SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
George Abbot
To help staff improve their skills, the school hosts
professional development materials for staff on its
School is
intranet, including ideas, training materials, information
about the national context for changes in education, and
summaries of the latest educational research.
one of many
It’s all
The school also has a comprehensive mentoring
system in place. Each subject has a lead mentor who
hosting school
focuses on promoting understanding of their subject
area and there are clear targets for improvement in
showcases at the SSAT
place for all staff.
In its latest report on the school, Ofsted said:
“Mentors are very well briefed and trained in their roles,
national conference next
and they give unstintingly of their skills, experience and
time.”
week. David Taylor
about
Ever-evolving processes
met up with headteacher
Focusing on the human side of school improvement
can be very time-consuming. In order to keep time free
Danny Moloney to talk
for face-to-face discussion, Mr Moloney and his team
ensure that they do not spend more time than absolutely
necessary on low impact, routine tasks.
school improvement
people!
He continued: “Systems and processes only work
if people subscribe to them and use them. You find
that the ones that work will stay and evolve, whereas
EOPLE MATTER more than processes the ones which don’t work will naturally fall by the
P
when it comes to school improvement wayside. There’s no point forcing people to follow
says Danny Moloney, headteacher of processes which don’t work.
George Abbot secondary school in “We also try to work in a smart way to save time. I
Surrey (pictured right). want to spend my time strategically. I want to be talking
Keeping the whole issue simple, the with my team about next steps, not bogged down in
school focuses on four areas which can research.
make a real impact on school improvement: leadership, “For example, if I need to write a new policy I don’t
recruitment, nurturing talent, and fitting systems and like reinventing the wheel when half the schools in the
processes around people, rather than the other way country have already got something similar. I will look
around. online at Teachernet or other websites to find examples
And Mr Moloney, a National College National Furthermore, Mr Moloney says it is vital to realise run well.” He continued: “If you recruit people who are I can then discuss with my team and adapt.
Leader of Education (NLE), and his team have an the stress that leadership has on people. conscientious and thoughtful and consultative, they will “Working in this way helps with your work/life
impressive track record. George Abbot School’s “Schools are no different to business in my view,” he move the school on.” balance and you can discuss what you’ve found with
leadership and management was described as “a model explained. “We all talk about schools being pressurised people rather than starting from scratch.”
of good practice” by Ofsted and rated as “outstanding” and targets being set. But if you talk to anybody in
Nurturing talent
There are many ways to look at school improvement,
at the last inspection. business or anybody in work nowadays, you find that Home-grown talent is also a feature of George Abbot. and each school’s approach should be as individual as
work is a stressful experience for everyone. We work a The school is a teacher training provider with a very its particular situation.
Leadership
lot with our people about coming to terms with all of good reputation locally. “However, recognising the human factors in school
George Abbot’s leadership team has fairly unanimous that. It’s still a human business.” Tom Sweeney, deputy headteacher, observes that improvement seems to be reaping rewards for the
views on leadership. June Thomas, assistant headteacher, it is important to nurture talent so that the school and pupils and staff of George Abbot. SecEd
told me: “Leadership is very important – setting an
Recruitment
its pupils get the full benefit of what staff have to offer.
example, being positive, working as a team.” Mr Moloney says that forward-thinking recruitment is He explained: “We have a lot of talented younger • Danny Moloney, head at George Abbott School in
Fellow assistant head, Maud Perry, agrees: “We at the heart of school improvement. staff. There are people here who are fairly recently Surrey, is hosting a school showcase with The Key on
meet weekly as a team. It’s all about acknowledging the “The most important thing I do is making qualified and they’ve got an awful lot of potential. It’s the subject of school improvement at the Specialist
little things and recognising that having regular social appointments. If I get that right, my life is immeasurably our responsibility as managers and senior leaders to Schools and Academies Trust national conference from
get-togethers and acknowledging people and their easier. And the most important thing governors do is make sure that potential is released so that everyone can 11.45am next Thursday (November 26). Visit http://
contribution is very important.” appointing heads. If they get that right the school will contribute to the improvement of the school.” nationalconference.ssatrust.org.uk/
Each year we run over 2,500 INSET training courses on our National Programme,
covering 150 qualifications, in over 70 subjects. Our training programmes are
designed to support your school in the delivery of our new and existing
qualifications, contribute towards your continuing professional development
and most importantly, improve your students’ results.
To receive your FREE Training Directory which details all of our courses, simply:
Download the Training Directory from www.edexcel.com/training or,
Email judy.lai@edexcel.com (quote ‘directory’)
For more information, please contact the Training from Edexcel team:
BTEC and NVQ 0844 576 0026
GCSE 0844 576 0027
GCE 0844 576 0025
The Diploma 0844 576 0028
DiDA & other qualifications 0844 576 0031
SecEd • November 19 2009 13
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16