Research School Network: “You’re asking me?!”- Where to start in a new leadership role Nicola Owen, Head of School at Spixworth Infant School, part of The Federation of Spixworth Schools and ELE

We have all experienced the familiar self-doubt of starting a new job as a teacher; where do I go? Who do I ask? What is the school’s behaviour policy? What does everyone think of me? Am I good enough to do this? Can I remember how to teach? Do I understand what I am teaching?

No matter how organised you are and how many policies you have read before the first day, you will never feel prepared enough. Be reassured, this is normal and you are good enough; you successfully negotiated your way through a rigorous interview process after all. But how do you feel confident? Are you getting there fast enough? What do you prioritise? How do you begin? These are the next questions we pose ourselves.

Now, imagine arriving as a head of School in a primary school, so all these worries are magnified and you are expected to know the right answers to every question already! This is me, I have taken on leadership roles as a new member of staff in several primary schools in recent years so I am familiar with these thoughts and questions. They do not change no matter how experienced and capable I am. I reassure myself that I am being brave and it is good to push myself out of my comfort zone!

When I sat down to unpick these thoughts and feelings, to formulate what my advice to others in a similar position would be, I kept coming back to the same theme. Alongside my studies for a National Professional Qualification for Headship, the theme that kept reappearing, and I think should be prioritised for maximum and swift success, is relationships. Every decision, action and success rests on relationships. For me, three types of relationships are particularly important:

1. Relationships with pupils – through assemblies, visiting classrooms or teaching regularly, being present at breaktime and showing an interest in pupils to value their contribution to school life.
2. Relationships with all staff – listen, be honest, be wary, be tenacious and show an interest in staff as individuals. This is all staff not just teachers; schools are communities of individuals that all interconnect. By taking time to establish and model good relationships with each other, pupils recognise that teachers have a genuine interest in understanding them as individuals too.
3. Relationships with families – be seen frequently, share positive messages and informative newsletters, be fair and honest, remember to also value their contribution to school life.

Any pupil’s success is underpinned by their relationships, and their perceived relationships, with everyone around them. This also applies to leadership.

The development of relationships begins with trust. In this sense a culture of trust is one in which teaching staff have high levels of relational trust. According to Bryk and Schneider (2002) (cited in TDT NPQH course materials) relational trust:

– Is built through day-to-day social exchanges in a school community. 
- supports a moral imperative to take on the difficult work of school improvement.
- Facilitates accountability for shared standards, while also allowing people to experience autonomy and mutual support for individual efforts.
- Reduces the vulnerability that teachers feel when asked to take on tasks connected to reform. 
- Facilitates the safety needed to experiment with new practices.

Having a supportive environment is characterised by relationships of trust and respect between pupils, staff and families. It is one in which pupils are motivated, supported and challenged and have a positive attitude towards their learning. (Coe et al., 2020)

Overall, taking the time to build and maintain relationships, and reconnect, repair and restore relationships when needed, helps to create an open, positive teaching and learning environment where both staff, pupils and families feel hopeful and content.

​‘An optimal classroom climate for learning is one that generates an atmosphere of trust — a climate in which it is understood that it is okay to make mistakes, because mistakes are the essence of learning. …They achieve this by creating a climate of trust between teacher and student and between student and student. …It is a climate in which it is okay to acknowledge that the process of learning is rarely linear, requires commitment and investment of effort, and has many ups and downs in knowing, not knowing, and in building confidence that we can know.’ (Hattie, 2012)

So, the strategy is clear: for effective leadership and great outcomes for pupils, it is all about building secure, trusting relationships at every level of an organsiation. It may not always go smoothly, we work with human beings and they are never predictable or consistent by nature, but trusting relationships are vitally important. And starting a new role by thinking about how you will foster these will build a secure foundation for everyone’s future success.


References
- Bryk, Anthony S and Schneider, Barbara (2002): Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for Improvement. Russell Sage Foundation.
- Coe, Rob, C.J. Rauch, C. J., Kime, Stuart and Singleton, Dan (June 2020): Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review, Evidence Based Education, Chapter 2, Creating a Supportive Environment, page 22.
- Hattie, John (2012): Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning. Routledge.
- Sharples, Jonathan, Albers, Bianca, Fraser, Stephen and Kime, Stuart (2019): Putting Evidence to Work: A School’s Guide to Implementation Guidance Report. Education Endowment Foundation. 
- Teacher Development Trust (TDT) National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) Framework and Course Materials (2023): Theme 1, Chapter 1, Unit 1, Module A, Part 4.