This is a copy of the hand-out distributed on 27 January 2014 at Madingley Hall, Cambridge where I spoke to the Prince's Teaching Institute Headteachers' Residential on the topic of 'Developing School Leadership of Teaching and Learning

Introduction

Raising the status of teachers and the quality of learning in our schools is a priority that enjoys consensus from the vast majority of the profession, political parties, trade unions and other interest groups. While debates continue to rage outside of schools about the best approach for the future of the profession, those of us faced with the honour of educating young people on a daily basis are entrusted with making decisions which will affect the quality of educational experiences today. Teaching and learning has been at the heart of improvements we have witnessed at The John Warner School in terms of provision and outcomes over recent years and I hope to share some of the ways in which we have undertaken this worthy challenge.

Put teaching and learning at the HEART of effective leadership

Leaders should model the behaviour and qualities that they expect from others and if there is any intention of creating an institution whose core purpose revolves around teaching and learning then this should be evident in the leadership structures and activities undertaken by SLT to ensure that capacity is built across the school.

At The John Warner School we have an SLT that includes a Deputy Headteacher with oversight of teaching and learning who works directly with two Assistant Headteachers with significant roles within this area. Clearly, everybody associated with the school has an element of responsibility that relates to improving the quality of teaching and learning but having senior staff with named responsibilities in this area shows the value that the organisation places on the never-ending quest for finding what practice works best. These senior leaders are responsible for organising Continuing Professional Development which, as a result, has a strong focus on teaching and learning. They are responsible for the organisation and delivery of the Faculty Review Process. They encourage the use of innovative methods and share the best practice of the school on a local and national basis.

Put teaching and learning at the HEART of personalised CPD

Continuing Professional Development is an essential aspect of teaching as a profession. Teaching is a complicated profession which often falls prey to the whims of policy makers, the patronising critique of academics and the ill-judged comments of the media. It is time that the profession took itself more seriously and the training of teaching staff, both as they enter the profession and as they journey through it, should be a matter of upmost importance to school leaders. All Continuing Professional Development opportunities should, in some way, be related to teaching and learning in the assumption that we are always striving to improve the quality of educational experiences for young people.

Much has been written about[1] the belief that CPD should be focused on developing either mastery or innovation. Teachers of all ages and experiences have an array of skills and techniques which they use to encourage young people to learn new skills and knowledge of their own. There is however, no magic formula for perfect teaching, dependent as it is on ever-changing factors which make the job so exhilarating and exhausting. Teachers, therefore, should be continuously striving to master their role, to refine their classroom practice, to reflect on how effectively they employ core elements such as behaviour management and questioning on a daily basis. The profession has always slightly struggled with the concept of mastery as so many of the best teachers are coaxed into management positions and encouraged to divert their attentions away from the core business. School leaders need to model an acceptance that we don’t suddenly become expert classroom practitioners when we are handed a new title and kingdom to govern and should focus a reasonable amount of their time on improving their own classroom practice.

The profession also has a duty to adjust to the changing world, to experiment and test the boundaries of what goes on in and around the classroom. It may well be true that there is no need to fix something if ‘it ain’t broke’ but we should also seek opportunities to improve what we do by looking at ways of innovating and exploiting new ideas and technologies. Innovation is not about making use of technology for the sake of it – buying an iPad for every student in the school will only benefit their educational experience if they and their teachers can be extensively trained on how to get the best out of the equipment. Innovation needs to side-step the gimmicks which companies hungry for profit will aim at a profession which traditionally is seen as being technologically naïve. Teachers should, however, be encouraged to trial ideas using the guiding principles of action research.

At The John Warner School we feel we have travelled a long way in terms of putting teaching and learning at the heart of personalised CPD. Professional development is best conducted in association with others and with this in mind coaching provides a strong model. The concept of coaching within the school was first opened up to a small working party of interested colleagues in 2006-7. Today coaching is an intrinsic part of all of our in-house CPD as well as one-to-one support we offer from external coaches. Coaching encourages teachers to realise solutions for themselves within the areas they wish to develop. It acknowledges that what works in one classroom with one teacher may not be easily duplicated elsewhere. It encourages collaboration and an understanding that regardless of position or experience, what happens within the ‘black box’ of the classroom remains a complicated process with varying degrees of success.

Building on the success of creating a more collaborative culture in the school we have, over the last three years, introduced Teacher Learning Communities (TLCs) as a key part of our CPD provision. These communities find ways to enquire on their practice and are given INSET time to discuss new or better approaches that they have worked on in the classroom. There is a strong suggestion[2] that facilitating collaborative professional development experiences has a profound effect on the quality of teacher learning.

Teachers require a framework upon which they can structure the areas that they wish to develop through their TLCs. Awareness of best practice or emerging ideas has often been dependent on the availability of time, the motivation of individual teachers or on the top down approach of government initiatives. This is clearly an area which a College of Teaching would add lustre to the profession, but in the meantime there are some excellent models which can be used as a framework for effective CPD. Building Learning Power[3] is one such framework which importantly focuses attention on the function of teaching in relation to improving learning; not necessarily encouraging us to become better teachers but how we can help our students become better learners. A framework established by The Teacher Development Trust is The National Teacher Enquiry Network (NTEN)[4] which has similar aspirations of sharpening the impact of professional learning. The Prince’s Teaching Institute[5] also offers professional development opportunities that have a sound academic grounding and focus on challenging teachers and leaders to think beyond the test.

One aspect of the NTEN model that is particularly attractive is the recognition given through the award of gold, silver and bronze status following an audit of the quality of a school’s CPD provision. External accreditation, carried out with the right intentions, can be a wonderful driving force behind school improvement. We have been involved with Investors in People (IIP)[6] for many years and achieved the Gold Award with Champion Status in 2010. In 2013 we completed the CPD Mark[7] which ratified our focused approach to moulding professional development around teaching and learning initiatives and encouraging collaboration and innovation. We have found both of these awards to be exceptionally valuable in validated the way we have invested in our staff as well as a useful tool for identifying areas for further development.

Put teaching and learning at the HEART of intelligent accountability

Intelligent accountability is managing both internal and external accountability pressures effectively at a strategic level to ensure the school focus is on improving outcomes for students[8]. While schools should be encouraged to offer personalised opportunities for staff to engage with their professional development they also need to implement effective self-evaluation measures so that there is a clear awareness of what is going on. Teaching and learning should be at the centre of any soul searching that a school might carry out.

Lesson observations are a frequent and fundamental part of internal accountability and school leaders need to be intelligent in the way in which these potentially charged encounters take place. There are all sorts of dynamics at play with any kind of observation. A bad lesson observation is one thing; a badly conducted lesson observation is something else. Confidence and self-esteem are hugely under-rated facets of good teaching and the manner in which lesson observations are carried out can cause immense damage. How much time as a school do we spend on training people to carry out effective lesson observations? Not enough, I would guess. There are different approaches to lesson observations but some kind of strategy is clearly required. Are lesson observations formally judged using Ofsted criteria? Who carries out lesson observations; SLT, all members of teaching staff, students? What are the expectations of the observer and the teacher in the process? What training opportunities exist in relation to lesson observation? How are lesson observations organised and evaluated?

At The John Warner School we seek to formally observe all teaching staff three times a year using Ofsted criteria. Lesson observations are carried out by a wide range of teaching staff, but primarily by SLT and those with responsibility for significant areas of the school. Detailed guidance is given to the observers who are encouraged to meet with the teacher before and after the observation to foster stronger coaching relationships. SLT discuss lesson observations that have taken place across the school on a weekly basis and it is a frequent feature of staff training events within the school.

Lesson observations are also a key feature of our Faculty Review process, run by our Assistant Headteachers with responsibility for teaching and learning. Although the school was rated as outstanding by Ofsted in 2011 we received a good judgement for teaching. The Faculty Review process which has evolved from this time has kept teaching and learning at the heart of our internal accountability. The review will begin with a series of learning walks which give a sense of what is happening in the faculty area. This will result in a faculty meeting where potential areas of strengths and development are discussed, agreed and then shared with the members of staff conducting the lesson observations. Each member of the faculty is observed following the usual school procedures. During this process all students are asked to complete an online questionnaire about their learning experiences within that faculty which lead to Pupil Perception Discussions where trained student facilitators gather further views from groups of students. A scrutiny of work in the faculty takes place following analysis of the student questionnaires. This large body of quantitative and qualitative evidence is written up in an extensive document which forms the outcome of the review. Students receive a letter explaining to them what we have found and the faculty meet to decide on an action plan in light of recommendations. All staff are then invited to a learning lunch where the faculty are given the opportunity to showcase some of the most positive aspects of the review.

Put teaching and learning at the HEART of pragmatic innovation

Schools should be concerned about innovating the methods and resources that are employed to optimize teaching and learning opportunities. This does not mean that schools should buy every student an iPad. This does not mean that every lesson should make use of PowerPoint. Any use of new technology or experimental teaching ideas should be properly researched and trialed in line with the recommendations outlined above in relation to CPD. Technology does not hold all the answers, and when used for the sake of it can cause more damage than it is worth. But there are undoubted ways in which schools can exploit new forms of communication and ever-developing electronic devices to serve the needs of teaching and learning. At The John Warner School we have explored a few of these areas in some depth.

The emergence of social media have had a dramatic effect on the way in which we communicate with one another and schools are starting to undercover ways of using them as a force for good. Social media are a great way on engaging students in their learning, especially outside of the classroom. The Flipped Classroom model is a concept that many of our teachers are exploring as a way of enticing students into more effective independent learning. School leaders need to judge the extent to which staff are trusted to trial innovative ideas linking very closely with the personalisation of CPD and the intelligence of accountability.

We have invested large amounts of money into establishing and maintaining new technologies in the school that are fit for purpose. This does not mean over-spending significant proportions of the budget on equipment that will soon go out of date and which doesn’t necessarily improve the quality of teaching and learning. How many lessons over the last 15 years have been damaged by an over-reliance of PowerPoint slides? Technology needs to work for learning and costs need to be justified in terms of broader budgets and identified priorities. We have recently purchased one class set of affordable Android tablets to complement the 450 PCs and laptops in the school. If this resource works well for our students and staff, we may well consider expanding this provision but only if we are convinced that they have a genuinely positive impact on learning outcomes.

Put teaching and learning at the HEART of authentic partnerships

The extension of school networks has been a feature of many recent education initiatives and it is widely accepted that schools need to work in partnership to share best practice in the not unrealistic ambition of ensuring that every school could become good. Unfortunately as soon as a worthy idea becomes an instruction there is a risk that action is taken for the sake of it rather than for any discernable advantage. Schools should seek partnerships from near and far, from educational institutions and from business, for the purposes of support, collaboration and exploration. The commonality of partnerships should be that school leaders establish them with a view to improving the quality of teaching and learning rather than responding to an instruction.

Working in partnership with other local schools can be incredibly useful. A shared context and local knowledge can create some very fruitful discussions and points of learning. At The John Warner School we have very strong links with our local primary schools that go beyond the necessary aspects of primary liaison. Primary students use our sporting and science facilities, our language teachers teach and support in the primary schools and senior leaders give talks to primary parents on issues such as cyberbullying, for example. At secondary level there is a deputy headteachers’ network group as well as a headteachers’ forum. We have shared teaching and learning ideas with staff from a local school and given specific support to schools in challenging circumstances. All of these partnerships provide opportunities for student or institutional learning.

We also seek partnerships with schools across the world, for example in Chennai, India. We have links with universities for the development of post-graduate qualifications or to help raise student aspirations. We have strong links with business and commerce to engage our students in learning about finance education and potential future careers.

Conclusion

Developing effective school leadership of teaching and learning requires vision, time and energy. By putting teaching and learning at the heart of effective leadership, personalised CPD, intelligent accountability, pragmatic innovation and authentic partnerships leaders will go a long way to creating the conditions for sustained and meaningful school improvement.