for girls in secondary education.”

www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/ blogs/susan-young/

efareport.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/ more-teachers-please-and-in-africawomen-especially/

MORE WOMEN PLEASE The world needs another two million teachers by 2015, according to the Unesco Institute for Statistics (UIS), and a lot of them need to be women. This is especially the case in Africa, where only 42 per cent of teachers are female, says World Education Blog. In countries such as Benin, Chad, Liberia and Togo this drops to less than 20 per cent. “Why is it so important?” the author asks. “As the UIS emphasises in its release, countries with high proportions of female teachers in primary education

GETTING RID OF DINOSAURS Cross-curricular learning throws up some wacky facts, says Lesley Ito, an English teacher based in Japan, on the Teaching Village blog. “One thing I have learned is that ‘common knowledge’ is always changing and some of the facts I learned as a child in school turned out to be no longer true,” she says. For example, brontosauruses never existed, and female pirates are only sexy in films – in real life they dressed as men. tinyurl.com/722d4sk

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EDUCATION CONFERENCES

It’s time to learn something new Behaviour management for the very young, sixth-form funding and how to turn your school into a learning environment for teachers as well as pupils are some of the topics on offer at this year’s NAHT Education Conferences. ‘Leading your learning environment: meeting the challenge ahead’ will be held at the Midland Hotel in Manchester on 19 October and again at the Senate House in London on 16 November. Organisers said that the events will provide school leaders with a variety of practical, innovative ideas and tools that will help to energise, enthuse and inspire their teams. “We have worked hard to provide an exciting, thought-provoking event which provides an effective balance between keynote speakers and practitioners,” said incoming NAHT President Steve Iredale. “We were determined to create a programme that would appeal to colleagues working in all sectors. Those who attend will not only have first-class CPD opportunities, but will leave with some practical strategies they can take back to school to enhance the learning of their children.”

EDUCATION CONFERENCE: MEETING THE CHALLENGE AHEAD NAHT Education Conferences offer a wide range of practical workshops. • Managing ASD in your learning environment. This session will review the underlying features of the autism spectrum and focus on the need for strategies to be customised for each individual. • Something on your mind? Troubled children have a diminished capacity to learn; this workshop will help delegates learn about the importance of mental-health training for staff and a holistic approach to emotional wellbeing. • Building a co-operative alternative. Understand the co-operative model for trust schools and converter academies by attending this session. The conference is £230 for members and £285 for non-members for the full day (£160/£195 for a half day) but discounts are available if you book before 1 June. To book, or for more information, please email events@naht.org.uk

It also offers a range of networking and collaboration opportunities as well as thought-provoking speakers and topical workshops that are led by knowledgeable, experienced practitioners, he said. Speakers include the incoming President; Russell Hobby, the NAHT’s General Secretary; and Tim Rylands, who has more than 25 years’ classroom experience in the UK and West Africa. Workshop options include sessions called ‘From philosophy to practice’; ‘the Schools Financial Value Standard’;

The School Self Evaluation Tracker (SSET) has been developed specifically to give all schools a flexible self-improvement tool that complements the new Ofsted Inspection Framework, allowing them to evaluate and plan effectively for the future.

‘transformative leadership’; and ‘managing children’s emotions’. A ‘Sauce for the Goose’ workshop will also help schools prepare for the new Ofsted framework and the emphasis on aligning continuing professional development and school improvement. Another workshop has been tailored particularly for school business managers. It will outline the qualifications available from the National College and explain how SBMs can become more efficient in the current economic climate.

School Self Evaluation Tracker (SSET)

The SSET is available in two packages: Starter (£99 + VAT) and Standard (£249 + VAT). For more information, please call 01245 213144 or visit www.nfer.ac.uk/sset3 The SSET is offered in collaboration with Target Tracker.

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CHARITY OF THE YEAR SHELTERBOX

Lessons in life It’s easy to tell children how ShelterBox operates: the disaster-relief charity provides immediate aid to people in affected areas by supplying them with boxes containing an emergency shelter, tools and cooking equipment. This was one of the main reasons why the NAHT made ShelterBox its charity of the year. The Association hopes that its support will get 10 per cent of UK schools sponsoring one of the £590 boxes by the end of the year. But providing financial assistance to a good cause is not the only reason for NAHT members to get behind ShelterBox this year. The charity also provides teachers with an ideal way to help pupils understand world events. Through its Young ShelterBox initiative, teachers can access a wealth of resources – from images and articles to media clips – that can be used in lessons. The resources were compiled by Claire White and Heather White from Cornwall-based consultancy Azook, and are available online at www.youngshelterbox.org.uk Claire says that because children are more exposed to stories of worldwide events, it’s never been more important to address these in the classroom. “Children need a means to explore how they feel about what they see on television,” she says. “ShelterBox is doing amazing work providing the means for people affected by disasters to survive, and in doing that work we’ve had the privilege to accumulate information about disasters around the world. “We’ve got access to documentation of the effects on landscapes and communities – the images, the data – and that really puts the charity into 12

PHIL NICHOLLS

ShelterBox, the NAHT’s charity of the year, is helping schools to teach children about disasters and world events

a unique position to share those resources with teachers and learners.” Teachers are free to use the resources in any way they wish but Claire and Heather have also created a series of challenges to provide some extra inspiration. Each Young ShelterBox challenge has been designed to meet the needs of the different Key Stages, and can be adapted for specific class activities or whole school projects.

“We wanted to construct something that gave teachers choices,” says Claire. “Some schools use the resources as a project for a themed week. Others might want to use them weekly as part of their circle time activity at primary level, or in a PSHE session. It really is a free for all, and hopefully as we add more resources and layer activities in, it will give children more and more interesting ways of learning.”

YOUNG SHELTERBOX CHALLENGES Claire White, who helped to design the resources, explains how they can be used to teach a range of different age groups.

KS1 We’ve tried to select resources that are quite gentle, so we start looking at why people might raise money to help others. We provide some images that aren’t of disasters at all. We also have musical activities. For example, they explore what an earthquake is through sound. Children can also do some hands-on activities like biscuit baking.

KS2 For this key stage we want them to use their writing skills to explore why a shelter is important. For example, they can do poetry, which shows empathy for people affected by disasters. There are practical activities too. They can build their own shelters and test whether they will provide a safe and secure home.

KS3 This level has a much more distinct approach. The pupils are challenged to become an emergency response team. They have to examine the resources and decide if it’s the right time to send help. There are also a lot of geography tasks to the challenge, such as deciding the best place on the landscape to set up tents. They also have to plan their own emergency response mission, which requires good teamwork and decision-making skills.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2012

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MEMBER BENEFITS: NAHT’S SELECTED PARTNERS MESSAGE FROM A SCHOOL PARTNER

Partner contacts Self-evaluation surveys add value The NAHT is committed to negotiating a wide range of high-quality, value-added benefits and services for its members. If you have any comments on the services provided by our affinity partners, please email John Randall, the NAHT’s Head of Marketing and Communications, at john.randall@naht.org.uk

SERVICES FOR SCHOOLS ETEACH Online staff recruitment 0845 226 1906 www.eteach.com Email: support@eteach.com TEMPEST SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHY 0800 328 1041 (quote ‘NAHT’) www.tempest-schoolphotography.co.uk GL ASSESSMENT Pupil wellbeing assessment 0845 602 1937 www.gl-assessment.co.uk GL PERFORMANCE Kirkland Rowell Surveys 0191 270 8270 www.kirkland-rowell.com SCHOOLS ADVISORY SERVICE Staff absence insurance 01623 643 555 www.schooladvice.co.uk

SERVICES FOR MEMBERS ROCK Travel insurance 0844 482 3390 www.nahttravelinsurance.co.uk AVIVA Home, contents and motor insurance 0800 046 6389 www.fromyourassociation.co.uk/NAHT CS HEALTHCARE Private medical insurance 0800 917 4325 www.cshealthcare.co.uk (please use promotional code 147) LFC GRAYBROOK Professional indemnity and public liability cover 01245 321 185 www.lfcgraybrook.co.uk/naht Email: enquiry@lfcgraybrook.co.uk MBNA Credit card services 0800 028 2440 www.mbna.co.uk SKIPTON FINANCIAL SERVICES Independent ﬁnancial advice 0800 012 1248 www.skiptonfs-naht.co.uk Email: sfsnaht@skipton.co.uk

Kirkland Rowell Surveys has been helping schools prepare for inspections and facilitate ongoing self-evaluation through parent, pupil and staff perception surveys for more than 12 years. More than 2,500 UK schools now choose us as education partners. Ofsted’s new inspection framework places self-evaluation at its heart with the quality of a school’s self-evaluation described as ‘a good indicator of the calibre of the school’s leaders and managers and of the school’s capacity to improve’. With the prospect of no-notice inspections and Ofsted’s new Parent View website enabling parents to register views about their child’s school and potentially trigger inspections, it is more important than ever that school leadership teams monitor and respond to the changing needs of their stakeholders. Our surveys deliver high-quality stakeholder evidence – a solid

baseline for your self-evaluation needs. Uniquely, results are benchmarked against similar schools, enabling meaningful and relevant comparisons to be drawn. Reports now include an evidence section that covers all aspects on Parent View. Importantly, sample sizes are highlighted, enabling schools to compare the opinions of a much larger pool of respondents against those recorded on Parent View. Results are broken down by year group and gender allowing strengths and areas for improvement to be pinpointed. We provide a managed service, from an initial planning meeting, to: • tailor your survey to meet the specific needs of your school • deliver excellent response rates • share our knowledge of what stakeholders say at similar schools • produce easy to understand reports with Osfted and Parent View sections clearly highlighted. Further support is also available. Call us today for more information on 0191 270 8270.

MESSAGE FROM A MEMBER PARTNER

Quality healthcare cover for less

CS Healthcare is the preferred provider of great value comprehensive health insurance to NAHT members and their families. Offering quality cover for less, CS Healthcare has been protecting the health of their members for more than 80 years. As a mutual it is able to keep premiums low by re-investing surplus funds into the Society. Some 89 per cent of new members declared their competitive premiums as a reason for joining and one in four joined as a result of a personal recommendation*.

Key beneﬁts • First two months’ cover FREE** • Flexible choice of cover • Choose from 300 UK hospitals • Competitive rates • Fast, direct claim settlement Contact CS Healthcare to receive your first two months’ cover FREE**. Call 0800 917 4325† and quote promotional code 147. * CS Healthcare member surveys carried out in January – December 2011. **Terms and conditions apply and are available at on request. This offer is not available in conjunction with any other offer. † Calls may be recorded and monitored for training, quality assurance purposes and/or the prevention and detection of crime. The maximum joining age is 74 years and 11 months unless you are switching from a previous insurer in which case the maximum joining age is 69 years and 11 months. CS Healthcare is authorised and regulated by the FSA, reg no. 205346. MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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24/2/12 13:24:32

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However you put it, it’s a whole lot of free car insurance We’re offering 15 weeks’ worth of free cover to new customers who buy online and have at least four years’ no claim discount on their existing car insurance policy*. Don’t miss out on this fantastic deal – visit www.fromyourassociation.co.uk/NAHT

Terms and Conditions – *Proof of no claim discount is required. Offer excludes optional extras. Minimum premium applies. Offer may be withdrawn at any time. Insurance underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited. Registered in Scotland No. 2116 Registered Office: Pitheavlis, Perth PH2 0NH. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. CFPOCA0057 01.12

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

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VIEWPOINT

RUSSELL HOBBY R Columnist C

Following in Finnish steps The General Secretary takes a trip to see where the UK fears to tread e don’t talk about Finland any more. The country was once widely praised for a school system that achieved both excellence and equal outcomes, regularly coming near the top of the PISA rankings. Then it became clear that Finland achieved its results in ways that were not always entirely compatible with UK Government policy. For instance, students don’t sit external exams until the end of their schooling, there are no league tables and – you’ll like this one – they abolished most of their inspection regime 30 years ago. Finland was too different to be useful and it ceased to be an exemplar for the education debate in the UK, to be replaced by more helpful models like Singapore. Yet Finland still comes near the top of PISA and we are still exhorted to look to international evidence for what works, so I hooked up with a Comenius (britishcouncil.org/comenius.htm) project visit to Finland, along with teachers from the UK, Spain, Italy and Belgium. We visited a range of schools in Turku, Finland’s second city, including preschool (for children aged six and seven), primary and secondary. Clearly this is a limited sample, but the Finnish education system that we saw seemed happy, relaxed and optimistic.

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Mature and independent But there are some significant differences: children start primary school late compared with the UK. They also take themselves to and from school, and often spend significant amounts of time alone at home. The child’s progress is considered to be the family’s prime responsibility. Consequently, there is a sense of maturity, independence and responsibility in even young children. Timetables are leisurely and flexible, the school day is relatively short and the summer holiday is long. Health and safety, even safeguarding, do not seem to be as high on the agenda.There are no league tables populated by test results. We were told that the only time a school is inspected is when there are concerns raised about teacher wellbeing. When we mentioned no-notice inspections, the head of the primary burst out laughing. Another little thing: children wore no shoes inside the school building; it had a surprisingly calming effect. For British teachers, Finland can seem like Nirvana.

Teachers are respected; good results can be achieved with good morale; high-stakes accountability was absent; parents took responsibility; and schools were not blamed for all of society’s woes. But before you book your flight, it is worth reflecting on some more unexpected findings. There is selection at 16 and children are steered into either strongly vocational or academic tracks. They use lots of internal tests; children sit at single desks in rows, where they work mostly from text books, which didn’t appear to be marked regularly. They focused on basic skills and knowledge. The British teachers in the party were convinced that our lessons have more pace and focus, and consequently more progress, than many of the lessons they observed. As one asked: “What exactly do these PISA tests measure?” We were left wondering whether we could aspire to ‘UK classrooms in Finnish schools’, or whether that was an impossible blend – that Finnish corridors, with their softly-walking, responsible students in Ikea-style surroundings, can only lead to Finnish classrooms. Yet schools can create cultures independent of the communities they serve. And school leaders can – and do – ensure that their staff feel respected and valued whatever is said about them in the outside world. It is hard to go against the grain, but not impossible. The UK teachers on the visit left determined to apply what they could from the Finnish culture. The best of both worlds could be unbeatable.

Another little thing: children wore no shoes inside the school building; it had a surprisingly calming effect

Russell Hobby is NAHT General Secretary MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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Putting reading in the spotlight

In light of the New Ofsted Framework, GL Assessment is offering NAHT members an exclusive 5% discount on all primary reading tests* From January 2012, Ofsted will place a huge emphasis on pupils’ achievement in early reading and literacy. Unveiling the new framework last September, the then chief inspector, Miriam Rosen, explained, “An important aspect of this framework is the priority given to pupils’ achievement in early reading and literacy. Teaching children effectively to read so that they attain the expected standards by age seven is a core duty for primary schools. Otherwise we know children will struggle at secondary school and later in life. Inspectors will give this area of school life the highest priority, including hearing pupils read.” In light of this, GL Assessment is delighted to offer NAHT members an exclusive 5% discount on all of our primary reading tests.

*The exclusive 5% discount applies to NAHT members only, who have not previously purchased the primary reading assessments outlined in the offer. Please see terms and conditions on www.gl-assessment.co.uk/naht for further details.

Visit www.gl-assessment.co.uk/naht to view a full listing of the products included in this offer

Look out for the following key assessments… New! Diagnostic Test of Word Reading Processes – a phonological reading assessment designed to benchmark and test pupils’ foundation skills in word reading processes, thus providing diagnostic information to guide intervention. New Group Reading Test (NGRT) – an ideal screening/monitoring test for groups of children, NGRT enables an assessment of reading and comprehension in a single test. York Assessment of Reading for Comprehension Primary (YARC Primary) – an ideal follow-up to NGRT, YARC Primary enables the in-depth individual assessment of a pupil’s decoding and comprehension skills.

www.gl-assessment.co.uk

To discuss your requirements or to place an order, please call:

0845 602 1937

and quote GLA458

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

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VIEWPOINT

RONA TUTT R Columnist C

It’s as easy as ABCJXUYQ Speaking the language of education requires a PhD in Alphabet Studies hen the Coalition Government came to power, Michael Gove wasted little time in removing all traces of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and transforming the ministry into the more succinct Department for Education (DfE). That was a relatively easy change to come to terms with, but keeping up with all the other names and their associated abbreviations or acronyms, is a job in itself. For example, the word ‘network’ is gaining in popularity and so it is advisable to know the difference between the following: the Schools Network (formerly SSAT) supports both state schools and independent state schools. The New Schools Network (NSN) nurtures the development of free schools; and the Local Schools Network (LSN) safeguards the interests of schools that wish to remain wholly within the state system. Soon after coming to power, the Government also decided to stamp out waste by culling quangos (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations). Indeed, they aren’t even called quangos any more, but ‘arm’s length bodies’ (ALBs). So, with varying degrees of regret or relief, we have seen the following sink without trace: Becta, CWDC, GTCE, PfS, QCDA, SSSNB, TDA, Teachers TV, and YPLA, the latter having hardly been around for long enough for us to remember what the initials even stood for. Although all these are disappearing, some of their functions are being taken over by new organisations – not quangos, or even ALBs, but ‘executive agencies of the DfE’. The Education and Funding Agency (EFA) will incorporate the functions of PfS and YPLA. The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) takes over the functions of QCDA, and the Teaching Agency (TA) absorbs the work of CWDC, GTCE and TDA. But don’t confuse it with Teaching Assistants (also TA). And don’t forget the National College for School Leadership (NCSL), often referred to as the National College, and, at one time the NCLSCS. So, we lose some quangos and gain some executive agencies. But, as Shakespeare taught us (roughly speaking), a quango by any other name will smell as sweet. And as three out of the four

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executive agencies do not come into being until April, you are now ahead of the game. Furthermore, next time someone complains to you that people in education have their own language, you will be able to explain that it is really quite simple and that, although Becta, GTCE, TDA and the rest have disappeared, they are being replaced by EFA, STA and TA. You also could go on to elucidate that the OCC is being strengthened in the wake of John Dunford’s Review of the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, as is Ofqual, which has been busy sorting out MM (Mickey Mouse) courses from the EBacc, and that LSN is not to be confused with NSN, while we wait to see whether the former SSAT will become known as TSN. Meanwhile, with Ofsted led by a new HMCI and operating to yet another framework, we know that inspectors can drop in at any time without an ETA – this last one is just to prove that education is not the only one using abbreviations.

With Ofsted led by a new HMCI and operating a new framework, inspectors can drop in without an ETA…

What about the NAHT? Finally, our Association remains the NAHT, despite efforts from time to time to change it to NASL (National Association of School Leaders). And so far, members in Northern Ireland have not insisted that, in deference to their own terminology, the word ‘principal’ appears somewhere in our title. But perhaps this should wait until an imminent shortage of heads is solved by all schools becoming federated, in which case we could become the National Association of Principals and Heads Of Futuristic Federations, otherwise known as NAPHOFF. Rona Tutt is a retired head teacher and a Past President of the NAHT

23/2/12 14:44:38

THINGS WE’VE LEARNED

STRANGE BUT CHILD HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Time to ban the school run Children who walk, cycle or even catch public transport to school are much more active than those who are driven – even at weekends. Youngsters who travel to school by car spend just over an hour each weekday doing some form of moderate or vigorous physical activity, say researchers from St George’s, University of London. Those who cycled or walked did an average of seven minutes more, while those who used public transport managed an extra 11 minutes, according to the study of more than 2,000 English primary school children aged between nine and 10. The relatively high levels of activity among children who took public transport may at least partly reflect the amount of walking done to get to and from bus stops or train stations, the researchers say. However, children in this group were also more active at the weekend, suggesting that there may be other factors at play – and that it may be time to consider banning the school run. The researchers also found that there were differences associated with ethnic background. White European children were more likely to walk or cycle to school, while black AfricanCaribbean children tended to catch public transport. Children with a South Asian background, however, tended to live closer to the schools that they attended, and were likely to be driven there by car, the researchers discovered.

SHUT UP

The only way is elocution Although the Essex accent is well-loved thanks to celebrities like Jamie Oliver and the cast of The Only Way Is Essex, it is not entirely helpful when learning to spell. Teachers at Cherry Tree Primary School in Basildon realised that pupils were writing words and phrases phonetically; for example ‘think’ became ‘fink’ and ‘we was’ replaced ‘we were’. Their solution? Elocution lessons.The idea is not to get them to lose their accents, the school says, but to boost pupils’ confidence in both writing and speaking.

KEEPING SMALL FRY OCCUPIED

Devon children are fishermen’s friends Not content with the usual trick of growing cress in eggshells, a school in Devon has turned to growing salmon. Pupils at Bickleigh-on-Exe Primary School will look after salmon eggs and oversee the hatching of the fry before releasing them into the River Exe. Experts from the River Project and the Heart of Exmoor scheme advised them how to be good salmon carers and introduced them to other wildlife in and around the river.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2012

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TRUE

IT’S THE QUIET ONES YOU HAVE TO WATCH

FAILURE WEEK

Disruptive behaviour in the class can be positive

A winning strategy

Children who shout out answers in class may be nearly nine months ahead of their quieter classmates when it comes to reading and maths, according to a study by Durham University. Researchers at the university’s Centre for Education and Monitoring found that pupils described by teachers as likely to blurt out answers before a question was completed tended to be more engaged in lessons. “We’re not suggesting that classrooms become free-for-all shouting matches, but if this positive learning relationship can be harnessed it could help teachers and learners,” said Professor Peter Tymms, the study’s lead author. Researchers analysed primary school teachers’ ratings for more than 12,000 four and five-yearold pupils at the end of the children’s first year in school. The results were gathered from the performance indicators in primary schools (Pips). As part of the Pips assessment, teachers were asked to rate pupils’ behaviour in class in relation to the following statements:

Failure can be difficult enough at the best of times but young o people who are used to succeeding can find it g. particularly challenging. Wimbledon High School’s headmistress Heather Hanbury decided that her high-achieving girls would benefit from thee chance to find out more about failure – and how to overcome it. So, in February, she launched ‘Failure Week’.

• Blurts out answers before questions have been completed. • Has difficulty awaiting turn. • Interrupts or intrudes on others; for example, pushes into conversations or games.

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Since the last LF, we’ve learned that there’s something fishy in Devon, that shouting out answers isn’t all bad and that failure is ok

Researchers found that the ‘blurts out answers early’ option on the teachers’ rating scale was closely and positively linked to cognitive engagement.

What was in Failure Week? • Assemblies focusing on the subject of failure, with examples of successful people who have ‘failed’ along the way. • Activities that helped to assess how students feel about failure. • Conversations about the merits of failure, including tutors’ personal experience of it and how they overcame it. • Explorations of the negative side of ‘not failing’: the importance of having a go and risking failure. • Encouraging parents to discuss any ‘failures’ they have had with their daughters and what they learned. “My message to girls is that it is better to lead a life replete with disappointment than one where you constantly wonder ‘if only’,” Heather said.

MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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QUESTION CORNER

KIM MCCAMLEY Principal, Sandye Place Academy, Sandy, Bedfordshire

WHAT TYPE OF PERSON ARE YOU? In five words: Passionate, driven, caring, meticulous and organised. What’s top of your to-do list? Relentless attention to standards in teaching, learning and wellbeing. Favourite biscuit? Fig roll. Top holiday destination? Phuket, Thailand. What wouldn’t you do for £1m? Humiliate a child. Who would play you in the film of your life? Gwyneth Paltrow.

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES

HEADS

School was the place where I always felt inspired

UP 20

REX / PA

Three school leaders take up the Leadership Focus challenge to describe their leadership style and then tell us a joke

If you would like to take the LF questionnaire, email us at naht@redactive.co.uk

The celebrity I’d most like to have as a teacher at my school is the Dalai Lama for his unshakeable adherence to his values despite the injustices heaped on him and his people. My staff, my pupils and I could learn the art of true leadership by following his example. As a child, I wanted to grow up to be exactly who I am today. I am living my dream, with nothing left out. The best excuse I’ve heard is ‘I couldn’t do me homework Miss, because my mum’s got thrush!’ I went into teaching because school was the place where I always felt inspired, safe and most at home. My most embarrassing moment as a teacher was when my husband sent a barbershop quartet to school on Valentine’s Day to serenade me. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s listen and then listen some more, don’t try to solve every problem, sometimes simply acknowledging there is a problem is enough. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I keep a spare pair of slippers in my office which I wear to walk around the school when the staff have gone home. Tell us your best joke This is not one of my strengths. ‘How many elephants can you get in a hammerfor? What’s a hammerfor? Banging in nails.’ This is our family joke.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2012

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ROZ MCFEETERS R

CHERYL WHELDON C

P Principal, H Hill Croft School, Newtownabbey, N Northern Ireland

H Head teacher, C Coedffranc Primary, N Neath, Wales

WHAT TYPE OF PERSON ARE YOU?

In five words: Sociable, compassionate, motivated, focused, team-player. What’s top of your to-do list? Clearing out the study. Favourite biscuit? My mum’s Christmas shortbread. Top holiday destination? France – bread, cheese, wine and sunshine… What wouldn’t you do for £1m? A bush-tucker trial in the jungle. Who would play you in the film of your life? Jennifer Aniston.

In five words: Straight talking strategist with sparkle. What’s top of your to-do list? Clearing my desk at school. Favourite biscuit? Fox’s Viennese Chocolate Melts. Top holiday destination? The Loire region of France. What wouldn’t you do for £1m? Paint the Severn Bridge. Who would play you in the film of your life? Meryl Streep.

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES The celebrity I’d most like to have as a teacher at my school is Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. She would be really inspiring, teaching the children that they can succeed no matter what barriers they face. Bear Grylls would make learning fun and exciting but would be a health and safety nightmare for me and the leadership team. As a child, I wanted to grow up to be the manager of my dad’s shoe shop. When I realised that A-level Economics was just beyond me, my other option of teaching kicked in. I still love shoes and I still can’t believe that someone put me in charge of the school budget! The best excuse I’ve heard is ‘I can’t come to school today, I’m too cold.’ I went into teaching because I have always loved children. I’ve been babysitting since I was six. Children’s enthusiasm is infectious. I love seeing that moment when something just clicks and they ‘get it’. This is still the best part of my job. My most embarrassing moment as a teacher was in my first job. The staff all wore school sweatshirts. One day there was a substitute teacher in the next class and I went in to say hi and told her to shout if she needed anything and she gave me a strange look. At break time when I filled up my cup in the staffroom before playground duty she commented to another teacher that the school was very liberal allowing the pupils to make tea in the staffroom. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s to put people first, show empathy and listen rather than talk. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but sometimes I love to sit down with a cup of tea and watch an episode of The Waltons. Tell us your best joke Venison – dear isn’t it?

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES The celebrity I’d most like to have as a teacher at my school is Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. I’ve heard her speak on several occasions and always feel inspired. She is wonderfully motivational, fantastically inspirational and would be a brilliant role model for all pupils as she makes you believe anything is possible. She’s also Welsh! As a child, I wanted to grow up to be an air hostess called Jackie. Why? I have no idea! It just seemed so glamorous travelling to different countries and not even having to pay. I didn’t really take the work element of it into account. The best excuse I’ve heard was when I worked in a preschool assessment unit. One of the three-year-olds kept coming in without her glasses. When I asked her mother why, I was told: “She’s not wearing them ’cos I can’t find them. I’ve been decorating and I might have wallpapered over them.” I went into teaching because after being persuaded that I didn’t really want to be an air hostess called Jackie I was influenced by the fact that my family have been producing teachers since Victorian times. It’s the family business. My most embarrassing moment was role playing in the Wendy house with my class of pre-schoolers and enjoying the cup of tea (pretend) they had made me when I realised I was entertaining all my colleagues. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s always give yourself the chance to take a step back before moving forward. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but we don’t have time to run the tuck shop and read newspapers anymore. Tell us your best joke The doctor calls into his local pub each night and Dick the barman always makes him a daiquari with an almond in it. One evening Dick is in a panic because he has run out of almonds so he decides to use a hickory nut instead.The doctor comes in and Dick makes him his drink. After taking a sip the doctor asks: “Is this an almond daiquari, Dick?” “No, it’s a hickory daiquari, doc.”

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BEHIND THE HEADLINES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

How to connect and inspire Issue 53 March/April 2012

£5

THE BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR ALL SCHOOL LEADERS

OUR DAY HAS COME

A SPECIAL EDITION TO MARK INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY INSIDE EQUALITIES MINISTER SAVING THE PLANET TROUBLED GIRLS

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Thursday 8 March is the 101st International Women’s Day, yet the battle for equality is still being fought, reports Joy Persaud

he fight for women to have equal opportunities and rights was at its most turbulent more than a century ago, a time that sparked the inception of International Women’s Day (IWD). While the situation in many countries has changed for the better since the first IWD in 1911, the global struggle for females to have access to education, let alone equal pay in the workplace, is ongoing. IWD is marked annually on 8 March by events worldwide to celebrate the economic, social and political achievements of women and inspire them to continue 22

progressing. The day has been deemed an official holiday in dozens of countries – and ones as diverse as Russia, Uganda and Vietnam – at which time many men show their appreciation of their wives, mothers, girlfriends and colleagues by buying small gifts or flowers. While some school leaders in the UK may choose to hold an event or discussion about IWD, which this year has the theme ‘connecting girls, inspiring futures’, others prefer to ensure that the objectives become an inherent part of policy and practice. We spoke to four women who are passionate about girls’ education to discover how they view the issues raised by IWD.

The expert in gender studies DR JENNY PARKES Senior lecturer in education, gender and international development, Institute of Education HER VIEW

“It is hugely important to have events such as IWD and for women around the world to talk to each other and to connect. Speaking as someone who works in education, we see plenty of girls in this country doing really well – and we need to celebrate their achievements. But we need IWD almost for the opposite reason – that there are also huge inequalities.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2012

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GETTY

Obviously, we are still influenced by the nonsense stereotypes of boys, girls, men and women

The kind of inequalities we face globally are highlighted by the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, one of which is for equal numbers of girls and boys to be at school by 2015. That hasn’t yet been achieved in many countries, often because girls are expected to marry at an early age and stay in the household. We’ve got massive problems still with adult illiteracy, as two-thirds of the adults who are unable to read globally are women. And, in this country and elsewhere, we still have the glass ceiling in employment with women not getting to the top jobs that are the best paid. In the four countries where I have been working closely with researchers – India, Kenya, Ghana and Mozambique – we have seen there are many more girls in education and there are more people talking about girls

in education. Yet there are issues around resources and violence, and the quality of learning is very poor. There is progress in terms of access to school but we are still a long way from providing equality of education for girls and helping them to achieve their potential. All children, whether they are girls or boys, need to have a high quality of education. Usually, what makes a really good education for a girl is the same as what makes a really good education for a boy. Having said that, education needs to be responsive to the particular needs and experiences that girls and boys may face. Sometimes they may be different in certain circumstances, or in particular contexts. To give an example from UK schools and the work I have done on risk and violence, I found

it more effective to work with single-sex groups when discussing sensitive topics. In a school where they have found that no, or few, girls are opting for science and technology, or that very few boys are opting for language or art, it’s worth thinking about why that might be and also what can be done about it. Streaming or single-sex classes might work in certain contexts. Obviously, we are still influenced by the nonsense stereotypes of girls, boys, men and women, and they create particular pressures on young people growing up in the UK and elsewhere around the world. There is a lot of work that schools can do to help young people to reflect on their identities and hopefully challenge these stereotypes, and there’s a role for the institutions in how the management profile of that school can contribute to that change as well. When you think about it, in this country and much of the world, women’s suffrage is less than 100 years old. It’s not very long since we got the vote and there is still a long way to go. Sometimes I get despondent, but mostly I think things are changing. There have been lots of changes in international and internal laws and policy, but the kinds of attitudes and practices we have are slower to change.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 24 ➧ MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS 23

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BEHIND THE HEADLINES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

The NAHT policy maker LESLEY GANNON NAHT head of research and policy development HER VIEW

“For me, IWD acts as a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go. It’s important to remember that girls in certain parts of the world still do not get the opportunity to go to school at all. In Britain, girls achieve highly at school and yet we still don’t see those achievements translated into top earnings or places in the boardroom. That’s why we need to weave the themes of IWD into everything we do and promote opportunities to female students and female staff. Women continue to take on the majority of domestic work and childcare within families and that does provide an additional level of challenge for some female school leaders; once in school however, differences in leadership style or pedagogy are more to do with personality type than gender. It is very disappointing that women in the school workforce have to deal with the same old media stereotypes and accusations year after year, particularly about discipline and whether or not female teachers and leaders can provide appropriate role models for boys. We need to value and respect teachers and school leaders for their individual qualities, not their gender. This year’s IWD theme is about showing children new possibilities and alerting them to the range of futures and careers ahead of them. How can someone consider 24

We need to weave the themes of IWD into everything we do, and promote opportunities to students and staff

The co-ed head teacher RUKHSANA SHEIKH Co-principal, Ernest Bevin College, Tooting, South London HER VIEW

being, say, an archaeologist or a research chemist if they have no idea what is involved? You can’t choose to do something that you don’t know anything about. IWD has been going for more than 100 years, and there is clearly something about it that people like and want. The fact that it is still here today is a testament to that. I hope that schools will take advantage of the free on-line resources available for IWD and join the celebration.”

“I have worked in an all-girls school, two co-educational schools, and now, an all-boys school with a co-ed sixth-form. Surprisingly, the girls’ school was hardest for me personally. It was very old-fashioned, sometimes not very receptive to new ideas and change. There were lots of female teachers who had been there for a long time, and it was difficult for me to fit in as a 21 year old. After three and a half years, I promised myself I would never work in a

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treated in school, we don’t focus on gender: we simply focus on the quality of the teaching. In four and a half years, we – all of us, not just the leadership team – pushed our school from good to outstanding in our last Ofsted inspection, in October last year, an achievement of which we are incredibly proud.”

The girls’ school head PHILIPPA NUNN Head teacher, Waldegrave School for Girls, Twickenham, Middlesex

GETTY

HER VIEW

girls school again. I want to help women succeed where possible. I am the only female in a leadership team of nine, and it would be good to create more balance. As a result I’m always looking out for women who have leadership potential. I always try to lead by example and when female teachers see me carrying out my role, I hope that they will realise that they, too, can succeed in a largely male senior leadership team. There are several female teachers that I would like to see progress into the leadership team but at the moment they lack experience. I wouldn’t want to put anyone in a position where they are just a token, or there to tick a box. They need to have confidence in the job and the other staff need to have confidence in them, too. To do otherwise would be unfair. In terms of formulating policy and the way girls and boys are

“Events like IWD are helpful. They are great for raising the profile of women and give us a structure, as a school, to address issues. However, the vast majority of the challenges that face school leaders are not gender specific. The school leadership team works together to build role models in school and in the classroom – teaching, getting involved, taking part, mentoring, offering support, being interested, knowing the students. The needs of students are both curricular and pastoral. We are careful to ensure that the curriculum isn’t exclusively stereotypically girls’ subjects. A great deal of thought goes into promoting all subjects so that girls take a broad and balanced range of subjects to GCSE level, and also have entrepreneurial skills, enterprise education and workrelated learning. We take great care to ensure that policies are developed to ensure equality of opportunity, breadth and an absence of any gender stereotyping. Many of the challenges when

I have always been inspired by my mother. She has a passion for getting the most out of life

educating girls are similar to those for boys, but I always maintain that the emotional temperature of an all-girls school is higher – some things become more of an issue and some things less. Examples of things that need careful handling are friendship issues, which can also be true of girl groups in a mixed school, and girls overworking themselves – also true of girls in a mixed setting and not a trait that we see in all students by any means. The real positives seen in girls in single-sex schools are their willingness to take risks with their learning and develop as independent learners alongside their peers. We see lovely examples of student leadership and of students leading their own learning creatively. In terms of a female role model, I’ve always been inspired by my mother. She has a passion for getting the most out of life. She was the first in her family to go to university; she brought up us four children alongside a teaching career. She loved, and still loves, teaching and is forever teaching children to swim, even at the age of 71. She is always on the go, offering support, wisdom, kind words and actions. She is a wonderful mother and the best role model one could wish for. My husband and father are also a great inspiration – and they do tell me that they are in touch with their feminine sides.” MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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INTERVIEW: EQUALITIES MINISTER

Pushing

Equalities minister Lynne Featherstone is striving to make up for a lack of ‘pushback’ as she seeks a more equal society. Interview by Steve Smethurst

EYEVINE

chools are key allies of Lynne Featherstone in her work as Minister for Equalities. Whether it’s body image, the sexualisation of children, abusive relationships in teenage years or sexist language in playgrounds, she’s keen to work with schools to make a difference. She is also full of advice on how women can seize the initiative in the workplace. As such, the approach of International Women’s Day (IWD) seemed an opportune time to quiz her about her role. As if to emphasise her relationship with schools, the Liberal Democrat MP followed the LF interview with a visit to a school in Lambeth to talk about girl gangs. She also lived up to her reputation as a straight-talker. When asked what kind of things school children ask her on visits, she replied: “Well, the one that sticks in my mind was the one who asked me if [former Liberal Democrat leader] Charles Kennedy was a drunk. Well, you did ask,” she adds. She says she told the child that ‘there were some issues’. “I tend to be very honest. It was also an opportunity to say all people face challenges in life, especially if they’re the leader of a political party – and you need to offer support and help in those circumstances. There’s always a way to get across a positive message like that, even though children do tend to focus on personalities. “But they do also ask about policy issues. I always find it the most heartening thing to go into schools. Children are wonderful, so I guess it must mean those who run schools are pretty good too.” What are your memories of school? I remember my primary school head because she stepped in to make me sit an exam that would get me a scholarship into an independent girls’ day school trust. It was tricky because my mum didn’t believe in education – she came from a very poor background where you were expected to go out to work to bring money in. Miss Jobson called her in and said ‘your little girl is very clever, she can do this.’ And I did. But my mum had been forced to leave school at 15 to become a milliner’s apprentice and she hated it.

She ended up a formidable businesswoman and much tougher than anyone else I’ve met but she never quite understood why I needed to stay at school. Did you always want to become a politician? I wanted to go on the stage. Luckily I didn’t follow that path. It was quite a misguided idea. There was a limited range of options for women then though – for me it was go to Oxbridge or get married. Neither were high on my list of priorities. I went travelling, auditioned for drama school and did a shorthand typing course (at my mother’s insistence). Eventually I was accepted at Oxford Polytechnic to study communications and design – and I was a designer for 20 years. Speaking as a parent, what’s your view on schools? I’ve been both encouraged and frustrated. I don’t think there’s any school that can match a parent’s idea of what the school should be. I am quite strict as a parent – good manners, how to behave, do your homework… all very important. But my children have emerged as very confident. School was always encouraging for them. If you could get a message to the country’s schoolgirls, what would it be? You can be whatever you want to be, so long as you believe in yourself. Have confidence in your own thoughts and ideas. Be a person. Don’t let life drive you; you have to drive life. If you’re interested in something, do it. And inside school and outside, have conversations, let people hear your voice. If you don’t speak up, people won’t know what you’re

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back

‘You have to have confidence in yourself. It’s no good attacking men because they are in power. Just be better than them’

thinking. And you might have the best ideas in the world, but if you don’t put them out there to be agreed and disagreed with, then they can’t be promoted and no one will know what’s in your heart. And a message to women working in education? I’ve never known any other approach apart from do your best and work hard. It’s a very traditional approach. But also don’t get hung up on the fact there are lots of men around and they don’t necessarily behave how you wish they would. Focus on your work, be really good at what you do. I started my own business – no client ever said ‘oh you’re a girl’ – they only ever cared about whether I was good at what I did. The world – and most industries, are still maledominated, but you have to challenge that and have confidence in yourself. It’s no good attacking men because they’re in power, just be better than them. How do you respond to the news that some schools are setting up ‘self-esteem clubs’ for girls? This touches on a huge issue. Body confidence is a Government campaign. There is so much pressure on young people, especially girls, to conform to one particular stereotypical ‘perfect’ body, which isn’t perfect anyway, as it’s probably been digitally altered. One of the programmes the Government has made available to schools is about teaching youngsters what they see in advertising as it’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 28 ➧

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INTERVIEW: EQUALITIES MINISTER

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not necessarily reality. One of the exercises for 10- and 11-year-olds is to bring in pictures of people they love. They tend to bring in pictures of their parents, who, of course, are all shapes, sizes, ages and colours. The subliminal message is about what makes you value people and why you love them. It’s not just their appearance. We’re working with the fashion industry, sport, fitness, beauty… there’s a whole range of players and we’re working with them to take this agenda forward, and also to push back at their marketing… Let’s say there’s been a vacuum of pushback in the past. People in these industries have a lot of responsibility to bear. In fashion, for example, some of the images have been truly shocking. But at the All Walks Fashion Centre for Diversity at the Edinburgh College of Art, head of fashion Mal Burkinshaw is teaching fashion students to cut to a large range of sizes. There are other campaigns too, and there’s the Coalition commitment to fight against the commercialisation and sexualisation of children. We’ve also held a roundtable meeting with key figures in the music industry about the way women are portrayed in videos.

I don’t talk like a man and I don’t act like one. I won’t join in with that game. Everyone has to make their own decision about what they feel comfortable doing. For me, wearing a suit makes me feel invulnerable. I also love it because it means I don’t have to think about what to wear every day. If you do brilliant work, what you wear becomes less of an issue, but people pick on things that they think you’re vulnerable on. That’s just a lesson in life and it applies to men just as much as it does to women. I think there’s a great argument for feminising the workplace in terms of behaviour. Men and women communicate and listen in very different ways and I think workplaces benefit from a huge diversity of input. You don’t want ‘group think’. If women start to act and think like men then we’re not really diversifying. I think that both genders are absolutely brilliant, and we need both at every level of every organisation and company – and in Government.

How important is IWD to all this? It’s a phenomenal opportunity. Everyone in every walk of life, in every country can do something on IWD to raise awareness. I’m also ministerial champion for tackling violence against women and we have a big campaign running on teenage abuse, for example. We find in some teenage peer relationships, there’s a normalisation, an acceptance of being treated badly. So IWD is hugely important as it gives us an opportunity to raise issues like this.

What do you mean by ‘feminising the workplace’? This is a very stereotyped, sexist analogy, but as minister for equalities, I claim that privilege… A male way of raising an issue is for John to say: “I think X.” Fred will then say: “I agree with John.” And William will say: “So do I.” They reinforce each other. They aren’t necessarily making a new point, they’re just speaking up as that’s how you get noticed and that’s how you get promoted. Women, typically, will speak when they have a point, not necessarily to reinforce each other. I think it would be better if men didn’t repeat each other’s points, and I think it would be better if women made more points.

Is there a role for schools in this? I would hope so. In fact, I would encourage every school to participate. Looking at changing attitudes, I do have concerns – even from a young age, sexist language is one of the last big things to be let go. Haringey in London is my constituency, and I think it’s fair to say that no child at school could make a racist remark without a teacher pulling them up. I’m not sure I could say the same about sexist language, so IWD is a great opportunity for schools to join in.

And, finally, who have you met that you’d suggest as a good young female role model? I gave this some thought earlier. It’s Sky’s political reporter Sophy Ridge. I think she’s a fantastic role model for young women. She’s young, go-getting, thrusting, inquisitive and has a mind of her own. Even as a Sky reporter there are probably a lot of things you’re not allowed to say, but she pushes it and goes after what she wants. I think she’s a brilliant role model for any young girl at school.

What do you see as the main challenges for women in the workplace? Well, certainly there are challenges. I wear a suit to work. It’s a dark suit and a white T-shirt – it’s very boring. But, as a female politician, what I don’t want is anyone to comment on my appearance. I want them to see what I do and listen to what I say. That was my choice… but at the same time,

Find out more at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/media-centre/news/media-smart www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/teenrelationship-abuse http://thisisabuse.direct.gov.uk www.homeoffice.gov.uk/equalities/equality-government/ body-confidence

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Do you know what your stakeholders really think? Many of the changes currently sweeping through education are transforming the relationship schools have with parents. In fact, parental involvement in school life has become ingrained throughout recent Government policy. To name but a few areas, the SEN green paper emphasised the need for more parental choice in where and how their children are educated. The Bew Review of Key Stage 2 assessment called for a wider range of information to be made available to parents so that they have a deeper understanding of how their child is progressing in school. And the results of the new Year 1 phonics screener will also be reported back to parents. However, nowhere is parental involvement more apparent than the new Ofsted inspection framework. Ofsted tells us that “inspections will give greater consideration to the views of parents,

Visit us on stand 63 at the NAHT Annual Conference on 4-6 May 2012

pupils and staff as important evidence” gathered during an inspection. Ofsted will draw on views from pupils, staff and parents to inform inspection judgements and parents could be given the power to trigger a school inspection by voicing their concerns through Ofsted’s Parent View website.

on the views of two million parents, with their responses used to identify the 20 most important areas to them, as well as all of the key areas included within Parent View.

Because Kirkland Rowell Surveys have been designed to get straight to the heart of parental concerns, only the most important questions are asked. The surveys are based

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This approach ensures that, unlike some of the other stakeholder surveys available, the four-page Kirkland Rowell Surveys Against this backdrop, schools need to be questionnaires are not onerous for parents. able to continually monitor and respond to the Results are weighted against one of over 60 changing needs of their stakeholders – and national averages of similar school types, be able to demonstrate this to Ofsted at the adding real meaning to your data. drop of a hat. This can be achieved with the Recommended by the NAHT, Kirkland Rowell minimum of fuss through Kirkland Rowell Surveys are already used in over 2,500 UK Surveys for parents, pupils and staff, which provide a point-by-point evidence summary to schools and discounts are available to members. Would you like to find out what reflect the new framework. Significantly, they can also be used to put into true perspective your stakeholders really think? Contact us to find out more. any poor ratings on Parent View.

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EXECUTIVE DECISIONS

Joining the National Executive is a real opportunity to have your voice heard, as its female members tell Jane Simpson

Just J

ust do it: that’s the message that female members of the NAHT’s National Executive have for other women in the Association. “We need you,” says Bernadette Hunter, head teacher at William Shrewsbury School in Staffordshire. “There aren’t enough women members on the Executive and it is really important that we ensure that we have more equal representation, especially as the majority of the profession are women,” she says. “It is also excellent professional and personal development, and anyone who gets involved would find it really rewarding. Plus, you get to meet some great people who are passionate about education. The NAHT’s Executive is a very interesting and exciting experience, and it’s a privilege to be part of a group that is helping to shape the future direction for schools.” Kenny Frederick, head at George Green’s School in London, argues that many women leave the big questions to others and do not want to put themselves forward as they don’t want to be seen to compete for positions of power or influence. “Women must get involved and not stand on the sidelines shaking their heads. We have to get inside the institutions to bring about change,” she says. Indeed, there’s little point complaining about the way things are if you don’t make an effort to improve them, adds Angi Gibson from New York Primary School in North Shields. “If you want to change something you have to stand up and do it yourself,” she says. “There are a lot of people with a lot to say who don’t do anything about it. Joining the National Executive gives you a chance to actually do something.” The chance to make a difference can mean meeting and working with some extremely high-profile people.

WHY NOT ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE? There are 45 members on NAHT’s National Executive, of whom 12 are female. Whenever a vacancy arises in an electoral district (members are elected for a threeyear term), a letter and nomination form is emailed to all branch and regional secretaries, with a copy posted on the NAHT website. Candidates must be proposed and seconded by at least one branch within the electoral district in which they work. The completed form is then sent to HQ. Should there be more than one application, an election takes place which is administered by Electoral Reform Services. Check www.naht.org.uk for updates.

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say who don’t to t lo a h it w le p eo p f o t heere are a lo Th ‘T ional Executive at N e th g in in Jo . it ut o ng ab do aanyythin mething…’ so o d ly al tu ac to ce an ch t e y u th g ves yo gi

“You are right at the forefront of things,” thi says Gail Larkin, the head at Auriol Junior School in Surrey. “I’ve met ministers of education aand secretaries of state, which means you feel that you can have your say and make a difference because you are a speaking directly to the people who are making education educa policy. I’m not saying that we’ve always been listened listene to, but at least we have the chance to have our say.” And it’s not just politicians who wi will be listening. Sally Bates, the head of Wadsworth Fields Primary P School in Nottingham, joined the National Exe Executive in September last year and thought she would take it relatively easy for her first term while she learned the rropes. The national day of action soon changed that. “All the pensions stuff happened and all of a sudden I was on national television and radio,” she says. “I felt h as a National N i l Executive E i member, b I was there to be a that, spokesperson, so I couldn’t say no. It wasn’t the first time that I have been on television, but it was the first time it was in an overtly political way. I am pleased that I did it; although I did not necessarily enjoy it, I am proud of what we achieved.” Like Sally, Durham-based Rachel Brannan joined only last year. In her case she rather stumbled into the role. “It was something that was suggested to me in a performance review session with my school leader, who was at the time a member of the National Executive,” she says. “She was nearing retirement and had to stand down, but she was keen on her position being filled by a young female deputy, and she thought that it would be good for my professional development. “I had not actually been a member of the NAHT for very long and had attended only a handful of local branch

meetings, but I saw it as an interesting opportunity to gain a better insight into the wider issues surrounding education. “My experience so far has been very worthwhile. It is an excellent opportunity to meet fellow professionals, share experiences and engage in lively conversation… and in terms of my own career development I have gained a much better overview of leadership. I feel much more confident with the knowledge I have gained.” Rachel also makes an effort to act as a role model for other women. “It is important to lead by example,” she says. “Demonstrating a calm and organised personality is really important, as is showing solidarity with staff and offering a listening ear in times of need.” Encouraging other women to consider headship is an important responsibility, says Gail. She is speaking from experience: she was happy as a classroom teacher and had no intention of applying for a leadership role until her head teacher pushed her to stretch herself. “I saw what the head and deputy head did and thought I would never be good enough, but my head teacher was inspiring and said that I should aspire to headship,” she says. Sally adds: “It is a shame that so few women decide to go forward for headship. It’s a great job to do and I really enjoy it. I think women are sometimes put off because they see the demands of the job, but it becomes easier if you network and collaborate with other head teachers.” Kenny, who describes herself as idealistic and in possession of strong principles and values, encourages her colleagues to aspire to leadership positions by demystifying headship and distributing knowledge, power and information. “I try to model a style of leadership that is assertive and not aggressive, and that emphasises that valuing and developing people at all levels is key.” MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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SUPERSTOCK

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GLOBAL CHALLENGES

This is a

woman’s

world Have you ever wondered what life is like for female head teachers in other countries? Carly Chynoweth finds out

EYEVINE / GETTY

Nigeria If Temitayo ‘Tayo’ Olarewaju’s parents had got their way she’d be an accountant but, after acceding to their wishes and completing a BSc in accountancy, she turned her attention to her real love: educating children. A little over a decade ago she founded the Delightsome Land School in a ‘pretty upmarket’ area of Lagos. Now, Tayo is responsible for around 150 children from babies – the preschool accepts infants from three months – through to the end of primary school. One of the differences between Nigeria and the UK is that Westminster is trying to make it easier for anyone to set up a school, while the Government in Nigeria is trying to make it rather less of a free for all, she says. “Here, anyone can more or less just decide to open a school and do it,” says Tayo, who is also studying for a Master’s at the University of Leicester alongside running the school. “The Government is trying to regulate it but the policy is still developing. In Lagos if you decide to be regulated by the Government you can, but there are still people opening up without following the rules.” The rules include a requirement to have a board of governors. “In my experience, most people who set up schools do not think about this, or they just put a couple of friends or family members on it. Most people still do not realise the impact that an excellent board of governors can have on a school.” She watched the debate following Michael Gove’s promise to make it easier to sack poor teachers with interest. 32

In Nigeria, the problem is not getting rid of bad teachers so much as finding decent ones to begin with, says Tayo, who works as a mentor with teachers at local state schools. “Problems with infrastructure and incessant strikes by university lecturers have all added up to a poorer quality of education, which means that the teachers being churned out are not as good as we would like, but all schools need to find teachers. So, when they come out of university we have to train them. And not simply in terms of professional development; I’m talking about basic training. I have teachers who have to be put through the basics of grammar.” Teacher quality is an issue, not simply because it affects learning, but because teachers should be able to inspire children to reach higher. “What I am doing now is working with a couple of non-governmental organisations to give more training and support to government teachers,” Tayo says. “Not teachers at private schools – we feel that they should be able to handle themselves – but those in government schools. We’re teaching them things like grammar, phonics, maths and classroom management.”

Malta Head teachers in Malta are dealing with changes to the way education is structured as well as all the usual challenges of school leadership. For example, the Ministry of Education has recommended eliminating streaming in Years Five and Six and phasing out the 11-plus in favour of a national exam at the end of Year

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Six, says Maria Montebello, the head of St Benedict College SAFI Primary, an inclusive state school for children aged three to 11. It also recommended changing from the current state secondary system – in which pupils go to a Junior Lyceum if they pass the entrance exam and an Area Secondary if they do not – to one where students attend a local secondary school that has a setting system instead. “Schools are now organised in networks, mainly depending on their geographical position in the island,” Maria said. “All networks consist of primary and secondary schools, with the exception of special schools that cater for children and young people with special educational needs. “Within this context of change, the school network participant needs to reflect and engage with the way we are addressing the reform in the local scenario. The public expects more from schools than ever before, including greater accountability, improved performance, more input from parents, safe schools, better school/community relations and an acceptance and appreciation of diversity with equal opportunities for all students.” The biggest challenge facing Erika Galea, deputy head at St Michael, a private primary school, is clear: “Too much work in too little time,” she said. “I try to give more importance to the academic part of my role since I feel it is

more important to ensure a high quality of teaching and learning, but there is too much administration work being sent in by the Ministry of Education on a daily basis basis, which I personally find useless useless, and sometimes it takes too much time from the academic part of my role. Another challenge I face is trying to please all my teachers, but this is impossible at times since I need to take unpopular decisions, which not everyone agrees to.”

Australia There’s no such thing as a typical week in a head teacher’s life, says Jenny Allum of Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School, but if there was you could be sure it would involve plenty of meetings. “There would be a number of meetings with staff about a huge variety of issues, from planning meetings and pedagogy… to talking about an individual student and their needs. I would meet with some parents about personal issues concerning their families and their children. I would usually have one or two meetings outside of the school in contributing to educational issues or discussions about educational policy or other matters that affect schools.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 34 ➧ MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS 33

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GLOBAL CHALLENGES Jenny became a head come here to teach. teacher because it was the I coordinate all classes job that gave her the most on different levels and scope to make a difference. ensure that students are She says: “I had definite receiving free stationery and views about education and learning books regularly. the sort of school I believed “Cambodia faces many in, and so I wanted to be in educational challenges. charge to create that vision. Schools in the countryside “I have been inspired by are often far away from several of the heads I have marginalised households worked under and wanted and public transportation Nigeria’s Tayo Olarewaju Australia’s Jenny Allum to emulate them and their doesn’t exist. Students ability to make a real mostly have to support difference in the education teachers due to their low of young people in their salaries; as a consequence, charge. In addition, I saw poor families can’t send how they could contribute their children to school. to state-wide debate on And the curriculum in education and the thinking public schools does not of our society, to which focus on life-long learning I also aspired.” or analytical and critical One of the ongoing thinking, therefore the debates in Australia is around much-needed problem the issue of autonomy. solving skills are barely Malta’s Alexia Vella with assistant head Erika Galea “What should be controlled developed when young centrally, what should be left people finish high school.” to the individual school? Accountability to the community Another of Lat’s challenges at her school, which is is involved here. supported by the Scoop Foundation (www.thescoop “We talk a great deal about how to attract the best foundation.com), is making sure that the students make people into teaching, and how to best maintain standards progress, even though the school relies on an ever-changing and the high quality of teaching. We talk about whether roster of volunteer teachers. “Sometimes we don’t have performance pay might help in this regard, and the Federal enough teachers and I have to keep my students in one Government is currently debating a proposal to pay class,” she says. However, she says that working with bonuses to the ‘best teachers’. How best to assess and volunteer teachers from around the world also exposes her report student learning, while keeping the pressure on to a ‘wonderfully broad range of ideas and approaches’. students down, is another challenge.” She and her peers are also thinking about ways in which Liu Keqin has more than 6,500 pupils under they can help parents fulfil their familial roles, while still her care as principal of Zhongguancun No. 3 being respectful of their right to decide how they want to Elementary School in Beijing, but – as if this bring up their children. “I think parents are increasingly less wasn’t enough – she also leads the 1,300-pupil No. 4 confident in their role, and often find it difficult to set limits Elementary School in the same district. for their children and manage both the variety and “The school believes in ‘everyone is the same and just as complexity of issues in our society. Schools seem to have an important’, and we make sure that students are the centre increasing role in this area, and getting the line right to help of the school,” she says. “I believe that the school should be parents appropriately, with the variety of values which exist filled with love… and each teacher should have a goal of in families of today, is a challenge.” being inclusive and encouraging students to grow independently and freely.” Bureaucracy and tests are often the least of Her biggest challenge, she says, is creating a structure that Kouen Lat’s concerns at the Save Poor Children motivates teachers to be enthusiastic about their work, and in Asia Organisation (SCAO) school in developing a distinctive curriculum to realise the value of Cambodia. A more pressing duty is often to ensure that schooling. “And I believe that the Chinese educational children have pens and notebooks. The school also provides structure needs to be more creative so that it can release the a home, healthcare and food to 17 of its pupils, who also energy of education and encourage the variety of those who attend classes at a government school, she says. are talented,” she says. The Government has recently “I work at SCAO Monday to Saturday, teaching 18 hours published a 10-year strategy for education, she adds. each week,” says Lat, who first joined SCAO as a live-in • With thanks to Dr Changyun Kang, director of the China student when she was in Year 11. “Now, as head teacher, one Education Centre at the University of Sydney, for translating of my roles is to guide the English-speaking volunteers who Liu Keqin’s answers.

China

Cambodia

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TROUBLED GIRLS

Getting back on track

For many vulnerable young women, the pathway to a good education can be rocky. Fortunately, there are programmes aimed at helping them to re-engage with learning. Rebecca Grant reports

REX

s 2011 drew to a close, 15-year-old Amber’s chances of staying in school long enough to pass her GCSEs were looking bleak. In the previous 18 months, the West Kent schoolgirl had been to five different schools, none of which had been able to successfully address her disruptive behaviour. Amber (not her real name) was excluded from one school after she swore at her class teacher and threw a book at her. When LF asks her why she acted in this way, she says that she felt unfairly treated. “I’d had an argument with the teacher in a lesson the week before,” she says. “But I’d spoken to her about it and I thought we’d worked it all out. Then one day when she was covering a class it was obvious she wasn’t over it because she picked on me. When she came into the lesson loads of people were talking, but she heard me laugh, and she sent me out before I could explain. “A boy was also sent out of the lesson for acting up, but when the teacher came out to see us both she said: ‘Right Amber, you’re going into a different class. Then she said to the boy, in a really smug way: ‘You can come back in.’ I thought it was so unfair and I just lost it.” At the beginning of this year, Amber was given a final chance to prove she could turn her life around thanks to Platform 51, the charity formerly known as YWCA, which supports vulnerable girls and young women. Its West Kent centre, based in Tonbridge, runs a programme for girls aged 13 to 15 who have dropped out, or are at risk of dropping

out of the school system. Local schools sponsor places on the programme, which is called On Track, and girls can go to classes at the centre either in addition, or as an alternative, to attending their mainstream school. “The programme runs for three days a week,” says Von Dawson, Platform 51’s West Kent centre manager. Some schools will send pupils here for the full three days and others will perhaps use us for one or two days, depending on the needs of the young person who’s being referred.” Von is quick to point out that the On Track programme offers something very different to the sort of education girls would receive at a pupil referral unit or short stay schools. For one thing, although Platform 51 offers classes in literacy and numeracy, the programme is not designed to teach them the curriculum. “Primarily, the programme is for personal and social development. It’s for looking at the reasons why they’ve dropped out of education, or why they are at risk of dropping out. It’s also about allowing a young person the time and space to begin working through some of those issues, with support,” says Von. There is no typical reason why a girl will completely disengage with education. Problems with bullying, abusive relationships or learning difficulties are just a few of the reasons why young women currently using the centre truanted or were disruptive in lessons while attending school. The one thing that they all seem to have in common is a CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 ➧ MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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GETTY

PLATFORM 51

TROUBLED GIRLS

lack of self-esteem, says Von. “These girls all have barriers, whether they’re real or perceived. They feel they’ve been damaged because their needs haven’t been recognised. When someone has written themselves off at 13, there are a lot of layers for us to peel off to make those girls feel valued again.” The first step towards peeling back these layers is making sure the girls come into the On Track programme with a clean slate. “We start with the belief that, regardless of the paperwork that comes from the schools, all these girls have potential rather than problems.” The fact that the On Track class only has space for a handful of pupils is part of its success. “In some schools, there can be an awful lot of cliques. Girls can be very cruel. But we don’t let that happen here.” Von says. “The group seems to gel here. The girls seem to accept each other really quickly.” The classroom at Platform 51 is also very different from what the girls are used to in their mainstream schools. Instead of the desks lined up in rows, facing the front, there are comfy sofas arranged in a circle. The girls are also allowed to wear their own clothes and jewellery rather than what a uniform policy dictates. Marion Seymour, the family intervention team manager at Hugh Christie Technology College, one of the schools that sponsors places on the On Track programme, says that it’s this more flexible approach that makes the programme work. “The fact that there’s no uniform and it’s a shorter day really helps,” she says. “They’re treated in a more grown up way, because they can go out at lunchtime [if they have parental permission], and a big factor for some of them, I’m ashamed to say, is that they can go outside for a smoke.” (Von later explains that the school discourages smoking and offers all students advice support to give up.) But although the young women do appreciate the freedom granted to them by the Platform 51 team, Marion says that the biggest benefit to the programme is the oneto-one support that girls are given – something that it’s not possible to offer within schools. Amber feels that if she’d been offered more one-to-one support – which she had been promised at her most recent school – she would have been able to put her troubles behind her. “When I started there, I had really bad anger problems and they promised me I could see somebody about it. I saw that person once during the whole six weeks 38

We start from the belief that, regardless of the paperwork that comes from the schools, all these girls have potential, not problems

I was there. If you ask me, it’s their fault I got kicked out of that school because they promised they would help me, and they didn’t.” So how can schools ensure that girls like Amber don’t fall through the gaps? According to Marion, it’s identifying and tackling the problems before they escalate. “My team is looking for ways to make earlier interventions, because quite often the action we’re taking is reactive rather than proactive. Because we’re working in a secondary school, there tend to be issues that young people are having to deal with that started before they came to us.” Marion advises school leaders to make sure that there are support networks in place to look out for young girls as they make the transition into Year Seven. “Wherever possible, school staff should be working to build up relationships with pupils and parents from the minute they enter Year Seven. The transition is so important in identifying those vulnerable young people – whether they are boys or girls – and making sure their start in secondary school is as positive as possible.”

Turning lives around However, it would be a near-impossible task for schools to successfully address every young pupil’s behavioural problems. Stieve Butler, head of education and training for secure estate at CfBT Education Trust, knows this all too well. “I used to teach in a mainstream school so I know it can be quite difficult if, in an average class environment, you’ve got some pupils who just don’t turn up, or when they do they’re extremely disruptive,” she says. Sadly, there are cases when the problems extend further than persistent truancy and poor behaviour in class. As part of her work with CfBT, Stieve works with young people

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GIRLS’ ADVICE FOR SCHOOL LEADERS Current and former pupils of Platform 51’s On Track programme reveal what they would change about school if they were a head teacher

PLATFORM 51

“I’d listen to the students more and find out what they actually want, said 14-year-old Shana. “I used to ask for help, but I didn’t always get it.”

who have fallen into a life of crime by their late teens. She is in charge of the education programme at the Josephine Butler Unit, a female-only facility in the grounds of HMP Downview in Surrey. It currently accommodates 16 young women, all aged 17, who have been serving sentences in juvenile detention centres. During their time at the Josephine Butler Unit, the young women will take part in 15 hours’ education each week. The education programme provided offers a mix of what Stieve calls more formal education – literacy, numeracy, ICT, for example – combined with life skills such as careers advice and healthcare information.

Girls ahead of boys Stieve, who also works at units for male young offenders, says that the girls she meets often have an advantage when it comes to education. The girls tend to be slightly ahead of the boys in terms of academic achievement. “We have had a number of girls who managed to get a few GCSEs before they ended up in trouble. But we do have the full range, I’m not going to pretend that everyone who comes in is ready for AS level, that’s far from the truth. One of the biggest challenges for Stieve and her team is getting the young women to engage in education. As they are all aged over 16, many of the girls don’t want to participate. “Although the regime and their sentences require them to take part in education, we can’t physically force anyone to attend a session,” she says. “We have a lot of students who come to us on remand and they may be released the next day, so as far as they’re concerned they might as well sit in their rooms.” The key to getting these girls to re-engage is providing an interesting curriculum, says Stieve. “We listen to these young women and try to make sure their feedback is taken into account. We then try to offer things that interest them and are relevant, and also make sure that the teaching methods are interesting for them.” There’s an added incentive for the girls to take part in the education programme – it can help reduce the length of their sentence. “A lot of decisions about what happens to these young women will relate to how they performed during the days in class as well as how they’ve performed in the evenings with their officers. If somebody misbehaves, or if they are not applying themselves, we would need to write

Hannah, 17, agrees. “No one would listen to me when I had a problem, so I didn’t ask for help. Instead I used to sit in the toilets and cry all the time. It was only when I went to my lesson and they saw I’d been crying that they finally did something.” Abbie, 14, would let pupils wear their own clothes. “You feel bored and tired in school clothes, and don’t want to learn.” Shana would also change the way lessons are taught. “They need to be more interesting. If a teacher is just writing a sum on the board and then we have to copy things, it’s boring. I get bored really easily and don’t want to do the work.” She’d also make lessons optional. “I’d have all the same subjects but if you don’t want to go to maths, you don’t have to. You can sit in the library instead.” The On Track group has produced a magazine, called Be True which is aimed at young women who are at risk of dropping out of education. To obtain a copy, email Von.Dawson@platform51.org

that on their records. It’s important that everything is taken into account and people are discussing what’s going to happen next and what their future targets are.” Although where the young women go after leaving the unit depends on the severity of their sentence – some young women have long sentences and must transfer to an adult prison – there have been several success stories that highlight the difference the education programme can make to the rehabilitation process. She cites the example of one young woman who is now attending college. “Being here gave her the time and space to think about what she’d been doing, why she’d been doing it and what the alternatives are. She realised that what she was learning was more fun than being destructive.” Seeing young women come to this realisation is one of the most rewarding aspects for Stieve and her team. “Prisons aren’t the awful place that people sometimes think they are,” she says. “Many young people have told me that they’ve valued being in prison because it has given them time to think about why they behave in a chaotic manner, and to think about what they want to do with their future.” MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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POP-UP FARMS

Food

glorious food

Steve Smethurst meets a pair of primary heads who are on an incredible edible journey

RICHARD HANSON

here’s a nice chemistry between Julie Bradley and Dawn Forshaw (pictured), who are enthusiastic head teachers at neighbouring primary schools in Burnley, Lancashire. Julie opens the conversation by explaining: “We go back a long, long way. We’ve worked together for many years. Dawn was my deputy at St Leonard’s CE Primary, but she’s better than me so she had to go!” “Rubbish!” replies Dawn. “But we have worked together for a long time, haven’t we?” Their consensus is that it’s been 15 years, with Dawn a head teacher in her own right for the past five at the nearby Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School. In many ways they are typical school leaders – passionate about their work and achieving the best outcomes for their students – but unlike most others, they are also on a mission to save the world. They first realised that they had a certain amount of power and influence when they joined forces over an early morning exercise regimen for primary school children more than 10 years ago (see page 43). Now, they are key players in pop-up farms, an initiative to educate the next generation about sustainability. The pop-up farms story began when they were invited to a Prince of Wales charity event in Burnley as representatives of the town’s schools and also of the Futures Learning Trust, the charitable arm of Burnley Football Club. One of the speakers was Paul Clarke (see pages 44 and 48), director of sustainable education for Cambridge Education, who was instrumental

in setting up Incredible Edible, a community planting scheme in the nearby town of Todmorden (see page 44). They didn’t get to speak to Paul on the day says Julie, but they got their chance last summer when the Trust staged a global awareness day. “School children performed a 50-minute pageant with dance, drama, big masques and costumes to tell the story of how we, as little people in Burnley, can have an impact on saving the planet,” says Julie. Soon afterwards Paul, who was in attendance, set up a meeting with the town’s head teachers and talked to them about sustainability, especially in relation to energy, food, water and waste. The school leaders were hooked and, as a consequence, each school is now carrying out experiments in these areas. To facilitate this, Asda has given each one a shed and they are also being given a solar panel each. “There’s an expectation that all the schools will use some of their land to grow food,” says Paul. As a legacy effect, Paul explains that they are also asked to plant a fruit tree each. “Across 40 schools, it’s 40 trees – effectively a dispersed orchard – and the trees will bear fruit for the next 50 years or so. Planting a tree might become an annual event at the schools and eventually it will become a community orchard. If every school in the country did this the effects would be massive. In addition, in Burnley they are planting heritage trees that are dying out as no one plants them any more.” Julie’s school in particular serves a deprived CONTINUED ON PAGE 43 ➧

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POP-UP FARMS

area, one where parents tend to think that good food is expensive and beyond them. Her work on promoting a healthy diet and sustainable food precedes Paul’s intervention, but she is now more enthusiastic than ever. “At my school, not only did planting vegetables teach pupils how to grow, what sort of foods can be grown and how to cook them, but actually that they could save some money as well. “It really was quite a ‘genesis moment’ for some of the families at the school. In the past they would go to the chip shop or down to the supermarket to buy convenience foods.Yet the processed foods and additives were having a negative effect on the children’s ability to learn and their behaviour.” She adds that the difference healthy food has made to the progress of her children and their learning has been ‘just incredible’, particularly those with syndromes such as dyspraxia, dyslexia and autism. “We have seen massive changes in the children and a lot of their symptoms have disappeared. When Dawn and I started working at St Leonard’s it was right at the bottom of the league tables and attainment was terrible. Now, we are seeing children coming from the same families and the same catchment area, but attainment has shot up and a big part of that is the fact that children’s diets are better.” Dawn says that her school’s planting isn’t on the same scale as Julie’s. “But we do have a gardening club and the children love growing things. And they produce an amazing amount for a very small space.” She says that there is often a presumption that parents will provide a healthy diet for their children, but it’s surprising how often convenience wins over nutrition. The schools are growing foods that aren’t available cheaply in the supermarkets. That means no potatoes because they take up a lot of space and can be bought quite cheaply. Instead, there are products like runner beans, peas, sweetcorn, radishes, lettuces, cabbages and cauliflowers, plus lots of herbs and spices. Even chillies are grown. The latter are important because they teach children that the flavour of food can be improved during cooking by the use of herbs

PURSUING FITNESS AS WELL AS A HEALTHY DIET Back in January 2001, Burnley head teachers Julie Bradley and Dawn Forshaw began a quest to improve the quality of sport and PE in schools. They started by doing aerobics with pupils in the morning, and then put little bits of activity into the school day. They also put in two hours of ‘quality curriculum sport’. “It took us four years to convince people nationally that this was the way to go,” says Julie. “Dawn and I would go up and down the country talking at sports conferences, talking to schools, saying: ‘You have got to do this’.” There was also the small matter of ‘getting in the sports minister’s face’. “I hijacked him on the way to the airport one time and talked at him for an hour and a half,” says Julie. But the results of all that hard work can now be seen as there has been a wave of enthusiasm for school sport initiatives. “We don’t shout about what we do,” she says. “We do it because we believe in it, and now it’s almost as if our hard work has been forgotten, because we didn’t patent it or put a rubber stamp on it. It’s just that we believed in it, so we worked our fingers to the bone to make sure that everybody knew that this was important. So the aerobics that we started in 2000 is now called all kinds of different things as smarter business people than us have put their own moniker on it. But that’s fine, we’re not in it for the glory. We just want healthier children.”

and spices rather than by adding salt. But is this really the best use of their time as school leaders? Julie has no doubts at all. “What we’ve found is that the rewards increase as we increase the amount of time we spend on it. “But other school leaders don’t have to put in the amount of effort that we have. It’s just that this is like a lot of things that we believe in – we do it because we want to prove a point. We want to make sure that we have enough evidence, and enough people are involved, so that the point is made and people sit up and listen.”

Certainly people are listening in the Burnley area and awareness is spreading that we need to produce more of our own food and cut back on waste. “We throw so much away,” says Julie. “We are a nation of chuckers, and we have got to start rethinking it. That goes for food waste as well. Composting teabags, the coffee out of your coffee machines, whatever we have got, we can re-use. And pop-up farms help by taking things that aren’t biodegradable and turning them into CONTINUED ON PAGE 44 ➧ MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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POP-UP FARMS

growing containers. We save energy at our school too. Children are like sponges: you can give them good habits for a lifetime if you convince them now. It’s got to the stage where I can be sitting in my office and a little hand will come around the corner and turn the light off so I am sat in the dark.” Is this indoctrination? “Yes,” says Julie. “We are indoctrinating, that is exactly what we are doing. And they go home and they tell their parents. Children’s voices are so powerful, much more powerful than ours. Our planet is just so precious, if we want humanity to carry on, every single person in every town in every country of the world has got to do their bit and not think ‘this concerns people somewhere else’.” Dawn agrees. “For how many years have various governments been trying to change the way we do it? It has to come from the next generation spreading the message to the current generation.” Rather more controversially, Julie wonders about the curriculum. “Are we teaching children the right things? Does it matter if we can teach them quadratic equations? What percentage of children grow up to use quadratic equations in their adult life? Most don’t. “Will quadratic equations save the world? I don’t think they will. So when people say, this doesn’t concern us as teachers, as schools, and that we shouldn’t be doing this, they are so fundamentally wrong.” The pair have both heard that it’s not their job to teach children how to grow food, nor is it to teach children about sustainability. Julie has a succinct response: “It bloody well is!” Dawn explains why. “The statistics for Burnley are still shocking, heart disease is at alarming rates, and we have had all sorts of initiatives around exercise and healthy eating and it is just not getting through, but this will get through.” The way it gets through is by teaching English and maths skills through the subject of sustainable living. The emotional attachment the children have to it aids their learning too – and both schools have seen academic results climb steadily. 44

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

People say this doesn’t concern us as schools, and that we shouldn’t be doing it – they are so fundamentally wrong

Another positive to come out of it has been the use of apprentices. As school staff can’t be around at weekends and during the holidays, Burnley FC has managed to obtain funding to employ apprentices for the schools. These people will be aged 16-18 and not in education, employment or training. They will work towards an NVQ, which could then lead to a job in horticulture. Who knows where the plans will lead? One of the things the Burnley heads are looking at is the possibility of creating a vineyard in the town. The gift of a polytunnel will give them the opportunity to grow grapes. “We want to produce claret,” says Julie. “Burnley FC’s colours are claret and blue, so we want a Burnley claret.” And that’s an aspiration that many school leaders would want to raise a glass to.

The Pennine town of Todmorden has a grand plan to become self-sufficient in vegetables within 10 years. Already its verges and areas of common land have been commandeered by ‘guerilla gardeners’ who have planted vegetables that, once grown, are free for anyone to take. Even some graveyards are being used as vegetable patches. “The 10-year target is nonsense, frankly,” admits Paul Clarke, one of the founding members of Incredible Edible Todmorden (IET). “The point of growing in the streets is to make people think about where food comes from and what we eat. Local food is perfectly possible. But it is hard to orchestrate a community.” Paul says that the work of IET has put the idea of growing food in the community on the map in the UK, but there’s no way he can claim it is original. “We certainly didn’t invent gardening, which seems to be how it’s interpreted,” he says. “Nor is it harking back to old times. It’s trying to think forward about the systems and structures that we need in our society during a period that’s likely to be quite challenging.” Paul has been instrumental in involving schools in nearby Burnley (see main feature) in his plans, saying: “The school community operates in parallel, with lots of innovations around sustainability, energy, food, water and waste. What’s interesting is that once you have a network, you can do metrics as it’s farming on a wide scale. It’s a big urban experiment – and it’s being replicated around the world.”

For more information: www.incredible-edibletodmorden.co.uk

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GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

How to

spend

wisely

Budget cuts here, spending pressure there: it’s never been more important for schools to think about how to get the best deals. Carly Chynoweth asks the experts for their 10 top tips

Ban impulse buys All too often people want to buy something because it’s new and exciting or it looks like it might be useful: don’t let them, says Tracey Morrison, the school business manager at Vernon Park Primary in Stockport. All procurement should be assessed to make sure that it’s in line with the school development plan (SDP) and is the best long-term option. This approach can also help you to identify economies of scale within your school; for example, if you need an urgent plastering job done in one room, check your SDP to see if other classrooms are due to be refurbished soon, and get them all done at once.

Consult Test-run the product or service with the people who will actually be using it, suggests the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s (CIPS) Emma Scott. “I’ve seen some offices bring in half a

dozen people to sit in the chairs they’re considering,” she says.

Use your time cannily Concentrate your attention on areas where your efforts will get you the most bang for your buck, Emma says. Start by looking at straightforward commodities – in other words, things that the school knows that it will need and which can be bought from a wide variety of vendors, such as pens and exercise books. “Find a supplier, get a decent price and arrange a deal that covers two, three or even five years,” she says. “This will then free you up to spend more time and energy in areas that are more complex or involve bigger sums, such as electricity.”

Collaborate Join a network of schools to share information and take advantage of “buy in bulk and save” deals, says Lisa Barratt, the school

business manager at Brambleside Community Primary. She is part of an email network connecting bursars in Northamptonshire. “When we send out a request for information about a particular product or supplier we get at least three or four responses from other schools telling us what they used, who was good and who wasn’t,” she says. Lisa also uses the network to defray the cost of training. Recently the school was quoted about £1,000 to bring in trainers for a day; however, by selling places on the course to teachers at other schools, Brambleside’s own costs were covered and the other schools got the training much more cheaply than bringing the trainers in to their own site.

Cost isn’t everything “You may not want to go for the cheapest product every time,” Emma Scott says. “With chairs, for example, you will also want to know that they are safe, durable, that they will

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schools, or tell you about cheaper non-branded products, Melanie says. But don’t feel that you need to be loyal to any one supplier, adds Lisa, or you may not get the best deal. “It’s a good idea to have a bank of good, reliable suppliers so that you can choose the best one for a particular situation.”

Be more professional “Employ a school business manager, or share one with another school,” Tracey says. Emma adds: “Get third party help for more complex buying. With something like energy, prices fluctuate enormously and if you tie yourself into a deal you may end up paying too much.” However, there are a number of companies and consortia that will manage the relationship for you to ensure that the school stays on the lowest appropriate tariff as prices change, she says.

Use technology E-auctions – where suppliers bid to offer the best deal they can in response to a school’s tender – can be very effective, particularly for straightforward products. If you have a buying card that allows you to buy online, use it, Tracey says. But even if you don’t, use the prices you find on

the internet as a negotiating point. Bryan Plumb, a director of bee-it, directs schools towards The Hive – a group buying service that allows schools to club together to get bulkbuy discounts on specific pieces of technology if enough school sign up.

Talk to your suppliers “People still don’t remember to negotiate,” Tracey says. “If you get a quote and don’t go back and say ‘is that the best price you can offer?’, you won’t get the best price.” Negotiation should extend to terms of supply, adds Emma Scott. “For example, if you can afford to pay early, ask for a rebate. If you need longer payment terms, perhaps because of the way your funding is received, negotiate accordingly.” Developing a good relationship with regular suppliers also allows you to get information from them; they can benchmark the amount you spend on a particular product against other

Do background checks You don’t want a company to go bust before repairing your roof or delivering the new computers you’ve paid for, Emma says, so take the time to run a background check before you sign the deal. This should include a credit check and an online search to see if other customers have complained about poor service.

For more information and advice on procurement, please visit the following NAHT weblinks: Budget cutting: bit.ly/yXL66b Procuring technology: bit.ly/wCJe1L Direct procurement: bit.ly/yNJnwU Procurement in schools: bit.ly/wkBDA4 Holding the Purse Strings: the commissioning children’s services course: bit.ly/xFEMRi MARCH/APRIL 2012 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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work with other furniture and so forth.” Delivery time and reliability are also factors,Tracey says. “For example, can the contractor do the work before or after school? If I’m buying building work the first question I ask is whether they can do it in August.” Look at the lifetime cost, including maintenance and supplies, not just the up front price, adds Melanie Teal, the CEO of Consortia, an education buying business. “And don’t fragment your business by buying from lots of different suppliers,” she says. Each individual price may look cheaper that way but if you aggregate you will be in a better position to negotiate.

Combat wastage “You can get a long way with reduce, reuse and recycle,” Tracey says. “Monitoring energy use also helps; people know that they should be switching off lights and so on, but it’s good to be able to remind them why.”

24/2/12 13:39:18

ROUND-UP

WHAT’S NEW?

The latest products, books and teaching resources Finnish Lessons Pasi Sahlbergg Teachers’ College g Press £30.95 What can the world learn from educational change in Finland? Written by a Finn who has taught in Finland and now works at the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, the book tells how Finland transformed its educational system. The main message is that there is another way to improve education without using tougher competition, more data and external testing of students. Instead, it argues for improving the teaching force, limited testing and handing over school- and district-level leadership to education professionals. • See also Russell Hobby, page 15.

Education for Sustainability Paul Clarke Routledge £19.99 The author argues n that a transformation d iff we are to in education is needed live sustainably. He believes that school is the perfect place to learn how to live using finite resources. He describes and compares other sustainable living programmes that are being carried out around the world including Sweden’s Forest Schools and China’s Green Schools. He also offers ideas on how schools can make a contribution to solving the ‘ecological crisis’. • See page 40 for details of Paul’s work with schools in Burnley.

Thee fu future uturee fo for or sscience cieence Fut Futurecade utu urecaad dee iss aan no online nlinee ga ggame amee su suite uitee from om the he Scie Science ien ncce M Museum useu eum tth that’s haat’’s aaimed imed m d at a getting get etttin ng teenagers tee een naaggeerss to o explore e p ore explo r ho h how ow scien sscience encce and nd tech technology chn no olo loggyy aaf affects ffec ects t their theeirr everyday th eevver eryday d y lives. v s Itt features e t e ffour u ggames: m s B Bacto-Lab, t - a Robo-Lobster, Robo Rob o-Lo Lobs bstter, Cloud Clo loud u C Co Control on nttro rol and d SSp Space paace JJunker. u un nkkeer. T They h heey aare rree d de designed essiggn need to o een engage nggaage yyo young ou un ng peoplee in pe n rrobotics, ob obot otics cs, sa satellites atteellit l tees aan and nd sspace p paacce jjunk, un nk, k geo-e geo-engineering enggineeerringg and d sy synthetic ynth hettic b bio biology. olo logy. The ssuite T uitte h has ass b be been een n crea created atted d aand nd d tte tested esteed with h input inp putt ffro from om sc scientists cien ntissts an and nd tteenagers eeenaagers aand nd d it is d designed esign ned d to o st stimulate tim mulaatee d discu discussion ussion n by embracing em mbrracing dif different ffeeren nt llearning eaarning sty styles. ylees. Related Rellateed teacher tea ach her resources ressou urces aree available avvailab ble from fro om the websites web bsittess below. beelo ow. sciencemuseum.org.uk/futurecade g sciencemuseum.org.uk/futurecadelearning g g

Serving Ser rvin ng tthe he ccommunity ommunitty Th This T hiss ssummer, u um mmeer 30 330,000 0,000 16-ye 16-year-olds year-ol a o ld ds will w lh have aavve tthe he cch he chance haan nce ce tto o lle learn eaarn nn new e ew skills ski kills l and and gget an et et iinvolve involved vo ved iin n ttheir he heirr ccommunity om mmu un niityy th through hrro ou uggh a p programme rog ogrraamm me ccalled e National a o a C Citizen i n SService. v e T Thee scheme, c em which h h takes a e p place ac at the h end n o of Y Year a 111 aand d in n a number b r off different i e e locations c t n aacross r s England, EEngla la n nd d, aims ms to od develop eevvelo e op the he skill skills i ls o off tteenagers eeeen nager ers aand n nd d eenco encourage co u urrage a tthem h hem m to ob be become eco co m mee re responsible essp po on nssib ble l cit ccitizens. tize zen nss. T The h hee p pr programme ro oggram am mme w wil willll run n for fo three th hrreee weeks we eekks ffull-time, ull-tim t me, including in nclu ud diingg two ttw wo weeks weeekks away awaay from from home, homee, and and d 30 30 hours volunteering vo olun ntteering on n a pa part-time artt-tim ime b ba basis. asis. i PPa Participants articip pan ntts will wiilll get gett the tth he cchance h haancce tto o take tak ke par part rt in in activities acttivittiess like canoeing canoein ing aand nd d abse abseiling. eiling.. nationalcitizenservice.direct.gov.uk g

On O nH Her err M Majesty’s ajeestyy’ss silver siilvver se service ervicce British B rrittish sh FFo Food oo od d FFo Fortnight orrtn nig igh ht is is inviting in nvit v ting ng UK UK schools sccho oo ols to to enter en nteer a competition com om mpetit t tion on to od design eesiign a m menu enu fit en it for or tth the he Q Queen ue ueen e to o ccelebrate ele e ebr brate ate h he her er D Diamond iiaam mo on nd d JJu Jubilee. ub bileeee. FFourr w winning in nn nin ng sch schools cho oo olss will get w ggeet tthe h he o op opportunity pp po ort rtu unit n ty to to have haavve their th heir menu meen nu prepared prreepared p e att a special ssp peeccial a ccerem ceremony emo on ny att B Buckingham u ucckin k nggh haam m PPa Palace alac ace iin n June June. ne. The ccompetition, T om omp peettittion on, w which h hicch iiss o open peen tto p o aalllll 10 100- tto o 115-year-old 55-yyeeaar-o old d schoolchildren sch hoo olch hiild dren n in n tth the he U UK, K K,, asks tthat ha hat scho schools hoolls crea create ate a menu me enu u tto o iinclu include lude d b bo both otth sav savoury vou ury and ssweet weeett d dis dishes. sh hess. Th T They hey should sho houlld also also o us use se ingr ingredients red dien nts tha that hat sstrongly tro ongly represent re epreeseent the their heir reg region. gion n. A Alllll dishes dish hes need neeed to o be be in n the th he fform orm o off ccanapés, an napés, wh which hich hw will ill be served serrved at at the th he reception. re ecep ptio on. Clo Closing osing dat date te ffor or en entries ntriees is 30 0A April. pril. lovebritishfood.co.uk/about-british-foodfortnight/cook-for-the-queen g q

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Skype Sky ype iin n tthe he cclassroom laassrroom Skyyp Skype pee in n th the he Cla Classroom assrroo oom is a free free ee global ggllo ob bal a community com comm mu un niityy that at invites iin nvvittees tea te teachers acch heerrs to collaborate co collab abo orrate aeo on n cclassroom las asssro oom mp projects rro ojec ects t an aand nd share sha harree ssk skills kills l s and aan nd inspiration. inspira n i attio on It I offers offer off ers a quick q qu uick ck wayy to w o help e p students tu e t d discover c v r cultures, u u s languages lan anggu uag agees and nd ideas, id dea eass, alll w wit without tho hou utt leaving l v g the tthe classroom. ccla assr sroo oom m.. T Th The he w website eb bsiitee p pro provides ovi vid dees p project roj ojec e examples eexa amp mplees aand n nd d re resources esso ou urcces es tto oh he help ellp pn ne new ew u use users, errs, as we well elll as as fresh fressh ideas ide deas for f regulars. reegu ularrs. Once Once a profile pro offille is se set et up, pr projects rojeectts can can be be created crreaated d and tthen hen p h partner arttneer teachers, teache hers, cl classes lassses orr guestt sp speakers peaakkers ffound ou und d to o co contribute onttrib butte tto o thee le learning earnin ng aactivity. ctivitty. Users Useerss can caan also also ob browse row wsee through thr rou ugh h pr previous reviou us p projects ro ojeccts forr inspiration. in nspirattion. education.skype.com/about yp p

SSigns ignss o off tthe he ttimes im mes IITV T TV VB Ba BabySign ab byySSiggn iiss a ffre free ee online o ne vide video deo gguide u uidee to ou using s ng sim sin simplified imp plifie f ed ssign ign gn la language, an ngguag u ge ba b based ased ed on n British B i h SSign ign gn LLa Language, an ngguag u ge to to iim improve mp prrove ov communication o u c ti n between e w e yyoung u g children h d n and nd tth their heeirr cca carers. arrers. s T The w website eb ebssitte p provides ro rovid idees tips ps aan and nd adv advice dviice to o tthose h ho osee n new w tto o ssigning, ign gniing, starting star t rtin t ng with witth basic baasicc words words wo ds and aan nd moving mo m ovvin ng on on tto o using usin ng sentences, sen nte tencees, with h written writte tten tutorials tuttoriialss aaccompanying cccom mpaanyyingg tth the he vvideos. iideos. T The h hee gu guide uide de iss ssplit pliit in into nto o ca categories ateggorriess to oh he help ellp p us users serss se search earcch ffor or d dif different ffferen nt sign signs. ns. SSuggestions ugggeestio onss ffo for or ssigns ign ns not n ott alrea already adyy av available vailaable ccan an bee re requested. equestted d itvbabysign.com y g

First Firs st ccame am me tthe hee Sko Skoog, oog, n now ow w SSkoogtöo koogttöo LLaunched au unccheed in 2010, 2010 0, the thee Skoog Skkoo og was was a musicall inv invention ven ntio on likee no no other, oth her, aiding i ng learning lleear arn ning ng for fo or children chi hildr dren e with with special wi speecial sp a nee needs eed dss through tth hrro oug ugh an an interactive in nteerraactive t e box b o oxx of of m musical u ussica cal in instruments. nssttrum um men ntss FFor o or 2012 22012, 2 the t SSkoog kko oo og team t m has h haas come com me up u with w wit th a vva variation arriaattio on – SSkoogtöo. kko oo oggtöo öo. IIt’s t’s a ssoftware o offtware w re platform p pllat atffo orm m for fo orr int interactive teerract ctive v whiteboards w t b ar s and n ttouchscreens u h c e s that h opens p n u up tthee Skoog k o tto thee eentire i cclass ss aan and nd aim aims ims tto op pro provide ovvid de a lear learning arn nin ng environment een nvviron onment m nt tth that haatt h he helps elps ps child children i drreen tto o explore expl plo oree m music u ussicc thr through hrou ouggh p playy an and discovery. iscoveeryy. The T softw software twarre ccombines om mb biine performing, perf form min ng, co composing, omp possingg, liste listening, ening,, reviewing re evieewingg and an nd evaluating evaaluaatin ng in one o nee easy eaasy pa package. ackaagee. skoogmusic.com g

How Remarkable Women Lead Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston Crown Business £17.56 This book began as a research project and was launched by global management consultancy McKinsey & Company. The project was a collection of more than 100 oral histories of top women leaders from different regions, age groups and career paths. The result is an assortment of stories from varying perspectives. The book clearly aims to inspire other women, to dispute leadership stereotypes and to challenge leadership issues. It also reveals what drives these women and how they maintain their roles and their success.

I Can Make You Smarter Paul McKenna Transworld Publishers £10.99 Hypnotist Paul McKenna claims he can help you get the most out of your academic abilities and increase your capacity for learning with his book, which includes two hypnosis CDs. The book states that it will teach you how to ‘increase intelligence, supercharge your memory, improve concentration and help you to make smarter decisions’. By practising the techniques and listening to the CDs, you should be able to train yourself to use more of your mind’s potential.

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AND FINALLY SUSAN YOUNG

Clearing the way forward Women in school leadership can find themselves in a Catch-22 situation

a lecturer in education at the University of Leicester, suggests that women may be making ‘conscious and positive choices which may be at odds with the hierarchical notions of career.’ The study was designed to look at and understand what factors affected the likelihood of women aspiring to, applying for and achieving a position as a head teacher. Joan found that barriers still exist,

sub-groups in the first for planners and pupil-centred or politicised leaders, and in the second for protégées, pragmatists and protesters. Twenty of the educational professionals were ‘pupil-centred’ and had chosen to remain in the classroom. The next largest-group contained the pragmatists, who were willing to seek promotion, but only if they could manage it alongside their other

and she provides a depressing list that includes ‘gendered socialisation’, motherhood, overt and covert workplace discrimination – and also the alienation of women from the masculine culture and values of management. “Hierarchical career progression is constructed as normal and desirable, and the implication is that if women are not progressing to senior leadership positions in great numbers, this must be due to identifiable impediments to women’s progression,” she says. In interviewing 40 female educational professionals for her research Joan, found two basic career approaches: self-defined or externally defined paths. Within this there were

responsibilities, notably childcare. The 10 head teachers that she spoke to shared interesting characteristics. Most had planned their careers, at least in part, and eight were ‘politicised’, with “a need to attain senior positions in order to effect positive changes school-wide. They therefore aim for positions of maximum influence.” What do you make of all this? Is there a burning issue in school leadership that you think is being ignored? You can contact me at educationhack@gmail.com Also, Belmas encourages heads to carry out their own academic research, as membership is open to school leaders as well as academics. Visit www.belmas.org.uk

NICK LOWNDES

There’s just one place in schools where you’re less likely to find a woman than a man: the head teacher’s office. And the reasons why have been fascinating academic researchers for years. This research is not always wellknown to its subjects but, by a happy coincidence, I’ve been given a sneak preview of a paper by Dr Marianne Coleman that analyses four decades of leadership and diversity research. The research is derived from the archives of the Belmas journal (that’s the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society) and it makes fascinating reading. Marianne’s work suggests that discrimination was often linked to stereotypes: women heads were seen to be worse at discipline and financial management, for example. Then there’s the Catch-22 situation known as the ‘femininity/competence bind’. This is the belief that women can’t be leaders because they are too feminine, but if they act in a masculine fashion they are not ‘proper women’ and are therefore also unacceptable. In other words, women are damned if they behave the way that women are expected to, and damned if they don’t. More recent research has shifted its focus from the barriers themselves to ways in which they can be overcome. Mentoring and networking have proved useful, while some researchers have suggested leadership training aimed at specific groups of ‘outsiders’. Outsiders seems a startling word to describe half of the human race, but women candidates can seem that way to governors whose mental image of a head is a (white) man in a suit. Perhaps more promisingly, a new research strand appears to be emerging: ‘agency’, or how women are actively choosing not to become leaders. A recent study by Dr Joan Smith, LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2012

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Accept Visa payments to make your life easier. It’s quicker than banking a cheque and better for cash flow as funds are usually received within 2-4 business days. It also offers parents more payment choice and flexibility, allowing them to pay in person, over the phone or online 24/7. So to make payments for school fees, uniforms, trips or clubs easier for everyone, swot up on how Visa could help you and your school. To find out how your school can accept Visa, visit visa.co.uk/schools

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