...an absolute sea change in what parents talk about

those parents... are being really impacted themselves by the onslaught of the recession. We’re duty bound, not just to inoculate ourselves, but to think very, very carefully about our parents.”

In practical ways, Emma is committed to keeping close tabs on spending; budget forecasting currently happens every half term. Equally, she wants her parents to appreciate the rationale for possible changes in the day-to-day offerings of the College. The quality of education will never be at stake, but the cost of things that sit around the edges of school life, like events-catering, need to be carefully considered. And it’s not just about finance but about sustainability too: spending on paper cups is as problematic for the environment as it is for the purse when it’s simple enough to bring your own mug!

Dialogue

In her unassuming way, Emma has put forward some bold visions. Equally, her leadership style welcomes dreams and ideas from across the school community; she has been busy collating opinions from staff, student and parents’ surveys in her first term as Head at Epsom.

Collaboration through constant dialogue underpins her interactions with her team.

Emma describes the value she places on dialogue: “I’m a real advocate for hearing what people have got to say and letting that percolate. One of the main problems of COVID was that the water cooler conversations didn’t happen. It’s in those conversations that the innovative spark is ignited. As a leadership team, we want to establish a culture of ideas. If you know someone is going to take your idea forward, and give shape to it, and make sure it lands in the right forum, then you will keep coming forward with ideas.”

Emma’s commitment to partnerships is a further indication of her passion for open dialogue: she feels that “independent schools who work in silos limit their output”. During her tenure as Head at Croydon High School, she recognised the significant value of working under the umbrella of the GDST. Consequently, in her current role, Emma is working on setting up an advisory body, initially drawing on personnel and expertise from the Epsom Friends of the College Group.

Widening access

Getting out into the community through partnership work is a route to widening access in the sector. Traditionally, bursaries are the recognised strategy for awarding life-changing opportunities for those children and families fortunate enough to receive them. Many schools have made huge financial commitments to growing their bursary funds. But alongside that, Emma wants independent schools to be places where a more diverse group of people can come for particular classes and access to a range of projects. Her vision is to open up access on a smaller scale, thereby reaching a wider section of the community and “being part of the solution to some of the problems in society”.

Leaders in society

In an unorthodox response to what is often perceived as a political smear, Emma openly acknowledges that many of society’s leaders benefited from an independent school education. And so, “If our pupils are going to lead in the world, let’s make sure that they really understand that world, they understand the structure of it, the problems, the issues and why things can’t just be fixed so easily”. Emma is very clear that “The image of the exclusive private school has to be a thing of the past. Exclusivity is a dirty word nowadays. The independent schools’ sector has to offer something very different going forward, for its own pupils and for the social impact it could bring”.

An exciting future

We, who live and work in the independent schools’ sector, know that a cold wind is blowing in our direction in political and economic terms. But with a problem also comes an opportunity. If what we are selling is an education that promotes service, that grows an understanding of community and demands a wider knowledge of the world around us, then more parents will buy into it. In Emma’s final words, the cold wind may just sweep the cobwebs away, because “It could be time to shape a really exciting future for the country”. ●