Research School Network: Making History: Leading During Covid-19 How do you lead a department & SCITT remotely? An honest account about Middle Leadership in uncharted waters by Jodie Greenhough

Jodie Greenhough is the Curriculum Area Leader for History at John Taylor High School, the home of the Staffordshire Research School. You can follow her and her work here at @MissGHistory92

The uncertainty of the current situation is prevalent for all of us, with our daily way of working being transformed in such a short space of time. What was once second nature and our embedded practices, have changed completely and the significance of this time is not lost on any of us. Being a historian, when the virus first emerged and impacted upon all of our lives, our students drew parallels to the Spanish Flu of 1918. I remind students regularly that we are living through a significant part of history but for us more specifically, leading through this pandemic is definitely going to be something to remember.

After the Prime Minister announced school closures on 18^th March, when faced with this task of leading a department into lockdown, what was immediately evident were the sheer amount of issues that had to be worked through in such a small amount of time. We would need to consider how every pupil accesses the work; what this work would now look like and the process by which, as a department, were going to set this up; how assessments would now be done and how we were going to get across difficult content on a computer screen. Most importantly for all of us, was how we were going to manage pupil concerns and questions, and these issues only scratched the surface.

It was evident that as a school community we all had a large part to play in this and we were quite determined that as a department, we were going to be prepared. To do this, whilst still in school we had a department meeting where I had prepared a list of tasks that needed to be done before we left school, to ensure the smoothest transition possible for us after the school closure and to ensure pupils were not negatively impacted. Tasks such as scanning sections of textbooks photocopying and sharing year groups amongst colleagues for amendments to planning that was needed, were all key and we all worked together to ensure that this was completed. We prioritised ensuring that key stages 4 and 5 had the opportunity to discuss anything they needed to and were handed their booklets of work which were ready and printed as part of our effort. It was also key to have department discussions over upcoming sensitive topics such as the Holocaust and how that was now going to be taught. We were very aware that students independently investigating this without a very clear structure could lead to an emotional response or them viewing age inappropriate content which may be too much to manage without expert context. It was evident that in the days preceding our school closure, that staff collaboration really was the most successful way in preparing for the unknown and just demonstrated again the hard work of all of our staff.

Once closed, more ​‘hurdles’ whilst leading during covid-19 appeared. Some we could get over and some we had to go around but it was hard to appreciate just how much more difficult our roles would be whilst working from home and impossible for anyone to have predicted everything that would need to be managed on the day we closed. Communication with staff was now completely different – needing to deliver clear messages but also being conscious not to overwhelm them whilst they too were figuring out the complexities of our new working style. Considerations such as NEA components of A levels and how they would feed into Centre Assessed Grades and how I was going to manage department ranking when we were not all in the same room, are just to name a few. As a school we had very clear guidelines and procedures for whole school issues which definitely made this a little simpler, but it was still not easy. One ​‘hurdle’ we faced was ensuring lessons were still of the highest quality possible which obviously as teachers, was absolutely the main priority. We used the EEF’s guidance on home learning approaches extensively to ensure that our lessons were knowledge based and were directed clearly. We all felt strongly that open ended tasks such as ​‘please use the internet to…’ or ​‘investigate…’ were insufficient for our students and families as it would not provide enough structure and therefore would limit the learning. In particular, the use of metacognitive strategies has certainly minimised any issues with pupils being able to evidently access home learning. We are inundated with excellent work being sent in and students wanting to find out more which hopefully has demonstrated its success.

A second ​‘hurdle’ was communication with staff. Particularly in the first two weeks prior to Easter, the central focus were lessons and staff adjusting to their own work-life balance now in some cases, home schooling their own children. As Curriculum Area Leader, I am incredibly fortunate to have staff that even in the second week of the school closure, had offered to do jobs on the department ​‘to do list’, but I was very mindful to ensure they were protected too and had time to get used to this way of working but also not to diminish any willing, which became a careful balance. The way I managed this communication consideration was three fold: one being that they are able to communicate with me at any time, to try and minimise any issues and ensure a smooth transition. Secondly I try and only send out two emails a week to all department staff with all issues and questions or upcoming events addressed in there. For example, how our year 12 assessment fortnight feedback would look like now and any issues that had arisen that week. This is to try and ensure they have time to independently work and schedule their days and to not be inundated with a flurry of emails every day when something arises, but a more structured communication channel. Finally, we have had video department meetings when necessary, for example when allocating grades. These have been pre-prepared and an agenda sent out beforehand. This was to ensure that I had analysed all issues and gathered my thoughts beforehand and for staff to be able to do the same to ensure that the time is used more effectively. My department always say there are three core principles that I always use which are: always being student centred; ensuring everything is ​‘meaningful’ and addressing problems but focusing on the solutions. A triad of principles that I am aiming to continue throughout this current situation.

The final consideration with communication was with parents and students. Using the EEF’s guidance on what schools can do to help, we have worked hard to ensure that our lesson instructions are direct and explanatory with very clear resources which negates any extra stress for parents and students. No lessons require any printing and often the tasks can largely be completed in their books to ensure that this was not a barrier to learning. We have also ensured that parents and students get a reply from us that working day if they have a query, again to ensure that any issues are minimised, which has been successful thus far. These are merely some of the ​‘hurdles’ that we have faced in the last seven weeks and I am sure that there will be more, but it is definitely starting to feel like these once ​‘hurdles’ are becoming more embedded within our practice.

In addition to managing my role leading the department, another facet to this climate was how to continue my role as history subject development leader for our SCITT programme. Managing post-graduate students has been a very different part of leading during this time. Our subject sessions have roots in research and academic reading which then leads to ​‘in school’ application, these sessions now needed to be amended so that our trainees can work from home. Together, we have adapted a way of working through this with pre and post session tasks directed by the National Forest Teaching School which has given a straightforward and effective structure to this. But helping them navigate through job applications; home life and seeing how all of the research is relevant in the classroom without being trainee facing, is something I have to consider each week when re-planning our sessions. Giving feedback and interviewing future trainees looks very different now but after Easter, they had adapted a rhythm. Zoom calls are used to discuss research before completing their post-session tasks to ensure they get the most out of each session and I give written feedback to each trainee on their post session tasks. As with anything in this current climate, communication and collaboration seems to be the key to success.

What is remarkable about this period is that along with the extreme sadness and uncertainty, there are evident successes and adaptations like none that we have seen before in modern history. This has been done by all stakeholders in education in which this article has highlighted merely a handful. Staff are still working as hard as ever and consistently willing to go the extra mile, even from home; students are still engaging with learning and producing some exceptional work and it all shows the strength in the school communities. This has demonstrated the evidence for me personally, that the culture built in my team of collaboration and effectiveness is embedded and this is very evident in the wider school community too.

As a department, we have set students a task to keep a diary of this period to look back on in the years to come. I think that it is important as professionals to reflect on this unique and unprecedented time as we hopefully will never have to experience this again. This article will form part of my reflection and I challenge you to do the same.