International School Magazine: Winter'23

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International SCHOOL Winter 2023 | schoolmanagementplus.com

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What Does UNESCO’s Generative AI Guidance Mean For International Schools?

PHOTO FULLY AI-GENERATED, USING MIDJOURNEY V5.2.

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Onscreen Assessment is here.

In 2023, over 700 students took their International GCSE exams onscreen. Students have been sitting their exams onscreen with us for the last two years - 90% of students who sat them onscreen in 2022 said they wanted their school to offer more onscreen exams in the future. 100% of teachers who registered students for onscreen exams in 2022 registered students for 2023 exam series too. With easy onboarding and great benefits for students it’s easy to understand why we have seen the number of schools adopting onscreen assessment double for this current exam season.

Now in their third year, Pearson Edexcel onscreen exams are here to stay with more qualifications coming onscreen every year!

I would definitely choose to take it [an exam] onscreen because I personally feel like I have much more time to plan and get my thoughts straight. And that makes my outcome of a much better quality.

Maya Almoataz, Year 11 Student, British School of Bahrain

To find out more and register your interest visit www.pearson.com/international/oa

Winter 2023

International School THE MAGAZINE FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATORS

Contents

EDITORS Mary Hayden Jeff Thompson editor@is-mag.com www.is-mag.com

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MANAGING DIRECTOR Steve Spriggs steve@williamclarence.com

Maximizing the Potential of Students with ADHD

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ADVERTISING Jacob Holmes jacob.holmes@fellowsmedia.com 01242 259249

No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means.

International School is an independent magazine. The views expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent those of the magazine. The magazine cannot accept any responsibility for products and services advertised within it.

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What Does UNESCO’s Generative AI Guidance Mean For International Schools?

Features 04 What Does UNESCO’s Generative AI Guidance Mean For International Schools? Stephen Taylor 08

Wellbeing 20 Burnout: Does your school have a culture of overwork? Helen Kelly 23

Goodbye ISJ Caroline Ellwood

Leading, Teaching and Learning 11 Maximizing the Potential of Students with ADHD Sarah Templeton 12

Timetabling Priorities: pulling back the curtain Nicholas Forde

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Instructional Coaching as the Key to Teacher Retention and Sustainable Professional Growth in Schools: Part 2 Kim Cofino

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Laying the Foundations of a Successful School Culture. Part 1 George Scorgie

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Crossing the Leadership Rubicon

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Teacher wellbeing: Where does your school stand? Louise Brenlund

From the Schools 26 Crossing the Leadership Rubicon: From international school to state school head Paul Wood 29

Cohesive Communities Ed Pearce

Book Review 30 The Co-constructed Classroom,

by Ann Lautrette Reviewed by Shona McIntosh

R S E D U C A T O

T I O N A L I N T E R N A

International SCHOOL Winter 2023 | schoolmanagementplus.com

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’s What Does UNESCO e Generative AI Guidanc Mean

For International Schools?

On the Cover

Part of the Independent School Management Plus Group schoolmanagementplus.com

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What Does UNESCO’s Generative AI Guidance Mean For International Schools? Stephen Taylor Page 04

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Winter 2023 | International School | 3

Features

What Does UNESCO’s Generative AI Guidance Mean For International Schools?

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he September 2023 release of UNESCO’s Guide to Generative AI in Education & Research is ‘UNESCO’s first global guidance on GenAI in education [that] aims to support countries to implement immediate actions, plan longterm policies and develop human capacity to ensure a human-centred vision of these new technologies’. Introduced as part of UNESCO’s 2023 Digital Learning Week in Paris, the Guide builds on years of research and development by UNESCO, including guidance for policy-makers and a release on ChatGPT in Higher Education.

The avalanche of resources, posts, books and perspectives on GenAI in education can be overwhelming and disjointed: a possible source of anxiety for busy educators. The UNESCO Guide is a comprehensive, reliable starting point that can be applied to international school

By Stephen Taylor development. This article presents an overview of the Guide, with reflective questions that might be of help to schools as they consider their strategic approach to GenAI.

Reflecting On Culture Before Technology Mission-driven international schools, particularly those that subscribe to the values and guidance of agencies such as their accrediting bodies, and the UN’s Rights of the Child and Sustainable Development Goals, are likely to find resonance with the Guide. The learning culture of a school can be more powerful than any technological shift, and purposeful reflection on your school’s guiding statements, affiliations and approaches to teaching and learning will help frame your reading and application of the guidance provided.

As you prepare to adapt with GenAI, consider the following reflective questions: • To what extent are we really walking the talk of our missions, as we adapt to GenAI? • What are some strengths of our learning culture, and how can these be leveraged to adapt to GenAI? • What are some limitations of our learning culture in light of GenAI? How much influence do we have over these, and therefore what are the boundaries on adaptation we need to consider?

• Do we see this moment as one to reflect on our learning culture and direction, and to what extent does GenAI accelerate or influence our development?

• What stances and supports are in place from our accrediting agencies?

PHOTO FULLY AI-GENERATED, USING MIDJOURNEY V5.2.

4 | International School | Winter 2023

Features

The UNESCO Guide is a comprehensive, reliable starting point that can be applied to international school development.

What’s In The Guide?

The Guide takes a cautious, optimistic and practical approach, recognising the potential and risks of GenAI. Its six chapters explain where we currently are with GenAI in education and research, unpacking practical and ethical issues, and making some projections for the future, as outlined below: Chapter 1: ‘What is GenAI and how does it work?’ explains clearly how current leading GenAI text and image models work, defines key terms, and gives guidance on effective prompting and use of GenAI tools, concluding with recommendations for the development of EdGPT.

Chapter 2: ‘Controversies around GenAI and their implications for education & research’ succinctly unpacks concerns that should be forefront in schools’ adaptation strategies, including: worsening digital poverty (exacerbating inequalities); outpacing national regulation adaptation (creating new issues faster than agencies can adapt); using content without consent (datafication, intellectual property); unexplainable models used to generate outputs (the ‘black box’); AI-generated content polluting the internet; lack of understanding of the real world (hallucination/confabulation, misinformation); reducing diversity of opinions and further marginalising already marginalised voices; and generating deeper

deepfakes (an issue that is already emerging as a risk to children and identity).

Chapter 3: ‘Regulating the use of GenAI in education’ offers concrete suggestions on regulation of GenAI, including a human-centred approach to GenAI; regulating GenAI in education (including data protection, ethics, copyright, competencies); and key elements of regulating GenAI (including governments, GenAI tools providers, institutional and individual users).

Chapter 4: ‘Towards a policy framework for GenAI in education & research’ is directly useful as a framework for considering different elements of their adaptation/adoption strategy for GenAI. Consider the following questions in light of your school’s learning culture: • What are our school’s strengths with this domain, notwithstanding GenAI? • Which domains are we exploring or working on?

• Which domains are we not working on?

What do we need to do about this?

Winter 2023 | International School | 5

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4.1 Promote inclusion, equity, linguistic and cultural diversity Many international schools have seen recent moves towards DEIJ initiatives, learning inclusion and consideration of multilingualism and intercultural understanding, as they (rightfully) interrogate their status and practices in order to align missions with action.

Unconsidered implementation of GenAI could risk this fragile work through unknowingly (or ignorantly) promoting tools that exacerbate bias, exclusion, inequality of access or misinformation.

• Reflection: How does our school promote inclusion, equity, linguistic and cultural diversity?

4.2 Protecting human agency With learning as a human endeavour, we need to ensure that our learners are informed, empowered and supported in their use of GenAI, without risking their intrinsic motivation to learn, or increasing academic stressors. The agency of educators should also be protected, resisting the urge to outsource professional thinking to GenAI models, 6 | International School | Winter 2023

instead re-humanising learning design and empowering social interaction.

•R eflection: How does our school promote learner and teacher agency?

4.3 Monitor and validate GenAI systems for education Equally applicable to all edtech adoption, the proposal of an ‘ethics-by-design’ approach provides useful guidance for schools on choosing, using and evaluating tools that are suitable for the context, including validation, consent, data use, ageappropriateness, safety and alignment with the school’s values.

•R eflection: How does our school monitor and validate edtech tools and systems?

4.4 Develop AI competencies, including GenAI-related skills for learners Schools working on competency frameworks will find congruence in this proposal, with popular examples including the IB’s Approaches to Learning, ISTE’s standards and the work of the Mastery Transcript Consortium. UNESCO itself is working on a GenAI competency

framework, which will be released in 2024.

• Reflection: How does our school develop future-ready competencies and skills in our learners and how do these align with our guiding statements?

4.5 Build capacity for teachers and researchers to make proper use of GenAI The pace of GenAI development and a volatile edtech marketplace create challenges for professional learning. A focus on general principles, agency, safety and ethics rather than individual tools may set stronger foundations in alignment with learning cultures. Collaborative efforts, professional learning networks and access to quality resourcing will be needed to find context-appropriate use-cases of value for educators.

• Reflection: How does our school build capacity and competence through meaningful professional development?

4.6 Promote plural opinions and plural expressions of ideas Critical information and media literacies are highlighted in relation to GenAI inputs

Features PHOTO FULLY AI-GENERATED, USING MIDJOURNEY V5.2.

free from biases and harm, and mitigate for environmental and social impacts.

•R eflection: Do we know the local rules and recommendations on edtech? How do we gather evidence of impact of our choices, in our context?

4.8 Review long-term implications in intersectoral and interdisciplinary manner The scale and pace of development of these tools far outstrips the capacity for any single international school to effectively review the long-term implications of GenAI. Accrediting agencies and professional organisations must play a more active role in connecting schools, universities, industries, and professional organisations to ensure scalable, synchronised and reliable evaluation and development of systems and approaches to support schools.

•R eflection: How do we make use of local and international partnerships in our research and development as a school?

Chapter 5: ‘Facilitating creative use of GenAI in education & research’

Effective adaptation to GenAI is going to take meaningful reflection in schools and outputs, and users need to understand that current models reinforce dominant perspectives and can produce misinformation. As such, experimentation, iteration and evaluation of tools and outputs should be cautiously and safely encouraged.

• Reflection: How does our school seek and make use of diverse voices and perspectives?

4.7 Test locally relevant application models and build a cumulative evidence base Edtech leaders in international schools play a critical role in evaluating tools that are effective, safe and in alignment with local regulations, whilst putting pressure on providers to ensure their models are safe,

takes the previous chapters and provides concrete guidance and examples on how GenAI can be used in ways that are directly relevant to international schools, including: • A ‘human-centred and pedagogicallyappropriate interaction’ approach, promoting effectiveness, agency and human interaction.

•C o-designing the use of GenAI in education and research through leveraging GenAI for: research; teaching; personalised tutoring/coaching; inquiry and project-based learning; and support for learners with additional needs (including learning support and multilingual learners).

Chapter 6: ‘GenAI and the future of education & research’ projects nearterm potential futures, including: uncharted ethical issues; copyright and intellectual property; sources of content and learning; homogenization and diversity; rethinking assessment and learning outcomes; and thinking processes. These might provide reflection points for schools’ medium-term strategic planning.

In Conclusion Effective adaptation to GenAI is going to take meaningful reflection in schools, as well as a global team effort between international schools, their agencies, organisations such as UNESCO and industry. Research and development around GenAI in schools will require significant investment in time and resources and collaboration. In the meantime, as education tries to keep pace with this powerful disruptive force, UNESCO’s guidance provides a useful reference for international schools as they align their approaches with their learning cultures and values. ◆

References • UNESCO’s Guide to Generative AI in Education & Research (7 September 2023): https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/guidancegenerative-ai-education-and-research • UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week (4–7 September 2023): https://www.unesco.org/en/ weeks/digital-learning • A longer version of this article, with links and resources, is on Stephen’s website: https://sjtylr. net/2023/10/01/unpacking-unescos-guide-forgenai-in-the-context-of-international-schools/

Stephen Taylor is Director of Innovation in Learning & Teaching at the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), and has been an international educator and leader since 2005, with posts in Indonesia, Japan and China.

✉ stephen_taylor@wab.edu Twitter and LinkedIn: @sjtylr See also sjtylr.net, and WAB resources to support AI in Education via learn.wab.edu/ innovation/ai

Winter 2023 | International School | 7

Features

Goodbye ISJ Sadly, the International Schools Journal (ISJ) published its final edition with Volume XLIII, Spring 2023, after a number of unsuccessful attempts to find a new publisher. The ISJ has occupied a key role in the development of international schools since 1981, encouraging the sharing of experience and ideas between teachers, leaders, researchers and curriculum developers engaged in meeting the challenges of the burgeoning international school sector. Positioned between the Journal of Research in International Education (JRIE) and International School magazine, the success of ISJ in bringing together ideas from, and to inform, practice in the field has been guided, from the outset, by a number of editors who brought purpose, direction, debate and distinction to their work. Here the most recent ISJ Editor, the hugely experienced and well-respected Dr Caroline Ellwood, says a farewell to the ISJ.

By Caroline Ellwood

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fter 42 years the final edition of the International Schools Journal has been published: four decades of articles recording for posterity the growth of the worldwide movement we call international education. The idea of a journal was the brainchild of Edna Murphy (then Principal of ACS Hampstead) who felt that the rapid expansion of provision and the growing exchange of ideas at conferences promoting practical and theoretic developments deserved a platform of its own. She took her idea to Grey Mattern, then Executive Secretary of ECIS. He was enthusiastic, and together they persuaded the ECIS Board to back the enterprise. As Grey Mattern commented in an article in the ISJ in 1998: ‘Internationalism is more than a mix of nationalities, languages and cultures and religion, though all of these elements provide rich ingredients for a new synthesis. International schools are at a crossroads to find a new identity by creating an educational programme genuinely different from that available in many domestic situations, an eclectic synthesis drawn from the best that is known about teaching and learning from wherever in the world it may be found.’

And that is precisely what ISJ has done over the years. From its earliest issues guided

by Edna and her co-editor Charles Gellar, it has recorded and explored the growth, development, pedagogy, success and failure of international schools and the education they provide. As the international school movement matured it became old enough to create its own traditions, philosophies and celebrated pioneers.

So, we have forty two years of articles recording the growth of ideas, foundation

Features

of schools, curriculum innovation, teacher training, new methodology, the development of counselling, governance, safeguarding, reaction to war and pandemic and more ... a whole shelf of resources tracking the history of international education, its schools, teachers and students.

To flick through the pages of any ISJ issue is to march with the generals but also to realise the hard work and innovation provided by the foot soldiers.

For as the field developed, so did provision in a number of universities for in-service and postgraduate work based specifically on international education. ISJ provided a place where research and new ideas could be made available for all teachers to share, and also became a valuable record of change and progress. Ian Hill’s detailed history of the birth and development of the International Baccalaureate, Maurice Carder’s recording of the transmogrification of ESL through EFL, ESOL and SLLs, the evolution of ECIS as it has adapted to new times and extended worlds. Jim Cambridge’s book reviews prompting our reading, the wisdom of George Walker, Richard Pearce and Terry Haywood charting new ideas, together with Jeff Thompson and Mary Hayden guiding and challenging our discourse.

And of course there is that ever-elusive question, recurring again and again over the years: What makes a school ‘international’?

‘Historical Vignettes’ have provided a record for posterity of the life and achievements of some of the remarkable men and women who have shaped and developed the ideas, pedagogy, philosophy and practice of the field, and been of influence in the growth and success of their schools. These articles provide a remarkable resource for historians and scholars.

Editing the final edition provided a dilemma. Whilst its decease could not be ignored, a requiem was not appropriate as international education continues to thrive without ISJ. So the final ISJ is a celebration, dedicated to Janus who looks both to the past and the future. The God of transitions would certainly approve of the articles in the last edition. Leaning on and developing from aspects of the past, they all in their different ways look to future change – at a time when the young people in our care are struggling to come to terms with what seems to be a hopelessly doomed and divided world. David Miles tackles the doubts about AI and regards it not with fear but as an opportunity, while Terry Haywood discusses teaching in relation to moral decision-making and offers a ‘moral compass’ to explore the theme. It is, however, the articles by Kevin Bartlett and Olli-Pekka Heinonen that affirm international education’s message as a very

International schools are at a crossroads to find a new identity positive hope for the future and truly relevant for the demands our students face today: ‘[W]e realised that, as we built a curriculum, we were engaging in the construction of a common language, and shared beliefs and values. We were, in effect, building culture. Since we were engaging all learning stakeholders in this work, we were also building community. We were building the necessary human context for a global learning ecosystem. We were building a human learning ecosystem for our times. Our times demand it of us.’ (Kevin Bartlett) ‘To become more fully human, in community with others and with nature, is at the core of our mission as educators. This is what Festival of Hope and an IB education into the 22nd century is about’. (Olli-Pekka Heinonen) On a personal note, as the now former Editor my thanks go to Michael Maybury who sadly died in 2020, and who persuaded this non-editor to be brave and take on the job. Many happy, if sometimes anxious, years followed of working with the most amazing contributors from across the globe. So thank you to all those hundreds of contributors, so many of whom became friends and made me realise how vital, exciting and progressive the world of international education is. Help came from ECIS in the early days with Dixie McKay and Richard Tangye, then support from the publishers, John Catt and the friendship and guidance of Derek Bingham. Finally the enthusiastic backing of Stefanos Gialamas from ACS Athens, who tragically died during the 2020 Alliance for International Education conference in Geneva: his work carried on with the support of Peggy Pelonis and John Papadakis but, sadly, no longer.

However as the God Janus looking backwards and forwards says, ‘In our end is our beginning’. Maybe it is not Goodbye ISJ, but rather ... Au Revoir. ◆ Dr Caroline Ellwood was Editor of the International Schools Journal from 2004 to 2023. Head of Middle School at Vienna International School for many years, she also led teacher training in international schools across the globe.

✉ cellwoodisj@gmail.com

Winter 2023 | International School | 9

Advertorial Features

The Expanding Role of Schools in Learner Well-being and Mental Health

By Nai Lang and Dr Rachel Wilder, University of Bath.

S

chools around the world are increasingly compelled to take on pupil wellbeing and mental health as part of their responsibility and role.

Historically, teachers and school staff have seen children’s wellbeing as part of their role and many are passionate about this aspect of their work, but today we are seeing more and more governments ascribe specific duties about what schools should be doing in relation to mental health, especially. However, schools and teachers are facing challenges in navigating these new policies and understanding how best to meet these new expectations.

Mental health affects 10-20% of young people worldwide, and this has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Kieling et al., 2011). Compared to home students, international students already experience heightened psychological difficulties, as they are often coming to grips with new social norms and it takes time to develop feelings of connectedness.

International schools have a pivotal role in promoting young people’s well-being.

In How Schools Systems Can Improve Health and Well-being, the World Health Organization (2023) suggested schools are responsible for

creating conditions that promote learners’ mental health, foster mental health literacy, develop social-emotional skills, and develop abilities to identify signs of mental health conditions. International school leaders are facing a learning curve: in addition to being leaders in education, they are now asked to take on a leadership role in identifying and responding to children and young people’s wellbeing and mental health concerns. Mental health is a specialised medical field, so for educators to take on an informed role in this area is no simple ask. Nonetheless, it is school leaders and educators who are with young people every day and witness their challenges, who are responsible for implementing government policies, and who monitor progress to assess whether new policies and programmes are having an impact on young people’s mental health.

In collaboration with researchers in psychology, history and education, we recently conducted a study about how schools in the southwest of England are responding to government policies to support mental health*. We shared our findings in the ‘Mental Health in Schools’ podcast. Based on our research,

we suggest international school leaders might consider developing new school policies to clarify staff roles, to assess and upgrade skills, to develop whole-school approaches to promote wellbeing, and to develop school systems to monitor and respond appropriately when learners have mental health concerns. In recognition of the learning curve involved in supporting learners’ mental health, senior leadership teams should consider giving staff more time to learn and exchange knowledge with others responsible for implementing mental health interventions. Previous studies suggest a significant knowledge-practice gap for mental health interventions in schools (Reinke et al., 2011).

Although wellbeing and mental health policies are being implemented inconsistently across different countries, schools around the world recognise the strategic position they occupy in relation to learner wellbeing and are implementing measures to promote greater well-being.

It is clear that mental health support in schools is instrumental for reducing incidence of mental health problems that interfere with students’ learning and social development. ◆ * This research was conducted in 2022-23 by Dr Katie Howard, Dr Naomi Warne, Dr Eleni Dimitrellou, Dr Chris Sandal-Wilson and Lisa Wojahn, in addition to the authors.

References:

Kieling, C., Baker-Henningham, H., Belfer, M., Conti, G., Ertem, I., Omigbodun, O., ..., and Rahman, A. 2011. Child and adolescent mental health. The Lancet, 378, 1515-1525.

Reinke, W. M., Stormont, M., Herman, K. C., Puri, R., ..., and Goel, N. 2011. Supporting children’s mental health in Schools: Teacher perceptions of needs, roles, and barriers. School Psychology Quarterly, 26(1), pp. 1-13.

World Health Organization. 2023. How Schools Systems Can Improve Health and Well-being.

4 | | International 10 InternationalSchool School | |Autumn Winter 2023

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Features

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5 Reasons digital magazines can revolutionize your classroom

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or some of you, there may have been something exciting about your first magazine subscription.

You’d wait a whole month, knowing it was on its way, and it was still like a special, glossy surprise when it turned up in the mail.

But times – and technologies – have changed. You might still look forward to getting magazines in the mail on occasion, but also enjoy reading them on your tablet, too.

Meanwhile, digital media is likely all your students have ever really known.

But even so, monthly subscriptions cost money, and what one student has access to isn’t always the same as what another can afford.

Which is where your school’s digital collection can come in. It’s an excellent option to boost your students’ literacy, plus it extends beyond ebooks and audiobooks, into unique formats like magazines. This gives students across your school community the same ability to read. No matter where they are or the device they’re using.

A digital magazines package is one of the most versatile options you can offer to students, especially if it’s challenging to spark their interest in reading. They’re useful for your classroom,, too, exposing students to different content, familiarizing them with basic story elements and helping them build reading stamina.

Plus, the magazines are reviewed by credentialed librarians before they ever make it to your collection, so you can be sure learners are reading content appropriate to their grade level.

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Plus, most ar ticles also include visuals that can support text comprehension and engagement.

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Unlimited Access Digital magazines can be read by an unlimited number of students at a time – so they never have to wait in line for a title. All they have to do is borrow it, and it’s instantly available.

This is great for both pleasure reading and classroom applications because educators never have to worry about having enough copies.

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Bite-sized content Magazines deliver information in shor t, accessible pieces. This makes them less daunting for struggling readers and English language learners, providing

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Easy to maintain If you’ve read a magazine before, then you know how fragile they are.

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Complementary to curriculum With over 200 magazines available, there’s something to diversify your lesson plans with unique, high-interest content for every classroom subject.

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Leading, teaching and learning

Maximizing the Potential of Students with ADHD

By Sarah Templeton

O

nce you understand that an ADHD brain has very specific ways of perceiving and responding to information, particularly in the classroom, it gets easier to manage and get the best out of ADHD kids. For starters, ADHD children are more sensitive than their neurotypical counterparts, which can lead to them being called drama queens or divas, and being accused of always wanting to be the centre of attention. Actually, it is their ADHD brain that has ‘emotional dysregulation’ and ‘rejection sensitive dysphoria’ which can cause them to appear to be overly dramatic and react more strongly than others. This is particularly heightened during puberty, as ADHD is a condition very much linked to hormones and dopamine. However, there are some very quick and easy techniques for making sure they don’t feel hurt, humiliated or rejected.

Make sure everybody at school understands that ADHD children will not like being made fun of. However kindly it is meant, it will always be perceived as rejection and cause humiliation in an ADHD child. So don’t ever use an ADHD child as the butt of a joke, however good-humouredly you mean it to be taken.

It will very often get an angry response and the ADHD child will have very little control over this, especially if they are not medicated.

Next, remember that ADHD children do not like being told what to do. This is not them being contrary. It is the way their brain is wired. One of the easiest ways around this is always to phrase your requests and instructions as a question. For example, ‘get on with your English essay’ is not going to be received anywhere near as well as ‘have you got all the information you need to start your English essay, or is there anything else you need?’ ADHD children like to be

in control, so the first demand will put their back up and the second ‘request’ will not.

It’s easy, once you start, to phrase things as questions. Everything from ‘do you want to do your Maths now or would you rather have a break and then start?’ to ‘would you prefer to stay behind after school for an hour for me to help you with that, or we could come in an hour earlier tomorrow morning if that suits you better?’ No ADHD child will refuse to answer this question because they will feel that they have just been put in charge and will therefore delight in passing on their wisdom! They literally will not fail to tell you exactly what they think, because in their view they have been consulted for their opinion.

Something to look out for is self-esteem.

ADHD children are estimated to receive up to 20,000 negative messages before the age of 12. Just have a think about that: 20,000 negative messages before the age of 12.

What could those messages be? Here are a few examples: Sit down, stop fidgeting, stop shuffling, stop biting your fingers, stop kicking your leg, stop sucking your hair, stop tapping your fingers, concentrate, focus, stop looking out of the window, stop doodling, listen to what I’m saying, stop interrupting, stop distracting the person sitting next to you…

It can feel incessant when you are an ADHD child. Whatever you do seems to annoy other people, even when you are trying your very best. This is where low self-esteem and low self-worth are born.

You can clearly see how these messages add up and why an ADHD child is constantly on edge wondering what they are going to get told off for next.

Always remember that it is their ADHD brain causing these actions. They aren’t purposely doing any of the above: all of it is a way to stimulate their brain, which is what their brain is crying out for.

Also remember that ADHD children

are going to be impulsive. This means that sometimes they will interrupt you.

They primarily do this because if they don’t say what they need to say at that exact moment, it will disappear from their mind. So, if a child does interrupt you, try to understand that they literally cannot hold onto the thought long enough for you to finish what you’re saying, hard as they may try. Another good tip is never to shout or raise your voice at an ADHD child. Much as this might be tempting when they are losing their temper, you shouting is just going to make things much worse.

Always keep your voice calm, constant and consistent. You then have much more chance of an ADHD child calming down.

Taking all the ADHD traits into account when you talk to an ADHD child will pay dividends. Remember they like to feel in charge, don’t like being told what to do, always feel they know best, and want things their own way. So, if you can word things cleverly so that these ADHD ways of thinking are accepted and played into, rather than ignoring the traits and using the same language you do with neurotypical children, your life is going to be a lot easier and your classroom an oasis of peace rather than a war zone.

Remember the ADHD child is trying their best to fit in. This means they are battling with their natural ADHD traits 24/7, which is exhausting for them. So, have some sympathy when holding it all in becomes just too difficult and their natural ADHD traits become evident. ◆

Sarah Templeton is an ADHD counsellor, founder of the ADHD LIBERTY charity (www.adhdliberty.org) and author of Teachers!

How Not to Kill the Spirit in Your ADHD Kids.

✉ Sarah@ADHDliberty.org

Winter 2023 | International School | 15

Leading, teaching and learning

Timetabling Priorities: Pulling Back the Curtain

By Nicholas Forde

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hen I first began teaching, our timetabler was a senior colleague, much revered and rarely seen in the latter stages of the year as they spent many hours puzzling over intricate pinboard and peg arrangements. When the timetable was finally issued and the ‘enquiries’ from teachers about their schedules mounted, the colleague replied each time with the same quote from the Wizard of Oz: ‘I’m really a very good person, just a very bad wizard’.

The development of the timetable for a school is often shrouded in mystery and legend. The task has traditionally fallen to a lone Deputy Head, or sometimes a talented mathematics teacher who is given time release and/or stipend. In reality, the road to revealing of the final timetable is paved throughout the academic year. Today, whilst powerful programming software supports the mathematical puzzle and construction, the true art of timetabling lies in understanding the human side, balancing the educational trifecta of ‘time, talent and turf ’. The real wizardry comes when there is alignment between teachers and available classrooms to provide an effective learning experience for students across a school week, term, and year. Done well, a timetable communicates the school ethos and curricular vision effectively. Arguably, it also makes a large contribution to student and staff wellbeing during an academic year.

Teachers and senior leaders often pay little attention to the ‘person behind the curtain’ or the bigger picture of how a timetable is constructed. The art of timetabling involves making ‘good’ compromises.

Because of this, the solution is unlikely to make everyone happy, but it should serve the needs of the students, subject and school for the coming year.

Done well, a timetable communicates the school ethos and curricular vision effectively.

16 | International School | Winter 2023

Time School ethos and curricular vision and mission should be visible in the learning experience for students. In curricular terms, this means allocations of time given to subjects, and placement of this time across a school week. As a young History teacher in the late 1990s, I used to bristle when our senior management team would refer to so called ‘core’ and ‘non-core’ subjects: History falling into the latter camp! Fast forward to today, and you will uncover the hidden messages about what is valued by looking at time allocations. Student attitudes (both positive and negative) and teacher habits are built lesson by lesson over an academic year. More time does not necessarily mean better.

One of the great benefits of the IB Diploma curricular model is the commitment to equity and concurrency of learning through equal allocation of time to all Standard-Level or Higher-Level subjects. This is communicated by the structure before a lesson has even been taught. A good timetable program can help sequence the available time given to a subject, ensuring a good spread of a subject across a weekly cycle. That said, the program needs to be told that not having Mathematics or Theory of Knowledge last lesson every Friday is important!

Talent: can teach versus must teach Deployment of talent will often default to historical practices. Take early career teachers for example.

For many, their ‘rite of passage’ is to find themselves allocated a lot of lower ability classes, whilst more senior colleagues are given examination classes. A wise head of department will play to the collective strengths of the team, whilst also looking to improve the overall individual effectiveness of the teaching bench. This may mean rotating experienced teachers in and out of examination classes or putting themselves on a lower secondary teaching team. No teacher suddenly becomes ready to take on an examination class. There is great value to all by pairing a newer colleague with an old hand to co-teach an examination class. In addition, it is important to look at the needs of the coming academic year and the team in place rather than

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defaulting to the solution used in previous years.

In my own school, a key part of our recruitment and professional learning strategy is based around hiring teachers prepared to teach across the full range of Secondary. Once hired, our professional growth and reflection process focuses on improvement of teaching in different phases of the school. Grade 6 students will later become IB Diploma Programme students, and enthusiasm harnessed and relationships formed in those years can pay dividends.

When asking heads of department about staff allocations, we use a sliding scale of preferences from ‘must teach’ to ‘can teach’. Put simply, the more ‘can teach’ options we have, the better. ‘Must teach’ preferences produce constraints. These are worthwhile in the case of examination classes, when a teacher can roll up to complete a two-year examination course with the same group. Too many ‘must teach’ will likely create split classes lower down the school. Again, split classes can work out well, if you have a team who understand why they have happened and are prepared to focus on the quality of the learning experience lesson by lesson.

Turf Finally, we have turf. School ‘real estate’ such as specialist spaces are fiercely guarded resources. From a timetabling point of view, the puzzle should begin by asking a simple question: are there enough rooms to teach the number of classes required? Only then should we be adding further constraints of room sizes and specialist spaces.

Schools with increasing enrolments will reach a point where they transition from teachers having their own classrooms to working in multiple spaces.

These growing pains are often felt most by teachers who have been at the school the longest. Timetable programs can help to optimise classroom occupancy and limit the pain of movement for teachers and students. A good timetabler can also drill down with practical subjects such as Science and ask if a laboratory is needed for every lesson.

Developing accurate room sets is key to turf management, but so is keeping an open mind to

how spaces can be used both now and in the future.

Having classroom spaces set up with equipment and technology that are standardised can also help with the reality of teaching in more than one classroom.

Conclusion An understanding of the basic parameters of the timetable should be required professional learning for all senior leaders and heads of department. Those who are responsible for delivering curriculum need to understand the bigger picture and be part of developing the solution. This can be hard to achieve in a school where there is not a shared understanding of push and pull of the ‘three Ts’. Having heads of department work directly with the timetabler can be helpful in developing a set of ‘must haves’. However, it will inevitably fall to a senior leader to make the call on a good compromise.

Many schools now work with an outsourced timetable specialist, to build up an accurate ‘offshore’ map of the curricular architecture of the school. This can protect a school from loss of institutional memory if a senior leader moves on. It can also be useful to have conversations with someone neutral who is not linked to the vested interests of time, talent, and turf.

Some final points for reflection • Does your timetable communicate the curricular vision and mission of the school clearly and effectively?

• What are the unintended consequences of any curricular changes you are wanting to make; how will these impact students and staff on a lesson, weekly and yearly basis?

• What is the lived experience of the constraints of the various resources for students and teachers?

• Who is making the final decisions related to time, talent, and turf? ◆ Nicholas Forde is Principal of Secondary School at the ISF Academy, Hong Kong

✉ nforde@isf.edu.hk

Winter 2023 | International School | 17

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Instructional Coaching as the Key to Teacher Retention and Sustainable Professional Growth in Schools Part 2

By Kim Cofino

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t’s clear that when teachers feel appreciated, valued, and respected in their work, it leads to ‘improved relationships, enhanced wellbeing, and improved teaching outcomes’. (Howells & Cumming, 2012). One of the best ways we can support and show our appreciation for teachers is to value their professional growth and provide them with the support and time they need to be successful in their roles.

Instructional coaches do exactly that. They see the potential and possibility in every teacher. They start with teacher goals and student needs. They provide uniquely customized professional learning for every teacher they work with. ‘A coach personalizes teachers’ learning by understanding each teacher’s current state of practice and the conditions in which that teacher practices, and by having deep knowledge of the practice being implemented.’

(Killion et al, 2020). When we invest in coaches, we are investing in teachers.

The previous (Part 1) article on this topic, published in the Autumn 2023 issue of this magazine, described how coaching benefits schools because: • Coaches show a commitment to teachers and their learning; • Coaches empower teachers to grow; and • Coaches personalize teacher learning.

This article will continue by discussing two more essential ways that instructional coaching contributes to teacher retention and sustainable professional growth in schools, then will finish by offering some overall thoughts on how coaches and school

leaders can foster an effective coaching culture. The insights shared are excerpts from #coachbetter podcast interviews with educators in international schools around the world from 2019–2022. All those quoted have agreed to be named.

Coaches facilitate long-term sustainable growth When we can create this environment with consistency over time, that’s when we will see the biggest impact. According to Steve Barkley, ‘today’s teaching goals are so complex that you can’t approach them in an isolated single-year scenario’ (Cofino, 2019) – and that was before the pandemic. Our challenges grow more complex each day. Without a long-term view on individual and team professional growth, we’ll continue to be stuck applying disposable band-aids to life-threatening wounds.

Expecting that sending teachers to conferences and other one-off learning experiences will have a long-term impact on professional growth is likely unrealistic – especially beyond the individual teacher who attended the event. Without long-term, contextual support within the school setting, inspiration from external events often ends shortly thereafter. When teachers walk away from events with long lists of ‘things to try’ but don’t have the support to make them happen in their classroom, the lists stay as ‘wishes’.

When schools hire external consultants, even highly experienced and effective consultants, the ideas and inspiration they bring with them often leave with them too. Even when the consultant has a long-term connection with the school, the time between visits, and Winter 2023 | International School | 19

Leading, teaching and learning

lack of depth of knowledge of the school community, mean that their impact is unlikely to be as deep and sustainable as educators who are on the ground, part of the community, and committed to the school.

Liz Cho, Principal of Teaching and Learning at Korea International School, notes ‘If we really value teaching and learning, and the research that goes along with learning sciences, it’s tough work for one person to do. So, in order for teachers to be practitioners that reflect on their practice, a coaching program is essential’ (Cofino, 2020).

Although at first glance hiring an outside consultant or sending teachers away to conferences seems to be a cheaper investment than hiring a coach, not only are you not able to reach every teacher at a personal and practical level, but the amount of time and energy needed to see the implementation of those new strategies goes far beyond just the cost of attending a conference or bringing in a consultant. While the cost of hiring coaches varies according to the country, the long term investment in a coach will make a lasting impact on a much larger group of educators than any one-off conference or consultant visit.

IB Chemistry teacher at Yokohama International School, Merilyn Winslade, notes that ‘having a coach helps keep pushing me forward, keeps me focused and directed towards my goals. Coaching improves the effectiveness of my teaching and, therefore, improves student learning.’ (Cofino, 2019)

In addition to personalizing learning over time, instructional coaching can have a ripple effect out to other teachers Coaches foster a supportive learning community Every school has a unique school culture that’s influenced by the community, the local culture, the host country and its history.

Having experience living in and working in this environment is priceless. Although outside consultants may be experts in their specific field, and cross-culturally competent, it’s unlikely that they will have the depth of understanding of your school-specific context unless they have previously worked at your school.

Successful coaching is about building relationships, and being part of the school community supports that process. As Joellen Killion notes, ‘All models of coaching are valuable. Coaching light is coaching for relationships. Coaching heavy is coaching for results.

Results can build relationships just as relationships can build results.’ (Cofino, 2022) Long-term personalized learning within the context of the school – held physically in the classroom spaces at the school, and with 20 | International School | Winter 2023

Leading, teaching and learning

...investing in and building a coaching culture will have a lasting impact on teacher retention and professional growth someone who knows the teachers, the school, the context, and can work with them over a long period of time – will make a bigger impact than traveling for annual conferences or hiring external consultants. As Joellen Killion explains: ‘When we get pushed into our discomfort, it’s in that space that we have our greatest opportunity for learning. It’s not discomfort with judgment, it’s creating enough dissonance to encourage us to want to look at our practice as an opportunity for growth’ (Cofino, 2022).

In addition to personalizing learning over time, instructional coaching can have a ripple effect out to other teachers. When coaches work with one teacher on a team, the success builds to others. Teachers sharing about the value of their experience of being coached helps build interest in engaging in the coaching process. Investing in coaches, when instructional coaching is supported appropriately, has a positive ripple effect of engagement and interest in improvement that radiates out to all the teachers they work with.

Because schools are dynamic learning spaces, and we’re always evaluating, reflecting, adapting and changing our goals, ensuring that there is continuity in our professional learning has a profound impact. Coaches are the bridge between school-wide goals and individual needs. As John D’Arcy, then Deputy Head of School at Western Academy of Beijing, points out, ‘effective coaches are experts at finding the sweet spot between understanding the school’s strategic goals and teachers’ enthusiasm and energy.’

(Cofino, 2019) Every year things change, and we face the unexpected and learn how to adapt. Likewise, coaches grow with the school and their colleagues. They understand the changing nature of the school community because they are part of it. As school goals change, coaches can bring their experience and relationships with their colleagues to the changing needs of the school.

topic helpful in working with your school leaders to help them understand why coaching is so valuable.

As educators, we have tons of options for professional learning: conferences, in-house professional development, consultants, online courses – but coaching is the best way to take all of that and make it achievable, personalized and sustainable. Viewed in that light, we can see instructional coaching as the key to teacher retention and sustainable professional growth in schools. This outcome, of course, is dependent on school structures being in place to support effective and non-evaluative instructional coaching, so it’s also important for coaches to know what they need to be successful, and to be able to articulate that to their school leaders.

Whether your school already has an established coaching culture, or is just considering implementing an instructional coaching program, investing in and building a coaching culture will have a lasting impact on teacher retention and professional growth. ◆

Leading the Change As school leaders consider whether to invest in coaching, it’s important to remember that the first year (or the first iteration of a coaching program) is not a realistic timeline to see this kind of professional growth. As James Dalziel, Head of School at NIST International School Thailand, points out, ‘When building a coaching culture leaders need to understand and recognize how long change takes in a school. It will take time to embed a coaching culture within the norms of the school’ (Cofino, 2020).

When leaders model this growth-mindedness by being coached, they are doubling down on the investment of hiring coaches. Jen Ricks says, ‘The time to sit down and think about what you’re doing, to have those reflective conversations, is so important. It needs to be normalized in schools. Teachers should want a coach’ (Cofino, 2022). When leaders visibly invest in coaching themselves, they set the stage for coaching to be valued by all staff members.

Although creating a coaching culture will not happen overnight, it is possible to start with just one dedicated coach. If you’re in a school right now, and you are a coach, or you want to be a coach, or your coaching program is struggling, you may find this

• Cofino K (Host) (2019, May 2019) Creating an Empowered Community of Learners with John D’Arcy (37). [Audio podcast episode]. In #coachbetter.

Eduro Learning. https://coachbetter.tv/episode-37/

References • Howells K & Cumming J (2012) Exploring the role of gratitude in the professional experience of pre-service teachers. Teaching Education. 23(1): 71-88 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10476210.2011.638370 • Killion J, Bryan C & Clifton H (2020) Coaching Matters. Oxford: Learning Forward.

• Cofino K (Host) (2019, Oct 2) Personalize Coaching for Every Teacher with Steve Barkley (55). [Audio podcast episode]. In #coachbetter. Eduro Learning. https://coachbetter.tv/episode-55/ • Cofino K (Host) (2020, May 20) A School Leader’s Perspective on Instructional Coaching with Liz Cho (82). [Audio podcast episode]. In #coachbetter. Eduro Learning. https://coachbetter.tv/episode-82/ • Cofino K (Host) (2019, May 22) The Importance of Coaches in Classrooms with Merilyn Winslade (36) [Audio podcast episode]. In #coachbetter. Eduro Learning. https://coachbetter.tv/episode-36/

• Cofino K (Host) (2022, Jan 26) What Makes Coaching Work with Joellen Killion (146). [Audio podcast episode]. In #coachbetter. Eduro Learning. https://coachbetter.tv/episode-146/ • Cofino K (Host) (2019, May 2019). Creating an Empowered Community of Learners with John D’Arcy J (37) [Audio podcast episode]. In #coachbetter.

Eduro Learning. https://coachbetter.tv/episode-37/ • Cofino K (Host) (2020, March 11). Building a Coaching Culture with James Dalziel (72). [Audio podcast episode]. In #coachbetter. Eduro Learning. https://coachbetter.tv/episode-72/ • Cofino K (Host) (2022, Sept 21). Building a Coaching Program with Jen Ricks (172). [Audio podcast episode]. In #coachbetter. Eduro Learning. https:// coachbetter.tv/episode-172

Kim Cofino is Founder and CEO of Eduro Learning: https://edurolearning.com

✉ kim@edurolearning.com

Winter 2023 | International School | 21

Leading, teaching and learning

Laying the Foundations of a Successful School Culture Part 1

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his article, and others to follow in later issues of this magazine, explores how school leaders in the international sphere can build and maintain a cohesive and positive school culture, and embed their school mission and vision into every aspect of school life.

The need for school leaders actively to build, nurture, and patrol the boundaries of school culture boils down to the culture equation: a shared school culture, vision, aim and goal are unambiguous, while schools themselves – and international schools in particular – are highly ambiguous and diverse spaces. Whilst this ambiguity and diversity is a key source of strength, agility, resilience and adaptability, it can also create cultural rubbing points, the incidents and interactions that may serve as epicentres of discord and conflict amongst staff. These may manifest as cliques, perceptions of in-groups and out-groups, visible micro politics, and parochialism around practices, beliefs, school identity and how things should be done.

22 | International School | Winter 2023

By George Scorgie To build cohesive school cultures, leaders must be actively engaged in the culture-building process across all areas of the school. Successful schools maintain communities of skilled and dynamic teachers, and this directly and immediately benefits student achievement. As shown by the work of Mancuso et al (2010), amongst others, it is the most experienced and skilled teachers and teaching couples in the 37-45 year age group who are likely to choose to leave international schools if they feel undervalued, unheard and unsupported in their careers. This sends immediate and tangible ripples across results, reputation and recruitment costs to name but a few areas, and may possibly prompt families to seek out greener educational pastures should such options be available locally. Poor school cultures are also far less likely to provide support for remaining teachers to perform at their best, further negatively influencing educational outcomes for students. Being seen as a stepping stone to greener professional pastures, instead of as the

greener pasture that attracts the best staff, is not a reputation that should sit comfortably with many school leaders.

Exploring the question of how school cultures can be led therefore suggests the need for a model that identifies where school culture emerges and gives strategies that can inform leadership strategies, tactics and decisions. One such model is the Cultural Core Framework (see figure below: Scorgie, 2021).

The Cultural Core Framework places culture and practice on a continuum: our understanding of who we are as an organisation directly influences how we act toward others and expect others to act toward us. Our social and professional identities are intertwined, with the emergent school culture an aggregation of the actions of each individual.

Over this continuum are the four arenas of culture building, the different school environments where interactions, practices and processes create the building blocks of culture. The arenas encompass the social and professional environments inside and

Leading, teaching and learning

outside the classroom, and include all members of the school community: • School Professional Culture Arena: beliefs about the professional identity and culture of the school; • School Professional Practice Arena: policies, processes and actions involved in the daily operations of the school; • Non-School, Social & Residential Arena: practices and approaches taking place outside the classroom and in the residential programs if applicable; • School Social Cultural Arena: beliefs and understandings of school identity and culture held by the school community outside the classroom.

Within each arena is a set of tactics, strategies and operational approaches that can be used to shape how culture emerges in the arena. In effect, these behaviours constitute an Organisational Blueprint, a roadmap that school leaders can utilise to navigate key aspects of the culture-building process.

At the centre of the Cultural Core Framework sits the school’s mission and vision. Mission and vision, school goals, aims and so on, are aspirational statements. They are the school’s public pronouncements about which direction they are heading, and the journey each member of the community can be expected to take.

They foreshadow any final destinations: international mindedness, care for the environment, respect for the local cultural setting and so on. In essence, they are the broader metrics upon which the school will be judged, more informally than formally, by the broader school community. Just how well does the school prepare students for life beyond school? What initiatives does the school maintain to engender social equity, care for the environment and international mindedness? Translating school mission and vision statement often leads to more formal metrics and measurement: university placements, outreach and community engagement, the subjects on offer and the results achieved. From this perspective, the vision and mission of a school become more than aspirations; they become foundational philosophies that should inform each aspect of school lives for students and their families, and they should be the underpinning driving force behind how teachers act and interact in all culturemaking arenas of the school.

As the nexus between aspiration and action, the onus falls on school leadership teams to embed the school mission and vision in each and every aspect of school life. This approach, the act of translating aspiration into action, is called Mission Focused Leadership. Mission Focused Leadership means that in each of the four culture-making arenas of the school, the actions, policies and initiatives of school leaders are filtered through the school mission and vision statements. This means that aspiration becomes practice, embedded in each interaction, process, policy and organisational decision.

As simple as that may sound school culture is always a work in progress, with different aspects of cultural change and transformation invariably taking time – many years in some cases. However, using a Mission Focused Leadership approach leaders and leadership teams can build strong organisational cultural foundations that can be utilised and adapted well into

the future. The particular strategies and approaches that leaders can draw upon in each cultural arena are the subjects of the ensuing articles, commencing with the School Professional Culture Arena. ◆ References • Mancuso S V, Roberts L and White G P (2010) Teacher retention in international schools: the key role of school leadership. Journal of Research in International Education. 9(3): 306-323.

• Scorgie G (2021) School Culture, Leadership and Language Development in a Chinese-International School [Doctoral Thesis, Charles Sturt University] https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/ en/publications/school-culture-leadership-andlanguage-development-in-a-chinese-i

Dr George Scorgie is Deputy Head (Pastoral) & Head of Boarding at Trident College, Zambia.

✉ georgescorgie@gmail.com

Winter 2023 | International School | 23

Burnout: Does your school have a culture of overwork?

Helen Kelly looks at why many schools see 'working hard' as the central measure of an educator's value – and why this is counterproductive

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oncern for the mental health and wellbeing of education professionals is increasing globally, and recent studies have found a growing number to be reaching burnout.

In the 2022 UK Teacher Wellbeing Index, for instance, two-thirds of participants reported experiencing mental health symptoms related to their work, with a third attributing their symptoms to burnout, while in a recent Gallup poll of teachers from the USA, 44 per cent report feeling burnt out often or always.

In many schools, how hard we work has increasingly become the central measure of our value, and overwork is worn like a badge of honour.

Recovery time may be viewed as being contrary to our commitment to students and something we should feel guilty about, while stress and burnout are considered inevitable by-products of this culture.

Yet there is decades of research to show that healthy employees make more effective employees. They have more energy, perform better at work tasks, build better collegial relationships, are less likely to be absent from work and less likely to leave their job. In schools, students taught by burnt-out teachers have been found to be less motivated, more disruptive and have lower academic outcomes. It is time for us to acknowledge that the culture of overwork permeating schools does not make schools more effective but instead undermines a school’s core purpose.

The need for self care Research shows that burnout is primarily a condition of the workplace and not of the individual. Educators are not to blame for their own burnout, instead it is caused by a range of factors relating to the work context that include unmanageable workload and a poor workplace culture. Burnout is most effectively prevented by addressing its causes strategically, at the organisational level. Yet it remains the case that many schools are not taking sufficient steps to improve the working conditions of their staff. This leaves individuals searching for effective self-care measures they can implement to try to take control of their own wellbeing and prevent burnout.

Self-care has become big business and encompasses a wide range of practices, not all of which have been rigorously researched.

Effective self-care provides opportunities for recovery, a biological process that allows the psychological and physiological systems that are activated during the day or week to return to a baseline value.

Effective recovery from overwork allows us to replenish resources and reduce the symptoms associated with workrelated strain that negatively impact our health and wellbeing. The Work Recovery Framework is an evidence-based approach that helps educators maximise recovery during their non-work time to balance the effects of the long hours they spend in intense working conditions.

Educators are not to blame for their own burnout

24 | International School | Winter 2023

Wellbeing

Work Recovery Framework Researchers have identified four experiences that are essential to effective work recovery – psychological detachment, relaxation, control and mastery experiences. To maximise their work recovery and replenish resources, educators need to engage frequently and regularly in these experiences.

The most important is psychological detachment, which involves fully disengaging from work, mentally and physically, during non-work time. Psychological detachment is strongly associated with decreased levels of exhaustion and psychological strain, as well as improved sleep, and is positively linked to job performance.

Relaxation, meanwhile, allows our bodies and brains to be restored to pre-stress levels as the relaxation response is initiated.

Practising relaxation has been found to lower heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen consumption, which all counteract the effect of stress on the body.

Control refers to the level of autonomy that we have over how we spend our non-work time. Studies show that freedom to decide how to spend leisure time is key to the recovery process.

High levels of control are associated with decreased emotional exhaustion and high levels of positive emotion. Finally, mastery experiences provide opportunities for us to experience feelings of achievement and competence in activities that are unrelated to work, leading to neurochemical reactions in the brain that leave us feeling uplifted.

As educators we have a tendency to neglect our work recovery during term time and instead push on through to the holiday.

Studies show, however, that the benefit of a holiday lasts for a maximum of three weeks on return to work, regardless of the length of the break. Likewise, the benefit of the weekend only lasts a day or two.

It is, therefore, essential that we engage in effective work recovery in the evenings and even during the working day. Finding ways to take breaks during the school day is a major challenge for educators rushing from lesson to lesson or meeting to meeting.

Yet studies show that even short workday breaks help us to manage stress, decrease exhaustion, and reduce the need for a long recovery at the end of the day. Regular short breaks also increase performance and productivity, and in the school context will lead to better student outcomes.

A career in education is a marathon not a sprint.

Grinding out relentless hours of work, day after day, week after week is likely to be counterproductive to school effectiveness.

While in our fast-paced school environments, long breaks may not be possible, studies show micro-breaks to be an effective strategy for sustaining an educator’s resources. Micro-break activities (short, informal activities taken voluntarily between tasks, at an employee’s discretion) can last from just forty seconds to several minutes.

Studies show that frequent micro-breaks reduce physical and mental fatigue and increase positive emotions. Taking responsibility for our work recovery involves a change of mindset for educators.

While it is crucial that we understand the damage that the culture of overwork is doing to our health and wellbeing, we also need to consider the wider consequences.

A career in education is a marathon not a sprint. If we cannot put our own needs first and instead continue to prioritise the needs of students and the expectations of the school, it is our students and the school that will ultimately suffer. Finding ways to pace ourselves, to ensure we take recovery time and put in place routines that support an effective work-life balance are essential if we are to sustain our roles in the long term. ◆

Former international school leader and lawyer Dr Helen Kelly is a researcher, writer, speaker and consultant in the field of school wellbeing.

Through her work as The Positive Principal, she provides practical support to teachers, school leaders and others to enhance wellbeing and maximise the potential of the whole school community.

✉ helen@drhelenkelly.com

Winter 2023 | International School | 25

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Wellbeing

Teacher wellbeing

Where does your school stand?

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Louise Brenlund urges schools to be aware of their obligations to support the mental health of their staff

he mental health and wellbeing of principals, heads and staff in schools has always been important.

With mental health issues accelerated by the Covid pandemic, the effects of long Covid and in some contexts the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, this has increased pressure on staff, pupils, parents and schools, bringing into question how schools can continue to support staff whilst still offering high-quality education.

Though the extent to which mental health of educators is a cause for concern will vary according to context, as will the legal situation within which national and international schools are working, a number of issues may be considered relevant generically. This article draws on the case of the UK to illustrate points that may be helpful to consider more generally for those working in international schools worldwide.

May 2023 in the UK saw Mental Health Awareness Week being celebrated with the theme of ‘anxiety’. Anxiety disorders affect over eight million people in the UK: around one in ten of the population.

There are many different forms of anxiety but, all too often, anxiety can be dismissed as ‘just worrying’ or ‘just being stressed’.

Schools are seeing increasing levels of staff suffering from anxiety, with workload being cited as a key factor contributing towards this.

For many schools, staff wellbeing and good mental health is already a priority.

Schools recognise that poor mental health can have a significant impact on staff, not only in their personal life but also in their ability to perform and carry out their roles. This will, in turn, affect teaching and the education that pupils are receiving. In some contexts, with continuing upwards trends around

teachers suffering from mental health issues, many teachers are considering leaving the profession – so it is now more impor tant than ever for employers to take action.

The latest Education Support Annual Report and Teacher Wellbeing Index has confirmed that in the UK: • 75% of all staff are stressed, rising to 84% for school leaders.

• 36% have experienced a mental health issue in the past academic year.

• 59% are not confident in disclosing unmanageable stress or mental health issues to their employer.

• 48% of all staff feel their organisations do not support employees well who have mental wellbeing problems.

• 59% have considered leaving the sector in the past academic year due to pressures on their mental health and wellbeing.

Winter 2023 | International School | 27

Wellbeing

All too often, anxiety can be dismissed as ‘just worrying’.

28 | International School | Winter 2023

In the UK context, a mental health condition may be an impairment which is deemed to be a qualifying disability under the Equality Act 2010. This means that it is important for UK employers to consider the impact and application of the Equality Act 2010 when managing staff with mental health conditions, in order to ensure they are not opening themselves up to claims of discrimination which, if successful, could result in potentially unlimited compensation being awarded.

The Act applies no matter how many employees there are or how long they have been employed.

The most relevant of the protected characteristics in these circumstances is disability. Under the Equality Act 2010, a person is deemed as disabled for discrimination law purposes if they have a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and longterm adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

In cases involving physical injuries, it may be obvious whether an employee is disabled or not within the definition of the Act. However, in cases involving mental health conditions, such as stress, anxiety and depression, it is not as easy to assess. In cases such as this, it is always prudent for the employer to obtain a medical assessment on a particular employee, usually in the form of an independent occupational health report, in order to provide support in making a judgement and/or considering the extent of any reasonable adjustments that might be required. If the case is borderline and/ or the employer is unsure, the safest route would be to proceed on the basis that the employee is disabled.

Interestingly there have been calls for both menopause and Long Covid to be recognised as conditions that are automatically treated as disabilities under the definition of the Equality Act 2010.

To date, this has been rejected by the UK Government. Despite this, it is possible for these conditions to be considered a disability under the current definitions.

In one of the first landmark Long Covid cases post-pandemic, for instance, Burke -v- Turning Point Scotland (2021), the Scottish Employment Tribunal determined that Long Covid did amount to a disability.

Wellbeing

This case was not binding on other tribunals, but other cases have followed and the same decision has been reached.

Outcomes will depend upon the facts of each particular case. Each case will be determined on its own facts and needs to be considered, taking into account all available evidence as against the statutory definition.

It is also important to remember that disability discrimination protection under the Equality Act is extensive.

Protection extends to claims for indirect discrimination and discrimination for something connected to a disability (although the employer will sometimes be able to justify such discrimination).

It may also require employers to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate any disability. This could involve a variety of adjustments, such as allocating some duties to another member of staff or allowing more breaks.

How should we manage this?

Everything outlined so far emphasises the need to proceed cautiously when managing staff with mental health conditions. There are significant issues affecting the health and wellbeing of those working within the education sector and these cannot and should not simply be left. Schools may be wary of taking any action, particularly where a staff member’s absence has been prolonged and/or if the cause of the illness is not clear or they are awaiting a diagnosis. It is important, however, not to allow the situation to drift until it reaches the point that the member of staff has been away from work for so long that dismissal starts to look like the only option. This can lead to issues in relation to successful claims of unfair dismissal and/or disability discrimination.

Reasonable and fair principles relating to sickness absence management need to be applied, and it is important to ensure that managers, senior leaders and any staff undertaking absence management are familiar with and applying the school’s policies and procedures. They also need to be aware of potentially wider risks and steps that may need to be taken to support a member of staff with a mental health condition. Often the difficulty with

mental health conditions is that obtaining definitive information, particularly about prognosis, can be very hard. This may mean that schools need to take proactive steps to enquire beyond the reasons given for absence.

Why is this important?

Children’s future and the wellbeing of school staff are interconnected, as healthy teachers are better able to provide a high-quality education and support for pupils. This will, in turn, cultivate a mentally healthy school, help retain and motivate staff and promote pupil wellbeing and attainment. Much of the responsibility for dealing with mental health issues in schools will fall on the principal, headteacher and/or senior management team. It is important for these individuals to remember to look after themselves, as good mental health and best practice will be modelled on their behaviours, and help to ensure a culture of trust between staff.

Nationally, in 2021 the Department for Education in London introduced the Wellbeing Charter for all employees working in state education settings as a shared commitment to promote and enhance the wellbeing of staff.

Independent schools have been encouraged to make use of the principles and organisational commitments in the charter but cannot sign up to it.

Though the charter applies only in the UK, the idea of introducing a wellbeing strategy and policy which is produced with input from staff, governors, pupils and parents may well be of interest to those in international schools worldwide.

that these are followed. Some possible aspects of wellbeing support that could be introduced include the following: • Providing sessions around mindfulness, workplace relationships and managing stress; this could be delivered in person or accessed via an appropriate app • Ensuring that teacher targets are realistic and providing praise when praise is due • Encouraging a buddy system for reflective practice and problem-solving • Providing a dedicated space where staff can go to take time out • Encouraging staff to take their breaks and finish on time • Consulting about change and new strategies • Training staff to recognise, understand and deal appropriately with mental health conditions and minimise stigmas around this ◆

Louise Brenlund is a partner and head of employment at Warners Solicitors, UK.

✉ l.brenlund@warners.law

One important point to consider is ensuring that the school has clear policies around managing staff absence and supporting staff wellbeing, and Winter 2023 | International School | 29

‘Raising Attainment With Wellbeing’ Revolutionises School Improvement Now the Leading Wellbeing Programme in the UK After the pandemic, there was a widespread feeling that schools could not go back to where they were. It became a priority to change school cultures to become more welcoming, more inclusive and more aligned with the wellbeing of children and teachers. Out of this difficult context, the Raising Attainment with Wellbeing (RAW) programme was launched. Its objective: to move wellbeing from the sidelines to schools’ central improvement strategies.

This innovative online and coached school improvement programme, published by TeachingTimes and Microlink, takes a bold step by placing wellbeing at the heart of learning, teaching, and leadership practices.

Outstanding teaching alone does not guarantee outstanding learning and progress can be hindered when the internal world of the learner is conflicted.

Recent insights into the link between childhood trauma, hidden dyslexia and communication needs, the impact of poverty on child development and the prevalence of special education needs among youth in justice pathways have highlighted the need for a new approach in education.

30 | International School | Winter 2023

RAW recognises the challenges faced by students, both overt and hidden, and addresses them by extending and applying the social model of disability to every child disabled by circumstance. Whether affected by childhood trauma, poverty, learning difficulties, or collisions of disadvantage, RAW aims to create an inclusive learning environment that supports and nurtures emotional wellbeing, thereby accelerating progress and securing better personal outcomes for every child. The RAW approach focuses on staff wellbeing too: a student’s learning conditions are a teacher’s working conditions. RAW is for everyone!

How RAW Works Imagine having access to 20 INSET days' worth of material, available 24/7, broken into bite-sized chunks of professional development that can be delivered flexibly over time and at the point of need. The programme covers diverse topics such as celebrating diversity, positive behaviour management, and adjustments to teaching to make it more inclusive.

RAW's materials support self-study or small group reflective activities, with downloadable resources for professional development. Interactive materials can be projected onto whiteboards for wholestaff training sessions. The platform also

provides curated links to outstanding additional material from charities and other education providers, continually updating information to reflect the latest thinking and research.

A national team of expert coaches is available for online or in-person support, offering leadership advice, guidance, audits and evaluation activities, or leading specific aspects of training and professional development.

The Development of RAW Launched in September 2022, RAW emerged from a desire to offer education settings a comprehensive set of strategies to unlock academic achievement and accelerate progress. The programme focuses on improving emotional wellbeing, re-examining the relationship with behaviour management, applying neuroscience to learning and deploying assistive technologies.

Why RAW? An anxious, frightened, or angry mind simply will not learn. RAW helps teaching professionals create an inclusive learning environment that supports emotional wellbeing, building social and emotional resilience and meeting the needs of neurodiverse learners.

Advertorial RAW is designed to have a positive and sustained impact on critical cohorts of children and young people affected

by COVID-19 disruption, supporting improvements in culture, climate and ethos that enable achievement to thrive.

Review and Evaluation Review and evaluation are critical aspects of RAW, monitoring progress, identifying strengths and areas for improvement and addressing barriers to progress. The programme supports impact evaluation using a range of tools and strategies, including a comprehensive needs analysis framework and wellbeing measurement tools.

Key Benefits of RAW Applicability: Signposting to governmental departments, agencies, third-sector organisations and businesses with materials constantly reviewed for relevance.

Wellbeing: Raising emotional wellbeing levels among staff and students, contributing to the creation of highperforming, inclusive learning communities.

Support: Available as a self-study package, with opportunities to commission specialist coaches for targeted and bespoke support.

What Are Schools Saying?

The growth of RAW has been sustained and remarkable. Within ten months of launch, nearly 400 school communities have chosen to participate in the programme.

Here are just a few examples of the many positive statements received by schools that have been participating over the last six months: 'The Raising Attainment with Wellbeing project has been a transformative initiative, providing invaluable tools and resources for us to support the mental health and wellbeing of our students. With the help of the assessment tool provided, we were able to identify our strengths and areas to develop, leading to improvements in staff knowledge and understanding of the effects of wellbeing and mental health on our pupils.

The excellent training materials provided for leaders were then used to inform and educate our staff, resulting in a more supportive and nurturing environment for our students to thrive in. This project is making a truly positive impact.' - Alison Lowe, Headteacher and Mental Health Lead, Even Swindon Primary School

'We are well-known for our mental wellbeing programme and our school strap line of 'We Teach, We Learn, We Care' is appreciated by many of our parents and children. What I have particularly liked about this programme is that it is much more indepth than many other pieces of training and there is so much relevant background reading that supports the core units.' - Matthew Watson, Headteacher, Westgate Primary School 'The Raising Attainment with Wellbeing project is really supporting our federationwide well-being strategy. It has provided a wealth of high-quality resources and training materials which have supported our improvement journey, ensuring that the well-being team have the toolkit they need to make a positive impact.

'The informative audit tools have ensured that the well-being team have been able to recognise our current strengths and then supported them in targeting the next steps for our action planning. This has meant that we have been able to target training and use research-driven practice to make the most significant impact on the mental health and well-being of our children.

'The inclusion of coaching sessions is a really valuable addition to the programme and this has supported in providing a sharp focus to our work. It has helped us to develop achievable next steps and supported us in developing a bespoke package to meet the specific needs of our school. The flexibility of the materials means that you can navigate this at your own pace so that it will maximise the impact for your children. The materials will cement what you are doing well and support you in your journey to creating supportive and nurturing environments which help every child to flourish and succeed.

'We would heartily recommend the programme for anyone who wants to raise attainment through wellbeing – it is making a positive impact in our schools.' - Helen Thompson, Executive Headteacher, Heritage Coast Federation Yorkshire

'We are a Trauma-Informed Accredited school and have embedded PACE and the PRRRs in our ethos effectively, but we are not resting on our laurels and are very aware that the wellbeing of our young people and our staff is of the highest importance - RAW is facilitating the further development of this journey.' - Kirsty Taylor, Emotional Mental Health and Well-being Lead, Penrice Academy 'With wellbeing set at the heart of all that we do, the RAW programme journeys with us, providing new insights and refreshing ideas in a very accessible way. The Changing Culture and Climate model is of particular benefit to schools seeking a new and more radical way forward in these challenging times.' - Dr Gill Barrett, Principal, The Loddon School 'As the Senior Mental Health Lead, I thoroughly enjoyed using the research materials to enable sharing with staff.

The materials have enabled me to ensure that staff know and understand what goes behind raising attainment with wellbeing.'

- Michelle Bailey, Deputy Head Mental Health Lead and SENDCo, Ocker Hill Infant and Nursery School 'The Raising Attainment with Wellbeing project has been a highly successful initiative within our setting.

'In a time where mental health is of the utmost importance, this programme has been an invaluable tool in raising awareness and supporting good practice.'

- Ben Lindquist, Deputy Headteacher, Ysgol T.Gwynn Jones Hen Golwyn Welcome to a new era in school improvement — welcome to Raising Attainment for Wellbeing.

Visit courses.teachingtimes. com/bundles/raising-attainmentwith-wellbeing to learn more.

For further information about joining the RAW community, contact: greg@gestconsultancy.com

Winter 2023 | International School | 31

Westminster Academy

Crossing the Leadership Rubicon From International School to State School Head

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By Paul Wood

n January 2021 I made the unusual move from the independent to the state school sector. After 21 years working in international schools, I had never worked in a state school, so my news was met with many a raised eyebrow among my peers. But for me it had been a relatively easy decision to make: growing up in a single-parent family on a council estate, my own education at a comprehensive school in Stoke-on-Trent, in the north of England, really did give me choices in life that I otherwise would not have had. So it seemed natural and appropriate to move to the public sector and support the development of an International Baccalaureate (IB) state school to give similar opportunities for success to its students.

This move from the private to the public sector, has, unsurprisingly, been an eyeopener. I have enjoyed learning – and it was a very steep learning curve at times! – the fine details of the way the state sector operates: what it values, what it asks of teachers and school leaders, and the best ways to try make a positive impact on the lives of young people given relatively limited resources. My school, Westminster Academy, is a nonselective, state-funded, Single Academy Trust, serving a diverse community in Central London. A single sponsor Academy, 46% of the approximately 1130 students (ages 11-19) are (as at the January 2023 census) eligible for free school meals, 57% speak English as an additional language, and 17% of students access Special Educational Needs support. More than 60 languages are spoken among the student body. Westminster Academy is one 32 | International School | Winter 2023

of only three non-fee-paying schools in London to offer the IB Diploma, and one of only two schools in London to offer both the IB Diploma Programme and IB Career-Related Programme.

It is as ‘international’ as any school at which I’ve worked, and it is impossible to avoid comparisons with international schools in the private sector. There are two particularly frustrating contrasts which I find myself pondering time and time again.

The first is the distinct difference in the time teachers are given to plan, collaborate and think meaningfully about their work. In the international schools at which I’ve worked, a teacher would typically be teaching 66-75% of the lesson time in a week. This gives great potential for building an exciting, relevant curriculum that allows students to make connections across different fields of study. It means teaching does not become static: teachers have the time to research, discuss and implement interesting new teaching strategies. It enables teachers to pursue other areas of interest, such as running extra-curricular activities, or simply be less busy, resulting in a calmer classroom presence and in turn a calmer working and learning environment.

In contrast, in English state schools like mine, teachers are expected to teach approximately 90% of weekly lesson time, leaving just 10% for them to plan the following week's lessons.

At my current school, Westminster Academy, teachers teach 16 lessons out of a 20-lesson week and also see their tutor group each day. Like all teachers, they are effectively writing and performing 16 one-act plays per week, every week, for 7 week

From the Schools

‘seasons’! Teachers also have to gauge the ‘audience response’ to each of those 16 plays: did the students learn what was intended?

If not, why not and how does next week's lesson script need to be adjusted as a result? My point is simply that good teaching is very tiring, both mentally and physically, and that a state school teacher's job in England leaves very little time and energy for them to think about and discuss what they do, in order to improve it.

At Westminster Academy I am fortunate to be among colleagues who are never complacent in their teaching, and are committed to continuous professional development (CPD) to ensure that learning is active and relevant. But state school leaders have difficult decisions to make about how to budget for effective CPD, and how to motivate overworked teachers to engage enthusiastically in collaborative CPD when their days are already long and intense.

The second jarring contrast with the private international school sector is the ethos and process of school inspections. As a Council of International Schools (CIS) accreditation team Chair/member, I am privileged to read detailed and thoughtful self-evaluations carried out by schools, which my team-mates and I will then seek to validate and, where appropriate, challenge as critical friends.

The school knows when we will be visiting and it knows we are visiting as collaborators. Meanwhile, my wonderful colleagues at Westminster Academy and I have been wondering for some time if Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills: the school inspection service for England) will call this week or next month or...

Educators who have only experienced Ofsted may not realise that helping schools improve does not have to be unpredictable or intimidating! I have been involved in numerous accreditation / self-evaluation / authorisation processes during my career, as either a visiting team member or as host school teacher / leader. Whether those processes involve IB, CIS, Accrediting Commission for Schools Western Association of Schools & Colleges (ACS WASC), NEASC, or MSA, they all have features in common, including: • A commitment to improving students’ learning and wellbeing; • A commitment to supporting the school, collaboratively, in its own efforts to self-reflect and improve; • A clear process timeline, with visit dates agreed well in advance.

So it baffles me that Ofsted simply announces its inspections, seemingly at random, for the next day, knowing the anxiety that it creates in schools, both during the periods of uncertainty before a visit is announced and then during the period of certainty after ‘The Call’. I imagine there’s a rationale along the lines of ‘we want to see the real school, not a prepared façade' but why not give schools a chance to show their best? Why not work with schools in the lead-up to a pre-scheduled visit, to ensure the school is well prepared? The current Ofsted approach is like telling a learner on one random day that ‘your all-important external assessment is tomorrow’.

As an aside, imagine if the £200m per annum spent on GCSE exam fees (estimate quoted in the Times Education Commission report of June 2022) was used to fund an Ofsted replacement body/process that *supported* school improvement in collaboration with school Heads...

Paul Wood and students at Westminster Academy

Postscript…

Merely hours after reflecting on the topic of inspection for this article, there was a knock on my office door. ‘Sorry for interrupting your meeting’, said my COO, ‘but Ofsted is on the phone ...’. So I have now experienced an Ofsted inspection, which concluded yesterday! There’s no great time for an Ofsted inspection, but this was definitely one of the worst: the last week of a very busy first half-term. Unsurprisingly, my colleagues dug deep in a truly inspiring manner, leaving me filled with admiration and pride. There is a lot for me to process and reflect on, but the inspection went very well, for two main reasons: We were well prepared, but not in a ‘lastminute.com’, panicky way. Rather, we have been discussing for several years, in an authentic manner, how well we are serving our students and what we might do better. We have an honest, evolving self-evaluation and a clear set of strategic educational goals. Everyone is ‘rowing in the same direction’ and the inspection team clearly recognised that and agreed with every grade in our self-evaluation. Secondly, the inspection team was professional and considerate. As with all forms of feedback, it’s inevitably better received if it is delivered in a kind, thoughtful manner.

I have concluded that Ofsted is as effective at measuring school quality as GCSEs are at measuring meaningful student learning. Both claim to evaluate large numbers of criteria – which involve multiple years’ development on the part of the student/school – in a single, high stakes assessment, resulting in a single grade. A single grade for such complex endeavours, and with such significant consequences for the student and the school. At least exam boards tell us when the GCSE assessments will happen, I suppose! ◆ Reference • Times Education Commission (2022) Times Education Commission: ‘Bringing Out the Best’. https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/times-education-commissionbringing-out-the-best/

Dr Paul Wood is Principal and CEO of Westminster Academy, London, having previously spent 21 years at independent international schools in Japan, Tanzania, China and London.

✉ p.wood@westminsteracademy.org.uk

Winter 2023 | International School | 33

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From the Schools

Cohesive Communities

By Ed Pearce

T

hroughout the universe, there are systems that are seemingly random, even chaotic, which upon close examination demonstrate a clear order comprising complex repetitive patterns, whether regular or irregular. From spiral galaxies and nautilus shells to sunflowers and even the human lungs, the patterns of chaos are all around us. Take, for example, a fern. The overall image and pattern of the fern is replicated by the smaller parts. If you break off a small section of the fern, the pattern is the same as for the whole frond. Ferns are one of the perfect examples of fractal geometry in nature. Fractal geometry is a branch of mathematics that deals with the study of self-similar objects or shapes that exhibit complex patterns or irregularities at different scales of magnification. In other words, a fractal is a geometric shape or object that looks similar or identical, no matter how much you zoom in or out.

Cohesive school communities reflect this phenomenon, whether you observe the community as a whole, or talk to individual stakeholders: students, parents, teachers, or staff. This intangible ‘community feel’, that forms the intrinsic culture of a school, stems from a unanimous set of values, or pillars. These values unite a school community and serve as a ‘road map’ for defining its beliefs and informing decision-making processes, both at organisational and individual levels. Only if we know what we value can we make the right decisions. Each representative of our school community must model the values of the whole organisation in a consistent and professional manner. Valuesbased decision-making is an integral part of the success of any organisation, promoting a positive, thriving school culture that is aligned with a shared belief system.

Values are, therefore, an essential aspect of decision-making because they provide a framework for evaluating options and determining which course of action aligns best with our beliefs and principles. Within a school context these values are often represented through our school mission

and vision, or through a variety of other common values-based statements.

To give a concrete example of this, Fairgreen International School is situated within the Sustainable City in Dubai.

We have a growing and well-deserved reputation as a sustainable school within the highly competitive Dubai school market. Prospective parents and visitors will often comment on the reputation we have within the city for our focus on ‘weaving’ a sustainable focus into our actions, whether curriculum, events or celebrations.

However, we are keen to point out that sustainability is only one of seven key pillars for our school, and that each is interconnected and prioritised at different times throughout the school year.

For example, at the start of the academic year we may focus more on character development and wellbeing to ensure our community feels valued, confident and comfortable about the year ahead.

Innovation and academic growth and achievement can often be interwoven with many of the other key pillars in addressing the needs of our community. Sustainability will always be a focus of the school, but it won’t ever be the only focus. Each of the pillars guides our decision-making process and priorities, but never in isolation or at the sake of another.

While defining and articulating our values as a school community is important, ensuring that all members of a community agree upon and share the same values is a complex and challenging task. Overall, building a shared sense of values in a community requires ongoing effort, commitment, and active participation from all members. It requires creating an environment that promotes openness, dialogue, and a willingness to understand and respect each other's perspectives.

One approach is to promote open

and honest communication within the community. By encouraging dialogue and discussion, community members can explore their beliefs and values and develop a shared understanding of what is essential to them. This can help to identify common values and areas of agreement, as well as clarify and resolve differences in opinion. Another approach is to provide opportunities for community members to engage in shared experiences, such as volunteering or participating in community events.

These experiences can help to foster a sense of community and shared purpose which can, in turn, contribute to a shared understanding of values.

Education and training programmes that focus on values and ethical principles can also be valuable in promoting shared values. These programmes can provide a platform for community members to learn about different values and their importance, and how to apply them in daily life.

Overall, our values serve as guiding principles that influence how we perceive the world and what we prioritise in life. When making decisions, our values help us to weigh the consequences of our choices and ensure that we act in a way that aligns with our beliefs. Without a clear understanding of our values, decision-making can become arbitrary and inconsistent. By grounding our decisions in our values, we can ensure that our choices are thoughtful, purposeful, and aligned with our vision for our lives. Ultimately, values help us to make decisions that are not only effective but also meaningful and fulfilling. ◆

Ed Pearce is Director of Fairgreen International School, Dubai.

✉ director@fairgreen.ae

Winter 2023 | International School | 35

From the Schools

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Reframing Service Trips: Community-Led Service (CLS) by CAS Trips

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The reality remains that despite the criticisms surrounding voluntourism, which can inadvertently perpetuate the issues it seeks to address by reinforcing damaging stereotypes about vulnerable communities, the demand for service remains strong. In response, CLS trips were designed as an

Fostering Mutual Growth In every destination, CAS Trips has cultivated enduring relationships with host communities, establishing a transparent communication process to empower locals every step of the way, allowing students to input and engage before, during and after their CLS Trip. Tangible goals and community project timelines are determined in advance, addressing specific UN SDGs corresponding to each CLS Trip's focus.

The methodology, developed over the past 5 years in collaboration with industry experts and independent consultants, involves significant time investment and commitment from students to complete pre-trip engagement stages drawing from cross-curricular themes, and a rigorous research and selection process to ensure communities and projects align with key principles — including transparency, sustainable development, authentic need and community involvement.

n the dynamic landscape of experiential education, CAS Trips is reshaping the narrative with the launch of CommunityLed Service (CLS) Trips. Acknowledging the pitfalls of voluntourism and the potential harm associated with traditional service trips, CAS Trips is committed to breaking away from the status quo and providing an ethical, authentic and sustainable way to bring service learning to life.

The Importance of Pre-Trip Engagement Pre-trip engagement is a cornerstone of CLS Trips. Before embarking on their journey, students and teachers participate in pre-trip meetings, carefully crafted to provide detailed demographic and cultural information, engage students in comprehensive research and investigation, integrate personal goals, empower teachers as facilitators, and foster pretrip community bonding. This interactive approach aims to enhance communication and empathy to give students a broader understanding of what they will be doing, who they will be doing it for and to reflect on why they are doing it.

The CLS Destinations CLS destinations, including Bhutan, Cambodia, Finland, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Tanzania and Vietnam, have been chosen for their distinctive cultural richness and community needs. Community Service projects range from deterring humanwildlife conflict in Bhutan, immersion into the modernization of community agricultural methods in rural Peru, protecting turtles and their habitats in Mexico and constructing hygiene units at village schools in Tanzania.

Redefining the Journey In reimagining service trips abroad, CAS Trips’ Community-Led Service seeks to establish a new ethical standard. Placing community needs at the forefront and emphasizing deeper human connections, this circular empowerment approach encourages global citizenship and a uthentic service learning for students and, most importantly, facilitates sustainable development amongst communities in need ◆

To learn more about CLS Trips, visit castrips.org/cls

Winter 2023 | International School | 37

Book Review

The Co-constructed Classroom

by Ann Lautrette Taipei: Lumiberg Press, 2023 Reviewed by Shona McIntosh

T

eachers whose practice emerges within contexts of performancebased accountability may be familiar with the feeling that their professional practice is constrained. Performance-based accountability is historically associated with the marketisation of education and discourses of competition (Parcerisa et al, 2022). The constraining impact these forces have on teacher autonomy is the starting point for Ann Lautrette’s book, The Co-constructed Classroom. She begins with an example of a ready-made pattern for highly structured lessons that has come to dominate practice. Its clearly defined parts – the starter, the objective(s), the topic content, the plenary – centre on the teacher. Although she does not

can feel frustrated that students’ needs are overlooked. Lautrette says this problem can be addressed by shifting focus away from teacher accountability and towards students’ learning. The book, structured around three elements, illustrates how teachers can (re)shape their practice to the needs of the students in front of them in class.

Real world problem-solving is central object to the structuring of lessons per se, the author argues that such teacherconstructed classrooms exist when accountability has greater importance than student progress, and lead to inflexible practices that fail to respond to students as individual learners. Consequently, teachers 38 | International School | Winter 2023

The subtitle, ‘Why agency in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment is the key to an inclusive classroom’, links agency (of teachers) to inclusivity (of students) for an audience of practising teachers. Lautrette suggests focusing on learning

can create classroom conditions that free teachers to better meet the students’ specific learning needs. Key to this is collaboration between teachers and students and reframing the teacher’s role, to an extent. This reframing is described as a co-constructed classroom. The book illustrates the concept in relation to three key areas of classroom practice: curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.

The co-constructed curriculum, Lautrette argues, should be studentfocused, rather than being dominated by content, and should aim to achieve deep learning rather than accumulating knowledge of curricular topics. Key to this is building opportunities for student inquiry into matters which affect them.

Real-world problem-solving is central, as is working with students to identify what contemporary issues matter to them.

Book Review

Building class activities this way can adapt tasks to relevant events, such as ‘fake’ news or Covid-19. Co-constructed pedagogy, Lautrette suggests, emerges when teachers relinquish some control over decisionmaking and give students more voice and choice. The benefits are that teachers become better informed about students, can plan more relevant curricula, and can help students feel more involved.

Co-constructed assessment suggests moving away from hierarchical models of assessment aligned to standards which give an illusion of fairness. More important for the inclusion of students is school-level assessment processes tailored for more equitable outcomes. Throughout each section, Lautrette encourages teachers to centralise students’ processes of learning to counteract the dominant emphasis on educational outcomes which lead to inflexible and inequitable practices.

Many of the examples included in The Co-constructed Classroom draw from well-known existing practices. For instance, readers who teach may already number inquiry-based learning, collaborative learning and classroom discussion in their pedagogical approaches. The advantage of this is that familiarity may encourage teachers to try something a bit different.

However, designing learning activities with tailored assessment systems for each group of learners is time-consuming and may discourage teachers. These points may raise questions about the novelty or practicality of the approach.

For those interested in further reading, the notion of co-construction of learning is well established in educational research.

Originating in Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of mediated learning through social

interaction, the work of constructivist theorists such as Jerome Bruner (1991) developed into co-constructivist approaches like the guided creation of knowledge (Mercer, 1995) and dialogic pedagogy (Skidmore, 2002). Also of relevance is the progressive education (Dewey, 1938) tradition of bringing ‘real world’ situations of relevance to classrooms. The Co-constructed Classroom might usefully have articulated key terms more clearly, rather than leaving it for readers to decide what is meant by agency, equity and curriculum. In the latter case, examples include discrete tasks, topic-based work and what might be described as a unit, or scheme, of work.

Readers might also find it helpful for the overview of existing assessment practices – assessment of learning and assessment for learning – to establish precisely what is meant by learning through assessment.

Examples included might easily fall into assessment for learning as established by Klenowski (2002) and, in addition, would require substantial design efforts on the part of teachers and increased time spent following up on students’ responses to feedback.

Ann Lautrette’s contribution is informed by her rich experience of teaching and leading in the international school context. As such, she writes with a sensitive awareness of the practicalities and complexities of teaching, and aims to improve students’ learning for their future. The book is kept short (130 pages) and includes regular questions for self-reflection. This provides opportunities for teachers to imagine how a coconstructed classroom might work in their context. If some teachers reframe

elements of their own practice towards co-construction, a strengthening of the teacher-student relationship may, as Lautrette argues, foster authentic learning relationships and may be more equitable than in teacher-constructed classrooms. ◆ References • Bruner J (1991) The narrative construction of reality. Critical Inquiry. 18(1):1-21.

• Dewey J (1938) Experience and Education.

Chicago: Simon and Schuster.

• Mercer N (1995) The Guided Construction of Knowledge: Talk Amongst Teachers and Learners. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

• Klenowski V (2002) Developing Portfolios for Learning and Assessment: Processes and Principles. London: Psychology Press.

• Parcerisa L, Verger A, Pagès M & Browes N (2022) Teacher autonomy in the age of performance-based accountability: A review based on teaching profession regulatory models (2017–2020). Education Policy Analysis Archives. 30 (100). https://doi.org/10.14507/ epaa.30.6204 for the special issue Teachers and Educational Policy: Markets, Populism, and Im/ Possibilities for Resistance • Skidmore D (2002) From Pedagogical Dialogue to Dialogic Pedagogy. Language and Education.

14(4): 239-296

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