RICHARD BENSON R
ANN HENDERSON AN
H Head teacher, SSpringfield Lower School, K Kempston, Bedford
He teacher, Head Wo Woodlands School, Blackpool
WHAT TYPE OF PERSON ARE YOU? In five words? Enthusiastic, passionate, impulsive, fidgety, talkative. Most prized possession? My golf clubs – and of course my children. Favourite biscuit? Fig rolls. Unmissable TV? Waking the Dead. Top film? The Shawshank Redemption. Favourite song? At the River by Groove Armada. Best book? Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Who would play you in the film of your life? I would choose Zac Efron, but more realistically Jim Carrey. Guilty secret? I never miss an episode of Glee.
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES I went into teaching because I wanted to make a difference. I had done work experience in offices and knew that I didn’t want to do that. I wanted a job where I would never wake up in the morning and think, “Oh, not again,” and so far I never have. My own schooling was chequered. I loved my primary experience and always loved playing sport. I remember three teachers above all others who didn’t find my constant talking annoying and disruptive, and helped me direct my enthusiasm in the right direction. My most embarrassing moment as a teacher was sitting in front of 300 children and having my head shaved for Comic Relief. We challenged the children to raise £400 to make it happen and they raised over £800. As you can see from the photo, it has never grown back. My leadership style is (I think) leading by example. I won’t ask anyone to do something that I wouldn’t do and I trust people to carry out tasks effectively. I am very lucky to be able to delegate roles to the staff in the school and know that they will complete them usually far better than I could. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s don’t make the same mistake twice and always hold up your hands and apologise if you have messed up. It’s okay to make mistakes but you must learn from them, otherwise people lose faith. If I were the PM, I’d keep my nose out of the majority of schools. We know what we are doing so let us get on with it. I would also make golf a core subject. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I am really scared of spiders. When I taught a class full-time I always made sure I had a child in the class who was on ‘spider duty’ and could remove the offending arachnid when required. Tell us your best joke Why are pirates called pirates? Because they aarrgh! (You have to do a pirate-style fist shake. My three-year-old son Harry loves this joke.)
WHAT TYPE OF PERSON ARE YOU? In five words? Driven, obsessive, child-centred, caring, calm. Most prized possession? My husband. Favourite biscuit? Lemon puffs. Unmissable TV? Outnumbered. Top film? Schindler’s List. Favourite song? Imagine by John Lennon. Best book? The Diary of Anne Frank. Who would play you in the film of your life? Angelina Jolie – because she is a bit of a rebel. Guilty secret? I once ate half of my sister’s Easter egg and then wrapped it back up. She was so upset.This is the first time I’ve owned up.
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES I went into teaching because from personal experience I know how easy it is to demotivate a young person and switch them off from learning. English was the only GCSE I passed first time. My own schooling was not very successful, but it made me want to make learning fun and successful for all. My most embarrassing moment as a teacher was when a student in Year One explained that he was bored with the lesson while an inspector was observing. So I got him to assist with the rest of the numeracy lesson and he taught some of his peers, a great experience which raised his self-esteem. My leadership style is participative, with lots of coaching. I bite my tongue and sit on my hands a lot because others learn best from doing and problem-solving for themselves. Sometimes it takes longer to get the result, but the learning is more sustained. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that you can never assume because something is written down in a procedure that staff will do it. If I were the PM, I’d ensure that we focus more energy on the teaching and learning of the most vulnerable and deprived. If we cannot build tolerance and acceptance in a local community we have absolutely no chance of any global harmony. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but in my first week as head of a new school we were inspected by Ofsted. I produced evidence of everything that was outstanding – but the truth was that I didn’t know where the bodies were buried! Tell us your best joke As mum returned from the supermarket, her small son pulled out the box of animal crackers. Then he spread the crackers all over the kitchen counter. “What are you doing?” his mum said. “The box says you can’t eat them if the seal is broken,” the boy explained. “I’m looking for the seal.”
English was the only GCSE I passed first time
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS
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