Leadership Focus, November 2022 (issue 94)

FOCUS

Providing care in acrisis

Timeforreflection

Ihope this issue of Leadership Focus finds youwell. If you’refeeling exhausted, that’sfairly understandable,and if you’renot, then I’m in aweofyour stamina!

Manyofyou maybefamiliar with the old cliché thatrings in the ears of trainee teachers, “Don’t smile ‘til Christmas”; an instruction to maintain afirm veneer while theyestablish their initial relationship with pupils. Isuppose in this context, we should be grateful to the current government fornot giving us toomuch to smile about in the firstplace.

There’sasurplus of other places whereyou can read about the ‘doom and gloom’ of the current situation over funding and pay and whatweasanassociation have been trying to do about it. So rather than preach to the converted, Iwanted to use these column inches to talk about you.

Manyofyou areexperienced school leaders, so you’ll knowthe drill by now. You’vemade it to the end of the calendar year,and you and your team aremostprobably ripe forthe break. Youmay have achievedsome long sought-after objectives, other things youplanned maynot have gone so well, and some things youdidn’tplan might have been unexpected successes.

When trying to recall such things, our brains often initially return ablank result. When so much hashappened, and there arestill ongoing issues to deal with, it can feel difficult to look back. But that’sall the more reason whyweshould do it.

Iknowtime is short, especially at this time of year,but if youcan, I’dhighly recommend arranging some time with your team to stop

beforethe break and reflecton the highlights and achievements from the lastyear.Giveyourselves some time to think about all of them and writethemdown, and then read them back. Iguarantee youthere will be an awfullot more thatyou and your team have achievedthan youfirstrealised.

Among the pages of this issue of Leadership Focus,you’ll find incredible accounts from school leaders and pupils about the experiences of those who have been taken in as refugees from other countries. Thewars and conflicts happening around the world all toooften result in heartbreaking and tragic consequences forchildren and their families, and the stories coming out of our schools about howthese children have been made to feel welcomed and embraced as part of their local communities are tremendously moving. It speaks to the firstprinciple of whyso manyofusdowhatwedo: to nurtureyoung people to develop their capacity forcompassion, empathyand understanding.

Finally,this is areminder for youall to takeadvantage of

the upcoming break as much as possible.Irealise the holiday season can be stressfulfor reasons other than work, but if it’s possible,dotry to take some time foryourself.You carry alot of responsibility on your shoulders during the school term, so it’s important youdothe things thathelpyou unwind during the downtime

Soon after,Iknowmanyofyou will be thinking about your plans for2023, and Ihope the ideas you generateprovide youwith the enthusiasm and energy youwish to proceed intothe newyear with.

Wishing youall ahealthyand happybreak.

Above: Paul Gosling

Itspeakstothefirst principleofwhysomany ofusdowhatwedo:to nurtureyoungpeopleto developtheircapacity forcompassion,empathy andunderstanding.

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“Whatwewanttodo is involveteachersin assessment,rather than beingreliant on atest.”

Contents

8 Providing careinacrisis

We look at the valuable work being done by schools to provide refugee children with an education.

14 Lead assessor support programme

We examine aprogramme thatenables schools to develop ahighly-skilled workforce with expertise in educational assessment.

20 Thepressureofleadership

Howisthe workload and emotional, mental and physical intensity of being aschool business leader affecting those on the front line?

26 Seeing the wood and the trees

Education Support chief executive Sinéad Mc Brearty looks at professional supervisionand howitoffers leaders theopportunity to reflect on their core purpose in the education of children and youngpeople 29 Social model of disability: breaking down the barriers to incclusion

NAHT senior equalities officerNatalie Arnett exploresthe approach thatwill frame your union’s workgoing forward.

30 Northern Ireland policyupdate

NAHT(NI) interim director Graham Gault provides an update on the reviewof workload impact on school l leaders in Northern Ireland. 31 Wales policyupdate

NAHT Cymru director Laura Doel discusses opposition facedbymembers to the content of relationships and sexuality education and the government’s contingency plan forsicknessand energy rationing. 32 No excuse forabuse Poster pullouts for your school. 35 Paul Whiteman Amessage from the general secretary

36 Avoid atax penalty on your pension pot

NAHT head of adviceKate Atkinson provides ahighleveloverviewofthe issue andwheretogofor advice nowtoavoid the pain later. 38

Covid-19 inquiry and workplacesafety

Public affairs manager Matt Dykes on howthe TUC will ensurethe government hears your voice. 39 Leaving to start anew role?

Letthe person taking overknowabout the benefits of joining NAHT with our pullout. 42 Whydowedo appraisals?What is their purpose? Pathway puts appraisals under the microscope 44 All set for conference

Find out whatnextyear’s conferencehas in store. 59 Making school trips moreaffordable

NAHT and Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres(AHOEC) member Jo Barnett shares her toptips.

62 Thefinal word

JournalistSusan Young looks at the importanceof bringing compassion into education and learning.

Providing care in acrisis

LeadershipFocusjournalist NicPaton looksatthe valuable work being done by schoolstoprovide refugeechildren with an education.

“I feel greatinschool because it is really cosy;the classrooms are warm, and Iwas pretty shocked by howkind the people arehere,”says Artem Meleshko, aged 15, from Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine

“Every teacher wastrying to help.Every teacher wasasking me questions about my pastinUkraine Every teacher wastrying to help me with translation. Every teacher made

the tasks available in Russian and Ukrainian as well as English. So,yes, Ifeel greattobeinschool,”adds the student, one of six Ukrainian refugees nowattending Bangor Academy secondary school in Northern Ireland.

Sincethe summer,headteacher MatthewPitts, with the help of former English teacher ValeriyaStanislava has been pulling out all the stops to integrateand supportthe children

and their families –fleeing the most significant conflict on European soil sincethe Balkan warofthe 1990s.

“We’rethe biggestschoolin Northern Ireland, with 1,800 pupils. We areoversubscribed and have a waiting list, and so,inaway,ithas been about ignoring the rules forthe right reasons and simply squeezing the children in as bestwecan,” Matthewtells

Leadership Focus

Deputy head teacher TracyLane (far left) and children at Christthe King Catholic Primary School

Britain’seducational system, of course,has along history of welcoming refugee children –you only need to think back to the ‘kindertransport children of 1938 to 1939

However,two unprecedented international crises of the past18months –the fall of Kabul and the collapse of Afghanistan lastyear –and then, in February this year,the Russian invasion of Ukraine,haveprompted schools across GreatBritain to throw open their doors, their arms and, crucially,their resourcesto support refugee children and their families.

However,while we all knowschools and school leaders arevery good at ‘makedoand mend’ when it comes to going the extramile,especially when it is clearly the ‘right’thing to do,the harsh reality is thatsupporting and integrating refugee children in this way can bring with it asignificant extra financial and resource burden. Aburden mostschools rightnow simply don’t have thatmuch capacity to absorb As Paul puts it with aweary laugh: “I imagined, naively,therewould be alot of resourcesaround –interpreters and that sort of thing. We did get some support forthe firstfew days,which then went down to an hour aweek and disappeared completely after about six weeks.”

PRESIDENT,PAULGOSLING

“Schools in this country have always welcomed refugee children,”agrees NAHT president Paul Gosling. Indeed, his school –ExeterRoad Community Primary School in Exmouth, Devon, with aroll of just240 children –has takenin 47 refugee children sinceNovember last year,predominantly from Afghanistan. It is something he feels passionate about. “We’reinDevon, andit’snot avery diverse area. But it has been so enriching forall the children to be able to shareand learn about different languages and cultures. Particularly for the older children, the firstquestion was, ‘whereare our books?’ Therehavebeen some amazing moments,”hesays.

At Annual Conferenceinthe spring, NAHT made aforceful call to the government to recognise the case for schools to receivededicatedfunding and resourcesfor supporting refugee children. It said in amotion passed by conference: “Conferencecalls on the government to ensureschools, and the relevant partner agencies, areprovided with all the necessary funding, support and resourcesrequired to ensureUK schools can be the kickstart to the future thatthese children need and deserve.”

This is asituation only toogrimly familiar to MatthewatBangor Academy. Theschool has not only put Valeriyaonits payroll as aclassroom assistant, but out of its ownpocket, it has also paid forschool uniforms forthe students and free school meals –because the paperwork forboth has yettocatch up

NAHT

Below: Bangor Ukrainian students and Valeriya (far right)

“Wedidn’t want them to start without good uniforms. To start in anew country with newpeople and at anew school, and then also to feel different would have been awfulfor them,”Matthewexplains.

“We’remanaging, we’refine,and we’re luckybecause we’reabig school,which means we can accommodate afew extra children. As well as morefunding, it also needs to be moreflexible.Weneed the moneywhenweneed it, rather than having to apply forsomething,”headds.

ForValeriya, being uprooted from everything theyknewhas, naturally,been amassivetransitionfor both children and families –Valeriyanot only helps the students but runs language support sessions forUkrainian families one dayaweek. “When we came here, everything wasnew,” she explains. “For example,wedon’t have school uniform in Ukraine.Wehavebells in Ukrainian schools, too, whereas Bangor does not. But the children were agreat help “Theyshowevery Ukrainian child how to find the classroom, and the teachers arevery helpful. It’s really greatthat, from the firstday,the children have (as much as possible)been made to feel the same as the children from Northern Ireland,”she adds.

the child, agrees Gemma Button, area lead forlanguages, literacyand communication at Llanwern High School in Newport, Wales.

Theschool, which has approximately 1,000 pupils, has taken on the mantle of being the hub school forUkrainian children in the region, enrolling 18 children since the summer and putting in placeahuge ‘suite’ of resourcesand support to help them. This hasincluded extrawhole-school training, running special assemblies, newinformation and communications technology (ICT) equipment, setting up a‘multilingual hub’ and safespace forrefugee children, and employing staff who can speak other languages, particularly Russian and/or Ukrainian.

When it comes to funding and resourcing all this, as aschool in avery deprived area, it has had the good fortune to be able to turn to alocal company, the Gwent Education Minority Ethnic Service, or ‘GEMS’ for short. “Wehavereally strong relationships with GEMS, which is based in Newport. It has been supporting us and has kindly provided us with agrant to support our Ukrainian students,”Gemma explains.

“The language barrier has been particularly difficult, even challenging at times –weuse Google Translate alot. Also,some of them have lived in the most horrendous conditions, conditions we can’t imagine.Thereisalot of emotional support needed, not justfor the pupils but forthe parents as well. Thesemothers have been with their children, by their sides, forthe lastfew months. Forsome, having to let their children go to school without them has been difficult,”she adds.

And therewerealot! Ihad planned a 40-minutepresentation, which turned into an hour and ahalf.Lots of reassurance wasneeded. We got the parents and children to meet key members of the staff, and we took them around the school. And then we satdown, had coffee,tea and Welsh cakes and had achat–itwas lovely,” Gemma tells Leadership Focus

“My main pieceofadviceistoeducate the whole school population on whatit means to be arefugee.Iwish we haddone thatsooner.When we hadour firstthree Ukrainian students back in June and July, Iwish Ihad run an assembly to establish understanding sooner.Aswewelcomed significant numbers of Ukrainian children to our school in September,itbecame apparent thatsome of our pupils had afairly underdeveloped understanding

LITERACY

One important thing youneed to recognise,asaheadteacher or senior leader,when it comes to supporting refugee children, is thatyou aresupporting and integrating the whole family,not just

On the firstday back after the summer holidays,the daybeforeschool started, all of the Ukrainian parents and some of their UK sponsors were invited intothe school fora‘meet-and-greet’welcome session. “Wesat them down, we talked to them about the school, and we let them ask as manyquestions as theywanted.

Salway Ash Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is asmall, rural mixed-age primary school with 113 children in Bridport, west Dorset.

As head teacher Leif Overment outlines, lastacademic year, the school welcomed three Ukrainian refugees, with afurther pupil joining this September

“Our school’sdemographic is predominantly white-British, and until the Ukrainian children joined us, we hadnoEnglish as an additional language pupils in the school,”hesays He highlights twosiblings in particular: abrother in year six and his little sisterwho came intoyear one.“We met the mum; she came in and had atour of the school.

We justtried to find out abit about her experience so thatwecould support them all as bestaspossible Lots of people coming from Ukraine will have had very different experiences of getting out and will have left different things behind,”hetells Leadership Focus.

“The boyhad good English but by no means perfect, and the girl, unsurprisingly,had none.Infact, she had not even been to akindergarten in Ukraine; she had no formal education experienceatall. She couldn’t read Ukrainian, so the school’sdual language signs were of no use

“Every Friday, each classstands up in assembly and shares something and then goes back to class. Theboy came to the school justtohavealook around with his mum. As soon as his classmateswent back to class, he said, ‘bye mum’ and joined them, which waslovely,” Leif recalls.

GEMMA BUTTON, AREA LEAD FOR LANGUAGES,

AND COMMUNICATION AT LLANWERN HIGH SCHOOL IN NEWPORT,WALES

of wider-world issues, and an assembly likethe oneIrecently presented would have helped this minority of pupils have abetter understanding of whatitmeans to be arefugee earlier on,”she adds.

Yuliia Nikolaichuk neverwants to repeat the sort of journeyshe and her six-year-old son Nikkita had to makefromChernihiv in northern Ukraine when the warstarted.

“I don’t want to do thatjourney again! It wasavery hardsituation in Chernihiv,” she says.“It wasfromthat direction thatthe invasion started. First, therewas fighting in Chernihiv,sowe couldn’t go.Then, therewas fighting on our route, so again we couldn’t go

“Weeventually travelled through the centralpartofUkraine and then to Poland wherewehad to wait fora visa to come to the UK. And, with a small child, it wasmoredifficult.”

Now, however,Nikkita is firmly settled at Christthe King Catholic Primary

School in Finsbury Park, north London. “In Ukraine,parents can decide if their children start school at age six or seven they re ready) Yuliia says I wanted

(if they’reready),”Yuliia says.“Iwanted Nikkita to start school from age seven because he justwanted to play; he didn’t want to read or write. So,Ididn’t see any reason to send himtoschool at age six.

“But then here, of course,hehad to start school, and with no English. So,it wasa very big deal forhim. But he’sa lot better now. His English is improving; he has newphrases and can communicate with other children at the school. He goes to phonics class, wheretheyhelp him with language.We’vehad twomeetings with the school psychologistaswell, and she had some good advice, formeaswell.

“Atschool, he likes to playfootball –and hide and seek. He also likes mathematics and building stuff with Lego.His teacher has said he is very good at counting,”Yuliia adds.

These positivewords areclear evidence of the school’ssuccess at working to support, integrateand look after the well-being of its refugee children and families, with fivechildren having been taken in from Ukraine so far, as deputy head teacher TracyLane explains.

“For the girl, in areal sense,itwas very fortunate having her brother join at the same time because we could makeuse of him. Quiteunderstandably,hewanted to check and makesureshe was OK; he wasanxious and worried about his sister, so we built in times when theycould go and see each other through the day,”headds.

Coincidentally,onthe boy’sfirstfull day, aschool trip had been arranged forhis classtogotoawindsurfing academyinWeymouth. “So,morning one,hewas off paddleboarding and windsurfing. It was really great, and it wasbrilliant thathewas able to and could join in. As an experiencetobond him together with his newclassmates, it wasperfect. It turned out he had had apaddleboardinUkraine and so wasquitecompetent –hejustwasn’t happywith howcold it was!

“Children arechildren, and thatisthe beauty of it. Thebest thing forall of them has been thattime with the other children; it is thatsocialisation thattheydesperately need.

“Building time in forthem to have social interaction is really valuable.And it is recognising thatyou’renot justdealing with the children’sneeds but the parents’ too, and the potential trauma theyhavebeen through,”Leif adds.

At the end of the summer,the twosiblings were offered a free placeataprivateschool. “But the younger girl went fora tasterday,and themum came back and said she wasn’t happy; theyjustdidn’t get her

“The mum said she lovesithere. She says she tells her –in Ukrainian, of course –thatshe lovesthe school and wantsto be here. So,fromhaving been initially peering around her mum’s legs trying to work out if she could trustus, and from having taken ages to get intoschool, shenow bounces in quitehappily It all comes down to relationships and giving staff time to get to knowthem, to help them integratewith friends,”Leif says

“My main piece of advice is to educate the whole school population on what it means to be a refugee. I wish we had done that sooner,” says Gemma.

TracywithIvanna Bevska, the mother of Denys (child in centre) who attends the school.

“I’m really lucky. Ihave afantastic pastoralcare team who arereally,really passionate and supportive and have taken the families under their wings,”she says Theinner-London school with 300 children on its roll is one of themostdeprived in Islington, with children who have siblings involved in gangs, awomen’s refuge around the corner,parents with drug and alcohol problems, and so on. “But those challenges have actually,served us quitewell when we have been welcoming our Ukrainian families because we are used to working with children who have trauma and we areusedtoworking with families who have difficult circumstances,” Tracytells Leadership Focus

Despitethese challenges,again, the school has managed to put in placeextensivesupport. This has included identifying key adults to be the main point of contact, persuading its uniform supplier to donate school uniforms and arm-twisting alocal Sainsbury’stoprovide vouchers for shoes, socks and waterbottles.

Phrases in Ukrainian have been put up around classrooms and in areas such as the toilets. Extravisuals have been made forthe playground to help children join in and play, and visual picturebased timetables have been created.

Teachers have downloaded Google Translate and provide regular feedback to parents; theyhavealso ensured they arevisible to parents at the school’sgates each morning and evening Children have been supplied with laptops so thattheycan access online learning, dual language Ukrainian/English books have been ordered forthe library,and children have been offered free places in the school’safter-schoolclubs.

“It is about preparing the staff and the children. We did lots of things beforetheycame.The children were very aware thatthis wasgoing on. Our school uniform is blue and yellow, so oneparent used auniform to create aUkrainian flag, which we’veput in the foyerand is lovely,” Tracysays

“You have to think, ‘whatisthe parent going to need?’ It is justabout making sureparents knowthe children aregoing to be safehere. Itranslatedalot of the policies intoUkrainian, so theyhad, for

example,the behaviour and safeguarding policies and knew exactly whatwewereabout.

“Wewerereally clear about whatthe routines were going to be, so theydid not have to worry about anything. And the officedid adaily phone call to let them knowtheir child washere and fine.Wewent through the menus so thatthe children would knowwhattheyweregoing to eatand that wasn’t going to be aworry forthem.

“We’vefocused on making them feel safe andwelcome,and the same with the adults. That calm atmospherewehave in the school anyway is really helpful and has really supported them,”Tracy adds.

“Your bestresource is the children in your ownschool,”agrees Paul,though emphasising the important message thatschools –and school leaders –should not be expected to do all this on their ownorfromalready stretched budgets.

“If youcreatethe bestconditions and have the right welcoming ethos, thatis all these children need initially,” he adds.

“Very quickly,with the interactions theyhavewith the other children, theywill learn afunctioning version of language thatwill start to get them whattheyneed. Thereare no experts in this; youjusthavetowork it out and do it with the right spirit. You measureitinsmiles, really,” Paul adds.

“We’ve focused on making them feel safe and welcome, and the same with the adults. That calm atmosphere we have in the school anyway is really helpful and has really supported them,” says Tracy.

Being uprooted by warand having to flee your home,possessions, friends and family would be hardenough forany of us.But having to do all thatwhen your child has complexspecial educational needs (SEN) is even morechallenging.

That is one reason whyJohn Reilly,principal at Addington Valley School in Croydon, and his deputy Joe Shephardare so proud of whatthe whole school has done to integrateone post-16 student with SEN from Ukraine sinceSeptember.

“But Ithought, 100%, this wasthe type of student we should be working with, and the family were really supportive,”saysJoe.

“The type of schooling he had received in Ukraine wasofadifferent level; it wasnot the same as he could get here. We aremuch further along the road in terms of evidence-based special needs education and really catering forASD [autism spectrum disorder] needs directly

“Another challenge wasthat, even though he is non-verbal, his receptive language was, obviously,Ukrainian. So,our firstaim with his parents washow we were going to understand each other and whatsystems were we going to put in place, anddeveloping thatcommunication system has been our firstmajor win, really.”

aboutbeginning to develop the idea thatthis placeisfor you, these areyour friends, these arethe people around youand look at the types of things we can do here. And communicating that without acommunication system.

“Weused our soft playroom, we took them on atouraround the school, and he had his cakeand his tea. Importantly, mum wasable to meet some of the other parents and begin to makethose links and friendships. Having thatsense of community is really,really important and has meant the placement has alwaysbeen, and Ithink will continue to be,really successful,”Joe adds.

Onceenrolled, the school started offbyusing PECS (pictureexchange communication systems), wherecards with pictures, symbols, wordsorphotographs areused to askfor,comment on or answer things, and he made rapid progress.

“The child nowhas avoice.Wherehe didn’t before, he can nowexpresswhathe wants. He can sayno, andhecan sayyes. He does have particular interests, and so working on that, we areenabling him to academically developabit more,”Joe says.

“Bringing achild with special needs intoaschool, let alone achild from another country,isanother layerofcomplexity.But this is a really good, positivestory to tell because of the amazing work the team has done,” John explains.

Theschool, with 120 children, is part of OrchardHill Collegeand Academy Trust, one of the largestproviders of special education in the country Theyoung man came to the school about sevenmonths ago,isnon-verbal and with arange of complexbehaviours.

Before he startedatthe school and around the time of the Platinum Jubilee in the spring, he and his mother were invited to acelebration event the school washolding. “Wefelt the family wasprobably going to be alittle bit isolated, so we wanted to bring them in on aday thatwas going to be alittle morerelaxed,”Joe explains.

“Welet him go on the trampolines and bouncycastleand meet the other students. His ASDneeds mean thatheis not particularly social; thatiscompletely normal forour students. But it was

“Weare luckyinthatwehavereceived decent funding forhim.Weare able to have really high levels of staffingaround the sixth form in general, but around him especially.Thathas come from Croydon Council. It is asuccess storyfor the council as well,and it has been very supportiveofanything we’veneeded.

“He is likea duck to water; he is absolutely taking everything in. He is able to fully takepartinschool. He has avoicenow,and we areonly afew weeksin, so it has been really, really positive,”Joe concludes.

JOHN REILLY, PRINCIPAL AT ADDINGTONVALLEY SCHOOL

JOE SHEPHARD,DEPUTY AT ADDINGTONVALLEY SCHOOL

Lead assessor support programme

Theroleofstatutory assessment in educationhas long beenacontroversial topic. Theobsession of successive governmentswithtesting andmeasuring pupils’academicoutcomesinamultitude of ways hasbeenthe source of debate and frustration fordecades. LeadershipFocus journalist NicPatontakes acloser look.

This is an issue thathas affected all phases of education, and the government’s approach to GCSEs and Alevels hasbrought matters into sharp focus forour secondary members overthe lastfew summers. Nevertheless, the debate about the role and value of assessment within schools and school improvement essentially the ‘why’ of assessment, as well as the ‘how’ –remains intense

asking themselves, ‘have the pupils understood that? Do Ineedtoadjust it forsome,orrecap it forothers?’

This is about saying, let’s remember whateffectiveassessment is really about, which is informing teaching and learning, helping pupils move on in their learning.”

‘This’ in this contextisthe call by NAHT,discussed at Annual Conferencelastyear,for the government to put its hands into its pockets and stump up funding to enable all head teachers to put in placeanindependently trained and accredited lead assessor in their school.

JAMES BOWEN, NAHT DIRECTOR OF POLICY

As James Bowen, NAHT director of policy, explains to Leadership Focus:“As anyschoolleader will tell you, teachers areassessing every day, every lesson, wherethey’re

As the unanimously passed 2021 conferencemotion put it: “Years of unnecessarily high-stakes external testsand exams have narrowed curriculum delivery and opportunities forchildren and young people Alongside this, therehavebeen limited professional development opportunities forteachers to enhancetheir skills in assessment and collaboratewith others.”

“ASANY

Theanswer, NAHT delegatesagreed, wasfor the government to be lobbied “toprovide support and resourcesfor the development of independently accredited training forlead assessors in every school”.

Furthermore, conferenceagreed thatNAHT’snational executive should work with the Chartered Instituteof Educational Assessors (CIEA) “to encourage every school to have alead assessor and ensuremembers, and the appropriate staff in their schools, can access the training provided by the CIEA”.

What,then, is lead assessor training, whatspecifically is the course provided by the CIEA and, mostimportantly given thatmostheadteachers have ahundred-and-one other pressing priorities on their to-do listevery day, whyisthissomething NAHT is asking members to add to their workload?

“This is our response to the growing feeling among manyinthe profession thatassessment has become increasingly de-professionalised,”says NAHT senior policyadvisor Sarah Hannafin to Leadership Focus

“Thereisnot enough focus on assessment within teacher training. Thereisnot enough budget forongoing continuing professional development, yetassessment is so fundamental for teaching and learning. And the pandemic brought thattothe fore

“So,itisabout refocusing assessment on whatisimportant, which, of course,is learning. Rather than government SATs being the focus, assessment needs to impact learning and help pupils make progress–really supporting them through their school ‘journey’, and with the end of key stage one SATs next year,thereisa real opportunity forthis,”Sarah adds.

Thereisalso awider discussion here –and one regularly articulatedinthe pages of Leadership Focus –thatof professional agency.

In other words, the need –and ongoing battle –for school improvement and ‘progress’ (in all its meanings) to be something led and driven by professionals rather than politicians.

As James says:“This is, partly,usas aprofession wrestling back control of assessment. Assessment shouldn’t justbe about measuring howhigh youcan jump; it is about informing good teaching.”

So,the CIEA. What is it, and whatdoes this lead assessor training involve?

Forthose unfamiliar with the CIEA, it is aprofessional membership organisation thatworks to improve standards in educational assessment, including training people to become chartered educational assessors. Its members encompass

HANNAFIN,

teachers, examiners, school and college leaders and academics, among others.

“Wedeveloped the lead assessor programme because we recognised there wasademand forbetter assessment expertise in schools. We have long realised thattherehavebeen limited opportunities forprofessional development in educational assessment,”explains Alison McCree,director at the CIEA.

“Often, trainee teachers will get some insight intoassessment, but this is all toooften limited in scope,and once they’vefinished their initial training, thereisvery limited opportunity to develop those skills in assessment. Ultimately,the skill of an assessment lead is to better the outcomes forpupils and schools through improvedteaching and learning.

“ASSESSMENT

SCHOOL ‘JOURNEY’,”SAY SARAH.

SARAH

NAHT SENIOR POLICY ADVISOR

ALISON McCREE, DIRECTOR, CIEA

“It is also about building the professional trustofthe educational environment, whether primary or secondary; anywherethateducational assessment happens. Building trustthat whatteachers actually produce–the outcome of assessment –isreliable and valid,”Alison adds.

Recognising the post-pandemic ‘hybrid’ world we all nowliveand work in and the fact teachers and school leaders tend to be extremely busypeople, the course is all online and accessible to participants in their owntime.Acourse leader is assigned to each cohort, who is available to support participants overa10-week period. Afterthat, the course is still available, but the course leader will no longer monitor and respond to the discussion boards.

“For those 10 weeks, youhavea dedicatedcourse leader who is an expert in assessment, with experienceineither the primary or secondary phase of education, because we have aprimary and secondary version of the course,” explains Alison.

Drilling down intothe detail, the first fortnight is essentially registration, launch, becoming familiar with the core site, carrying out preliminary reading and being introduced to the course leaders and contributors.

“People can access as much or as little reading as theywant. Iknoweveryone is super busyand thatreading an article on educational assessment might not be topofthe priority list. So,wehaveall the links there, should people want to access them, and if theywant to come back to it in, say, six weeks, theycan,”says Alison.

“Wedoappreciate thatthereisalot to reflect on.So, the course is available forayear; people can go back and dip intoall of the presentations. Theonlything thatwill be different is thattherewon’t be somebody at the end of aline to answerany questions after the initial 10 weeks.”

The‘meat’ of the course is based on four modules, each of which takes about three hours and includes atheorysession, which is normally delivered by the course leader.Although the content is all online all modules have alivelaunch and other livesessions thatyou can participate in should youwish to do so,especially as these can be an opportunity to engage with other participants.

TheCIEA’s chartered educational assessors passontheir insight and expertise,with afocus on howtoapply the learning to your school, and thereare activities foryou to takeaway and work through, again normally linked to whatever is happening in your school or department.

“Wetry as much as possible to get the theory intopracticeimmediately We want it to be relevant and useful. People do have to engage with the materials to get the bestout of the course.Itisabout trying to get this intopracticeand make it part of your everydayskillset,”says Alison.

“Werecommend thatmorethanone person from aschoolormulti-academy trust(MAT) does the training. Previous participants have really emphasised the benefit of taking the course with acolleague from the same school. That allows youtodothe course but then to go back to school and have somebody to go overthings with –toshareideas or discusshow whatyou have coveredina module might be applied to your context. Forexample,using the course materials to reflect on current practiceand question or support our approach, such as, ‘have we thought about doing it this way?’ And really being able to bounce ideas off each other,” Alison explains.

“ULTIMATELY, THE SKILL OF AN ASSESSMENT LEAD IS TO BETTER THE OUTCOMES FOR PUPILS AND SCHOOLS THROUGH IMPROVED TEACHING AND LEARNING,” SAYS ALISON.

Thecourse is available at aspecially discounted rate of £320 per person for NAHT members (normally £395). There is also areduced rate forblock bookings, normally forfive or 10 people,although delegatesmustbefromthe same school or MATtobenefit from this However,ofcourse,the point is that if NAHT wins this argument with the government, this sort of training could become centrally funded and accessible on amuchwider scale

thatassessment is the key to success forall of our children, if it believesit is an important aspect forchildren to succeed, then it should be funded appropriately.And it should be funded well enough so thatwecan all access thattraining,”she adds.

“But it is the wayitisdone,the way it is managed, thatisimportant. It needn’t be aburden. Fundamentally, whatwewant to do is involve teachers in assessment, rather than being reliant on atest,”headds.

HEAD TEACHER AT CLAYPOOL PRIMARYSCHOOL

As Amanda Hulme,headteacher at Claypool Primary School in Bolton and chair of NAHT’sassessment and accountability group,emphasises: “The government doesn’t always listentousasaprofession, especially when it comes to assessment. In the past, it has even questioned our ability to assessaccurately “So,wefeel the bestway to prove to them thatweare the experts is to ensureevery school has alead assessor in place. If the government truly believes

“I have always maintained thatthere is acorrelation between outstanding assessment and ‘outstanding’ schools. Because it is so important to be able to see exactly whereaparticular pupil is up to,” agrees TimSherriff,vice-chair at the CIEA, amember of NAHT’sassessment and accountability group and, until this summer,headteacher and head of centreatWestfield Community School and Start Well Family Centre in Wigan.

“For progresstobemade,the starting point needs to be accurate. Otherwise, your whole system is built on sand. This is not something thatshould be seen as increasing workload. Some people think that, particularly around writing, teacher assessment can be seen to be aburden, Timemphasises.

Thevalue of having this sort of training embedded in your school is further highlighted by the fact that key stage one SATs areoncourse to be scrapped from 2023/24, Tim points out.

“The question then will be,how do schools monitor the progressofpupils from reception until theyleave in year six?What’sgoing to happen?So, thereare manyreasons whyschools should do this programme

“Schools have got to be able to demonstratethatwhatthey’redoing, and the information they’resharing with parents and governors, is reliable and valid. Therefore, to have amember of staff who is aqualified lead in assessment, to me,would be valuable and worthwhile,” Timadds.

FIND OUT MORE

To learn moreabout the NAHT lead assessor support programme, including howtoregisterfor adiscounted place, go to www.naht.org.uk/lead-assessor-support-programme

AMANDAHULME,

“FUNDAMENTALLY, WHATWE WANT TO DO IS INVOLVE TEACHERS IN ASSESSMENT, RATHER THAN BEING RELIANT ON ATEST,”SAYSTIM.

TIM SHERRIFF, VICE-CHAIR AT THECIEA

NAHT’sregular ‘School leadership’ podcastseries recently looked at the lead assessor programme

NAHT director of policyJames BowenspoketoAmanda Hulme and twoother NAHT members who have already been through the programme: David Merriman, head teacher at Gaddesden RowJMI School in Hemel Hempstead and Hannah Smith, deputy head teacher at the same school.

On the podcast, Hannah explains that, as aCIEAchartered educational assessor,she had been the driving forcetoembed lead assessor training in the school, including persuading David to join her on the course

“It is about developing your knowledge of the theory behind assessment. Not justhow youdoit but whyyou do it. And howyou come to create assessments,”she says “Certainly,asteachers, we don’t necessarily think alot about the stage

NAHT PODCAST

beforeweconduct assessments. Ithink this course helps yousee thatfirst initial stage and howother people,who youmay be buying assessments from, propose and create their assessments.

“It really does makeyou look at what youare doing from an assessment point of view. Howyou assess, whyyou assessand whatdifferent processes and procedures youuse.And it just sort of gives youadifferent perspective on them.

“You divestraight in, and you’redoing this ‘because we have to do assessments every term, and that’swhatwedo’. But this made youreally look and think about howyou’redoing it and whyyou’re doing it. And howyou can improve whatyou’redoing to makeitamore beneficial process. It is justgiving you thattime to forceyou to reflect. Ithink thatwas really helpful,”Hannah adds.

“Whatwas nicetoo wasthat, because youhad overthe week to do it,

youcould work around your workload and pressures of everydayteaching and leading. We all had different days and times thatwecould access it, and it wasreally nicetobeable to have thatfreedom to do it over awindow, knowing thatitwould be responded to and thatyou would get alot out of it,”agrees David.

“Thatitisnot justatick in the boxthatyou do every term to send data to stakeholders and everything It’s actually saying, ‘well, I’vedone this, this is whatI’m going to do with the information, this is what I’m going to do with the results, and this is howI’m going to feed back to everybody.’ That wasreally useful; to actually be a‘critical friend’ towardsyourself as well.

“Leadership and assessment can be lonely,can’t it sometimes? And to have people to sharethat withwas very beneficial,”David adds.

The pressures of leadership

We allknowit’stough at thetop.The workload and mental,emotional andsometimes evenphysicalintensity of beinga school leader areimmense. We also knowthis canhavea damaging effect on health andwell-being, as NAHT’s ‘School business leadership in crisis?’ (www.naht.org.uk/SBLcrisis)and ‘Fixingthe leadership crisis’(www.naht.org.uk/FixingTheLeadershipCrisis) reportsstarkly illustrated. LeadershipFocusjournalistNic Patonspeaks to school business leaders on thefront line.

This term seems set to test school leaders morethanever. Following twoyears of disruption from the pandemic, school leaders arenow staring down the barrel of acatastrophic crisis in school funding.

Thereality is thatschooland college spending has been whittled to the bone overthe pastdecade –there’s no room forany more‘efficiencies’. Thespiralling energy bills, inflationary costsand lack of funding forteachers’ paythisyear mean school leaders will be forced to makecuts.

With school leaders at the sharp end of managing this, workload, health and well-being arebecoming even moreofaconcern.

Yetgovernment initiatives to support school leaders’ workload and wellbeing arescarce and, forbusiness leaders, pretty much non-existent.

As NAHT policylead forschool businessleaders Natalie Arnett puts it: “Too often, when the government is talking about workload and well-being, it tendstofocus on teachers; it doesn’t focus on school leaders. And then, even if we do talk about it in terms of school leaders, often school businessleaders areoverlooked.

ARNETT, POLICYLEAD FOR SCHOOL BUSINESS LEADERS

NATALIE

Aclear example of this is the support the Department for Education provides through the Education Support Partnership (www.educationsupport.org.uk/ leaders), which covers all senior school leaders except forbusiness leaders. Whilethe overall support is welcome,NAHT does not support the exclusion of business leaders from this and continues to campaign forittobeextended.

“Weneed to be articulating this conversation –thatthere is areal issue herefor school businessleaders,”emphasises Natalie.“Moreover, thereneeds to be greaterrecognition that businessleaders areoften the only ones in their schools doing thatrole, especially in asmall primary school. This means the role can often be quite isolating, and thereisn’t the internal capacity to provide coverfor them.

“Set thatagainstthe funding backdrop whereifthereare going to be cuts made in the school, it’s often the back-officeroles the ones supporting the school businessleader –thatget shrunk or cut back firstinany efficiency or cost-cutting drive,”she adds.

Being isolatedinthis way can also affect the ability of school business leaders to undertakecontinuing professional development and engage

in professional or peer networking. Afterall, if ahead teacher needs to go out, theycan normally get cover from their deputy or assistant head.

By comparison, thereoften simply isn’t anyone to coveraschool business leader if theywant to do the same

What,then, is the answerhere? “

Firstand foremost, the government needs to tackle the funding crisis in schools, which underpins manyofthe issues thatschools andour membersface.

“And then forbusinessleaders specifically,we’dneed to seea comprehensiveand holistic strategy,” says Natalie.“One thathas an understanding of whatthe workforce looks likeand the pressures school businessleaders face,and then offers an attractiveand sustainable recruitment and retention package

“So,pay would need to be in there, and workload would definitely need to be in there.

“It is also about howwe can raise the profile acrossleadership and education professionals more widely to improve understanding of

THE SPIRALLING ENERGY BILLS, INFLATIONARY COSTS AND LACK OF FUNDING FOR TEACHERS’ PAYTHIS YEAR MEAN SCHOOL LEADERS WILL BE FORCED TO MAKE CUTS.

“FIRSTAND FOREMOST,THE GOVERNMENT NEEDSTO TACKLE THE FUNDING CRISIS IN SCHOOLS, WHICH UNDERPINS MANY OF THE ISSUES THATSCHOOLS AND OUR MEMBERS FACE,” SAYS NATALIE.

the various roles abusinessleader might playwithin aschool, the professional standards theyadheretoand their vital contribution to the running of schools and trusts,”Natalie adds.

Finally,thereisanimportant role here, too, formembers in engaging with NAHT,guiding and driving NAHT’spolicyand campaign work –whether responding to member surveys, attending branch or regional meetings or joining member webinars.

As Natalie highlights: “NAHT has a specific school businessleaders’ council (see www.naht.org.uk/SBLcouncil), a core part of NAHT’sdemocracy, which exists to represent our school business leader members. Anymember can speak with their council and sharetheir views on the current issues and what theywant NAHT to be focusing on. NAHT also holds three webinars ayear specifically forschool businessleader members, with webinars due to be taking placelater this month (November) and next year (see belowfor details).

“Atalocal level, branch meetings offer areal opportunity to highlight some of the issues thatare specific to school businessleaders and gain support and guidancefromother school leaders wheremembers walk away from these meetings realising thatthe strength of NAHT is the solidarity with other school leaders,”Natalie adds in conclusion.

SCHOOL BUSINESS LEADERS’ WEBINARS

The next three free NAHT school business leaders’ webinars for 2022/23 will take place on the following dates and times:

• Tuesday 29 November 2022, from 10.30am to 11 30am

• Tuesday 7 February 2023, from 10.30am to 11.30am

• Friday 19 May 2023, from 10 30am to 11 30am

The webinars provide an opportunity to hear about NAHT’s work for school business leaders, network with colleagues and hear from experts on key issues.

THE CRISIS IN NUMBERS

43%

Percentage of school businessleaders who would recommend school leadership,adecline of 10% between 2020 and 2021.

70%

Percentage of school business leaders reporting increased worry, fear or stress, arise of 30% on the previous year alone

19%

Visit the school businessleaders’ council page forthe Zoom links to register your attendance: www.naht.org.uk/SBLcouncil

Percentage of school business leaders saying theyplan to leave within the next year

“I’vebeen abusinessleader since2015, but in the scheme of things, Istill feel likeI’m fairly new. Even in justthat time –seven years –the workload has expanded. Thereare moreand more things thatIamtaking on.

“Managing covid-19,too,fell mostly on the shoulders of school businessleaders –arranging testing and claiming extra moneytoget testing set up,thatsort of thing. And when the school meal voucher debacle happened during the pandemic, Iheardofschool businessleaders getting up at 2am to access the website.

“School businessleaders have often got apropensity to overwork, but you have to try to carveout abalance. What I try to do is restrict my work to the office.

It is sometimes easier said than done, but Iwould much rather put in longer hours at the officeifneeds be than go home and start doing morework later.

“I work in alarge secondary school, and Iamvery luckythatIampart of the leadership team; we’realeadership team of about nine plus the head teacher.Iam in all of the discussions, so Iunderstand whatishappening in each of the different areas led by the other people on the senior leadership team. Iknowwhatis coming down the road, and Ican get in on the ground with those discussions.

“If Iwasn’t part of the leadership team, they could be having all these conversations about expanding this or thatcurriculum area, and then it’d only be ‘whatabout the money? Howmuch is thatgoing to cost?’ later. That alone helps your workload as aschool businessleader because youare notconstantly catching up;you arepartofthe conversation when it is being held. Justanunderstanding and respect forwhatyou do as abusiness leader helps with the workload.

“For the government, Ithink it’s about not entertaining the idea thatwecan simply cut back-officestaff.Noone candoitontheir own; youabsolutely need ateam of people No one can do everything by themselves, whether you’re working at asmall primary school, nursery school or secondary school.

“For head teachers, it is about recognising thatschoolbusinessleaders need to be part of the leadership team, not carving youoff foraseparatemeeting. Because youcan end up duplicating work and the same conversations. It is about recognising the value of bringing the businessleader intothe senior leadership team.

“For the businessmanager,itisabout using all the resourcesavailable to you. Forexample, we have atimetabler herewho is absolutely fantastic at modelling the timetable.So, I don’t need to do alot of the groundwork of curriculum-led planning, which is great. It is about using the resourcesavailable to youwithin your team and the strengthsof everybody else in the leadership team.

“NAHT is already good at advocating forbusinessleaders and recognising us as aseparateprofession but also as part of the leadership team. Alot of businessleaders noware members of NAHT;thereare peers youcan speak to,which is such an important thing.

“If you’renot careful, being aschool businessleader can feel likeareally lonely job,sothe networking and the groups thatNAHT offers mean thereisalways someone youcan talk to when youneed to takeyour mind off of something or bounce ideas off them. It is important not to have all the pressureonyour shoulders and not to feel thatyou can’t speak to anyone.”

“School business leadershaveoften gota propensity to overwork, butyou have to trytocarve outabalance,”saysCheryl.

Cheryl Campbell is the chief operating officer at TheThomas Tallis School in London

CHERYL CAMPBELL, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT THOMASTALLIS SCHOOL

NAHT’sschool businessleaders’ counciland is a trusteeofthe InstituteofSchool BusinessLeadership (ISBL).

“I’vebeen in schools fornearly 13 years nowand seen lots of changes in thattime.The job has changed alot, probably because of academisation. Thetraditional businessmanager role still exists, but some 50% of schools noware academies, so those roles aregetting fewand farbetween.

“On workload, forme, it has been about learning howtoadapt to education rather than being subsumed by it. Icame intoeducation from a financial and commercial services background, and while it is avery busyrole,you need to build ateam.

Youneed to makesureyou have the right people in the right places on your team. Half of the battle is if youdon’t have those right people in the right places, youend up taking on alot morework yourself

“Another issue is howthe role can often be structured –and paid. Forexample,Iampaid for52weeks of the year.However,some schools only paytheir businessmanagers for46weeks and expect them just to be off during the holidays

“For me,thatmeans Ihavemore flexibility to get what, yes, can be a very intense job done while retaining a work-lifebalance. But alot of people, especially those on term-time-only contracts, don’t have thatflexibility,and thatcan be wherethe workload issues come.Having thatflexibility to work during the school holidays enables me to catchupand get ahead on things.

“Some leadership teams are supportive, but others aren’t. I’veworked in about 10 schools in my career,and probably only about three or four have really understood whataschool businessmanager is. Some of them don’t understand why you’reonthe leadership team. And therecan sometimes be astigma around the fact you’renot ateacher

“Tomyeyes, part of the problem is thatifyou’reateacher,you have set terms and conditions foryour employment. But if you’renot and you’reinaschool, even if you’reinan academy, theywill sometimes use the local authority framework forsupport staff.Yet, no local authority job equates to abusinessmanager,especially in terms of the intensity,the volume of work and variability of the role

“When yousee things come out from the Department forEducation or government about schools, it is about teachers. But actually,it’snot just teachers who work in schools, and Ithink it is important to recognise thatalot of the businessside is not teacher-led.

“I think thereshould be anational framework forbusinessleadership roles within schools with, of course, variable levels. Thereshould be a pathway and framework and then equal pay. Plus, morerecognition of all we do and howwecontribute.”

“I thinkthere should be anationalframework for business leader roleswithinschools,”saysJonny.

JonnyCoatesisthe chief operating officer at Eden Learning Trustin Durham. He sits on

JONNY COATES, OPERATING OFFICER AT EDEN LEARNING TRUST

“Onworkload, forme, it hasbeenabout learning howtoadapt to educationratherthan beingsubsumedby it,” adds Jonny.

Seeing the wood and the trees

SINEAD Mc BREARTY, chief executive at EducationSupport,looks at

professional supervision and how it offers leaders theopportunity toreflect on theircorepurpose in theeducation of children andyoung people

AsIsat down to writethis article,Iopened arange of books and academic papers, readying myself to give you an accurate, technical explanation of supervision. What could be more exciting? A quick skip through the literature, aselection of definitions and acurated reading list. Thestuff of dreams?Maybe not. Instead, I’ll tell the story of my relationship with supervision and other approaches of reflective practice–fromone leader to another

Isought out supervision for myself after the first six weeksof thecovid 19 lockdown. IknewIwas overwhelmed by the range of issues Ineededtoaddressas an organisational leader,but Ididn’t knowwhattodoabout it. Afriend suggested I try supervision.

Professional

In aprofessional context, supervision can refertoline management. Iwas also familiar with the supervision of clinical or specialist practice; our counselling team has regular supervision of its clinical work, quitedistinct from line management. Thereare schools wheredesignated safeguarding leads and special educational needs coordinators (SENCos)havebeen supported by practicesupervision foryears. Many special schools have well-established traditions of practicesupervision too.

supervision provides reflection, learning anddevelopment organisedaround professionalidentity.

What my friend waspointing me to wasneither of these Professional supervision provides reflection, learning and development organised around professional identity In the education sector, professional supervision offers leaders the opportunity to reflectontheir core purpose in the education of children and young people

Themonthly conversations I had during 2020/21 kept me well Idiscussed everything from my outsized sense of responsibility to specific approaches Imight maketo policymakers to effect change in the education sector.Nomatterhow dark some days felt, those conversations brought me back to asense of meaning and an understanding of howImight makea(small) difference. My supervisor held the big picture and supported me in lifting my head and reframing my experiencewithin thatwider context. By recognising, acknowledging and digesting my

day-to-dayexperiences, Icame away nourished and energised

It wasn’t and isn’t therapy. I’vehad therapyatvarious stages of my life, alwaysinthe wake of some difficult life event Therapy is personal, about our relationships with ourselves and our loved ones Supervision is professional. Whilethe work might sometimes touch on personal themes or highlight matters thatmight benefit from atherapeutic lens, the supervision work is always about the job and our connection to our purpose

In a one to one setting asupervisor holds asystemic perspective of the leader as an individual working within aweb of relationships inside the education system at this point in time The supervisor can hold this perspectiveas the leader reflects on particular challenges or successes, acknowledges and digests the personal impact of emotionally difficult aspects of their work, or explores options to addressspecific issues or relationships.

Supervision shares some characteristics with mentoring In good mentoring, aperson with relevant experience advises and coaches one who has an identified learning gap.The mentor shares wisdom and coaches the mentee to think and feel their way intothe role they’vetaken on. We’veall known brilliant mentors within schools who smooth the passage for new teachers as they navigate their new careers. Thementorknows the work, the context and the difference between a blipand acatastrophe. Keydifferences, however,are thatthe supervisor has moredistanceand is not part of the immediate landscape Ithink this distanceallowsthem to hold the full contextand, inturn, to help us see the bigger picture.

Coaching is also in the mix of relatedreflectivepractices. It is a goal-oriented processresponsive to the individual and their learning and development ambitions. The differencebetween supervision and coaching (both of which areuseful)is thatsupervision is not goal oriented. Thevalue is in the exploration rather than the destination.

While we areworking through arange of reflective practices, we might as well consider the work people do in groups

or by themselves. Peer support groups can be anything from astaffroom huddle where you share a moan about a new reporting systemtocommunities of practice meeting regularly in specific formats. Iparticipate in abimonthly facilitated group of charity CEOs Wemeet toconsider,reflect and share our thoughts on aspecific issue agroup member brings. Through thatgroup, I’velearntenormous amounts from other participants, and critically, I feel I’m part of acommunity of leaders rather than on my own at the top of our organisation I didn’t realise how much that mattered until I experienced it

At theother end of thespectrum, manypeople pursue reflective practicebythemselves, through journaling or other activities. Iconfess thatIamless good at this –I often get distracted by my stomach or a deadline –but manypeoplefind these practices essential to their well being

There is a whole range of reflective practices thatleaders can pursue They each do slightly different things. Ihavelearnt thatregular,good-quality reflection makesmeabetter leader and helps me to stay well.

In her book, Thinking in Systems, the brilliant Donella Meadows quotes aSufi teaching story: “Youthink that because you understand ‘ one ’ that youmust thereforeunderstand ‘two’ because one and one maketwo But youforget thatyou mustalso understand ‘and’.”

Supervision gives us the space to makesense of the ‘and’ –of the connections between things and people

Education Support offers six sessions of professional supervision or peer support to school leaders in England and Wales.This support is fully funded. Find out moreat www.educationsupport.org.uk/ leaders

Ihavelearntthatregular, good-quality reflection makesmeabetterleader andhelps me to stay well.

Improveliteracyoutcomes

Social modelof disability: breakingdownthe

barrierstoinclusion

At thelastnationalexecutive committee meeting, NAHT’s governingbodyvoted to adopt thesocial modelofdisability to frameour work goingforward.But what exactly is the social modelofdisability? NAHTsenior equalities officer NATALIEARNETT takesa look

What is thesocial modelofdisability?

This approach argues that people are‘disabled’ by societal barriers, not bytheir impairment or difference.

Barriers can be physical, likebuildings not having accessible toilets, or social/attitudinal, such as assumptions thatdisabled people can’t do certain things.

It’s important to notethatthe social model doesn’t advocate excluding medical treatment but rather that medical treatment is based on whatthe patient feels is important forthem.

It is generally accepted thatconceptual models aren’t set in stone,rarely provide aperfect explanation and areoften difficult to apply in ‘real life’. When considering the social model of disability, it is besttothink about it not as atheory of disability but as an explanation of disabled people’sexperiences in society and atool forcreating social change

Of course,not everyone uses the social model, and that’sOKtoo Howanyone chooses to talk about their impairment is up to them.

Thesocial model of disability wasdeveloped by people with disabilities in the 1970sand 1980s. In the 1960s and 1970s, inspired by the civil rights movements, disabled people started to question their lifeexperiences and counter the prevailing ‘medical model’ viewof disability thatwas prominent at the time

Thedisabled academic MikeOliver firstcoined the term ‘social model of disability’ in 1983.

What’s themedical modelofdisability?

In contrasttothe social model, the medical model looks at disability as aproblem with an individual, which assumes aneed to ‘cure’ or ‘treat’the impairment. Themedical model assumes thatpeople mayhavealowerquality of lifebecause of their impairment, with interventions focusing on howtohelp individuals liveamore‘normal life’ by the standards of people without impairments.

What youdoabout disability depends on whatyou think causes disability

From asocial model perspective, thereisaradical difference between impairment and disability:

•Impairment is an individual’s physical, sensory or cognitivedifference (for example,being blind, experiencing bipolar,having multiple sclerosis or having a learning difficulty)

•Disability is the experience of not being able to participate in society because of barriers facedby those with an impairment.

Thesocial model is important because it shifts the focus away from what disabled people can and can’t do and instead considers the barriers thatcause difficulties. Removing these barriers creates equality and offers disabled people more independence, choiceand control. And importantly,itwas written and designed by disabled people through conversations with other disabled people about their stories, so it is based on disabled people’s lived experiences.

By adopting the social model, we explicitly say disabled people mustbe able to participate fully andequally in society without having to change themselves.And that instead,it’suptoemployers, serviceproviders, designers and policymakers to remove barriers and makeadjustments.

What’s thedifference between‘disability’ and‘impairment’?

Whocreatedthe social modelof disability?

Whyisthisapproach important?

“Removingthese barriers createsequalityand offersdisabledpeople more independence, choiceand control.”

Northern Ireland

Castyour mind back to 2020 when the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee (TNC) –comprised of the Department of Education, employing authorities, sectoral bodies and teaching unions –reached an agreement on teachers’ payand workload.

Arising from the negotiations were nine keyareas identified forreviewto addressteachers’ concerns and improve the efficiencyand effectivenessofthe education system, centraltowhich is the ‘reviewofworkload impact on school leaders’. This reviewwas the firstofthe nine to be progressed, and in June this year,the dedicated working group (chaired by NAHT), which wasset up to takeforwardthis work, delivered its draft report to the various stakeholder groups. Thereport includes practical measures to bring about improvements thatremove unreasonable burdens on school leaders.

Thedraft wasthe culmination of ayear’s collaboration between trade unions and management

organisations and consultation with school leader practitioners across every sector.Aswas to be expected with such asignificant pieceof work, the draft report generated a greatdeal of further discussion and internal debate from all sides.

Theworking group is nowmaking amendments and adjustments following feedback from the various bodies represented at the TNC. All sides understand the sense of urgencyfor delivering meaningful and tangible change to the working conditions of school leaders in Northern Ireland, and pressureisincreasing to ensure progressisseen very soon.

As we move intothe final stretch of this critical review, it is extremely encouraging thatall of the trade unions in the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) areinfirm agreement, standing shoulder to shoulder in this collectivepursuit

Among the other eight key areas of revieware the ‘reviewofthe

employment model forteachers’, ‘review of consultation arrangements’, ‘review of initiatives to promoteand support teachers’ health and well-being’ and ‘reviewofthe accountability framework’.

NAHT views the series of review areas as aonce-in-a-lifetime opportunity to identify,expose,analyse and remedy the systemic challenges that have evolved and mutatedovertime, resulting in the currently unsustainable levels of challenge and expectation thatrestonthe shouldersofschool leaders in Northern Ireland.

While we arecognisant of the very significant challenge thatlies ahead, particularly given the financial constraints on our public services, we arewholly committed to delivering improvements forour membership

Afailuretoresolvethe issues of workload, accountability,efficiencyand effectivenessofeducation in Northern Ireland will have consequences for school leaders, school workers and children formanygenerations to come

Wales POLICY UPDATE

ith the rollout of the new curriculum forWales beginning this term, schools arefacing increased opposition to the content of relationships and sexuality education (RSE).

In May, agroup of parents launched a legal challenge at the High Court against the Welsh Government over concerns thatmandatory RSE lessons will be ‘sexualising children’.

ThePublic Child Protection Wales group said children as young as three will be taught about “sensitiveand arguably inappropriate topics” (including gender ideology) and thatparents arebeing disenfranchised by being denied the right to remove their children from sexeducation.

TheWelsh Government said these claims were incorrect and all lessons would be age-appropriate

Thecourt granted the group ajudicial review, the outcome of which is expected this term. However,atthe end of August, the group submitted an injunction to stop the rollout of RSE until the final judgment or at leastallowparents the right to withdraw their children from such lessons.

Theinjunction wasnot granted, and our members arenow receiving challenges from parents at school and aresubject to nationally organised campaign activity

NAHT has put together an advice document formembers (see www.naht. org.uk/RD/RSE-guidance-Wales), and we continue to support members with this issue

In August, education ministerJeremy Miles released astatement in support of schools and dismissing the misinformation campaign by the group,but the ramifications of his statement continue to cause waves in the Senedd.

Already this term, the shadoweducation ministerLauraAnn Joneshas spoken out againstthe delivery of RSE in the

chamber, claiming children arebeing exposed to material thatisn’t ageappropriate;making allegations thatwhat’s being taught is having an adverse effect on learners; categorising what’sbeing taught as a‘joke’ and as something thathas ledtoincreased bullying, and feeling ‘let down’ by what’sbeing delivered.

Theshadowministerhas repeated her calls forthe Welsh Government to revisit an opt-out option forparents, which the government considered during alengthy consultation on RSE and decided against.

NAHT has worked closely with the Welsh Government on the RSE code,which outlines the requirements forschools,and where

parents have raised concerns, our members have worked with them to addressthem.

Contingencyplanning

TheWelsh Government is developing a contingencyplanfor schools in the event of disruption during the autumn/spring term caused by sicknessorenergyrationing.

NAHT has challenged the Welsh Government on the need forschools to close and revert to online or distance learning in the event of energy rationing. We have emphasised thatitwould surely makemoresense to keep schools open and teach children in one placerather than forthem to be at home using moreenergy.

On the issue of staff sickness, we renewed our call forall school staff to be offered free flu and covid-19 boostervaccinations as a priority to protect the workforce,but the government has refused.

Education ministerJeremyMiles has said thatthe contingencyplanwouldn’t be used to undermine the legitimate industrial action of trade unions currently balloting their members overadispute on payand funding.

Wehaveemphasisedthatitwouldsurely makemoresensetokeepschoolsopenand teachchildreninoneplaceratherthanfor themtobeathomeusingmoreenergy.

LAURADOEL, NAHTCymrudirector,providesanupdate on theworkbeing done in Walestoprotect,support and empowerNAHTmembers.

Cardiac Risk in the Young is NAHT’s charity partner for Cardiac Risk in the Young is NAHT’s charity partner for 2022/2023 nominated by NAHT president, Paul Gosling 2022/2023 –nominated by NAHT president, PaulGosling

AboutCardiac Risk in theYoung

Every week in the UK at least 12 young people die of undiagnosed heart conditions. Since its formation in 1995, Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) has beenworkingto reducethefrequencyofyoungsuddencardiac death (YSCD)through awareness, screening and research, andsupporting affectedfamilies.

How canyourschool supportCRY?

CRY has created abooklet to helpschoolssupport our vital work.From how to plan your eventfrom start to finish, this bookletisfilled with tips and great ideas. Whenyou are readytopromote your event, the booklet turns into aposter that you canuse as atool to helpadvertise.

PAUL WHITEMAN: NAHTgeneralsecretary

Anargumentfor investment

Greetings, colleagues. Ihope this issue of Leadership Focus finds you well.

We’vebeen busy, and that’s OK with us; busynessisthe default position in our sector.Still, as you’re no doubt aware,this term, we’ve been busier than usual, with your union making it crystal clear to the government that, as aprofession, we can no longer stand back and watchasschools and teaching careers arestarved of investment.

Part of my role requires me to analyse howschool leaders, and our union, areportrayed in the media. Over the years, I’velostcount of the number of times ‘NAHT’ is preceded by the word ‘even’ on the occasions wherewehavechosen to speak out overthe government’s plans or issued an ultimatum to those in power. It’s usually used to illustratethatweare aunion with areputation fornavigating the political landscape carefully,often choosing to make(and win) our arguments behind closed doors. We arealsoaunion thatisfairly well-known forbeing reasonable pragmatic and solutions-focused.

Thereare good reasons why we maybeperceived in this way;wehavesecured many improvements formembers in the pastbymethodically examining the issues and presenting practicable solutions to the government using constructiveengagement and careful negotiation.

But the situation over funding and paystopped being a conversation thattakes place behind closed doors some time ago.Nodoubt you’ll have received manycommunications from us in recent weeks, asking foryour views on the matter, reminding youtoupdate your

personal details and, forthose eligible in England and Wales, balloting youonthe prospect of industrial action.

With the political landscape being as tumultuous as it has been in recent months, it’s impossible to predict whatthe futureholds. However,Iassureyou thatwe will continue making acase foreducation using the tools, resourcesand channels available to us.Igenuinely believe the next fewmonths will determine how much our society values the role of education in shaping it. Yearsof lip service, platitudes and snappy catchphrases exalting the role of schools have nottranslatedinto anything real or positive; special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)provision isstill lacking, equipment and premises arestill in need of repair,and theprofession’s reputation, while virtuous, makes it lessand lessofaviable career choiceboth forthose considering it and those already working in it.

Our colleagues in Northern Ireland started their processearlier than in England and Wales. Following aformal ballot, theycommenced action short of astrikealongside other teaching unions on Tuesday 18 October.I’m sureyou’ll join me in paying tributetoour members

in Northern Ireland forthe courage theyhaveshown in taking such action, and Iwant them to know thatwestand side by side with them as theycontinue to fight for fairer paywithin the profession.

As forEngland and Wales, the good news is we arenot alone; our sistertrade unions aremaking the same arguments, and the message is cutting through to parents and other areas of wider society.Governments mayneglect schools, but ordinary people value them, and ordinary people elect their governments. Whatever the futureholds, we absolutely mustkeep making the argument thatproper investment in schools and school staff isn’t a choiceinahigh-functioning society; it’s amust, the firstthing on the list. We need to carry on making thatargument forourselves and for every teacher,leader and learner thatcomes after us.

As we approach the end of term, Iwould liketothank youfor the work youcontinue to do in your schools and your communities, and Iwish youanenjoyable relaxing and fulfilling break.

Here’stoagood 2023.

Above: Paul Whiteman

Igenuinelybelievethe nextfewmonthswill determinehowmuchour societyvaluestheroleof educationinshapingit.

Avoidthe financial stingofa taxpenalty on your pensionpot

Increasing numbers of people face substantial tax penalties on their pensions, sometimes unexpectedly.Are youatrisk of an unwelcome surprise?

Youmay have read articles in the press about senior medical staff being hit by limits on pension tax relief,resulting in manydoctors reducing their hours or ceasing to work forthe NHS altogether to avoid losing outfinancially

These limits on pensions affect everyone in the country,although theyoften only cause real issues forhighearners in high-quality pension schemes. Given the profile of NAHT’smembership,you won’t be surprised to hear thatsome members have already facedrelatedtax bills.

This is only an issue while you’re building up your pension and at the point of retirement, so NAHT members who have already retired and drawntheir pension benefits don’t need to worry

Here, Iwill giveyou ahigh-level overviewofthe issue and flag where youcan go forhelpifyou think you might be impacted. Unfortunately NAHT can’t advise its members on tax issues or givefinancial advice, because this is ahighly regulatedarea.

What’s thebackground?

Theamount of pension thatanyone can build up (in one or morearrangements) on atax-free basis is limited. This means the moneythatgoes intothe pension is not taxed at the time it is earned. Instead, tax is paid when the pension is drawnout,and usually,apart of the pension pot can be withdrawntax-free Because this tax treatment is generous, the government limits tax relief in twoways:

An ‘annual allowance’ (currently at astandardrateof£40,000 formostpeople,but with a lowerratefor particularly high earners) limits the amount thatcan go into a pension pot each year with the benefit of tax relief

1

2

A‘lifetime allowance’ (currently £1,073,100) limits the total value of pension wealth built up while still benefiting from pension tax relief

Individuals who have unused annual allowances can carry these forward foruptothree financial years.

What happens if you exceed an allowance?

Youcan faceatax charge on anyaccruals above your annual allowanceatyour marginal income tax rate.Thereisa mechanism in pension schemes (often called ‘schemepays’) to allowyou to paythe tax charge from the scheme if youcan’t offset it against the unused allowances from the three previous financial years –offsetting is only possible if youmeet certain criteria and time limits. In return, pension payments in retirement arereduced by acorresponding amount.

It’s important to know thatit’sthe individual’s responsibility to calculate their tax charge,inform HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and ensurethe taxcharge is paid.

NAHThead of advice KATE

ATKINSON

providesa high-leveloverview of theissue andwhere to go foradvicenow to avoidthe pain later

If youexceed the lifetime allowance, youwill paytax on anyexcessat a rate of 55% formoneytaken as alumpsum andat25% formoney taken as aregular pension income

It’s important to knowthatthe lifetime allowanceisnot alimit. Youcan save more. Youwill only start paying the extratax when youtakemorethanyour allowance from your pension (this is usually when youdrawyour pension at retirement) not justwhen your pension pot reaches it.

Youmay be able to get ahigher lifetime allowance. To do this, you need to apply to HMRC forlifetime allowanceprotection. If youthink this mayberelevant, we recommend seeking financial advice.

Howwillyou knowifyou couldbeimpacted?

If you’reamember of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) or Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), youwill have ‘defined benefit’pension rights. Theway these aretestedagainst the annual allowanceiscomplex; the growth in rights overthe year mustbeadjustedto strip out anyincreases thatkeep pacewith inflation and are then multiplied by 16 and added to anyadditional lump sum accrual beforebeing tested. TheTPS notifies members through its online system if it believesthey have breached the limit with their pension savings. Some LGPS fundsnotify if theybelieve members have breached the allowance, but this is not universal.

If in doubt, youcan check howmuch is in all your pension arrangements by contacting the relevant providers –don’t forget thatthe allowances apply to all your cumulativepension savings, except foryour statepension and anyoverseas pensions.

Members of the TPS can see howmuch of their lifetime allowancehas been used by looking at the bottom of the firstpage of their current benefit statement, which can be accessed through the TPS online system.

knowabout school leaders’ pay, pension ratesand conditions of employment, visit: www.naht.org.uk/pension

Wherecan youget help?

This area is complex and highly regulated, and because NAHT is unable to advise,weare pleased to be able to signpostmembers to David James Wealth Ltd, which offers access to aone-to-one video consultation with an experienced member of its financial planning team. Youcan find moreinformation, including the cost of this service, at www.davidjameswealth.com/naht.

Moneyhelper,afreegovernmentbacked service, mayalso be able to provide some general advice, and you can access it by calling 0800 0113797.

What is NAHT doing?

While we can’t advise on personal tax matters, we have raised this issue with the Department forEducation (DfE) and will continue to do so.The complicatednatureofhow these taxes arecalculatedmakes it difficult forpeople to plan their financial arrangements and, in some circumstances, maycontribute to people deciding to retire.

During arecruitment and retention crisis, we arelobbying the DfE to ask the government to reconsider these tax limits.

Changing the way these allowances work fundamentally would require achange in legislation, and this is whereNAHT will continue to bring pressuretobear

HAVE AQUESTION ABOUT YOUR PENSION?

Email: pensionsadvice@naht.org.uk to hear from NAHT’steam of specialistadvisors.

Foreverything you need to

Covid-19 inquiry andworkplace safety

The independent public inquiry into the government’s handling of the covid-19 pandemic has finally begun in earnest, with the preliminary hearings starting lastmonth (October). Chaired by BaronessHeather Hallett, the inquiry allows us to establish an account of whathappened– the decisions taken and the impact on communities acrossthe country.Italsoprovidesanopportunity to learn lessons and makerecommendations forpositivechange to avoid the errors, some of them catastrophic, made during this pandemic. Whileitwon’t provide closure, it mayaffordsome collective catharsis, allowing us to reflect on the loss, commemoratethe deceased and support the families left behind.

TheTUC called forapublic inquiry in December 2020 on the back of the scandalously poor provision of personal protection equipment (PPE) forworkers in arange of sectors thatleft many exposed. Morethan15,000 working-aged people losttheir lives because of covid-19, with manycontracting the virus at work; the chances of this would have been reduced significantlyifthe right measures had been in placetoprotect workers.

This is whythe TUC–inpartnership with our member unions, including NAHT –will seek aleading role in the inquiry We want to ensurethe government is subject to robustpublic scrutiny through atimely public inquiry –one that engages all appropriate unions, holds ministers to account fordecisions made and establishes apublic record thatbears witnesstoour members’ experiences. In doing so,the inquiry can deliver asense of justicefor our members and, crucially,act as an agent forpolicychange,addressing safety at work, employment standards, systemic inequalities, and the need forproperly resourcedand integrated public services.

Theinquiry will deal with the vast

range of issues arising from the pandemic through amodular approach, starting with the preparedness, capacity and resilience of the government and public services to deal with the pandemic. Further modules will look at different issues, including other public services, such as the management and impact of the virus in schools.

Foreach relevant module,the TUC will apply forcoreparticipant status, which provides privileged access to disclosed evidenceand other legal powers within the inquiry.Wewill do so collectively on behalf of all our member unions, and we will work closely with your union to ensurethe concerns and voices of NAHT members areheardthroughout the process.

To this end, we have set up aworking group of unions to help coordinate responses and engagement in the inquiry.And we arepleasedtoannounce we have been granted core participant status in the firstmodule of the inquiry

This is likely to be amajor undertaking for

all involved. We will need to ensurewehave the bestpossible evidencetobring to the inquiry based on the experiences of NAHT members. Thefollowing things mustbe heardloud and clear in the inquiry to help inform the recommendations thatemerge:

•The challenges youfaced

•The confusion caused by the government’s guidance

•The isolation and immense pressure placed on school leaders

•The difficulties of coordinating responses acrossafragmented education system

•The role NAHT playedinsupporting its members

•The impact on teaching and support staff and the pupils and communities youserve.

Ilook forwardtothe TUC and NAHT working closely as we enter whatcould be alengthyand complexbut hopefully rewarding processinthe coming months.

Public affairs manager MATT DYKES explains howthe TUC–inpartnership with itsmember unions,includingNAHT– will ensure thegovernment hearsdirectly from working people andtheir unions during thepublicinquiryonthe covid-19 pandemic

Allset for conference

The conference, due to takeplacefrom28to 29 April, is set to be the association’sbiggestfor anumber of years. We hopetobewelcoming double the number of delegates compared with this year,and it’s clear thatthey’renot going to be short of matters to discuss.

Next year’s conferencewill also be unique from aconstitutional perspective. Traditionally,Annual Conferenceacts as the moment when one president’s term ends and another’s begins. However, due to achange in the point of transition, NAHT will be in-between presidents in April. This presented an interesting challenge because it is usually the privilege of the newpresident to chair Annual Conference, so for2023, both current president Paul Gosling and incoming president Simon Kidwell have agreed to co-chair the conference–afirstfor NAHT

It will come as no surprise to anyone thatpay andschool funding will be high up on the agenda, and we expect both to be discussed in detail at the conference, with members’ tensions already running high over these critical issues.

In order to stay relevant to the interests of the membership,many of the programme’sdetails won’t be determined until closer to the event. Still, Annual Conference promises to provide awidevariety of workshops, interactivesessions and guestspeakers, as well as a chancetomeet selected exhibitors offering relevant products and services forschools,and not forgetting the gala dinner Looking ahead to the conference, current NAHT president Paul Gosling said: “It’s no word of alie to saythat NAHT’sAnnual Conferenceis the highlight of my year.The

opportunity it provides forus to come together,takestock of whereweare,constructively discussthe issues and identify our priorities forthe year ahead is absolutely invaluable.”

NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman agreed, adding: “Trade unions areapeople business, and our strengthisbestdemonstrated on the occasions when we come together.Ican’t wait to catchup with delegatesinTelford, hear about howthey’vebeen getting on overthe lastyear and discus with them howwemove things forwardtoimprove both their situation as school leaders and the situation thateducation finds itself in as awhole.”

Booking couldn’t be easier if you’d liketoattend NAHT’sAnnual Conferencethis year.Simply visit www.naht.org.uk/annualconference

2023 sees NAHTreturn to Telfordfor itsAnnualConference.

Incoming NAHT president Simon Kidwell.

Directly below: NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman. Above left: current NAHT president Paul Gosling.

Inspiring Leadership Conference 2023

8– 9Juneatthe ICC, Birmingham

InspireYourself InspireYour School

WhyInspiring Leadership?

Each year, over 1,000 senior leaders of education come together to listen to the awe inspiring stories from the world of business, sport, the arts and of course education.

They leave feeling refreshed, energised and truly inspired, armed with new ways in which they can continue to make a difference by improving and applying their leadership skills

Now back for its ninth year, Inspiring Leadership 2023 promises another unique line up of internationally renowned keynote speakers each sharing their leadership stories and experiences

To see some of the previous about the event and book your place take a look at the website www.inspiringleadership.org

Inspiring feedback!

Hereis a small selection of your colleagues’ feedback:

It is a time to ask questions, refreshes me, at the end of a of leadership development and ‘This year has been by far the moment! I have been able to take

Hosted by

EMPLOYER BRAND

CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE

Tanyaexplains, “Ohmygoodness,it into greatdepth to understandmy to achieve.”

Thelast couple of years have givenus matters. Perhapsyourpriorities have changed,oryou’reevenmoredetermined to achieveyourlong-termgoals As abusy schoolleader,you’vegot so

87%ofUKadults1

investmentsare performing, so

theplungeearly.Thatsaid, past performanceisnot aguidetofuture returns. long haul.”

enough money to retire early.And it they did forTanya.Anadvisercould money, allsuitedtoyourpersonal youneed to decide your next steps. is thereadvising me.”

Financialadvice is aroute Tanya, a teaching assistant from London,chose She turned to NAHT PersonalFinancial

to discuss bringingher retirement theimplications of retiring early Again, he gave me very soundadvice.

With NAHTPersonal Financial through afreeinitial consultation foryou

Howtomakeyouroutdoor learning,educationalvisitsand schooltrips moreaffordable

NAHTandAssociation of HeadsofOutdoor Education Centres(AHOEC) member JO BARNETT shares hertop tips

Stay focused on the true value of the learning experience. When planning, focus on your educational aims and learning outcomes By doing this, you’ll maximise the educational value of the school’s resources, staff members’ time and parents’ money.

Speak to your provider Ask if theyhavealowertariff at certain times of the year.Find out about anycosts associatedwith number thresholds, which mayaffectyour course fees, and ask to see if aslight change

head cost afforda intoco

Look at the small print. Ensure you fully understand the terms and conditions and when the provider will require you to confirm the final numbers and pay. Also, know ahead of time what your insurance l cy includes and how to claim mes. nt

Givenoticeand plan sympathetically Allowparents to budget with as much notice as possible and payinways thatwork forthem. Avoid asking forpayments approaching Christmas and the newyear Thefirstpart of the autumn term is a greattime foraresidential, but think ahead so thatit’sa manageable period forpayment.

Understand who you’re targeting. Is it possible to offer parallel experiences at different pricepoints so thatthere’ssomething affordable foreveryone?For example offer both local dayadventureactivities at lowercosts and amoreexpensive residential adventurevisit at the same time

Pick cheaper travel times. Transport is asignificant expense,sotry booking more dable times to travel (such as tying oach companies’ school runs), loping relationships with the iders to securebetter deals or capitalising on repeatand regular guaranteed custom.

Get to knowand use your school’ssiteand local area. Teachers don’t often livenear their schools, so theymight not be familiar with the biodiversity and history of the area. Awalk around the siteisagood start. Forexample, Istarted teaching in aschoolwith a real-lifeRoman road as its boundary –easytomissbut areadily accessible archaeological site. Also,find out about the living resourcesyou have locally (eggroups and individuals that can help bring the curriculum to life) theymay even be parents already within your school community

Try ‘ swapsies’ with other schools. If you ’ ve exhausted all the opportunities at your school, what about any nearby schools you could access? Could you make it an overnight expedition?

Learn the ropes. Do youhaveany untapped resourcesamong your staff willing to upskill? You’ll not only grow and develop your team but also avoid buying in someone to lead the activities and experiences. Thereare supportivenetworks easily accessible online, free resource websites and social media sites. See some belowtoget youstarted.

TheOutdoor Education Advisers’ Panel (OEAP) provides guidance, activities, training and support for outdoor learning and educational visits. Visit: www.oeapng.info

TheCouncil forLearning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC) provides support on the ground, facilitatesthe sharing of bestpractices and promotes the benefits of learning outside the classroom. Visit: www.lotc.org.uk

TheInstitutefor Outdoor Learning provides access to the latest outdoor news, research, current initiatives and professional development. Visit: www.outdoor-learning.org

hen Isaw the word ‘compassion’ on NAHT’s Annual Conference backdrop recently,Igot excited. Ithink we all believe in compassion but feel it’s abit ‘wishy-washy’ compared with education, and we might wonder howitwill makeadifferenceinour school.

But compassion in education isn’t ‘wishy-washy’ at all; it’s about unity,strength, drive, connectivity and action –all these things we want forour teachers and children,”says retired head teacher Azita Zohhadi.

Inspired, she got in touch to shareher involvement with the Birmingham-based Compassionate Education (CoED)Foundation. Set up adecade ago with leaders including veteraneducators Mick Waters and TimBrighouse, it’s not justabout careand nurturebut also the planet and environment, says Azita.

“Wewanted the educational definition of compassion –how can it drivewhatwedoinschools? Howcan we ensureitmakes a difference? It’s not justabout the children but the staff too,”she says

During her career,Azita’spassion wasinclusion and opportunity; she believesfamilies in some areas areatrisk of being written off,and the pressurefor results can mean head teachers “get caught up likehamsters on a wheel and forget whytheycame intoeducation …It’sabout giving people the skills, knowledge and drivetostand up forthemselves, knowtheycan shape their futures and areagents of change.”

Thefoundation has 16 propositions foracompassionate school, grouped intofour strands: vision, ethos and culture, curriculum

and call to action. “Vision is what’s in your bones and blood: howis compassion driving everythingin our school forward? That’s where your ethos and culturestrand comes in –you need to liveitand breathe it foryour staff,children and their parents to showit. Youdevelop compassion through the curriculum, teaching and learning in your school –itdoesn’t happen accidentally.You can learn about compassion through your history lessons, howithas made change happen and the examples of when it hasn’t been there.

“The final strand –call to action –iswhatcan youdo about it? Howcan we give morethanavoicetochildren? Howcan theyrecognise that theycan makeadifference in the future?”adds Azita.

That call-to-action aspect is one manyschools arecurrently developing with the foundation’s mentors. Azita cites, as an example,the gender work in her lastschool, whichled to children investigating local resourcesfor

girls, considering howtoencourage moreorganisations to involvegirls and producing information posters.

Schools aregradually adopting the propositions; Azita says the foundation is trying to highlight to leaders howtheyfitthe Ofstedframework and what they’realready doing. Her dream –“ever the optimist” –isthat afutureinspection framework includes compassion.

Thefoundation’splan was to start with asmall group of influencer schools to spread the idea; it is developing that by compiling case studies fora publication thatwill demonstrate the practiceand “showpeople this isn’t justabout well-being and resiliencebut pupils’ outcomes too. It reminds us whyweare in education: it’s about making positivechange,about giving people optimism and afuture. It has to be about people and the planet,”says Azita.

“Policymakers arerecognising thatcompassion makes a differenceinall areas of school life. Theevidenceisout there –wejustneedtoharnessit.”

“W

Above: Susan Young.

TheComputing QualityFramework

Supportingschools to deliver excellence in computing

Is your school delivering excellent computing education?

The ComputingQuality Framework (CQF) is anew free online tool which enablesschoolstoreviewand improve their computing education provision and access free supportand resources. The CQF,which is nowbeing used by over 500 schools, tracks progress and recognises excellence by awarding aComputing QualityMark.

The CQF hasbeen developed by experts at the National Centrefor Computing Education(NCCE), funded by the Department for Education, and support for teachers is available from the NCCE’s network of Computing Hubs based at schools across England.

“The CQFshowcases the progress we’ve made in our computing department and helped us to review ouraims andcreate plans to achieve ourgoals. As an NCCE Computing Hub,we’re also lookingforward to supporting other schools to achieve the Computing QualityMark.”

Sophie Barr,computer science teacheratPate’s Grammar School,Cheltenham

Tanyaexplains, “Ohmygoodness,it into greatdepth to understandmy to achieve.”

Thelast couple of years have givenus matters. Perhapsyourpriorities have changed,oryou’reevenmoredetermined to achieveyourlong-termgoals As abusy schoolleader,you’vegot so

87%ofUKadults1

investmentsare performing, so

theplungeearly.Thatsaid, past performanceisnot aguidetofuture returns. long haul.”

enough money to retire early.And it they did forTanya.Anadvisercould money, allsuitedtoyourpersonal youneed to decide your next steps. is thereadvising me.”

Financialadvice is aroute Tanya, a teaching assistant from London,chose She turned to NAHT PersonalFinancial

to discuss bringingher retirement theimplications of retiring early Again, he gave me very soundadvice.

With NAHTPersonal Financial through afreeinitial consultation foryou