Tory Education Policy an absolute scandalous mess! Why it’s wrong and what should be done.

Posted on by Opher

As an ex secondary Headteacher I have a very good handle on education.

In my view the last six years of Tory education policy has been an absolute disaster. They have brought in Free Schools, Religious Schools, Academies and Grammar Schools. All of which are hugely expensive and have siphoned funding away from mainstream schools causing all manner of damage. Not only that but all of the new initiatives have been abysmal. They have reduced pay and pensions for teachers, demoralised the staff, brought in layers of bureaucracy, unwanted change, politicised Ofsted and wasted money right, left and centre.

Free Schools

An attempt to get education on the cheap that has backfired. The Free School programme has allowed any idiot or person with vested interests to set up their own schools. We have had religious nutcases, political and business interests all wanting to get their hands on our children.

They are expensive to set up and many have already gone bust and shut due to mismanagement.

Of the ones that are still running there are many totally undesirable people looking to indoctrinate our children with their religious beliefs or strange views.

They employ unqualified staff, provide dubious teaching stands, and substandard education.

What an absolute horror of an idea. You couldn’t make it up.

Religious Schools

They are promoting more religious schools. Yes I’m sure religious communities want that but do we really want our young children indoctrinated? Do we want them segregated from other children and brought up apart? Or do we want them integrated and educated to think?

Education should not be indoctrination. We do not want Muslim, Jewish, Catholic or Protestant children isolated from the broad society outside, Surely that isolation leads to separation and fanaticism? Are we sowing the seeds for a future generation of terrorists?

I think integration is desirable.

Segregation through religion leads to trouble. So short sighted.

Academies

Schools were bribed with promises of extra funding to become academies. What a mistake. The funding promises did not materialise. They were lied to.

The true purpose was political – to undermine the power of the local authorities.

Academies are left without support or a network and with a huge extra burden of bureaucracy and extra work. They have to go through processes of buying in the services previously provided by the local authorities. They have changed schools into businesses. But education should not be a business. Children’s education should not be run as a business.

Grammar Schools

Selection at eleven (or 13) is a terrible thing to put our children through. It creates winners and losers and scars many children for life. If you pass you are great. If you fail you are useless.

The successful become arrogant. The failures become demotivated.

10% are successful. 90% fail. How can that possibly be good?

Of course it panders to the Tory voters, the more affluent. They pay for private education or tuition. They put in the cash to ensure their children pass the exam. It is not a level playing field.

If you want to know how to put in an education system that is brilliant and fair then try reading my book on education. Just click on the link:

 

A Passion for Education – The Story of a Headteacher – Drugs, Caning and Sex

Posted on by Opher

This is another chapter from my book. It tells the inside story of teaching and Headship. It tells the story of how to become outstanding – the highs and lows.

Chapter 6 – PSHE and drugs

I was a young teacher in my second year of teaching. The current Headteacher Mr Walton had decided that the field should be out of bounds. The wet weather had created such muddy conditions that the classrooms and corridors were becoming caked with mud. He informed the staff that anyone walking on the grass would be caned. He was hoping this deterrent would solve the problem.

He hadn’t reckoned with Terry. He was a young student from the new comprehensive intake who had been a problem from the start and was no respecter of rules. Indeed it appeared that Terry regarded rules as a challenge. He earned the respect of his fellow students by flouting rules with blatant disdain.

Terry was the perennial thorn in the side of the school. He was loud, aggressive, rude and surly. He disrupted lessons, picked fights and openly defied everyone and everything.

I was walking down the corridor when I was asked by the Head to assist with the apprehension of young Terry. He had been brought to the Head for flagrantly walking on the grass and when he had ascertained his fate he had promptly got up and run away. This was not playing the game. The Head was used to Grammar School boys. They took their punishment like a man. They didn’t run away!

We went hunting for Terry.

Soon Terry was found. But Terry refused to come quietly and what followed is indelibly imprinted in my mind.

Two burly male teachers marched Terry down the corridor to the Head’s study. Terry was screaming and struggling. When he started kicking out at the two staff two other male staff grabbed his ankles and lifted him off the ground. He was carried headfirst, screaming and writhing along the corridor and he was manhandled into the study. I followed in the wake.

By this time the Head had become angry. His authority had been challenged. What originally was one stripe was now six. He intended to make an example of Terry.

The four male staff had to drag Terry to the desk and physically restrain him by all four limbs; each taking an ankle or wrist and tugging so that Terry was pinned across the desk like a frog awaiting dissection. All the while Terry continued to shriek and struggle to his utmost. He certainly had a florid vocabulary for a thirteen year old.

The Head retreated to the other side of the room and then ran, jumped in the air and brought the cane swishing through the air with all the force he could muster.

Terry screamed and went taut in some great spasm. Then he resumed his struggles in a futile desperate attempt to free himself from the four staff.

The Head repeated this five more times.

At the end of it they let Terry loose and he stood in the doorway with knotted fists and purple face swearing at the six of us.

Some say that caning does no harm. That it is a deterrent. The blood running down Terry’s legs from the split skin on his bum was not the harm. In my opinion the hatred and loathing in his mind were the injuries that would leave the everlasting scars. They wouldn’t heal.

As for deterrence – it was the same string of surly, defiant individuals who were paraded for beatings every week.

 

I’d never heard of PSE as it was then called. I was a biology teacher.

In the normal course of my lessons I came to the section on reproduction and as a natural part of the lesson opened up various discussions on sex and rounded it off with a lesson on contraception and sexually transmitted disease.

The lads seemed to appreciate it. Some of the questions were obviously geared to attempting to cause me embarrassment but when I fielded them honestly they realised that I wasn’t going to get phased by it. It was obvious to me that there was a huge level of ignorance and interest and a great need.

This was before the age of the internet, in a post-60s culture which still had vestiges of 1950s prim prudishness. Information and contraception were not easy to get hold of. Sex was not freely discussed. They were desperate for frank discussion and advice and very receptive.

I thought no more of it.

Mike my head of department, who wandered in and out of my lab while I was teaching, had noted that I was doing sex education with the lads.

‘Does the Head know you’re doing this?’ He asked.

‘No,’ I replied slightly baffled. Why should the Head know? It was only sex education. Most schools in the country were doing it.

‘I think you’d better check with him first.’

I went and checked. He said NO.

Introducing sex education was a major event. We had to get a majority of the staff in favour of such a controversial venture. He agreed to put it on the staff meeting agenda for discussion.

The staff meeting agenda went up and sure enough there it was at number 11.

We had our meeting and went through seven items.

‘Ah well’ I thought. ‘It will be featured next time.’

The next staff meeting came round and it was now number 14. Seemingly lots of really important issues had come up and required urgent attention.

The following staff meeting had fifteen items but sex education was not one of them.

I fumed.

I drew up a list of staff and went round to discuss sex education with all of them one by one. I even included both deputies. By the end of a week I had the agreement of every member of staff with only two abstentions, both of whom were catholics who abstained on religious grounds.

I went back to the Head and presented him with the fait accompli. I softened it by explaining that it was obvious that there wasn’t time to discuss it at staff meetings with all the pressing issues that had to be addressed. The crux of the matter was that the staff were almost unanimous.

He blustered.

It would need governors’ approval. I would have to take my case to the governing body.

I produced a presentation and amazingly won the approval of the governing body.

At my next meeting with the Head I may have inadvertently had a slight air of triumph.

That was soon put to rest.

The governors were only the first obstacle; the whole idea had to be put to parents. It was obvious from his attitude that he felt confident the parents would disapprove.

Unfazed I drafted a letter to parents with a reply slip and had it sent out.

Miraculously there were no objections and most gave their approval.

I once again returned to the Head’s study.

‘You know, Chris,’ he said thoughtfully, finally admitting defeat. ‘These lads are red blooded Englishmen. You can’t tell me that they can watch films of young girls masturbating without being affected.’

I sat there staring at him.

It was obvious that he had not read any of my information and had his own idea of what was involved in sex education. In his mind sex education equated with pornography. His mind had gone down the line that I would be showing pornographic films to the boys.

It had taken me a year and a half to get approval. I realised, in that moment, that a little bit more verbal explanation might have saved a lot of effort.

 

PSE (or PSHE, PSHCE, SPACE – whatever you want to call it) is the most important subject in the curriculum. It is not a subject at all. It is life.

PSHE should never be a subject that leads to an examination; that would demean it and prevent the freewheeling’, far-ranging potential that each lesson should have.

PSHE should always be taught in a room that is conducive to creating close relationship with students in an environment that promotes discussion and interaction.

PSHE is the most difficult subject to ‘teach’ and can only be successfully taught by teachers with the right sensitivities, skills and attitude. It is as specialist a subject as astrophysics. The vast majority of staff are entirely unsuited to teach PSHE.

As the most important subject in the curriculum it should be given pride of place. Time-tablers should start by putting the PSHE lessons in first, in prime times, early morning, and in suitable rooms. Then they can move on to the lesser subjects such as maths, music, French, science, English and the rest.

PSHE specialist staff should be carefully identified and fully trained.

If there are no suitable staff an urgent recruitment should take place.

Why do I think it is so important when most schools give it such short shrift and even students do not value it?

Most subjects deal with information and skills pertaining to specific interests and careers. PSHE deals with life and death. It is fundamental to how people live their lives, form relationships, involve themselves with the big issues and develop the skills, qualities and sensibilities to lead a fulfilled, productive life. It is real.

As a PSHE teacher I have dealt with health, cancer, death, heart disease, bereavement, relationships, divorce, work, reality, reasons for living, depression, suicide, purpose of life, spirituality, climatic issues, love, fascism, politics, diet, human behaviour, war, nuclear disaster, pollution, extinction, intelligence, cruelty, drugs, alcohol, smoking, friendships, parenthood, contraception, STDs, bear-baiting, racism, abortions, sexism, revision, mortgages, salaries and expenses, managing anger, pornography, female pornography, psychology and the reasons we humans do all the weird, vicious and wonderful things we do.

My lessons were based on tolerance, respect, empathy, responsibility, awe and wonder.

PSHE deals with the reality of life and helps people find their way to a meaningful existence, find harmony and balance and explore why we do the things we do in the hope we can do better.

PSHE helps mend broken people.

We are all damaged by life.

Many of our young people are scarred from bereavement, abuse, abandonment, divorce and horrid experiences. PSHE lets them know that they are not alone and helps guide them through the difficult stuff. It gives them succour and support.

Sadly I have witnessed PSHE taught by idiots who do not understand what they are doing.

I have seen it time-tabled for last lesson Friday. I have seen it reduced to the ‘worksheets of death’. I have seen it reduced to a series of instructions. I have seen it time-tabled in laboratories. I have seen it ‘bought in’ with a series of dire outside ‘experts’ who have no relationship with the students.

PSHE should be illuminating.

It is the heart of the school.

As a PSHE teacher you don’t know what is going to happen. You fly by the seat of your pants. You get kids in a circle to introduce a topic. It can veer off in any direction – from raising a family to aging and dying – from revision to the meaning of life – from why we developed religion to infinity and parallel universes. People talk about their emotions, desires and feelings and open themselves up. A PSHE teacher shares of their own experience; they give of themselves.

A PSHE teacher has no hidden agenda. Their job is not to stop people having sex, taking drugs, smoking or drinking. A PSHE teachers helps students explore the issues and arrive at their own personal decisions. A PSHE teacher plays devil’s advocate, raises things to consider, and allows investigation of all sides of an argument. They take no sides, have no points of view and are there to expertly facilitate exploration.

By ‘teaching’ PSHE you learn much about yourself and your own views and learn so much more from the students.

Other teachers have often said that they teach these elements in their subject areas.

That might be true.

They teach these elements – PSHE ‘explores’ them.

 

I’d been teaching more and more sexual, health and social issues in the course of my biology teaching and was pushing for a separate PSE subject to be included on the curriculum.

The pressure came from outside. In the late 1970s the government was pushing it.

A new PSE programme was introduced and I got to teach the sex and health modules. Another member of staff, who had no real interest or knowledge, was placed in charge on a high promotion scale. Ho hum.

 

As a Headteacher my principle job was to ensure that the heart of the school was sound. PSHE was the heart of the school. It fitted with SEAL, restorative practice, Student Voice and a healthy pastoral support system to deliver care and remedial action.

To deliver these extraordinarily important areas you needed extraordinary people. We were lucky. I had found a unique person to deliver PSHE, champion SEAL, Student Voice and restorative practice. Rebecca’s energy pervaded the school and the relationships with students were beyond anything I had ever personally seen. She was a whirlwind of risk taking energy. The only downside was that her huge success and popularity with students sparked jealousy among other staff. They resented her appeal. I think she made them feel inept. She is destined to become the most inspiring Headteacher there will ever be.

The caring aspects of education were always priority number one. The curriculum and teaching and learning were way down the list. If you had the ethos of the school functioning maximally the attainment would automatically follow.

As a Head I continued to teach PSHE, I appointed highly capable staff to teach the strands I could not cover and I refused to allow any old tutor to get involved. They were invariably not merely useless, they were often destructive. PSHE requires specialist staff.

I introduced circle time, following a lot of pressure from two very enthusiastic staff in Ali and Kathy, and I personally oversaw rooming. PSHE had to be in the right environment. I saw to it that it was.

All too often I have seen schools pay lip service to PSHE. They bung any old teacher in who happens to be free. They produce mind-numbing worksheets, outside speakers who have no relationship with the kids, watch DVDs and do the whole thing in halls or inappropriate classrooms.

PSHE withers.

A school without a brilliant PSHE programme is heartless. Their ethos is a meaningless set of words. Their curriculum lacks a soul.

There are two areas of PSHE that need to be developed more: spirituality and politics. I remain disgusted by the way educational institutions are allowed to teach religion in a partisan manner that verges on indoctrination. In my view religion should be looked at and discussed dispassionately with as much credence to atheism and antitheism as religion. Ironically the USA does it the other way round. They ban religion from being taught in state schools but study politics. That seems healthier to me. However I believe PSHE offers a neutral ground to discuss and explore without fear of indoctrination. As for politics I am equally appalled. Very little political education goes on in schools. Yet for me it is one of the most fundamental things. How can you have a democracy without a full understanding of politics? How can people vote if they are ignorant about the different political parties? Why are we so surprised at voter apathy when we keep people so ignorant? PSHE should be a vehicle to understand and discuss the underlying philosophies of political parties. This can be done, in much the same way as religion, without partisan views being introduced.

Most people now accept the need in schools to cover aspects such as sex, drugs, health, environment and careers. There are still sensational headlines from time to time as prudish reactionaries try to impose their mainly fundamental religious views.

I have stood for a liberal, open view. This is the modern world. We can open up a new world without the hidebound austerities of past generations. I have no wish to live in a joyless mediaeval society orchestrated by indoctrinated morons. This is the twenty first century.

The main reason that fundamentalists have an austere vision is the promiscuous society with its numerous casualties. There is no doubt that sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll have taken a huge toll and that many people find themselves caught up in a mindless lifestyle based on gratuitous hedonism. I am as concerned as anyone. As a society we have to find a way of guiding our young people towards a meaningful life and the way to avoid the pitfalls that go with sex, drugs and alcohol. I have lost good friends to that thoughtless lifestyle. However if the general population had access to the youngsters full of life, idealism and altruism as I have they’d probably be a lot more hopeful.

I firmly believe our youngsters will go on to solve these social problems. The way to do it is through good education. The way to solve drug, alcohol and sexual problems is through excellent PSHE, not restrictive prohibition.

If I had my way I would pour money into PSHE and training brilliant PSHE staff. This would impact on the future more than anything else.

As a society I would make drugs legal and increase drug education and support for drug users. The war on drugs has not only failed. It has back-fired and fuelled the interest in drugs. It has succeeded in putting money into the pockets of criminal gangs in the same way that prohibition in the USA created the rise of gangsters such as Al Capone.

Take the funding away from organised crime. Take the allure of drugs away from the young and educate everyone properly.

 

When I was at school I had a few friends who started experimenting with drugs. Jeff was one of them.

He started off drinking cough medicine. At that time it contained morphine. He would drink five bottles at a time and get out of his head. He moved on to cannabis and then acid.

Like Syd Barrett the acid ‘fried’ his brain. The big debate is whether it triggered some underlying mental illness or even if the need to take the drugs was induced by the illness.

It is obvious to me that much more objective research is needed.

We need real scientific study and less government propaganda. Kids do not believe the propaganda. They think it is all manufactured lies. They want truth.

The last time I saw Jeff he was highly disturbed. He thought machines were planted all around him, in trees, walls and people surveying his every move. His eyes were shiny and empty like those proverbial black holes.

Jeff jumped in front of a train shortly after.

I remember Jeff as a gentle, intelligent and highly creative young man. He should have gone on to be a brilliant talented photographer.

Jeff is like so many others whose life was blighted by drugs or alcohol. That has to be addressed. Prohibition is not the answer.

 

PSHE is not about telling people what to do. You do not go into a lesson trying to get students to stop doing things. You go in to get them to think and discuss issues, explore issues and come to their own view.

I know saying NO is counterproductive.

If I were to go into a lesson and tell them that I had a hugely powerful motorbike outside. It was 500,000 CC and would do 0 to 500 MPH in 2 seconds. Nobody who had ever ridden it had survived because it was so powerful – would anyone like to try it out? The hands would go up.

‘I’ll have a go, sir!!’

‘Please me!!’

It’s human nature. The adventurous and inquisitive see it as a challenge. There are the kids who think they are immortal, who are sure they could handle it. The more danger – the more kudos.

Teenagers are also acutely aware of the hypocrisy. It is no use adults saying that kids shouldn’t take drugs while their parents are off down the pub pouring one of the most dangerous drugs of all down their throats. They know about the huge number of people using dope, cocaine and heroin.

They don’t believe the propaganda.

I always found it more effective to encourage students to think about the effect drugs were having on their friends. It was powerful for them to recognise the slump in educational performance, the mental changes and mood swings, the demotivation and behaviour changes. They could see these clearly and note the affect this had on lives and careers. That was far more effective.

It is time to bring in better research, information and education. Our society is saturated with alcohol and dug abuse. Prohibition has failed.

 

One of my heads of year came to see me. He’d been told by a student that one of the gentlemen in our care was selling cannabis behind the sports hall.

I told him to investigate. He checked out with a few other lads and built up a picture of what was going on. The boy had been dealing for a while. On this particular day he had brought in a lot of dope in £5 deals. He’d sold one lot to a lad at the bus stop. He’d sold five other lots behind the sports hall. It had all been done quite openly in front of a number of our more innocent boys who were quite shocked. The head of year had the times and names.

The lad concerned was brought in and I questioned him. I told him what we’d found out embellishing it with a list of times and names. We had a good picture of the sequence of events and were confident we’d have the full picture before long.

The lad seemed quite relaxed about the whole thing and agreed that our information was correct. He admitted to selling £5 deals to all the boys we knew about and offered a few more names.

‘Have you got any cannabis on you?’ I asked.

‘Yes,’ he chirped, pulling a couple of big chunks of cannabis out of his top pocket and handing it over.

I organised the head of year to round up the boys involved and extract the cannabis.

Soon there was a pile of blocks of very black, oily and extremely potent smelling cannabis on my desk.

We noted the names of the boys concerned along with full details.

The boy who had been sold his cannabis at the bus stop claimed he’d popped it home and put it under his bed. I rang his mother who, with utter disbelief, rummaged under his bed and retrieved the lump of cannabis.

One boy, having heard of the round up, had twigged to what was going on and flung his cannabis over the fence on to the common ground.

‘That’s a shame,’ I mused. ‘I was hoping we might be able to sort all this out internally in school. Now you’ve done that we’ve got a bit of a dilemma.’

He looked at me in anguish.

‘We’ve got a situation where there are dangerous drugs thrown on to a public area. A young child could find that dope. We can’t have that. The only thing to do is to call in the drug squad and get the sniffer dogs out there. They’ll find it.’

The boy went ashen.

‘The only other thing I can think of,’ I added. ‘What if you were to go and have a search where you think you might have thrown it. If you bring it to me in the next half hour I might be able to deal with this internally.’

The boy went off in a hurry.

I was then called for an emergency lesson cover and found myself looking after a class. They had been set some work so I was merely child minding. I was very concerned that the boy might come back with the dope and find me missing so I positioned myself in the doorway where I could intercept him when he came back.

A member of staff came along and saw me standing there looking a bit expectant.

‘What are you up to?’ He asked.

‘I’m just waiting for a lad to bring me some cannabis,’ I replied nonchalantly.

‘Oh yeah,’ he laughed.

Just then the boy came rushing up.

‘I’ve got that cannabis you were after, sir.’ He shoved a big lump of cannabis in my hand.

The teacher stared at me open-mouthed.

By the end of the day I had a desk that was groaning under the weight of cannabis. I had over twenty big chunks. Members of staff were coming in to marvel at it. Between the head of year and myself we had pulled in quite a haul.

It was late and I locked it in my room feeling more than a little satisfied with the way the day had gone. We had got to the bottom of the whole thing, found all the boys involved and retrieved all the cannabis. A good job done.

The next day I opened the door to my room and the smell was overpowering. Despite the fact that the dope was all wrapped in Clingfilm the stuff was so potent that you could get high just breathing the air.

That day we had a police officer in for our Operation Lifestyle assembly. I took them aside and showed them the heap of cannabis.

‘I thought I’d better seize the opportunity and pass this over to you,’ I remarked in a matter-of-fact manner.

She was amazed.

I passed on all the details that I had typed up. She had a list of names and times.

‘I want to deal with this in school,’ I informed her.

‘I don’t know if that will be possible,’ she informed me. ‘I’ll see what I can do. I think we’ll have to follow it up with regard to the dealer.’

I shrugged with a grimace.

‘I’d prefer to handle it myself.’

‘I don’t think that will be possible.’

She took all the cannabis off in a big bag, with each of the separate deals carefully placed in separate plastic bags along with details of the boy they had been retrieved from.

As far as I was concerned that was sewn up. I’d passed it over and it was all largely out of my hands.

I intended to bring their parents in, talk through expectations and punishments, and work out how we dealt with it.

Every school has drugs. It goes with youth culture. The main thing we tried to do was to keep it out of school and stop kids from smoking it before lessons. I’d seen the effect of that in USA schools. It was disastrous as far as education was concerned.

We dealt with drugs in PSHE but what kids got up to outside of school was largely the responsibility of them and their family.

To have picked up so many students and so much cannabis sent a clear warning out there. It was bound to have a beneficial effect – word soon gets around.

The students involved had been suspended. I sent out the letters summoning parents and students in and adding a caveat that this could result in permanent exclusion. I actually had no intention of going for permanent exclusion.

Half the boys in the school could have been kicked out if we tested for dope, it was that rife in youth culture at the time. I wanted to make a statement. We did not tolerate it in school.

I phoned and discussed it with the chair of governors. We were in agreement. You didn’t hang someone for a bit of dope. To kick them out might have ruined their lives. Everyone deserved a second chance.

We felt pleased with the way it had gone.

The phone rang and the secretary told me she had the Chief Constable on the line. I told her to put him through. I was expecting to receive a bit of praise for the efficient way we’d dealt with it. My head of year had been really on the ball.

‘Hello,’ I said chirpily.

‘I am ringing up to inform you that you have broken the law in two areas,’ this cold voice intimated sternly. ‘You have laid yourself open to prosecution.’

‘Oh really,’ I said rapidly changing my tune. My head was buzzing. What the hell was he talking about? ‘And how have I done that?’

‘Firstly you have infringed the rights of the boys concerned,’ he pronounced pompously. ‘You had no right to interview them without their parents or an adult being present. That is illegal under European Human Rights legislation.’

‘Oh yeah,’ I replied feeling myself getting angry. ‘And the second?’

‘You put yourself in possession of a considerable amount of illegal substances, sufficient to be charged as a dealer.’

I was gob-smacked. I knew that I had, as a Headteacher, the legal right to interview kids in my care. He was talking crap. As to possessing cannabis that I’d confiscated from the boys – that was simply absurd.

I was furious.

I felt that I should explain the law to him but I was not going to argue with the man.

‘I tell you what,’ I said in a measured tone. ‘Do me a favour, why don’t you. Go ahead and prosecute me. I’ll have you plastered over every newspaper in the country. I’d love it!’

He hung up.

A couple of days later a police officer, in on the Operation Lifestyle project, nervously asked to see me.

‘I’ve been asked to pass on a message from the Chief Constable,’ she ventured with a degree of temerity. ‘He wanted me to pass on that he was sorry he was a little heavy handed.’

‘Well tell him he can ffffing come in an apologise himself!’ I told her angrily.

She looked shocked.

I never heard anything more.

 

In my early years on the senior team I was selected to be part of County’s PSHE Team. We were trained to go round from school to school training their staff. I enjoyed it.

On my first day of training the forty of us were welcomed and given a psychometric test. In the afternoon they placed me and one other in a room while the rest went off to do some training.

We were given no task and we sat around and talked.

‘Why have we been separated off?’ I asked suspiciously.

He chuckled.

‘I bet you came out as a shaper on your test,’ he stated.

‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘I came out as a shaper/plant.’

He nodded. ‘And an enthusiast?’

‘Yep,’ I replied, still not cottoning on.

‘That’s why we’re here,’ he stated. ‘They don’t want us interfering with this bit. We’d try and take control.’

It was a bit of an eye-opener. Every team needs a range of types and skills. Shapers can be bloody minded.

The best training we had was a great exercise that really summed up the way we human beings interact with each other.

It concerned a magical land far far away. A wizard came into the land with a big bag. When he met anyone he put his hand in his bag and gave them a little furry creature. As soon as they held it and stroked the animal it sent a great feeling of pleasure and happiness flooding through them. The wizard had an endless supply and soon everyone was carrying a bag around full of ‘warm fuzzies’ and passing them around to everyone they met. The kingdom became a beautiful place full of happy people.

The wizard left and another wizard appeared. He too had a bag but inside his bag were cold spiky little creatures. Everyone he met he gave one of these creatures to. The ‘icy pricklies’ ate ‘warm fuzzies’ and sent a feeling of fear and hatred through the person. Soon the kingdom was transformed into gloom and misery.

So what do we all pass on to others that we meet?

I wanted a school that ran on ‘warm fuzzies’. ‘icy pricklies’ were banned. Whatever bad stuff had happened to you outside you left it at the school gates. I accentuated the positive. I tried to get everyone to recognise all the good qualities in each other. I wanted the kingdom inside to be warm and nurturing.

I think I achieved that.

If you would like to purchase any of my books:

In the UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1479815710&sr=1-2-ent

If you would like to read my story – with no holds barred:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/passion-Education-story-Headteacher-ebook/dp/B00NRC66E2/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

A Passion for Education – The Purpose of Education

Posted on by Opher

Chapter 5 – The Purpose of Education

 

It always seems to me that this is where everyone gets confused. Everyone talks about education as if they are talking about the same thing. They are not.

Politicians rant about league tables and world standing without any understanding of what they are talking about.

Parents send their children apprehensively into the machine with a modicum of hope but no real understanding of what they are hoping for.

Students are consumed by the process without grasping what is actually happening to them.

The measurable outcomes are easy to assess and so are given greater importance. The aspects that are not measurable are sometimes acknowledged but usually taken for granted and brushed aside. You cannot measure happiness, empathy, responsibility and tolerance.

Industry cries out for more and better grist for the mill. We in education are always falling short. The economy requires more fodder. Students become numbers to be crunched, pegs to be slotted, and material to feed the machine of commerce.

 

Most importantly students are people; they should be happy, well adjusted, creative and inspiring citizens who care!

 

There needs to be a national debate.

 

There needs to be an international debate.

 

Everything stems from philosophy.

 

We have to stand back from it so that we can view the edifice of education objectively.

 

What is the purpose of education?

 

This is something that needs looking at from all sides. Out of this debate there must be some consensus and the application of intelligence. We can no longer allow education to be the football of political dogma and vested interest. It has to be based on sound philosophy and placed in the hands of educationalists who know what they are doing.

 

So what needs to be considered? Let us look at education in the widest possible light. By exposing the various philosophies we might explore them better. I do not necessarily agree all these objectives nor do I place them in any order. Indeed I abhor some of them. I merely moot them as considerations in order for us to debate the enormity of this subject. We cannot arrive at consensus without taking into account the full panoply of views. By looking at the monolithic construction that education has become from different angles we might begin to make sense of it.

Here are my views on what various interested parties view as being the fundamental purpose of education:

 

  1. For enjoyment
  2. To prepare students for jobs and careers in the modern world
  3. To prepare students for life in the 21st century
  4. To provide the basic needs for participating in a technological society – reading, writing, arithmetic and computer competency
  5. To assume a place in society as a positive citizen – moral, sexual and political.
  6. To stimulate imagination and creativity
  7. To grade students so that future universities and employers can easily judge their competence
  8. To create a hierarchy of status in society
  9. To provide the skills, verbal and practical, that are required by employers, society and individuals
  10. To broaden the mind and open it up to further understanding
  11. To create wonder and awe.
  12. To understand science and technological advances
  13. To understand history and learn from it so that we do not make the same mistakes
  14. To absorb knowledge so that it can be processed internally and synergistically used to arrive at new understanding
  15. To explore feelings so that emotions can be understood and mastered
  16. To explore love, sex and relationships so that adults and children can have better experiences
  17. To promote the sheer love of a subject
  18. To stimulate intelligence and an inquisitive mind
  19. To satisfy the love of learning
  20. To stimulate the love of reading where-in all human experience, the highest thoughts and aspirations, and our dreams are contained
  21. To foster an appreciation of the arts as the highest, most civilised expression of humanity
  22. To investigate morality so that we might build a better, fairer society
  23. To foster tolerance so that we never experience racism, sexism, religious intolerance, homophobia, war, persecution or slavery again in human history
  24. To socialise people so that they are able to enjoy the company of others from all strata and types of society
  25. To teach teamwork and cooperation, so essential to human achievement
  26. To enable the enjoyment of sport and play in all its varieties
  27. To teach about health and fitness so that we can lead vital pleasurable lives
  28. To foster an appreciation of the pleasures of life – literature, food, wine, theatre, opera, music, drama and good company
  29. To care for the environment so that future generations can enjoy the planet
  30. To consider all the issues that threaten life on this planet: overpopulation, pollution, war, species annihilation, overcrowding, poverty, terrorism, and so on – so that we might find solutions
  31. To consider political systems and analyse their effectiveness so that we might produce better systems.
  32. To objectively look at party politics and understand what different political factions stand for so that we might all be better equipped to function in a true democracy.
  33. To investigate capitalism and the world of big business to better understand how the world is organised and run
  34. To promote empathy, responsibility, tolerance, respect and care
  35. To build self-esteem
  36. To foster alert, lively minds who are optimistic and ready to step forward to push back the frontiers with imagination, creativity and exuberance

 

I am sure there are others to add to this list. Perhaps you could tick the ones you agree with?

 

There are some that I believe have no place in education. I do not believe that religion should be allowed anywhere near young vulnerable minds. There is no room for outmoded, primitive superstition in schools. It should be outlawed.

As for religious schools and the brainwashing of young children I view these as child abuse.

 

Too many minds are stultified by poor education techniques, their imaginations sacrificed on the altar of rote learning for league tables, and their enjoyment strangled.

 

The cleverest boy in my childhood secondary school was a genius. He passed every exam with a clear grade A. He was also a joyless, timid, and boring individual without spark or passion and was unemployable except to stoke the icy furnaces of academia or the depths of library archives. Heaven help us if we churn out such vacuous products of stifling education systems. He was an utter failure.

So that list and more make up the purpose of education. People have differing views. I know what I believe is important and I have heard what varying politicians believe.

It’s time we discussed it openly and fully.

Let the debate begin ……………….. please!!

If you would like to purchase any of my books:

In the UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1479815710&sr=1-2-ent

If you would like to read my story – with no holds barred:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/passion-Education-story-Headteacher-ebook/dp/B00NRC66E2/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

A Passion for Education – Chapter 1 – Headship – the beginning

Posted on by Opher

This gives you a taste of what the book is about. Whether you are in teaching or not I think you will be able to connect with this.

Chapter 1 – Headship – beginning the perfect storm and other disasters

The start of my sleepless nights began before my first term of Headship even began.

Having reached my mid fifties I was beginning to look ahead to taking an early retirement so that I had time to do all those things I’d been wanting to do, such as writing. Much as I loved teaching there was no denying that work left little time for my creative endeavours. I yearned for a more bohemian lifestyle. All my life I have fought against the conflicting interests of my biological clock and the timetable of work. Left to my own devices I gravitated to working late at night. As the evening progressed I tended to become more alert. In my younger days I would happily type my books from 10.00 pm until 2.00 am or even 3.00 am and then pay heavily for it the next morning when the alarm went off. I’d somehow manage on four hours sleep a night, with a little catch up on the weekend, as much as family life would allow, for three months or so until I’d completed the book that had been sitting in my head.

Throughout my working life I’d go to bed wide awake, sleep well and wake up feeling dopey with tiredness.

Retirement might just sort this out.

Then, out of the blue, Gerry, the Headteacher, retired and I was thrown into a dilemma: should I apply for the Headship or not?

Was I too old?

‘You’ll only regret it if you don’t,’ Liz admonished me. She was always the voice of reason. ‘What harm can it do? You probably won’t get it anyway. You know you won’t be happy working for a new Head.’

She was right.

I had been happy working as a Deputy under Gerry. He gave me almost complete freedom to do my own thing. I could put my ideas into action. I was happy even though I was beginning to get bored. I’d got most things sorted and there was very little challenge in the role anymore. I was craving change. I’d been talking to Gerry about bringing in some major changes and had even drawn up plans for the introduction of vertical tutoring and the disbandment and restructuring of the Curriculum Team and Pastoral Team. I needed something to get my teeth into and keep my interest. In my head I was going to work for another three years and then retire. The idea of working for someone else whose views might not mirror mine, who might even start undoing all the stuff I’d put in place, was unsettling. I’d worked in the place for over thirty years and come to think of the school as mine. I could see the initiatives I had brought in bearing fruit. I couldn’t bear to see them dismantled. I did not take much persuading.

I decided to apply.

The only problem was that the government had just made it mandatory to have, or be on the course for, the new NPQH qualification of Headship and I hadn’t even applied for it. I checked with the website and found that I had just missed the deadline to get on the course by a few days; I was unable to get enrolled before the interviews. I applied for the next course which began in June. It was now February.

I thought this might well preclude me from being accepted as an applicant but put on my application that I had applied for the NPQH course and that I would be willing to accept the position subject to being accepted on the course. It was the best I could do.

My application was accepted. There were no objections from County at that point and my application proceeded.

My references from Gerry and my fellow deputy Dave were incredible.

My work record at the school was impressive. The number of initiatives I had successfully brought in and seen bedded was exceptional and fully backed up by inspection reports.

The negative side of things was mainly concerned with image. I knew this was the main factor from previous shenanigans around my appointment as a deputy head. I was a short scruffy individual who did not sit easy in a suit. I was also extremely maverick in the way I did things. I was not one for following rules and regulations or adhering to procedures. I rather did it my way.

People had trouble seeing me standing on the stage at public forums looking like a Headmaster. I could not blame them as I had trouble seeing myself that way. This was made worse by the fact that these were precisely the attributes Gerry did best. He could shine on a stage, talk for England and project charisma. These were things that did not come easy to me, yet I knew I still had all the ideas and energy to take the school to another level.

Liz took me in hand, decked me out in new suits, ties and shirts and created a more palatable image. It wasn’t me but it partially filled the hole in what I had to offer. After all – this was a game.

I progressed to interview where I had to work at overcoming the image of the past and selling the ‘new’ me.

I had nothing to lose. I spoke from the heart and told them what I believed in and what I would do for the school.

The interviews took place in March.

The three day interviews were very exacting. They grilled me on all aspects of my philosophy, achievements and intentions through panel after panel, performance after performance. I had no problem with any of this because I had loads of experience and ideas and did not bother preparing – I just spoke from the heart and was relaxed about the whole thing. I had nothing to lose.

A more difficult part of the exercise involved being taken out to an evening meal. Prior to the meal candidates were told the title of the presentation they had to give to the whole governing body the next morning. The whole idea was to create enormous pressure and observe how you reacted. I ate my meal, sipped my wine, smiled a lot and made intelligent conversation as my mind churned over how I was going to handle the presentation. It was important that I remained relaxed and took my time even though I was straining to get away and begin work on the presentation for the morning.

I got through it without swearing or spilling wine over anyone. I used the right cutlery and even managed to crack a few jokes in a seemingly relaxed manner.

The next day I delivered my presentation and laid out my passion and philosophy with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

That evening I waited at home with Liz on tenterhooks.

The chair of governors rang and told me I’d been successful, adding as a rider that it was subject to me being accepted on the NPQH. As this was a formality this seemed unimportant.

We celebrated.

It was exciting to think that I was going to have the opportunity to put my philosophy to the test. Would I be able to successfully sell the vision? Could I get the roof on the building I had designed and constructed or would the weight pull it all down? There would be no excuse. I would have a free rein. There would be no Headteacher to mull over my ideas with and give them the yea or nay. I would be my own master.

Psychologically Headship is totally different to deputy headship. As a deputy you can put forward the most radical ideas. Someone else takes ultimate responsibility. They oversee it; if the Head says ‘no’ it doesn’t happen; if they say yes they take responsibility. As a deputy you are free to drive as hard as you like. You also have someone to talk it through with, to rub off the rough edges. As a Head you are on your own. There is no-one to pick up the pieces.

It is like doing a tight-rope walk without a safety net.

It was suddenly overwhelmingly daunting.

I remember Chris Woodward the England rugby coach being interviewed following England’s victory at the world cup.

‘How do you select the best team to get the fifteen best players out on the pitch?’ an interviewer enquired.

‘You never get the best players on the pitch,’ Chris Woodward replied. ‘You get the best that will perform on the day.’

The interviewer looked bemused.

‘If I was to put a long beam down on the gym floor and ask the team to run the length of it most of them would do so easily,’ Clive explained. ‘Maybe the odd one would lose their balance and fall off but they wouldn’t find it too hard. But if I was to place that same beam between two skyscrapers and ask them to run across it it’s a different kettle of fish. The actual task hasn’t changed. The fear of failure has become so much greater.’

‘That’s the same as running out on the field at Twickenham,’ Clive continued. ‘The expectation is enormous. Everything you do is filmed and analysed by millions. The pressure is unbelievable. Some of the most talented players are overawed by it. They freeze and under-perform. My job is to help them deal with the pressure and perform to their potential. That is why you pick the team that can perform best under that pressure. They are not always the best players.’

Headship is like that. The danger is that you may freeze and play safe by following all the rules.

Headship, if you strive for excellence, is about risk taking and giving full rein to that quirky individuality. Playing safe always creates mediocrity.

I didn’t know if I could do it. The responsibility was suddenly frightening.

One lesson life has taught me is that you should never give in to your fears. Your subconscious is your worst enemy. It is always whispering in your ear telling you that you are going to make a fool of yourself. The trouble is that it knows you so well it knows all your weaknesses and never holds back at pointing them out to you.

‘When you stand up there on that stage your hands will shake and your voice tremble. You’ll look a fool,’ it whispered in my head. ‘You’ll forget what you want to say and far from inspiring people you’ll be ridiculed.’

It was this fear of failure that creates pressure.

I put my notes in a plastic wallet so any shaking was not so visible. I practised speaking so that I could control my voice and always took a glass of water on stage so that I could take a sip and control myself. It helped.

You have to stand up to your subconscious and tell it sternly to shut up.

Your subconscious holds you back.

I don’t just mean that in terms of career development; I mean it in terms of life experience. There is no feeling as good as conquering your fear, doing something you dread and doing it well. This is true for bungee jumpers, sky-divers and people in all walks of life.

The fear of public speaking holds many people back. Don’t let it. I have seen ‘Heads of Year’ delivering their first assemblies shaking and stuttering only to find, a year later, those same people have become confident and at ease on a stage. If it really bothers you, go on a public speaking course.

Don’t allow yourself to be beaten by your own self before you even start.

The danger of not taking risks and pushing yourself is that you stay in your comfort zone. That is fatal. You get bored and shrink into yourself. I’ve seen teachers who had the ability to do so much more, decay into cynical individuals who spent the latter days of their career going through the motions. They grow to hate the job and can’t wait to get out. Yet these individuals had so much more to offer and they owed it to themselves, as well as the kids they taught, to push harder.

By the time I finished I was confident on any stage but I never lost my nerves.

This is true of many performers. Many great comedians and musicians get themselves in a complete state before they go on stage. Then they walk out on the platform and become the epitome of relaxed self-assurance. You feel nervous because you care.

Even giving morning briefing was a nightmare for me at first. The start of a new school year staff meeting or staff training days were things I worried about all summer holiday though I doubt any of the staff noticed what a mess I got myself in. The outside was projecting calm humour while the inside churned and raged.

I was glad I took risks and made myself confront and overcome my demons.

You don’t ever want to end your life with regrets.

During the summer term I began preparing for taking over the school.

I was told there were a few concerns regarding my application. Seemingly County had now objected because I was not on the NPQH at the time of my application.

I thought little of this at the time. I would shortly be on the course, which would fulfil the need, and I had a letter offering me the post subject to getting on the course. It seemed water-tight. I had more pressing things to think about. I had a school to prepare for September. I had to pick up the reins of Headship and manage the change-over.

Out of nowhere, three weeks before the end of term, I was informed that as County had formally objected I would have to reapply for my post. I would have to put in a fresh application and go through the whole process again and this would have to be overseen by officers from County to ensure it was all above board.

I was dismayed.

Here I was gearing up for a take over and suddenly I was no longer Head. What sort of start was that?

I could not see why the governors did not stand up to County and say ‘no way’. They had appointed me fair and square. But they didn’t. They backed down.

Then the school had an Ofsted inspection in the last two weeks of the summer term. It was all hands to the pump and complete mayhem.

All my hopes of a smooth transition were thrown into complete disarray. There were no cosy chats with the outgoing Head. There were no leisurely meetings to sort the nuts and bolts out. We were all rushing about getting the documentation and sorting the requirements for the Ofsted. In the midst of this I was in discussion with my union, the governors and County regarding my Headship.

The upshot of all this was that we achieved a second Outstanding Ofsted report and all my areas of responsibility once more came out as excellent. This was a really nice way for Gerry to leave and it cleared the way for me. I no longer had an Ofsted inspection looming over me for a while. It gave me time to do my thing and get it right.

The big downside at the end of that term was that the NUT union informed me that they unwilling to back me. I gained the distinct impression that they were not so bothered about Headteachers. I was on my own. I had to reapply for my job. I would only be a temporary Head in September.

County provided me with no mentorship, training programme or support. Nor was I allocated a fund to facilitate this.

There were huge knock-on effects to being a temporary Head:

My first task in September was to inform the staff that I was not actually the Headteacher; I was merely acting Head and would have to apply for my job. This, of course, led to everyone questioning whether I was still going to be around at the end of the term; did they have to do what I told them?

In their eyes I was not Head. It stripped me of credibility and all authority. I was a lame duck from the first day.

The second effect was that I could not appoint a new deputy head to replace my former role as I might have to drop back into that position if I failed to secure the job. This meant that I was still doing the bulk of that deputy’s job while I was trying to pick up the reins of Headship. Fortunately I did have one deputy – Grahame.

My workload was colossal and further compounded by me starting the NPQH and having to carry out an enormous amount of work entailed in that plus my own stupid decision of wanting to continue my teaching load. I continued with A Level Biology teaching and my Y11 PSHE commitment.

I was determined to set an example. I was determined that no member of staff would work harder than me.

It was an ambitious and foolhardy decision that I soon came to regret.

No-one did work harder than me. I was driven like a maniac. I was regularly doing 80 hour weeks with no lunch or breaks.

At the start of my Headship, and much to the chagrin of the bulk of the staff, we had brought in a five period day to replace our four period day. We had to do this in order to give the range of curriculum options for the students. The previous Head, knowing what an upheaval it would bring, and nearing the end of his career, had knowingly left it to me to introduce. It was not the easiest thing to do at the best of times and the disaster of my uncertain situation made it trebly difficult. This was not the pleasant honeymoon period it could have been. We were straight into full-blooded confrontation.

This major development had been introduced with full staff consultation though the whole process had been messed about and curtailed due to the situation regarding my appointment and the Ofsted inspection coming at the end of term. Consequently the staff felt it had been rushed and rather imposed. They were up in arms because it increased their workload and worsened their work/life balance.

Despite the fact that we gave them more generous allowances of preparation time they did have a bit of a point. The lessons were shorter but they had to prepare, teach and mark more.

I think if we had taken longer over this consultation and talked it through more the staff would have been won over. They were a dedicated, caring staff and they would have acknowledged that, despite slight worsening of their conditions, it was definitely better for the students and the school. Without the proposed introduction of the five period day we would not have achieved an outstanding Ofsted with all the many benefits that brought for the school. We were told that by the Ofsted Registrar. These outstanding Ofsted inspections were essential for the survival of the school. They attracted the students to the school and it was student numbers that generated the cash. Without those outstanding inspections we might have been facing staff redundancies.

However the staff were not looking at the big picture. They viewed it from their own narrow perspective. They just wanted things to be the same as before. All they saw was that it had been good under the last Head and now it was looking a whole lot worse. They were railing at the workload without looking at the broader picture or the long term benefits. It made for a fraught start.

This was further compounded by the introduction of a new IT Management system. Unsurprisingly we had gone for a different system to all the other schools. It gave us an integrated attendance, behaviour and curriculum package that would enable us to develop our systems and incorporate them. It looked brilliant but was quite complicated. It had meant a lot of change and a lot of staff training.

That too impacted on workload.

Staff do not like change. People were struggling to understand the complicated system.

You could not have conceived of introducing as much change all in one dollop. It was far from ideal but in reality there was not much option. This was the time to do it. It would have been foolish to delay.

It would have been a lot easier if I had not had my own problems to contend with. It also would have been a lot easier if the new system had not completely crashed at the beginning of term leaving us without registers, teaching groups or registration groups. We were thrown back to paperwork and chaos.

That first week could not have gone much worse. Staff were muttering about my survival and what sort of Head might they get come half-term when the new Headship interviews were to take place.

My stress levels were through the roof. I was working all hours, going to bed exhausted with a head full of problems, concerns and worries and unable to sleep.

Each day was like an insurmountable nightmare. It looked as if I was heading for a breakdown.

 

Fortunately we got the ICT management system back up and running and that settled down. Grahame my deputy had only been with us for a year but he pulled more than his weight and rose to the challenge. Between us we did the necessary planning and made it work.

He was a stalwart. I could leave the curriculum, stats and ICT management in his capable hands and not have to worry about it.

We were a team though I don’t think he was completely aware of the mayhem that was going on in my head. Liz was worried that I’d have a heart attack or stroke. My kids were worried about my health. I was trying to hold it all together and get through it.

Through all this turmoil and confusion I had to stand on that stage in front of staff, the school and the public and project calm confidence, charisma and leadership. Welcome to Headship.

If you would like to purchase any of my books:

In the UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1479815710&sr=1-2-ent

If you would like to read my story – with no holds barred:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/passion-Education-story-Headteacher-ebook/dp/B00NRC66E2/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

A Passion for Education – The Foreword

Posted on by Opher

Foreword

I am very proud to have taught at Beverley Grammar School for thirty six years including fourteen years on the Senior Team followed by five years as Headteacher. During that long career I taught with numerous brilliant colleagues who I respect and admire as educators and friends.

I have also taught thousands of students and they have taught me. It has been a privilege working with such fervent, interesting students. I have fond memories and miss them all. I can honestly say that I never disliked a student although some were trying! They made my working life worthwhile.

When I first started at Beverley Grammar School it was in the process of changing from a Grammar to Comprehensive school. I believe in comprehensive education and I feel that I have proved it can work far better than any selective system. My heart will always be in that caring community that was Beverley Grammar School.

 

Haim Ginott inspired me. I implore every teacher and educator to read his work. He was a Jew who survived the horrors of a concentration camp. He saw the gas chambers that were designed by qualified engineers and children who were murdered in cruel experiments by highly skilled doctors.

He, like me, was more than suspicious of education.

He believed that the primary purpose of education should not be to instil knowledge but to encourage kindness, empathy and compassion. In this way the world might be free of highly educated monsters and psychopaths like the Hitler, Pol Pot and Mao.

I agree with him one hundred percent.

Teaching about maths, reading, writing and how to pass exams is pointless if we are not teaching our children to be caring human beings.

That should be the first aim of any teacher.

 

Leadership is about empowerment. If a leader doesn’t enable their staff to take risks and grow they aren’t worth their salt. A good leader should encourage all their staff to reach their potential.

 

A school is like an ocean liner. It builds up a head of steam and gets carried along by its own momentum. It cannot stop or change course abruptly. You have to guide it and plan each change of course well in advance. It takes all the ‘sailors’ working as a team for it to run smoothly.

 

Headship is like a race down a steep snow run on an old tin tray. You have limited control and your journey is perilously at the mercy of events and obstructions that cannot all be foreseen.

 

Yet a Head sets the tone for everything that happens in the school.

 

The art of Headship is to sell your vision so that the whole community is pulling in the same direction.

 

Paradoxically a Head is largely impotent. As a Head you have far-reaching responsibilities but limited power. There are good things about this. Many Heads proceed to Headship out of a desire for power, control and money. They are ambitious and can be overbearing, ruthless, and self-centred. At least the system limits their desire to exert a regime of fear and control

A Head has limited control over poor teaching. The kids may deserve better but there are no quick fixes. Headteachers are prevented from exercising much power by a series of legal requirements. These can be frustrating but on the whole having restraints is better than having a tyrannical Headteacher. A Head therefore has to eliminate poor teaching through example and by supporting and leading their staff.

 

You always find when you reach the top that you’re actually in the middle. A Head is in the middle of everything pulled by the governors, staff, students, government, local authority and parents, you soon find you are not ‘in charge’. You have to juggle everything to keep all the balls in the air.

 

It is said that the fact that someone wants to be a politician should automatically ban them from standing; the same thing is true of Headships. Those that think they know what they are doing are usually the worst. If a Head starts Headship by asking for more power or money it is likely that they are doing the job for the wrong reasons.

 

The only reason to become a Head is a passion for trying to make the world a better place. Education is the only way of achieving this. After all, education has to be better than war, religious hatred and sectarian violence.

 

. Education is all things to all men/women. To politicians it is a way of maintaining social order, reinforcing class or enabling mobility and addressing the economic needs of the country. To many it is purely about careers while to others it is about expanding minds, opening horizons and creating wonder. I’m very much in the wonder and awe camp. I am also of the repairing damaged kids persuasion. All my students were equally important and equally valuable. I hope I succeeded in making some of their lives better. That’s what I set out to do. Their chosen career and economic value was secondary to their self-esteem and happiness.

 

Before starting this I checked on ‘Rate my Teacher’, a scurrilous website that has given a voice to some rather dubious individuals, but one which reflects how some others see you. It offers a modicum of objectivity. It was a little unsettling to see oneself described as an obese penguin from the CIA but on the other side there was also the recognition of the care and respect. It showed a career that was not entirely wasted.

 

I worked in Education for thirty six years and prior to that I was largely a victim of it for twenty plus years. My experience of schooling gave me the impetus to get involved and change it. My disgust at the education minister and the Tory attempt to belittle all the achievements of recent decades and drag education back to the appalling 1950s is my main reason for writing this. Children should be valued as human beings and not seen as mere economic units for the employment market. Education that is not developing all aspects of human empathy, and creativity as well as expanding minds is wrong. Most leading fascists have been highly educated – after a fashion. It was their empathy, compassion and warmth of spirit that was allowed to atrophy. Any education system that fosters elitism and the smug arrogance that stems from it should be resisted by all caring people. A system that ignores the promotion of human feeling and sound moral and ethical values in order to focus on exam league tables and economic performance is flawed. The society created would be cold and bitter.

I have fought against that limited view of education all my life.

 

I have fought for the warmth and light.

 

In my teaching experience I have known students with lower intelligence, destined for poor grades and lowly jobs, but possessing a range of qualities that left me humbled. I have known highly intelligent individuals, destined for top jobs, who were mean spirited and likely to create misery. My job was to bring out the best in both and my hope is that both types left school better equipped to make a positive contribution to society.

 

Education is a nebulous thing. We are building the future and the future is not only concerned with careers and wealth; it is also about families, societies, relationships and supporting those less fortunate. How to build a better world should be our curriculum. How we repair damaged children should be our imperative. How we foster positive human values should be our main aim. Teaching and learning, exam results and league tables are almost superfluous in the face of such paramount challenges.

 

This is why I believe the most important subject, and the most difficult to teach, is PSHE (Personal social and health education). All too often it is poorly delivered, pushed to the shadows and taught by reluctant exponents who happen to have some free space in their timetable. This is a travesty. PSHE is about life, about preparing students for a better world, dealing with the big issues of responsibility, respect, tolerance and empathy. PSHE, like the pastoral system, is about guidance, interaction and development of those qualities that raise the sensibilities. It should be given centre stage, pride of place and only taught by the very best of teachers with the most advanced skills. Anything less is short-changing the future. A school lacking a vibrant PSHE programme is like a robot with no heart. It is pointless.

 

The only way to address the world’s problems is through good education.

 

As a probationary teacher I set about taking on the hierarchy of the school and changing the beast that was the current school. It was poor and not meeting the needs of all of its students. I wanted a revolution. You don’t have to be in senior management to have a power base to promote positive change. I fought for change and managed to bring in a number of improvements. However, after twenty years of influential input from a lowly position, I realised that the best way of changing the system was to do it from the top and seized my opportunity to move into senior management.

 

I did things my way. I did not follow the rules. I was the sand in the Vaseline. The senior team found me a major problem. I refused to compromise. I did it the way I felt was right for the students and my own philosophy. And this method was highly successful. In the whole of my time in teaching I did not have a single report or inspection putting me below excellent. On the school’s first Ofsted inspection, in which it achieved ‘Satisfactory’, all my areas were Outstanding. Over the next three Ofsted inspections, two as Deputy Head and one as Head, all my areas of responsibility were deemed ‘Outstanding’. Being a maverick, and not following the rules, does not necessarily mean you cannot gain recognition. Risk taking is a big part of the game. Covering your back is a weakness and a flaw. Doing what is right, even in defiance of the orders from above, is an imperative. You have to follow your conscience.

 

Duke Ellington supposedly said that there were only two kinds of music: good and bad. The same is true of education. Bad education is destructive to minds, spirits and society. It should be banished even when it produces perceived results. My own maths teacher in secondary school always achieved a 100% pass rate with his classes. I passed maths from his class. Yet nobody was more successful at destroying a subject. To a man we came out of there hating Maths.

 

I have always questioned the education system. It seems crazy to put people together grouped by age. That never happens in normal social interaction. This is asking for trouble, particularly during teenage years when hormones are rampant and brains are melting and becoming rewired. It reinforces lots of negative behaviour patterns. It is almost as bad as grouping people according to ability, but not quite. I think we need to bring our best minds to bear to find a better way forward.

 

The present Tory Government of 2014 is bereft of ideas. What is proposed, a plunge back to the dark days of the 1950s emotionally challenged society, would be a disaster. We have to come up with something better than that. We have a wealth of psychology and sociology to fall back on. Politicians have the wrong agendas. They are ruled by their own political dogma. They always make a mess of it.

 

I only served five years as a Head. This is something I now regret. I was never personally ambitious and was severely lacking in self-confidence when it came to formal situations. One thing that was obvious was that there were going to be many formal situations and they came with the post. I ducked it for too long and was content with deputy headship. Consequently I came to Headship too late. As a Head I became used to the formal situations and overcame my anxiety attacks. One thing I have learned from life is that you should always push yourself and try to extend your reach. To not do so is perhaps to leave yourself with an unfulfilled life. You never know what you could have achieved.

I guess I’ll never know. I would have liked to have served as a Head for longer and really set my philosophy into full operation. The school was motoring. The cherished beliefs, that I had spent thirty six years establishing, were bearing fruit. The atmosphere inside the school was warm, friendly and buzzing with energy. We were a positive, can-do, all inclusive community. There was a lot of love.

 

If you review the full panoply of responsibilities involved with Headship, as with many other jobs, it becomes obvious that it is not possible to carry out the whole role effectively. You are responsible for everything twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. You have to know every rule and regulation inside out. You are expected to represent yourself in the most exacting of circumstances without legal representation. To achieve this you would need to be in ten places at once, have a myriad of skills, be super intelligent and be able to read and hold in your memory a mass of legal documentation sufficient to fill a library. As with all such roles you learn to prioritise, deal with the pressing, delegate and relax in the knowledge that you are always exposed and could flounder at any moment from circumstances largely beyond your control. The stress is enormous. I was threatened with prison three times during my short stint. You can go two ways. You can become anal and try to nail everything down, creating a bureaucratic mediocrity or you can hold on tight, guide the tin tray over the bumps and away from the trees, experience a spectacular journey and enjoy the adrenaline rush.

 

Outstanding can only come as a result of going for it and reaching as far as your spirit will allow. All the checklists in the world cannot create a single spark of originality or flash of genius. Inspiration comes from passion.

 

Headship is a lonely place but it can be exhilarating when you have the support of the community you have helped create. Sometimes it all comes together and is transcendental. Those are the moments we live for.

 

As far as I am concerned mediocrity should never be an option.

 

What follows are my views on education and the mechanics of how the school came to become Outstanding while prospering as a friendly, supportive community in which everyone was loved and valued. I have sprinkled it with illustrative anecdotes from my own experience. This is about how to become Outstanding.

 

I believe with all my heart that we can mend broken kids, soften the arrogant and aggressive, and use education to change the world into a tolerant, peaceful place that works in harmony with nature.

 

When education is practiced properly it soars. It should work to take humanity out of the morass of war, poverty, environmental destruction and religious intolerance into a new age.

 

This is no idle dream of a helpless romantic idealist. This book is about good education.

 

Good education requires great Headteachers.

Chris Goodwin 16.11.2012/14

I spent thirty six years as a secondary school teacher in Yorkshire with one year in Los Angeles teaching in Norwalk.

Of that time 14 years were spent in the Senior Team and five years as a Headteacher. I brought my own philosophy to bear. I valued each child and believed that our task was not only to enable them to reach their potential academically but to develop as creative, thoughtful, caring, empathic, questioning individuals. In the process I guided my school to three successive Outstanding Ofsted Inspections and created a community that was supportive and happy.

This is the story. It is not an education book.

If you would like to purchase any of my books:

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If you would like to read my story – with no holds barred:-

A Passion for Education – the story of outstanding students in an exemptional school.

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I spent thirty six years as a secondary school teacher in Yorkshire with one year in Los Angeles teaching in Norwalk.

Of that time 12 years were spent in the Senior Team and five years as a Headteacher. I brought my own philosophy to bear. I valued each child and believed that our task was not only to enable them to reach their potential academically but to develop as creative, thoughtful, caring, empathic, questioning individuals. In the process I guided my school to three successive Outstanding Ofsted Inspections and created a community that was supportive and happy.

This is the story. It is not an education book.

Dedication

 This book is dedicated to Tony Marsh – good friend and teacher.

To my wife Liz for all her diligent editing and the love

To Pete Smith – who shares the vision.

To Sean Smith – a friend and colleague

To Mr. Tranter (Rydens circa 1966) who inspired me.

To all those other great teachers I have worked with who inspire others!

To all the students I taught in the course of a long career – You made it all worthwhile.

This book is also dedicated to my children and grandchildren. They represent the future. When I see them I know the world is in good hands.

My hope is that the generations to come will be better than us. That’s the way it should be.

That is the power of education.

Long may we continue to build a better world through education!

If you would like to purchase any of my books:

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If you would like to read my story – with no holds barred:-

Featured book – A Passion for Education – The Story of a Headteacher – some reviews

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‘The most important book on education since Summerhill’

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsYou need to read this book!

By Mystic blueport on 19 Oct. 2014

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

In this autobiographical account of his life as Head Teacher of Beverley Grammar School, Chris takes us through many of the failings of the post-war education system to the much superior, more flexible teaching of the twenty-first century. Along the way, he enthuses about rock music, leadership vs management, and – particularly – the kids. If you can make every lesson fun, every child feel cared for, and every staff member nurtured, attendance and results will pretty much look after themselves. You can pass every Ofsted inspection with flying colours, and your school can become best in class (no pun intended).

I was at college with Chris, and it didn’t seem to me then that he was destined to be a head teacher of a secondary school – a music critic, more like. He has done education a great service by showing you can be a rebel and get results too. I hadn’t expected to enjoy this book as much as I did; it has extraordinary energy and a lust for achievement. Every teacher should read it! 8/10 (October 2014)

5.0 out of 5 starsEmpathic approach to education

By Pete 2 Sheds on 5 July 2015

Format: Paperback

If you have any interest in the education of your child this book is essential reading. Having studied and worked in education myself I find Mr Goodwins insights and experiences very thought provoking. It deserves a place on the shelves of every educational establishment and needless to say a few people at the ministries and especially the minister for education should read this and maybe, just maybe, we could move forward and improve the educational standards of our children where they have been slipping on a global level.
Mr Goodwin shows, his Ofsted scores prove the point, that civility and empathy rather than antiquated regimented regimes can be extremely effective.

5.0 out of 5 starsCrusade for True Education

By Amazon Customer on 10 April 2016

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

As an retired teacher and Head of Department I found this book a joy to read. It is many things – personal biography, passionate polemic, practical handbook, education history, inspirational text, you name it – woven together in a natural, organic way which really gives you the feel of school life. The author knows whereof he speaks and in friendly fashion takes you, the reader, by the hand on a headlong and often exciting journey through the maze of modern education. His vision is clear and compelling, he knows what works and what doesn’t, he wants you to share his profound sense of the human potential which we can unlock if only we get our schools right. He articulates a philosophy which puts the whole child at its centre and explores the relationships underlying the magic of educational development. The book is written in a direct, heartfelt, jargon-free style and is packed with amusing anecdotes which illuminate his principles, unlike many dry books on the subject. Passionate and humorous and unafraid of controversy, it certainly gets you thinking. I found it a real page-turner and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in good education, whether outside or inside the teaching profession. For anyone connected with school management, in any capacity, it is essential reading. A unique and valuable voice.

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5.0 out of 5 starsAn excellent and informative book

By Alexander on 24 Oct. 2015

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

An excellent and informative book of Mr Goodwin’s time at the Beverley Grammar School. As a former pupil, it is hard to believe what was going on behind the scenes, however he kept it together and carried on securing the school an outstanding rating from Ofsted in both 2008 and 2010.

You don’t have to be in education to enjoy this one.

If you fancy a good interesting read that tells you the inside story just as it is then you’ll enjoy this. This is fun and passionate.

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Featured book – A passion for Education – The Story of a Headteacher – extracts

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Chapter 1 – Headship – beginning the perfect storm and other disasters

 

The start of my sleepless nights began before my first term of Headship even began.

Having reached my mid fifties I was beginning to look ahead to taking an early retirement so that I had time to do all those things I’d been wanting to do, such as writing. Much as I loved teaching there was no denying that work left little time for my creative endeavours. I yearned for a more bohemian lifestyle. All my life I have fought against the conflicting interests of my biological clock and the timetable of work. Left to my own devices I gravitated to working late at night. As the evening progressed I tended to become more alert. In my younger days I would happily type my books from 10.00 pm until 2.00 am or even 3.00 am and then pay heavily for it the next morning when the alarm went off. I’d somehow manage on four hours sleep a night, with a little catch up on the weekend, as much as family life would allow, for three months or so until I’d completed the book that had been sitting in my head.

Throughout my working life I’d go to bed wide awake, sleep well and wake up feeling dopey with tiredness.

Retirement might just sort this out.

Then, out of the blue, Gerry, the Headteacher, retired and I was thrown into a dilemma: should I apply for the Headship or not?

Was I too old?

‘You’ll only regret it if you don’t,’ Liz admonished me. She was always the voice of reason. ‘What harm can it do? You probably won’t get it anyway. You know you won’t be happy working for a new Head.’

She was right.

I had been happy working as a Deputy under Gerry. He gave me almost complete freedom to do my own thing. I could put my ideas into action. I was happy even though I was beginning to get bored. I’d got most things sorted and there was very little challenge in the role anymore. I was craving change. I’d been talking to Gerry about bringing in some major changes and had even drawn up plans for the introduction of vertical tutoring and the disbandment and restructuring of the Curriculum Team and Pastoral Team. I needed something to get my teeth into and keep my interest. In my head I was going to work for another three years and then retire. The idea of working for someone else whose views might not mirror mine, who might even start undoing all the stuff I’d put in place, was unsettling. I’d worked in the place for over thirty years and come to think of the school as mine. I could see the initiatives I had brought in bearing fruit. I couldn’t bear to see them dismantled. I did not take much persuading.

I decided to apply.

The only problem was that the government had just made it mandatory to have, or be on the course for, the new NPQH qualification of Headship and I hadn’t even applied for it. I checked with the website and found that I had just missed the deadline to get on the course by a few days; I was unable to get enrolled before the interviews. I applied for the next course which began in June. It was now February.

I thought this might well preclude me from being accepted as an applicant but put on my application that I had applied for the NPQH course and that I would be willing to accept the position subject to being accepted on the course. It was the best I could do.

My application was accepted. There were no objections from County at that point and my application proceeded.

My references from Gerry and my fellow deputy Dave were incredible.

My work record at the school was impressive. The number of initiatives I had successfully brought in and seen bedded was exceptional and fully backed up by inspection reports.

The negative side of things was mainly concerned with image. I knew this was the main factor from previous shenanigans around my appointment as a deputy head. I was a short scruffy individual who did not sit easy in a suit. I was also extremely maverick in the way I did things. I was not one for following rules and regulations or adhering to procedures. I rather did it my way.

People had trouble seeing me standing on the stage at public forums looking like a Headmaster. I could not blame them as I had trouble seeing myself that way. This was made worse by the fact that these were precisely the attributes Gerry did best. He could shine on a stage, talk for England and project charisma. These were things that did not come easy to me, yet I knew I still had all the ideas and energy to take the school to another level.

Liz took me in hand, decked me out in new suits, ties and shirts and created a more palatable image. It wasn’t me but it partially filled the hole in what I had to offer. After all – this was a game.

I progressed to interview where I had to work at overcoming the image of the past and selling the ‘new’ me.

I had nothing to lose. I spoke from the heart and told them what I believed in and what I would do for the school.

The interviews took place in March.

The three day interviews were very exacting. They grilled me on all aspects of my philosophy, achievements and intentions through panel after panel, performance after performance. I had no problem with any of this because I had loads of experience and ideas and did not bother preparing – I just spoke from the heart and was relaxed about the whole thing. I had nothing to lose.

A more difficult part of the exercise involved being taken out to an evening meal. Prior to the meal candidates were told the title of the presentation they had to give to the whole governing body the next morning. The whole idea was to create enormous pressure and observe how you reacted. I ate my meal, sipped my wine, smiled a lot and made intelligent conversation as my mind churned over how I was going to handle the presentation. It was important that I remained relaxed and took my time even though I was straining to get away and begin work on the presentation for the morning.

I got through it without swearing or spilling wine over anyone. I used the right cutlery and even managed to crack a few jokes in a seemingly relaxed manner.

The next day I delivered my presentation and laid out my passion and philosophy with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

That evening I waited at home with Liz on tenterhooks.

The chair of governors rang and told me I’d been successful, adding as a rider that it was subject to me being accepted on the NPQH. As this was a formality this seemed unimportant.

We celebrated.

It was exciting to think that I was going to have the opportunity to put my philosophy to the test. Would I be able to successfully sell the vision? Could I get the roof on the building I had designed and constructed or would the weight pull it all down? There would be no excuse. I would have a free rein. There would be no Headteacher to mull over my ideas with and give them the yea or nay. I would be my own master.

Psychologically Headship is totally different to deputy headship. As a deputy you can put forward the most radical ideas. Someone else takes ultimate responsibility. They oversee it; if the Head says ‘no’ it doesn’t happen; if they say yes they take responsibility. As a deputy you are free to drive as hard as you like. You also have someone to talk it through with, to rub off the rough edges. As a Head you are on your own. There is no-one to pick up the pieces.

It is like doing a tight-rope walk without a safety net.

It was suddenly overwhelmingly daunting.

I remember Chris Woodward the England rugby coach being interviewed following England’s victory at the world cup.

‘How do you select the best team to get the fifteen best players out on the pitch?’ an interviewer enquired.

‘You never get the best players on the pitch,’ Chris Woodward replied. ‘You get the best that will perform on the day.’

The interviewer looked bemused.

‘If I was to put a long beam down on the gym floor and ask the team to run the length of it most of them would do so easily,’ Clive explained. ‘Maybe the odd one would lose their balance and fall off but they wouldn’t find it too hard. But if I was to place that same beam between two skyscrapers and ask them to run across it it’s a different kettle of fish. The actual task hasn’t changed. The fear of failure has become so much greater.’

‘That’s the same as running out on the field at Twickenham,’ Clive continued. ‘The expectation is enormous. Everything you do is filmed and analysed by millions. The pressure is unbelievable. Some of the most talented players are overawed by it. They freeze and under-perform. My job is to help them deal with the pressure and perform to their potential. That is why you pick the team that can perform best under that pressure. They are not always the best players.’

Headship is like that. The danger is that you may freeze and play safe by following all the rules.

Headship, if you strive for excellence, is about risk taking and giving full rein to that quirky individuality. Playing safe always creates mediocrity.

I didn’t know if I could do it. The responsibility was suddenly frightening.

One lesson life has taught me is that you should never give in to your fears. Your subconscious is your worst enemy. It is always whispering in your ear telling you that you are going to make a fool of yourself. The trouble is that it knows you so well it knows all your weaknesses and never holds back at pointing them out to you.

‘When you stand up there on that stage your hands will shake and your voice tremble. You’ll look a fool,’ it whispered in my head. ‘You’ll forget what you want to say and far from inspiring people you’ll be ridiculed.’

It was this fear of failure that creates pressure.

I put my notes in a plastic wallet so any shaking was not so visible. I practised speaking so that I could control my voice and always took a glass of water on stage so that I could take a sip and control myself. It helped.

You have to stand up to your subconscious and tell it sternly to shut up.

Your subconscious holds you back.

I don’t just mean that in terms of career development; I mean it in terms of life experience. There is no feeling as good as conquering your fear, doing something you dread and doing it well. This is true for bungee jumpers, sky-divers and people in all walks of life.

The fear of public speaking holds many people back. Don’t let it. I have seen ‘Heads of Year’ delivering their first assemblies shaking and stuttering only to find, a year later, those same people have become confident and at ease on a stage. If it really bothers you, go on a public speaking course.

Don’t allow yourself to be beaten by your own self before you even start.

The danger of not taking risks and pushing yourself is that you stay in your comfort zone. That is fatal. You get bored and shrink into yourself. I’ve seen teachers who had the ability to do so much more, decay into cynical individuals who spent the latter days of their career going through the motions. They grow to hate the job and can’t wait to get out. Yet these individuals had so much more to offer and they owed it to themselves, as well as the kids they taught, to push harder.

By the time I finished I was confident on any stage but I never lost my nerves.

This is true of many performers. Many great comedians and musicians get themselves in a complete state before they go on stage. Then they walk out on the platform and become the epitome of relaxed self-assurance. You feel nervous because you care.

Even giving morning briefing was a nightmare for me at first. The start of a new school year staff meeting or staff training days were things I worried about all summer holiday though I doubt any of the staff noticed what a mess I got myself in. The outside was projecting calm humour while the inside churned and raged.

I was glad I took risks and made myself confront and overcome my demons.

You don’t ever want to end your life with regrets.

During the summer term I began preparing for taking over the school.

I was told there were a few concerns regarding my application. Seemingly County had now objected because I was not on the NPQH at the time of my application.

I thought little of this at the time. I would shortly be on the course, which would fulfil the need, and I had a letter offering me the post subject to getting on the course. It seemed water-tight. I had more pressing things to think about. I had a school to prepare for September. I had to pick up the reins of Headship and manage the change-over.

Out of nowhere, three weeks before the end of term, I was informed that as County had formally objected I would have to reapply for my post. I would have to put in a fresh application and go through the whole process again and this would have to be overseen by officers from County to ensure it was all above board.

I was dismayed.

Here I was gearing up for a take over and suddenly I was no longer Head. What sort of start was that?

I could not see why the governors did not stand up to County and say ‘no way’. They had appointed me fair and square. But they didn’t. They backed down.

Then the school had an Ofsted inspection in the last two weeks of the summer term. It was all hands to the pump and complete mayhem.

All my hopes of a smooth transition were thrown into complete disarray. There were no cosy chats with the outgoing Head. There were no leisurely meetings to sort the nuts and bolts out. We were all rushing about getting the documentation and sorting the requirements for the Ofsted. In the midst of this I was in discussion with my union, the governors and County regarding my Headship.

The upshot of all this was that we achieved a second Outstanding Ofsted report and all my areas of responsibility once more came out as excellent. This was a really nice way for Gerry to leave and it cleared the way for me. I no longer had an Ofsted inspection looming over me for a while. It gave me time to do my thing and get it right.

The big downside at the end of that term was that the NUT union informed me that they unwilling to back me. I gained the distinct impression that they were not so bothered about Headteachers. I was on my own. I had to reapply for my job. I would only be a temporary Head in September.

County provided me with no mentorship, training programme or support. Nor was I allocated a fund to facilitate this.

There were huge knock-on effects to being a temporary Head:

My first task in September was to inform the staff that I was not actually the Headteacher; I was merely acting Head and would have to apply for my job. This, of course, led to everyone questioning whether I was still going to be around at the end of the term; did they have to do what I told them?

In their eyes I was not Head. It stripped me of credibility and all authority. I was a lame duck from the first day.

The second effect was that I could not appoint a new deputy head to replace my former role as I might have to drop back into that position if I failed to secure the job. This meant that I was still doing the bulk of that deputy’s job while I was trying to pick up the reins of Headship. Fortunately I did have one deputy – Grahame.

My workload was colossal and further compounded by me starting the NPQH and having to carry out an enormous amount of work entailed in that plus my own stupid decision of wanting to continue my teaching load. I continued with A Level Biology teaching and my Y11 PSHE commitment.

I was determined to set an example. I was determined that no member of staff would work harder than me.

It was an ambitious and foolhardy decision that I soon came to regret.

No-one did work harder than me. I was driven like a maniac. I was regularly doing 80 hour weeks with no lunch or breaks.

At the start of my Headship, and much to the chagrin of the bulk of the staff, we had brought in a five period day to replace our four period day. We had to do this in order to give the range of curriculum options for the students. The previous Head, knowing what an upheaval it would bring, and nearing the end of his career, had knowingly left it to me to introduce. It was not the easiest thing to do at the best of times and the disaster of my uncertain situation made it trebly difficult. This was not the pleasant honeymoon period it could have been. We were straight into full-blooded confrontation.

This major development had been introduced with full staff consultation though the whole process had been messed about and curtailed due to the situation regarding my appointment and the Ofsted inspection coming at the end of term. Consequently the staff felt it had been rushed and rather imposed. They were up in arms because it increased their workload and worsened their work/life balance.

Despite the fact that we gave them more generous allowances of preparation time they did have a bit of a point. The lessons were shorter but they had to prepare, teach and mark more.

I think if we had taken longer over this consultation and talked it through more the staff would have been won over. They were a dedicated, caring staff and they would have acknowledged that, despite slight worsening of their conditions, it was definitely better for the students and the school. Without the proposed introduction of the five period day we would not have achieved an outstanding Ofsted with all the many benefits that brought for the school. We were told that by the Ofsted Registrar. These outstanding Ofsted inspections were essential for the survival of the school. They attracted the students to the school and it was student numbers that generated the cash. Without those outstanding inspections we might have been facing staff redundancies.

However the staff were not looking at the big picture. They viewed it from their own narrow perspective. They just wanted things to be the same as before. All they saw was that it had been good under the last Head and now it was looking a whole lot worse. They were railing at the workload without looking at the broader picture or the long term benefits. It made for a fraught start.

This was further compounded by the introduction of a new IT Management system. Unsurprisingly we had gone for a different system to all the other schools. It gave us an integrated attendance, behaviour and curriculum package that would enable us to develop our systems and incorporate them. It looked brilliant but was quite complicated. It had meant a lot of change and a lot of staff training.

That too impacted on workload.

Staff do not like change. People were struggling to understand the complicated system.

You could not have conceived of introducing as much change all in one dollop. It was far from ideal but in reality there was not much option. This was the time to do it. It would have been foolish to delay.

It would have been a lot easier if I had not had my own problems to contend with. It also would have been a lot easier if the new system had not completely crashed at the beginning of term leaving us without registers, teaching groups or registration groups. We were thrown back to paperwork and chaos.

That first week could not have gone much worse. Staff were muttering about my survival and what sort of Head might they get come half-term when the new Headship interviews were to take place.

My stress levels were through the roof. I was working all hours, going to bed exhausted with a head full of problems, concerns and worries and unable to sleep.

Each day was like an insurmountable nightmare. It looked as if I was heading for a breakdown.

 

Fortunately we got the ICT management system back up and running and that settled down. Grahame my deputy had only been with us for a year but he pulled more than his weight and rose to the challenge. Between us we did the necessary planning and made it work.

He was a stalwart. I could leave the curriculum, stats and ICT management in his capable hands and not have to worry about it.

We were a team though I don’t think he was completely aware of the mayhem that was going on in my head. Liz was worried that I’d have a heart attack or stroke. My kids were worried about my health. I was trying to hold it all together and get through it.

Through all this turmoil and confusion I had to stand on that stage in front of staff, the school and the public and project calm confidence, charisma and leadership. Welcome to Headship.

 

You don’t have to be in education to enjoy this one.

If you fancy a good interesting read that tells you the inside story just as it is then you’ll enjoy this. This is fun and passionate.

In the UK:

In the USA :

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Featured book – A passion for education – the story of a Headteacher – The preface

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Foreword

I am very proud to have taught at Beverley Grammar School for thirty six years including fourteen years on the Senior Team followed by five years as Headteacher. During that long career I taught with numerous brilliant colleagues who I respect and admire as educators and friends.

I have also taught thousands of students and they have taught me. It has been a privilege working with such fervent, interesting students. I have fond memories and miss them all. I can honestly say that I never disliked a student although some were trying! They made my working life worthwhile.

When I first started at Beverley Grammar School it was in the process of changing from a Grammar to Comprehensive school. I believe in comprehensive education and I feel that I have proved it can work far better than any selective system. My heart will always be in that caring community that was Beverley Grammar School.

 

Haim Ginott inspired me. I implore every teacher and educator to read his work. He was a Jew who survived the horrors of a concentration camp. He saw the gas chambers that were designed by qualified engineers and children who were murdered in cruel experiments by highly skilled doctors.

He, like me, was more than suspicious of education.

He believed that the primary purpose of education should not be to instil knowledge but to encourage kindness, empathy and compassion. In this way the world might be free of highly educated monsters and psychopaths like the Hitler, Pol Pot and Mao.

I agree with him one hundred percent.

Teaching about maths, reading, writing and how to pass exams is pointless if we are not teaching our children to be caring human beings.

That should be the first aim of any teacher.

 

Leadership is about empowerment. If a leader doesn’t enable their staff to take risks and grow they aren’t worth their salt. A good leader should encourage all their staff to reach their potential.

 

A school is like an ocean liner. It builds up a head of steam and gets carried along by its own momentum. It cannot stop or change course abruptly. You have to guide it and plan each change of course well in advance. It takes all the ‘sailors’ working as a team for it to run smoothly.

 

Headship is like a race down a steep snow run on an old tin tray. You have limited control and your journey is perilously at the mercy of events and obstructions that cannot all be foreseen.

 

Yet a Head sets the tone for everything that happens in the school.

 

The art of Headship is to sell your vision so that the whole community is pulling in the same direction.

 

Paradoxically a Head is largely impotent. As a Head you have far-reaching responsibilities but limited power. There are good things about this. Many Heads proceed to Headship out of a desire for power, control and money. They are ambitious and can be overbearing, ruthless, and self-centred. At least the system limits their desire to exert a regime of fear and control

A Head has limited control over poor teaching. The kids may deserve better but there are no quick fixes. Headteachers are prevented from exercising much power by a series of legal requirements. These can be frustrating but on the whole having restraints is better than having a tyrannical Headteacher. A Head therefore has to eliminate poor teaching through example and by supporting and leading their staff.

 

You always find when you reach the top that you’re actually in the middle. A Head is in the middle of everything pulled by the governors, staff, students, government, local authority and parents, you soon find you are not ‘in charge’. You have to juggle everything to keep all the balls in the air.

 

It is said that the fact that someone wants to be a politician should automatically ban them from standing; the same thing is true of Headships. Those that think they know what they are doing are usually the worst. If a Head starts Headship by asking for more power or money it is likely that they are doing the job for the wrong reasons.

 

The only reason to become a Head is a passion for trying to make the world a better place. Education is the only way of achieving this. After all, education has to be better than war, religious hatred and sectarian violence.

 

. Education is all things to all men/women. To politicians it is a way of maintaining social order, reinforcing class or enabling mobility and addressing the economic needs of the country. To many it is purely about careers while to others it is about expanding minds, opening horizons and creating wonder. I’m very much in the wonder and awe camp. I am also of the repairing damaged kids persuasion. All my students were equally important and equally valuable. I hope I succeeded in making some of their lives better. That’s what I set out to do. Their chosen career and economic value was secondary to their self-esteem and happiness.

 

Before starting this I checked on ‘Rate my Teacher’, a scurrilous website that has given a voice to some rather dubious individuals, but one which reflects how some others see you. It offers a modicum of objectivity. It was a little unsettling to see oneself described as an obese penguin from the CIA but on the other side there was also the recognition of the care and respect. It showed a career that was not entirely wasted.

 

I worked in Education for thirty six years and prior to that I was largely a victim of it for twenty plus years. My experience of schooling gave me the impetus to get involved and change it. My disgust at the education minister and the Tory attempt to belittle all the achievements of recent decades and drag education back to the appalling 1950s is my main reason for writing this. Children should be valued as human beings and not seen as mere economic units for the employment market. Education that is not developing all aspects of human empathy, and creativity as well as expanding minds is wrong. Most leading fascists have been highly educated – after a fashion. It was their empathy, compassion and warmth of spirit that was allowed to atrophy. Any education system that fosters elitism and the smug arrogance that stems from it should be resisted by all caring people. A system that ignores the promotion of human feeling and sound moral and ethical values in order to focus on exam league tables and economic performance is flawed. The society created would be cold and bitter.

I have fought against that limited view of education all my life.

 

I have fought for the warmth and light.

 

In my teaching experience I have known students with lower intelligence, destined for poor grades and lowly jobs, but possessing a range of qualities that left me humbled. I have known highly intelligent individuals, destined for top jobs, who were mean spirited and likely to create misery. My job was to bring out the best in both and my hope is that both types left school better equipped to make a positive contribution to society.

 

Education is a nebulous thing. We are building the future and the future is not only concerned with careers and wealth; it is also about families, societies, relationships and supporting those less fortunate. How to build a better world should be our curriculum. How we repair damaged children should be our imperative. How we foster positive human values should be our main aim. Teaching and learning, exam results and league tables are almost superfluous in the face of such paramount challenges.

 

This is why I believe the most important subject, and the most difficult to teach, is PSHE (Personal social and health education). All too often it is poorly delivered, pushed to the shadows and taught by reluctant exponents who happen to have some free space in their timetable. This is a travesty. PSHE is about life, about preparing students for a better world, dealing with the big issues of responsibility, respect, tolerance and empathy. PSHE, like the pastoral system, is about guidance, interaction and development of those qualities that raise the sensibilities. It should be given centre stage, pride of place and only taught by the very best of teachers with the most advanced skills. Anything less is short-changing the future. A school lacking a vibrant PSHE programme is like a robot with no heart. It is pointless.

 

The only way to address the world’s problems is through good education.

 

As a probationary teacher I set about taking on the hierarchy of the school and changing the beast that was the current school. It was poor and not meeting the needs of all of its students. I wanted a revolution. You don’t have to be in senior management to have a power base to promote positive change. I fought for change and managed to bring in a number of improvements. However, after twenty years of influential input from a lowly position, I realised that the best way of changing the system was to do it from the top and seized my opportunity to move into senior management.

 

I did things my way. I did not follow the rules. I was the sand in the Vaseline. The senior team found me a major problem. I refused to compromise. I did it the way I felt was right for the students and my own philosophy. And this method was highly successful. In the whole of my time in teaching I did not have a single report or inspection putting me below excellent. On the school’s first Ofsted inspection, in which it achieved ‘Satisfactory’, all my areas were Outstanding. Over the next three Ofsted inspections, two as Deputy Head and one as Head, all my areas of responsibility were deemed ‘Outstanding’. Being a maverick, and not following the rules, does not necessarily mean you cannot gain recognition. Risk taking is a big part of the game. Covering your back is a weakness and a flaw. Doing what is right, even in defiance of the orders from above, is an imperative. You have to follow your conscience.

 

Duke Ellington supposedly said that there were only two kinds of music: good and bad. The same is true of education. Bad education is destructive to minds, spirits and society. It should be banished even when it produces perceived results. My own maths teacher in secondary school always achieved a 100% pass rate with his classes. I passed maths from his class. Yet nobody was more successful at destroying a subject. To a man we came out of there hating Maths.

 

I have always questioned the education system. It seems crazy to put people together grouped by age. That never happens in normal social interaction. This is asking for trouble, particularly during teenage years when hormones are rampant and brains are melting and becoming rewired. It reinforces lots of negative behaviour patterns. It is almost as bad as grouping people according to ability, but not quite. I think we need to bring our best minds to bear to find a better way forward.

 

The present Tory Government of 2014 is bereft of ideas. What is proposed, a plunge back to the dark days of the 1950s emotionally challenged society, would be a disaster. We have to come up with something better than that. We have a wealth of psychology and sociology to fall back on. Politicians have the wrong agendas. They are ruled by their own political dogma. They always make a mess of it.

 

I only served five years as a Head. This is something I now regret. I was never personally ambitious and was severely lacking in self-confidence when it came to formal situations. One thing that was obvious was that there were going to be many formal situations and they came with the post. I ducked it for too long and was content with deputy headship. Consequently I came to Headship too late. As a Head I became used to the formal situations and overcame my anxiety attacks. One thing I have learned from life is that you should always push yourself and try to extend your reach. To not do so is perhaps to leave yourself with an unfulfilled life. You never know what you could have achieved.

I guess I’ll never know. I would have liked to have served as a Head for longer and really set my philosophy into full operation. The school was motoring. The cherished beliefs, that I had spent thirty six years establishing, were bearing fruit. The atmosphere inside the school was warm, friendly and buzzing with energy. We were a positive, can-do, all inclusive community. There was a lot of love.

 

If you review the full panoply of responsibilities involved with Headship, as with many other jobs, it becomes obvious that it is not possible to carry out the whole role effectively. You are responsible for everything twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. You have to know every rule and regulation inside out. You are expected to represent yourself in the most exacting of circumstances without legal representation. To achieve this you would need to be in ten places at once, have a myriad of skills, be super intelligent and be able to read and hold in your memory a mass of legal documentation sufficient to fill a library. As with all such roles you learn to prioritise, deal with the pressing, delegate and relax in the knowledge that you are always exposed and could flounder at any moment from circumstances largely beyond your control. The stress is enormous. I was threatened with prison three times during my short stint. You can go two ways. You can become anal and try to nail everything down, creating a bureaucratic mediocrity or you can hold on tight, guide the tin tray over the bumps and away from the trees, experience a spectacular journey and enjoy the adrenaline rush.

 

Outstanding can only come as a result of going for it and reaching as far as your spirit will allow. All the checklists in the world cannot create a single spark of originality or flash of genius. Inspiration comes from passion.

 

Headship is a lonely place but it can be exhilarating when you have the support of the community you have helped create. Sometimes it all comes together and is transcendental. Those are the moments we live for.

 

As far as I am concerned mediocrity should never be an option.

 

What follows are my views on education and the mechanics of how the school came to become Outstanding while prospering as a friendly, supportive community in which everyone was loved and valued. I have sprinkled it with illustrative anecdotes from my own experience. This is about how to become Outstanding.

 

I believe with all my heart that we can mend broken kids, soften the arrogant and aggressive, and use education to change the world into a tolerant, peaceful place that works in harmony with nature.

 

When education is practiced properly it soars. It should work to take humanity out of the morass of war, poverty, environmental destruction and religious intolerance into a new age.

 

This is no idle dream of a helpless romantic idealist. This book is about good education.

 

Good education requires great Headteachers.

 

Chris Goodwin 16.11.2012

You don’t have to be in education to enjoy this one.

If you fancy a good interesting read that tells you the inside story just as it is then you’ll enjoy this. This is fun and passionate.

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Featured book – A passion for Education – The Story of a Headteacher – the blurb

Posted on by Opher

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If you want to know how to run an Outstanding School then read this! This book is a memoir of an outspoken maverick Headteacher who did it his way. He was a Rock ‘n’ Roll Head who fought for his philosophy and lead his school to three consecutive Outstanding Ofsted inspections. He had a passion and a vision that permeated the fabric of the school and transformed it into one of the best schools in the country. He was a rebel who did not kow-tow to Ofsted or the Local Authority, who spent the early years of his teaching fighting for his beliefs in a traditional, hidebound school that was floundering and found himself taking on the entire hierarchy of the school. He believed in valuing all his students, caring for them and putting that above all else. He believed in equality, freedom, and fairness and refused to allow any system into his school that was contrary to those principles. He believed racism, sexism, bullying, violence and xenophobia were evils that should be opposed before all else. In the course of standing up for his beliefs he led the school on a journey that culminated in three ‘Outstanding Ofsted’s’, Attendance rates that were the best in County, an exam success rate that built year upon year to great heights, and a behaviour record that was unsurpassed. Every single area of his responsibilities over the whole thirty six years of his teaching was deemed by inspection to be outstanding, excellent or exemplary. This is the story of how he created that success.

You don’t have to be in education to enjoy this one.

If you fancy a good interesting read that tells you the inside story just as it is then you’ll enjoy this. This is fun and passionate.

In the UK:

In the USA :

$2.99 Read with Our Free App