January 2020
As we ushered in a new decade on January 1 2020 I reflected upon my first year as Headteacher of Bohunt Horsham. This past year has provided me with such a broad range of experiences, opportunities and challenges that in some ways it feels as if I’ve been in post for longer than a mere twelve months.
I love learning. I believe passionately that learning is the most powerful vehicle for change in society and I’m driven to work to ensure access to excellent learning for all. So, when reflecting on my first year of headship I identified the three most powerful lessons that I have learned.
It’s OK if you don’t know everything
One of the key moments that lead to my decision to apply for a headship was hearing this piece of advice from Jan Shadick, a Regional Director for the United Learning Trust. In a speech at the West Sussex Deputies’ Conference back in 2017. To be precise, Jan’s advice was that to be a Head you needed (amongst myriad other things) to be able to ‘fake it with integrity’.
Consequently, when faced with a question to which I don’t know the answer, and if I can’t find an expert who does, I ask myself ‘what is the best thing for my students, my staff and our parent community?’
If you put your values at the heart of your decisions, even if you’re making a decision in an area outside your realm of expertise, then you are probably making the right decision.
Parents are not our enemies
I believe that too often in our schools, staff are afraid of parents. A culture of complaints or even abuse aimed at school staff by parents is pervasive in some schools. Subsequently, school staff can sometimes feel the need to close their doors to parents. In our context, with a parent community who made the bold decision to choose a place at Bohunt Horsham over a place at one of the other excellent local schools in September 2019, we are fortunate to have amazing, and in my experienced unparalleled, support from our Founding Families. That support is not, however, without challenge. Our Parent Reference Group is already a fantastic resource to drive improvement, progress and communication in our school.
A supportive parent community is also a self-perpetuating culture. If your staff feels supported by your parents they will thrive, as opposed to shutting down, or even worse, being driven out. Also, as a recent candidate told me at interview, when looking at our parents’ feedback on social media, Bohunt Horsham looks to be a brilliant place to work. Our parents play a huge role in creating a positive culture at school that inspires our staff to be the best they can be and attracts the best candidates to the school.
Every success feels like your own success (but of course so does every failure…)
As a teacher it is the ‘eureka!’ moments that motivate me. What I mean by that is those moments in the school day when a child has a breakthrough. It may be a breakthrough in learning or in overcoming a personal obstacle but seeing that breakthrough is the ultimate reward.
As a Headteacher, every single breakthrough, although not necessarily a direct consequence of my own work, is just as rewarding. I am privileged to work with a talented, dedicated and compassionate team of staff and the successes that are the result of their skill, hard work and care feel like my successes.
We don’t always get it right and when we make a mistake I encourage our students and our staff to ask themselves three question:
Did you do it on purpose? No? Then be kind to yourself, it was a mistake. Can you fix it? and if not, Can you learn from it? because learning is our business but even more importantly than that, learning is our core value.
