The start of the school year presents a natural point to set your goals for the year ahead. One area that’s well worth considering is strengthening staff communication and feedback for improvement. By that, I don’t mean feedback for improving teaching, which is doubtless embedded as standard practice in most schools. I mean feedback for improving the leadership.
There’s no doubt that leadership in schools can be lonely. The structure of schools, especially small primaries, can mean that those traditionally in a position to offer help and advice to school leaders aren’t people on the ground. County advisors and leaders from other schools or MATs can offer general leadership advice, but they may not have a working knowledge of your specific school, any unique staff issues and most importantly, of the impact that your leadership decisions and style has on those at the coalface. Without a meaningful method of feedback, school staff can be left at the mercy of a headteacher’s decision with no practical way of making their voices heard.
Putting meaningful feedback loops in place as part of your leadership doesn’t equate to bowing before your teaching staff’s every demand, nor will it involve diluting your core values. It will, however, provide a helpful release valve for staff who can easily become frustrated by top-down decisions that affect their practice, work life balance and the joy they get from the job.
The educational consultant Dr Neil Hawkes has talked of a values-based leadership style built around a “Hierarchy of needs and not a hierarchy of relationships.” It’s an interesting phrase that’s stayed with me long after turning the final page of his book From My Heart. What actions could school leaders take to enable and maintain an equality of relationships with staff across their school?
For me, it starts with knowing the people that work for you – spending downtime with them and giving them opportunities to chat informally about the challenges of the day. It starts with popping by the staff room at break time and lunch for a cuppa. It starts with placing yourself at the centre of a team, rather than the top of a pyramid.
Teaching is a humbling profession, in that it keeps you learning and progressing. The best teachers learn something new every day; they’ll be constantly tailoring their practice to the children in their room that day, taking account of moods, learning needs and attention spans in order to reach their objective for the lesson.
In the same vein, good school leadership calls for more than simply repeating previously successful approaches. It requires you to notice when the parameters change and to adapt to the needs of staff. It’s about bringing people with you on a journey, in a way that acknowledges their role as stakeholders. School leaders require a huge range of skills, but as managers of people, emotional intelligence and communication are among the most important. If you want your vision to be realised, you must be able to bring it to life for others and make them feel like it’s their vision too.
If you’re willing to open the door to feedback from staff, you’re already half way there. This term, make an effort take a step back and listen to what staff tell you. Encourage that feedback, and use it as fuel to help you adapt and reach your school improvement goals.
Emily Tenenbaum is a primary school teacher based in Hampshire.
