Leading in Lockdown

'The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.'

Read 'man' as 'person' and this well-known Martin Luther King Jnr quote couldn't be more apt to describe some of the truly remarkable examples of educational leadership many of us are witnessing through the current crisis.

In Wales, it comes from the very top. Our Welsh Government Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, has shown unwavering support for the profession and given reassurance to parents and children. Her communication has been clear and timely throughout, and she has not been afraid to be a fierce advocate for Wales' schools in the wider arena. 

Then there are the Local Authority leaders who, within a very small time frame, offered valuable information, support and guidance to school leaders on school closures, the allocation and organisation of childcare for key workers and vulnerable families, and the on-going provision of free school meals.

Head Teachers and Senior Leadership Teams have had to navigate the complexities of online and remote learning in order to lead and support their staff whilst, in many cases, also heading up the local childcare hubs. The setting up of these was nothing short of miraculous and I wrote about it in my first blog. 

It is hard for all concerned to be working for the most part in isolation - teaching is by its very nature a sociable activity and we rely heavily on the presence and support of our colleagues. School leaders have had to invest a high level of professional trust in their teachers and this will have been easier, or more challenging, depending on the pre-existing climate in their schools. Early in this period of school closure, there was anecdotal evidence on social media of some Head Teachers even asking for hour-by-hour records of teachers' activity while working from home. Hardly an indication of a trusting relationship!

My latest 'lockdown read' has given me cause to reflect more deeply on the concept of professional trust and the ways in which it is established and maintained. Putting Staff First by John Tomsett and Jonny Uttley is currently my top educational read of 2020. It is described as a 'blueprint' for schools seeking to make the well being and development of staff their priority. It is a book primarily for school leaders - which I am not - but I was really keen to read it from the perspective of an experienced classroom teacher. Over nearly three decades, I have worked in schools with very different styles of leadership and have known huge support and encouragement (for the most part) but also the damage that can be caused by a toxic working environment. I was intrigued by the title since as teachers, we are constantly told we must put our learners first. This, of course, is completely right, but in order to do so successfully, the authors argue, teachers need their leaders to put them first. Tomsett states,

'I do not think it is enough for staff to be 'happy' and 'motivated'. I think they need to be happy, healthy, well-qualified, hard-working, well-trained experts who, in return for the best working conditions we can provide, accept the professional obligation to improve their classroom practice.'

The approach to leadership taken by the authors in their own schools explicitly puts staff first, from recruitment; through a thorough early career training programme; in the cycle of performance development (not management) that incorporates disciplined inquiry; and  on-going monitoring of workload and student behaviour. It clearly results in high levels of professional trust, open, honest dialogue about teachers' development and ultimately, teachers who take ownership of their professional development. 

In the current situation, such professional trust is essential. Working at a distance, without the usual access to both support and scrutiny, requires teachers to exercise the highest levels of professionalism and for school leaders to trust that this is so. Clearly, these are exceptional circumstances but for those leaders who have already been putting teachers first; who have invested quality time in teacher development; who have in place systems and processes that promote professional dialogue that is both honest and continuing, can have confidence that these teachers are, in turn, best-equipped and enabled to put their learners first and will be doing so to the best of their ability at this time.