THINK TEAM!

Schools need relationships with other schools, headteachers need relationships with other headteachers and teachers need relationships with other teachers.

Headteachers and teachers I know want someone or something to provide strategic leadership, they want to belong to something bigger and with the same moral purpose and they need a framework within which they can see the bigger picture, the connections, the outcomes and their impact on young people, families and communities. The 'well-connected' schools are finding support mechanisms through a range of providers but the danger is that these generic programmes lack the local contextual flavour, the understanding of local challenges and fail to work closely and connect with local teams. The danger is also that many of these providers are offering one day/one off events and real change is about long term sustained programmes of professional development that change cultures and attitudes to learning. We must also recognise that busy school-based colleagues simply lack the experience and breadth of examples so you get a very limited set of prescriptions. The models which have been developed around master coaching, deep practice and passionate engagement generally don't get a look in!