How Might We Refresh Reconnect and Refocus our Leadership?

 

I was rapt when the Secondary Principals Council won 2 annual payments of $6000 for Principal Wellbeing in the latest Collective Agreement. Steering our schools through the pandemic in a way that kept students connected to their school and learning, balancing the wellbeing needs of students and staff and supporting the range of and rapidly developing protection measures put in place by the government was demanding work for principals. We had been asking for programmes such as professional supervision for many years and now principals could use this new resource to best support their wellbeing.

I was a little disturbed by the speed at which a range of wellbeing retreats in a number of Pacific Islands emerged which included a few half days focussing on personal wellbeing (with, I suspect, some tools to support wellbeing) and time for rest and relaxation. I was worried a bit about these because it was my view that yes, a few days relaxing on a Pacific Island might help you overcome some stress in the short-term, but it may not actually address the long-term stress that was impacting on the wellbeing of principals. The demands of leading our schools in these rapidly changing times would still exist after returning from such a break.

During a visit to Wellington last November I caught up with Derek Wenmoth for a coffee to discuss how we could work together to support principal wellbeing. It soon became clear that we shared the view that a principal’s wellbeing was best served when they clearly understood their ‘why’, their moral purpose, and were equipped with tools that allowed them to lead their school on a journey of transformation that was driven by this moral purpose. I certainly knew in my own principalship that being clear about what I was prepared to ’die in the ditch’ for meant I had the confidence to be courageous and to take action. I was able to reflect that my wellbeing was best served when my leadership was guided by my personal Leadership Model shown in the diagram below:

This conversation was the beginning of the work that resulted in Derek and I rolling out Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus – a programme that began with a 2 day retreat for 14 primary and secondary principals in Hanmer almost 2 weeks ago.

Over 2 days each participant was supported to re-engage with and explore their own moral purpose around their leadership, imagine a range of possibilities, identify an area of focus for their leadership, explore tools and frameworks for guiding their next steps and connecting with a buddy from the group to support each other over the next 20 weeks.

At the conclusion of the hui we agreed on 20 weeks of buddy connection, 1-on-1 connection with Derek or myself, webinars from experts and whole-group check-ins. We also committed to meeting face-to-face at the end of the 20 weeks to celebrate our progress.

The feedback, at this early stage, from the participants has been hugely positive. One participant posted on Facebook, “Best PLD ever!”

Other participant feedback included the following:

I loved the mix of Secondary and Primary Principals, quite unique. Sincere collaboration felt between all participants.

A good investment in my professional learning because it was organised and planned by experts who have a deep, authentic and proven understanding of what is important in schools ie what to focus on for the maximum benefit to schools and learners.

Two days of taking a breath and focussing on what really matters with passionate, engaged educational facilitators in a peaceful alpine setting. Listening and connecting with other principals who came to refresh, reconnect and refocus. This hui delivered all this and more.

Engaged, passionate, well informed facilitators who seamlessly worked together to deliver an outstanding programme of thought provoking leadership learning.

Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus is the perfect title for this professional development. It does just that. A fantastic retreat, space to think, relax and start to reconnect.

While the 2 day Retreat component is over the mahi now will be about remaining connected and focused over the next 20 weeks to build on the momentum that got underway at Hanmer.

As a facilitator I came away refreshed, reconnected and refocused!

What Next?

Derek challenged all participants to think of themselves as Systems Leaders, not just as leaders of their own school (see his post here). Tomorrow's Schools has us as leaders of our own entities, each doing our best to navigate the rapidly changing environment. There has never been, in my view, a rallying vision for us all to unite behind despite the best intentions of the Ministry, different Ministers and programmes like Kāhui Āko. It is time for a movement of like-minded leaders to connect and focus in meaningful and sustainable ways to support each other on this important journey of transformation. This felt like the beginnings of such a movement.

We've started with 14!

We’ve had a number of inquiries already about whether we’re planning to run this sort of programme into the future, including questions about running it for APs and DPs. If this is something you’d like to be a part of, or know of someone who might be interested, I encourage you to add your name to our registration of interest so that we can keep you informed of our plans moving forward into the second half of 2024 and 2025.

Think about joining a movement of like-minded leaders!

Register Your Interest Here

An opportunity for emerging leaders

We are both really motivated to work with newly appointed APs and DPs as they are our future principals. I can’t help but think how I would have benefitted, early in my leadership, from being supported to explore my moral purpose in relation to leadership, to explore different ways of leading and to become familiar with a range of tools and frameworks to support my leadership.

The drivers for change in schooling are not going to go away and it is vital, in my view, that leaders do not become part of the roadblocks.

If you want to be on this waka or know someone who should be on it, please register through this link or share it with that someone.

Register Your Interest Here

 

How Might We Lead Towards a Qualification That Is Driven By Core Beliefs In Our Own School?

Last week I got an email from David Hood and he spoke about the launch of his book From Rhetoric to Reality, and about the work we had done together and the people we had worked with. I attended the book launch in May 2015 and on my return home published the following post:

Principal Possum, May 2015

I almost didn't go to the launch of David Hood's book, The Rhetoric and The Reality: New Zealand schools and schooling in the 21st century, last Wednesday night. It would mean a late afternoon drive to Hamilton to attend the function and then not getting home until 11.00pmish. I'd been feeling a bit flat all week and quite fatigued and nearly talked myself out of it.

I am so pleased I made the effort (and even managed to fit in a roadside-in-Huntly radio interview on the way down. This was supposed to be on an academic's claim that pen and paper should be banned from school but the article was in fact on the need for schools to align, quickly, with the needs of learners and their lives).

For 4-5 years I had been part of a network of principals, Coalition of 21st Century Schools, facilitated expertly by David Hood. It was here that I was introduced to the concept of the Paradigm of One and the much needed Paradigm of Many. It was here, under David's mentorship, that I explored what schooling might look like if we put students at the centre and met their needs and then developed the confidence to put some different things in place.

He exposed us to hard copy readings back then that now flow daily across my consciousness through Twitter. He took us on a study tour to Australia to explore Rich Tasks. It was powerful stuff (the power of which I did not appreciate at the time).

His gentle support (though I always sensed a level of impatience within him - after all he wrote his first book Our Secondary Schools Don't Work Anymore 17 years ago) encouraged me to introduce 3 Day Wananga, 100 Minute Learning Periods, small group Learning Advisories and High Impact Projects at Opotiki College in 2011/2012.

Since that time I have been at HPSS attempting to lead a school that allows a secondary school to work for our students by being relevant for them. The hope has also been that we may influence work in other schools. The Paradigm of One and The Paradigm of Many has become part of my mantra and I had forgotten that it had emerged from the work with David.

The launch was appropriately at Tai Wananga, a school in Ruakura, Hamilton, that David had assisted in establishing. This is a school that not only allows Maori to achieve as Maori but also puts in place a model of secondary schooling that we at HPSS also aspire to.

In David's brief address to the gathering he spoke of the need for schools to place the needs, passions, lives and futures of their students at the centre of curriculum design, pedagogy and decision-making. It was a true tears in my eyes moment and reminded me of the influence he has had.

I was invited to stay and share a meal with him before heading home. Arrival at home was looking further away but I jumped at the opportunity. Over dinner we committed to maintaining our connection with David already booking in to visit us with me committing to taking staff to visit Tai Wananga. It was over dinner that his frustration and impatience with the rate of change in thinking about and practice in secondary schools was occurring.

It was a late arrival home but that short time with David had been invaluable.

In his latest email there still existed a frustration with what had happened with NCEA, the missed opportunity with the Bali Haque led review of Tomorrow's Schools and some wonderings about where the new Government's policies would take us.

Last week I posted my thoughts and suggestions on NCEA Level 1 and I'm sure it was the exchange of communication with David that brought those thoughts to the surface.

Yesterday (Friday 1 March) it was pleasing to see a Letter to the Editor in the NZHerald from David Hood, which I have included below:

History of exams

The main problems with NCEA are firstly the decision to create three qualifications in the last three years of secondary school, the only country in the world to do so.

That is a tremendous load on students and teachers. This is why many schools are abandoning NCEA Level 1, but also because Level 1 has no value in the marketplace. Level 2 is now the base qualification for entry to employment or further education.

Secondly, was the decision to require the achievement of an arbitrary number of credits to be awarded for any one of the three qualifications. This inevitably led to debates on the relative value of different subjects, especially between “academic” and “vocational”.

Neither of these were recommended by the NZQA board back in 1992. NCEA was intended to be one qualification awarded when students graduated from school, and would record all credits achieved at whatever point in time in their schooling.

These recommendations were strongly opposed by a lobby group of mainly “prestigious” state and private boys’ schools. The result is a system now being criticised by James Bentley of St Peter’s College (NZ Herald, Feb 27).

David Hood, NZQA CEO 1990-97.

Imagine if that vision for qualifications described in his second to last paragraph had come to fruition!

I'm keen to keep imagining it as a possibility.

We can go close to this in our own schools under the current and new system simply by:

• dropping NCEA Level 1 (and not replacing it with anything else!)
• moving the focus to students spending their 2 or 3 years in the senior school achieving their quality qualification by the time they graduate. This requires:
• a rejection of the focus on calendar year qualifications and shift to a focus on the qualification at graduation. This will take some courage as such a process is not represented well in league tables
• a change in the mindset of teachers in the senior school to that similar to those in the junior school which has them focusing on deep, engaging learning programmes rather on the assessment event
• reporting in the senior school to be on progress through the Curriculum Levels and to not include Achievement Standard results (these are already accessible in real time on schools' LMS's)

All of these are simple to bring about, but they do need to align with your own and your school's core beliefs about teaching, learning, engagement and qualifications.

Achieving Wellbeing Through Connection: Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus

 

Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus

Apart from reading/listening to Brene Brown et al (who hasn't?) I haven't done much in the way of research or study about the topic of Wellbeing. My thoughts are based entirely on my 30 years of school leadership, with several of those years dealing with quite demanding situations ranging from angry people, to unmotivated people, to systemic confusion, to pandemics to climate crisis impacts.

What do I know?

Firstly, we must take personal responsibility for our own wellbeing. For me this has included 2 important elements: opportunity for personal reflection and 'me' time AND opportunity for connection with others. 

I run. I often run for hours and for many miles, largely by myself. This gives me head space to reflect, process complex work and personal issues, solidify my thinking and make decisions. In these situations I often find myself exploring my 'why' in relation to any issue, thinking about what I'd 'die in the ditch' for, thinking about 'moral purpose'.

I connect and network with others. I do this through entering sporting events, socialising, attending and/or leading workshops, being part of various 'çritical friends' groups. Testing out my thinking, from my personal reflection time (running) within these networks brings a range of perspectives that will both support and challenge me.

This approach to wellbeing has contributed to the development of my personal leadership model shown below:

I have been doing a lot of thinking about how this impacts on wellbeing as principals throughout Aotearoa have access to $6000pa to support their wellbeing and I have seen many 'programmes' being offered to principals to spend this on.

Several I have seen offer time in a luxury resort, in some cases on a Pacific Island, with a combination of workshops on wellbeing and activities that are intended to contribute to wellbeing eg massage/spa, golf etc. There is no doubt that one's wellbeing, at that time, will be in a good space. The question has to be asked, though, is does such a programme have a longstanding beneficial impact on wellbeing, or will the luxury feeling soon be forgotten when once back in the trenches of leading a school?

My experience tells me that when I am certain of my 'why', when I can clearly enunciate it, when it drives my decision-making and my actions I feel better about myself and my contribution to the work of leading a school. This is the Moral Purpose from the model above.

I then find that I now have the confidence and the courage to act on my moral purpose and to bring it to life in my work. Displaying this courage makes me feel good.

But it is when I connect with others and share my moral purpose and plans for action with them as 'çritical friends' that some real gold lies. It is this connection that brings the richness to the work. For this to be effective I have to have an Open to Learning mindset and be prepared to discover that I might be wrong about some of my plans.

When these three come together I feel on top of the world in my work - my wellbeing is high. It becomes a way of working which brings a sustainability to my wellbeing development rather than me relying on the odd luxury escape or a few tools to manage my wellbeing.

Secondly, as leaders we need to be cognizant of our impacts on the wellbeing of others who are part of our work community but that we need to support them to find ways to develop their own wellbeing.

One of the most important things we can do to have a positive impact on the wellbeing of our people is to create an environment where our school's moral purpose is clear, where guidelines for action resulting from this purpose drive actions and decision-making, where we, everyday, walk the talk and support others to do so and where we show we welcome the voice of others as we might be wrong in some of our assumptions. People feel good, about themselves, their colleagues, their learners, their contribution and their work, when they are part of such an environment.

The Refresh, Reconnect, Refocus programme Derek Wenmoth and myself have designed and which kicks off with a 2 day retreat at Hanmer Springs (nothing wrong with a bit of luxury!) on the evening of 20 March is driven by the principles described above. At the Retreat leaders will refresh their thinking about what is possible and what their 'moral purpose' is, reconnect with this purpose and with other like-minded leaders, and refocus their work on bringing it to life in their schools.

Because it must be sustainable to have an impact the retreat is followed by a 20 week programme of online connecting with the whole group, with a critical friend and with Derek and myself as we support participants in their work. We will then conclude with a 24 hour celebration time together where we share our progress and discuss our next steps.

We have a mix of primary and secondary leaders signed up but there are 2 spaces left. If you think this is the programme for you to support your wellbeing and leadership growth or think it would be great for a colleague there is a brief window to sign up. Information and registration processes are in this link.

Best wishes for 2024.

How might we overcome hurdles on the way

Happy New Year to you all.

If you've read some of my recent posts you may recall how I've used my big, hairy goal of running 100 miles at the Tarawera Ultra Marathon in February as a metaphor for school transformation. I have written about setting a truly aspirational goal, one that has some chance of not being able to be achieved and the importance of sharing it which gives some impetus to really trying to achieve it.

In settling on the aspirational goal it is vital to be very clear on your 'why' - a step that is often overlooked. This can be focused on by asking yourself, "Why might I [choose to run 100 miles]" - insert own big, hairy goal. In my case my 'why' is to test what I am truly capable of as I make the journey through my 60s.

I then had to ask myself, "How might I [run 100  miles]?" I had to think about all of the aspects of training for such an event, seek out expert advice, consider how I've responded to similar challenges and adopt an open-to-learning, optimistic and responsive mindset. By combining those guidelines for action I developed a plan which became the answer to "What might I do [to successfully complete a 100 mile race]?

And, of course, as for all major enterprises things go wrong. Life commitments impact on the plan and injuries come along. In my case, I experienced a niggling and potentially major overuse injury to my foot. At first, I tried to press on through the discomfort, then I "did some research" and tried to manage it myself, and I finally sought expert help. To make sure I could heal I was forced, at the very time in my programme that I should have been at peak mileage, to radically adjust my plan (which involved 2 weeks of walking rather than running).

Now 6 weeks out from the even I am free of pain and I can feel myself building strength (physical and mental) to give me the best chance of being successful. However, as I get closer to the event, the realisation of what I have set out to achieve often overwhelms me and I am still feeling that completing the event in the required time is still only 50/50.

I do know, though, that whatever the outcome the journey, the exploring my 'why', determining my guidelines for action, developing a plan and then adapting it as the hurdles appear in front of me will all contribute to my learning for a future "How might I ....?" 

It is a bit similar to a school transformation journey. It involves a big, hairy goal which is shared in the public space. It also involves a deep exploration of the 'why', the 'how' and the 'what' and requires responsiveness, resilience and adaptability when you fall into the Learning Pit as the inevitable hurdles present themselves. There is also a sense of comfort in knowing that if things don't pan out how you expect then there will be still some cool experiences and learning on the way.

An unexpected cool experience for me is that my daughter has jumped at the chance to be my companion/pacer over the last 50k. This is including training together on the trails (lots of neat bonding and talk) and preparing, together, the equipment and resources we will need. This in itself will be valued by me irrespective of the outcome.

If you are wanting to set out on a school transformation journey or are on one but have become a bit stuck you should check out this exciting 20 week programme Derek Wenmouth and I will be facilitating. It starts in March with a 2 day retreat in Hanmer Springs then includes 20 weeks of remote mentoring and a final 1 day of celebration. We'll help you explore your 'why', settle on your 'how' and support you in your 'what'. And you'll do this while being part of a network of other like-minded leaders.

There are a small number of places left with final sign update being 4th February. Check it out.

And if you are a DP or HOF with school leadership aspirations get in contact with us as we plan something similar but appropriate for those of you at that stage in your leadership journey.

From Principal Possum to How Might We Lead 2023: A summary and look forward

 2023 was a year of uncertainty for me. But sitting here right now 2024 is one of excitement. The thing I'm most excited about is to work with Derek Wenmouth. Early next year we are running a a 20-week professional development programme for principals, focusing on wellbeing, innovation and change. I really love the model we have come up with as we support principals to Refresh Reconnect and Refocus through two retreats (kicking off at Hanmer Springs in late March) bookending 20 weeks of remote mentoring and connecting. We still have some places left but confirmations must be received by 4 February to secure a place in the programme. Please help us spread the word to let others know about this exciting opportunity. 

Find out more here.

I finished up as Foundation Principal of Hobsonville Point Secondary School in July this year. It took 2 years, initially keeping it to myself, to come to the conclusion that that was the right time to leave. Of the many decisions I've had to make in my career this was one of the hardest. I loved my work, I loved the people I was working with, I loved the students and I felt I was still making a difference. But I'm convinced it was time for someone else to lead and take the school further into the future.

In this post I wrote about the moving haka I experienced on my final day and also on what my plans were in the future, considering I believed that I could still make a contribution in the education field.

My plans centred around forming HMWLead (How Might We Lead) and offering opportunities to partner with schools and their leadership teams to explore ways of leading in such a dynamic environment.

In one of my first posts with HMWLead I wrote of the importance of having a clear understanding of and strong commitment to your personal 'why' as a leader. Having a clear understanding of your 'why' or moral purpose, in my view, gives a leader the courage to lead. My personal model of leadership captured in this visual shows not only the importance of Moral Purpose and Courage but also accepting the sometimes quite challenging position that you might be wrong (Open to Learning).

In a September post I launched the HMWLead website.

In my October post I used the analogy of my entry into the Tarawera Ultra 100 mile trail run to  encourage thinking around what might be possible when we set out to test what we are truly capable of achieving. I wrote about my experience at Opotiki College going from 40-50 suspensions a year to zero as an example of exploring different approaches to age-old problems.

My next post explored how we might go about the seemingly daunting task of transforming how we do 'schooling'. I am more and more convinced that how we do this work is to really focus on what it is that we know that creates the conditions for the best teaching and learning that is required today. We need to start with understanding and agreeing on how students learn best. From there we need to develop a set of core beliefs for which we are ready to "die in the ditch" and design our schools based on those core beliefs.

In a further post I focused on the view that the number one principle for effective schools seems to be that they have clearly articulated and shared beliefs about learning that are lived in every classroom.

I then proposed that the clearly articulated and shared beliefs about learning that are lived in every classroom need to be driven by a vision and mission which are deeply informed by new contexts for learning. In the previous post I stated that, in the end, it doesn't matter what the core beliefs about learning are but that it was vital that they were lived in every classroom. But, of course, it does matter.

If we start, as we should, with the question:

• "How do children and adults learn most powerfully and deeply in their lives?" (Modern Learners).

and we add:

• "When they leave us, what will our students need to be able to do, and what kind of people will they be?" (Modern Learners)

and we take into account the rapidly changing and threatened world in store for our current learners (climate crisis, pandemics, increasing inequity, war, biodiversity threat, AI, world of work), we must explore, embrace and fully incorporate in our design of schools and of learning new ways in which we can learn and become educated.

As 2023 ends I am able to reflect on being satisfied at the timing of my stepping down from principalship and the challenge and excitement I am feeling as a result of my work in schools, most of whom are embracing an ongoing partnership to support them on their journey. Their journeys are all very different, but they are all benefiting from exploring their 'why' - the things they are prepared to die in the ditch for.

I'm still excited by my upcoming challenge to complete the 100 miler in February despite the setbacks and challenges that have occurred.

I'm extremely excited by the collaboration with Derek Wenmouth. Our Refrresh, Reconnect, Refocus programme for school leaders is innovative and we are already planning similar for the different levels of leadership within schools.

In the meantime, if you're a school leader (primary or secondary) wanting to experience what this programme offers get amongst it here. If you're a DP or middle leader with aspirations to lead with Moral Purpose and Courage then watch this space.

Sing out if you have any questions.

Have a happy and safe summer.

How Might We Lead and FutureMakers: Sustainable support of principal wellbeing

 I love the How Might We Lead title of my little venture that is designed to support school leaders and their teams to look at how they might lead differently so they can bring their moral purpose to life in a way that allows teachers and students to thrive.

The 'How' puts the focus clearly on exploring possibilities and focusing on process. The 'Might' hints at the possibility of not finding the answer straight away but suggests giving some things a go. The 'We' centres on exploration and trying things out as a collective, networked activity.

I'm hugely excited by a recent and ongoing collaboration with Derek Wenmouth and his platform FutureMakers. His platform has a cool title, too, as it points to where our focus should be (Future), with the 'Makers' bit pointing to the agency that needs to be developed in leaders so that they can bring life to their vision for the future.

Our recent collaboration has resulted in the development of a powerful and sustainable approach to support principal wellbeing which focuses on leaders reconnecting with their personal 'why' and being equipped with tools to bring that to life in their schools, supported by a strong network of like-minded leaders who maintain a strong connection throughout the 20 week programme.

While there has been a recent and necessary focus on the wellbeing of students and of teachers, the wellbeing of school principals has often been overlooked. When thinking about how best to support/grow the wellbeing of school leaders it is important to concentrate on strategies that are long-lasting and sustainable. A luxury escape with some personal pampering, while attractive, does little more than ease the load/worry at that point in time and is, in itself, not enduring. We believe that leaders who have a clear sense of their ‘why’, are confident in articulating their ‘why’ in ways that rally others around them, who are excited by the future they see in front of them for themselves, their colleagues and their students and who have a set of tools they can use in concert with a community of similarly excited leaders have their wellbeing best supported.

Detailed information and the registration process can be found here. We're limiting this programme to 20 principals so we can ensure strong connections are sustained between all participants. Registrations are coming in quickly so you'll need to act quite quickly to take advantage of this innovative opportunity.

Our programme is structured as follows:

• 2 day retreat at the wonderful Hanmer Springs
• 20 weeks of remote coaching and mentoring (a mix of whole group and 1-on-1)
• 1 day face-to-face celebration and planning of next steps

The three elements of the programme are:

• Refresh - explore how to address your physical, mental and social wellbeing
• Refocus - explore your personal 'why' and be exposed to tools to plan from that point
• Reconnect - design a personal and collective view of a future-focused approach supported by a community of like-minded leaders

This programme well and truly aligns with FutureMakers' vision to:

• Inspire the next generation of leaders, thinkers and problem-solvers

and HMWLead's vision to:

• Empower educational leaders for transformative change

We'd love you to join us on this journey.

How Might We Lead? Designing our new narrative

In my previous post I focused on the view that the number one principle seems to be that effective schools have clearly articulated and shared beliefs about learning that are lived in every classroom.

This post proposes that the clearly articulated and shared beliefs about learning that are lived in every classroom need to be driven by a vision and mission which are deeply informed by new contexts for learning. In the previous post I stated that, in the end, it doesn't matter what the core beliefs about learning are but that it was vital that they were lived in every classroom. But, of course, it does matter.

If we start, as we should, with the question:

• "How do children and adults learn most powerfully and deeply in their lives?" (Modern Learners).

and we add:

• "When they leave us, what will our students need to be able to do, and what kind of people will they be?" (Modern Learners)

and we take into account the rapidly changing and threatened world in store for our current learners (climate crisis, pandemics, increasing inequity, war, biodiversity threat, AI, world of work), we must explore, embrace and fully incorporate in our design of schools and of learning new ways in which we can learn and become educated.

These new ways of learning which will better prepare our ākonga for the realities of their fast-changing world need to be central and visible in a compelling narrative of what the school stands for and the principles that guide it.

Charles Leadbetter in Learning on Purpose (Centre for Strategic Action) says, " A compelling narrative has to convey both purpose and possibility, it speaks to identity (who you are, where you've come from and what you stand for) and intent (where you are going, what you want to achieve)." He also talks of the importance of being able to tell a coherent story about yourself. "with an arc into the future."

He describes a process to follow to establish the compelling narrative:

• clearly identify the dominant narrative which you wish to challenge and "how it disables you from making change and what its weaknesses are, how it does not add up."
• settle on a metaphor to build the narrative around. But make sure this reflects the new narrative (eg rather than competing, getting best scores etc more relevant metaphors might be around a growth in important dispositions that better prepare young people to flourish in the realities of the modern world.)
• contextualise the narrative and metaphor to your current setting and propose new structures to support the narrative.
• show what the way ahead looks like and the likely ways of navigating through
• focus on the narrative being invitational so that it becomes compelling to be part of

In thinking about the new contexts for learning that should be driving our vision and mission and be central to our new compelling narrative I'd like to highlight Michael Fullan (quoting Hargreaves and O'Connor) in The Right Drivers For Whole System Success (Centre for Strategic Education) who identifies "collaboration embedded in the culture and life of the school," as a key factor in effective schools.

Another useful framework to assist with a new narrative for schools and learning is that described by the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (OECD) with their 7 Principles of Learning.

• Learners at the centre
• Social nature of learning
• Emotions are integral to learning
• Recognising individual differences
• Stretching all students
• Assessment for learning
• Building horizontal connections

As well, in one of their Horizon Reports NMC looking at future trends to develop deeper learning identifies project-based learning and inquiry learning as effective pedagogical approaches for deeper learning.

The Innovation Unit in the UK encourages schools wanting to be more effective to personalise learning, connect learning to the outside world, adopt a version of project-based learning, develop approaches that have students doing the teaching and inviting students into the learning design process.

Developing a compelling new narrative for your school, especially one that is fully informed by new contexts for learning (collaboration, connected, co-constructed), could be demanding work, but it is also rewarding and exciting work.

We know what makes for deep learning. The next step is to capture that in a compelling narrative for our school.

I'm happy to help.

How Might We Lead With a Set of Common Beliefs (about learning!)

 

While exploring the Education Leadership group on Linkedin I came across this:

•  "A competent curriculum leader is able to clearly articulate their philosophy on 'how students learn best.' They and their team need to lead with a common belief."

This jumped out at me as I've been spending some time delving into what seems to be the most important factors/principles that determine whether a school is effective or efficient (see previous post). What I have discovered to be one of the most important principles is no surprise as it has driven my work as an educational leader and has been the area where I have been focusing most of my work with schools and organisations with my consultancy HMWLead.

The number one principle seems to be that effective schools have clearly articulated and shared beliefs about learning that are lived in every classroom (Modern Learners). The simple bit might be determining what the shared beliefs about learning should be. Often, the harder bit is ensuring that they are lived in every classroom. The Education Leadership quote above, in my view, is pointing the way towards this happens - it is, in fact, by everyone leading with these common beliefs. If this happens then the practices to ensure it is happening in every classroom will emerge.

The quote also points to the fact that it is important that the core beliefs that drive a school should be about learning and about how people learn. It is all very well to have a set of core beliefs and values that are largely behavioural (eg respect, honesty, integrity etc) but learning beliefs and values should be front and centre in a school.

Determining what these shared beliefs about learning are should start with answering the question:

• "How do children and adults learn most powerfully and deeply in their lives?" (Modern Learners).

The investigation I am carrying out certainly supports the assertion made by Will Richardson and Bruce Dixon from Modern Learners that without a collaboratively created/developed belief system about what makes learning powerful that is lived each day through classroom norms for learning and a common language, schools cannot develop each child to their potential as a learner.

If we accept that being a self-directed and self-determined learner is the most important skill to develop within our learners then it is vital that we take the time to discuss how we can create the conditions in our schools for these skills to develop. And when we have settled on the principles/beliefs that we believe create these conditions we have to make sure that they are visible everywhere in our school, in the language we use and the classroom practices we adopt.

Based on what we see in the research about what makes for powerful learning for today's students what are examples of some elements that could be the core of our beliefs about learning? Here are a few:

• Know your students (Education Leadership, Bishop)
• Learners at the centre (OECD, Innovation Unit)
• Student agency (Education Leadership, Wenmouth)
• Connect learning horizontally and to the real world (Innovation Unit, OECD)
• Inquiry based approaches (OECD, Innovation Unit)
• Experiential learning (Centre for Strategic Education, Innovation Unit)
• Promote collaboration and interaction (Fullan, Education Leadership, OECD)
• Measure what matters/A4L (Innovation Unit, OECD)
• Stretch and support all learners (OECD, Education Leadership)

This is by no means an exhaustive list and cleverer people than I will be able to add to it. It is a good starting point for discussion as groups of teachers interrogate their beliefs and the beliefs of others about what makes for deep learning.

The key, of course, is then to discuss and agree what impacts these beliefs would have on our teaching practice. For example:

• truly knowing my students and how they best learn will mean I'd have to adopt a relationship based approach to my pedagogy and implement culturally sustaining practices
• knowing my students would mean I'd be aware of their needs, interests and passions and would incorporate them into my learning design, and my belief in student agency would have me co-constructing learning and assessment programmes with individual learners
• belief in connected learning (across subjects and with the real world), inquiry-based approaches and experiential learning would have me exploring a relevant project-based learning model
• promoting collaboration and interaction would mean incorporating appropriately organised and structured co-operative group work throughout my learning design
• a belief that we should measure what matters will require me to search for ways to track how well my learners are collaborating, showing self-determination, being resilient in their learning etc. I will also need to ensure that all learners know what is expected of them and why that is expected
• if I'm wishing to stretch and support all learners I will need to be designing learning according to the principles of Universal Design for Learning

In the end, it doesn't matter too much what the core beliefs about learning are (though I'll cover that in another post). What matters is that the core beliefs about learning are known, understood, shared and drive the learning in all classrooms.

I wonder if all schools can say they have a set of clearly articulated and shared beliefs about learning. If they do, I wonder if they know that they are truly lived in every classroom. I also wonder if all leaders lead with those common beliefs. I know that I couldn't have answered 'yes' to those questions throughout much of my leadership.

Once again, this looks like demanding work, but it also looks like rewarding and exciting work.

How Might We Lead for Effectiveness Rather Than Efficiency?

I have been delving more deeply into the work of  Modern Learners, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (OECD), Michael Fullan and Chris Leadbetter and their work with the Centre for Strategic Education, Valerie Hannon and her work with the Innovation Unit and Russell Bishop's Teaching/Leading to the North-east which I mentioned in my previous post. I am doing this to attempt to distill the key principles relevant for schooling and learning design that are reflected in their work.

A couple of things have happened.

The first is Agency By Design (Derek Wenmouth et al) has been released and I've taken advantage of the free download. I've skimmed through it once and will soon digest it more thoroughly , but it looks to me as if they have done a great job in distilling those key principles, explaining them clearly and providing a framework for schools and their leaders to use to bring those principles to life. I'm still going to complete my own analysis as described above and take that lens to a deeper dive into their work.

The second is the discovery of a few quotes in the work of those mentioned above which really resonate with me and which capture the lens through which I believe I have operated as a school leader in the past and through which I approach the work I am doing now. Here they are:

• "Modern learners' newfound ability to take full control of their learning is THE educational shift of our times." (Modern Learners)
• "Cannot separate wellbeing and learning." (Fullan)
• "The power of the relationships will always dwarf all other pedagogical strategies." (From an OECD source I can't find, so any help greatly appreciated!)

I also was drawn to the point of difference described in Modern Learners' 10 Principles For Schools of Modern Learning between Efficient Schools and Effective Schools.

Efficient schools are those that prize knowing over the ability to learn while effective schools focus on developing students as learners. Their document references Peter Drucker who reminds us that, "There is a difference between doing things right and doing the right thing." Drucker's colleague, Russell Ackoff goes on to add, "Doing things right is efficiency. Doing the right thing is effectiveness." 

If we accept the quote above, "Modern learners' newfound ability to take full control of their learning is THE educational shift of our times." (Modern Learners) and think about the difference between efficiency and effectiveness then we must ask ourselves if doing things right in the traditional school environment, while may be being efficient, is the right thing to do. I would argue that many of the practices that keep our schools efficient (streaming, learning in subject silos, paradigm of one - one class, one hour, one subject, one teacher, one set of learning activities, one pace of learning, one assessment) do not recognise this important educational shift.

The likely outcome of sticking to these practices of efficiency is that schools will become less effective. This will result in decreased student engagement (attendance, behaviour, motivation to learn) and decreased teacher engagement as it feels more and more like they're pushing it uphill. 

Another danger is that baby boomer politicians who do not understand this new educational shift and the relentlessness of it will impose policies on schools that may have some populist appeal but are simply focusing on efficiency and not effectiveness.

Both of these outcomes/dangers worry me.

It is vital that we interrogate some of these thoughts, be guided by research and evidence, and decide whether the goal for our school is effectiveness or efficiency and whether we embrace the opportunities afforded us by our students' "newfound ability to take full control of their learning." 

This looks like demanding work, but it also looks like rewarding and exciting work.

How Might We Lead: Trying To Form New Habits

 

You might not connect with the following metaphor but it works for me.

I've been running 'competitively' for 50+ years. I don't think a lot about the 'how' of running; I reckon I know how to do it and I just get out and run. If someone asked me to describe how to run I'd have to stop and think because, for me, I just put one foot in front of the other and lean forward. The way I run is habitual and just happens.

I've recently discovered, though, that how I run has become not fit-for-purpose. As I've aged, my non-running muscles have weakened and I've discovered I've developed, unconsciously, a bent over shuffle type gait. Up until now it hasn't been too much of a problem as I shuffle along the roads and trails and accept the increasing and more-early-arriving pain is just part of the game.

However, I now want to run a 100 miler which brings a whole different purpose to why I'm running. This means I need to adopt a different 'how' as I won't make the 100 miles doing what I'm currently doing. The pain will be too much.

So, I've done some research and have adopted a different gait - one that has me running taller and making use of my glutes rather than focusing on my quads and hamstrings. Because this style has not yet become habitual I have to concentrate on my gait almost every single step to prevent myself falling back to old habits.

The new gait brings different issues. Pain and discomfort is emerging in new areas as I transition to a new way of running. I fully expect that things will get better with this. Also, to maintain the gait and the efficiency I expect, I need to do strength and flexibility exercises, especially to my core and in my hip area. I don't have a high level of motivation for this so it is something I need to really commit to and hold myself accountable.

While I'm confident that if I stick to my plans I will gain huge benefit I fully expect there to be problems on the way. I'll develop new niggles and new pains and I'll fall back into bad or previous habits. I have developed strategies to support me to stick to the new path.

I've realised the body was getting a bit creaky. This, along with my new 'why' (100  miler) has meant I need to develop a new 'how' with a new set of principles/guidelines (include strength and flexibility work in my training, be open to changing life-long habits etc), which will result in a different set of practices (the 'what') which I need to work on to become habitual (yoga at home, attend a gym, adopt a particular running technique).

I think sometimes schools are a bit like that. The institution has become a bit creaky while we persist with our habitual practices. This can lead to pain and niggles in the system. In my view, the 'why' of schooling has also changed as our world is changing dramatically with a range of global existential crises such as climate, pandemics, biodiversity reduction, increasing inequity, mis- and dis-information and conflict and issues in relation to AI etc.

We need to engage with these issues and understand our new 'why' and think about how we are going to respond and reposition schools and from there adopt new ways of doing 'schooling'.

The work to reposition schools can seem so daunting that we are tempted to stay with our habitual practices. While it is tough and demanding work it is certainly doable.

I am more and more convinced that how we do this work is to really focus on what it is that we know that creates the conditions for the best teaching and learning that is required today. We need to start with understanding and agreeing on how students learn best. From there we need to develop a set of core beliefs for which we are ready to "die in the ditch" and design our schools based on those core beliefs.

As part of my own professional learning I'm drilling into the work carried out by organisations such as Modern Learners, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (OECD), Michael Fullan and Chris Leadbetter and their work with the Centre for Strategic Education, Valerie Hannon and her work with the Innovation Unit and Russell Bishop's Teaching/Leading to the North-east.

For the sake of my own country-boy mind I want to hone in on what they are all saying and see if I can make sense of the essence of it all. The aim is to settle on a set of core beliefs that could determine some guiding principles that could drive some different and more appropriate practices which we could try to make habitual.

I hope the outcome could support us when we ponder the questions about how might we lead in our schools. I'll most probably post what I come across.