LEADERSHIP


Mike Ion was part of the team that oversaw the introduction


of the School Improvement Partners programme. Now that both the Challenge schemes and SIPs have gone, he discusses the lessons we have learned about securing sustained school improvement


Improvement Partners (SIP) programme. Over a 15-month period, every primary, secondary and special school in England was allocated an accredited SIP who would offer support and challenge to the school in equal measure. On the whole, feedback from headteachers indicated


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that they were pleased by the level of challenge provided by their SIP. However, just as many heads reported that although


their SIP was skilled in helping them to analyse what was preventing their school from improving further, they were far less effective in assisting the school in finding workable solutions. In fairness, this frustration was shared by the


majority of SIPs themselves. Most wanted to be more involved in brokering solutions – to be able to get their sleeves fully rolled up and pitch in – but felt constrained from doing so, either by the lack of time in school or by various external requests to monitor other aspects of the school’s performance. So, as we enter the post-SIP world, we perhaps


need to think about changing the paradigm that has for so long underpinned the work of school improvement professionals. My experience of working on the National and City


Challenge programmes has convinced me that we need a solutions-focused approach. Ask any of the many excellent City or National


Challenge advisors and they will tell you that the amount of time needed to define a school’s current situation is, and must be, far less than the time allocated to planning for and acting on solutions that are going to help move the school in the direction it needs to go. In other words, the time spent in problem


identification should be no more than the time required to develop a clear, concise and succinct assessment of the point from which the school is starting. The experience of the Challenge programmes has


clearly shown that helping schools to find their own solutions to their own challenges must become the core activity of any external school improvement professional. When an advisor or consultant is invited into (or imposed upon) a school to solve its “problems”, a culture of dependency can soon pervade. In contrast, the Challenge programmes have


demonstrated that when the external advice is school- centred and solution-focused, improvements can often be rapid, systemic and sustainable. Some of the core components of a solutions-focused


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approach include: • Ensuring that the emphasis is on finding solutions and not on listing all the problems – when you start with potential solutions people are far less inclined to engage in “analysis paralysis” and are therefore more likely to focus on moving forward.


OW THAT the Challenge programmes have ended, how do increasingly autonomous schools secure sustained improvement? In 2005, I was part of the


national team that oversaw the introduction of the School


Challenge and change


• Building on the school’s existing good practice – it is essential to try and develop a shared understanding of how the school is already making progress. It is important to make clear, right from the start, that many of the teaching and support colleagues currently working in the school already have the capacity to help the school to improve; the solutions to their challenges really are in their own capable hands.


• Co-constructing a plan that will deliver short-term as well as long-term improvements – it needs to be a plan that is co-constructed by all the key stakeholders, not an external, off-the-shelf plan that may well have been devised to meet the challenges of some other, probably very different institution. It also needs to be a plan that seeks evidence of impact in terms of weeks and not school terms. In my view, there will always be a place for high


quality, high impact school improvement professionals who bring a sense of humility to their own role in school improvement. There will always be a demand for practitioners


like this, who have experience of success, know what outstanding practice looks like, and understand how best to harness the leadership capacity that exists throughout a school; so that it can find its own solutions to its own distinct challenges. Ultimately, schools themselves are responsible for


(and must take credit for) their own improvements. The Challenge programmes have clearly demonstrated that when schools benefit from clear, solution-focused advice and guidance, the potential for the school to make sustained developments and improvements is greatly enhanced.


SecEd


• Until March 2011, Mike Ion worked on the National Challenge as part of his role as deputy national director for school improvement with the National Strategies. He is now national director of school improvement solutions at the Best Practice Network. Visit www.bestpracticenet.co.uk/sis


Helping schools to find their own solutions to their own challenges must become the core


activity of any school improvement professional. When an advisor or consultant is invited into, or imposed upon, a school to solve its ‘problems’, a culture of dependency can soon pervade


SecEd • September 8 2011 ’ Taking the lead: Future Leaders Secrets to success


With so much change taking place, how can school leaders respond? Heath Monk on the common factors found in successful schools


IT’S THE start of the school year and, once again, secondary schools are facing a raft of changes – a new inspection framework, a curriculum review and revised accountability measures, not to mention the introduction of the first group of free schools and the on-going transition to academy status. And, of course, there is no respite in the demands


placed on schools to achieve more and more – despite fewer resources. The widespread social unrest during the holidays has only heightened these expectations, on top of the usual August attack on standards that accompanies improvements in pass rates at GCSE and A level. How should school leaders and teachers respond


to this barrage of challenge and criticism? By shrugging their shoulders and accepting that schools simply cannot deliver all that society expects of them? Or by continuing the drive to ensure that every child, whatever their background, is given the opportunity to succeed? The 2011 cohort of Future Leaders began their


one-year placements this month, all determined to make a real and lasting difference in their schools. To achieve this, they will need to harness the


enthusiasm and passion that typifies the teaching profession; to support those staff that they lead in seeing beyond the endless initiatives and the political debates to what really matters – the children. And, in 2011, it’s more important than ever that


every child is given access to the qualifications that they need to open doors in later life. The number of unskilled jobs is decreasing year-on-year – and the vicious cycle of disadvantage leading to poor educational attainment and to further disadvantage blights both the affected individuals and our economic prosperity as a nation. For example, achieving an equivalent level of


social mobility to Finland could add £6 billion to our annual GDP. So what should schools do when faced with wave


after wave of change? We believe that the answer to this question is to focus on those features that define


outstanding schools, independent of prevailing trends and policies: • High expectations – both for academic success and behaviour.


• A clear set of values which every member of the school community upholds at all times.


• Maximised use of teaching time. This is not just about longer days and weekend/holiday classes – valuable time can be reclaimed by cutting out the minutes that are wasted through low-level disruption and poor lesson transitions.


• A focus on literacy and numeracy – based on a real commitment of time and resources to catch-up support so that all children can access the wider curriculum.


• Consistency from day-to-day and from class- to-class – so that pedagogy, classroom routines and behaviour polices are apparent throughout, maintained by every member of staff and supported by rigorous monitoring, performance management and staff development.


• The active development of aspiration and the value of hard work, built through the use of visits and role models so that all children are able to explore the possibilities available to them and understand what is required to achieve them. Of course, that doesn’t mean that schools can just


ignore the EBacc and the new framework, but the principles and values that underpin decisions in these areas should be consistent and founded on the strong moral purpose that is at the heart of every successful school. That’s easier said than done. During the year, some of the participants on the Future Leaders programme will be sharing their stories in this fortnightly column. I wish them – and all of you – every success this year.


• Heath Monk is chief executive officer of Future Leaders, a charity which develops exceptional leaders to work in challenging schools. Since 2006, more than 280 Future Leaders have begun work in 200 schools. Visit www.future-leaders.org.uk


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