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1
A WHOLE SCHOOL PLAN
Most effective headteachers are good at thinking strategically. In other words, they have a broad vision of where the school is and where they want it to be. At the same time, they are constantly developing ideas, absorbing information from colleagues within the school and from outside which influences how they plan to make improvements. They are able to focus on the ‘big picture’ and set challenging goals to help them get where they want to go. During this process, they need to create a positive ethos and this is the starting point, because without it heads and teachers can work, innovate and manage change until they drop, and the school will still be much less effective than it should be. Schools, and the structures and organisations within them, need to be able to develop attitudes that will not only help pupils learn but will show them how to do it and how to continue to want to learn.
CREATING AN APPROPRIATE SCHOOL ETHOS
Schools have their own feelings and vibrations that make each one unique and it is this ethos or culture that can determine whether some schools are more effective than others. There are many indicators of a positive ethos and they include the following:
Pupils are treated fairly.
Bullying is a rare occurrence.
Pupils receive help when they need it.
There is a lively creative atmosphere that is conducive to learning.
Teachers motivate their classes.
Discipline is positive and consistent.
All those working in the school and visiting it are made to feel welcome.
The more effective the school is in promoting these attitudes and ‘selling’ its successes to all interested parties, the more positive will be its ethos in the eyes of all those who are able to promote its interests. Headteachers, however, will need to have clear views about what makes a successful ethos and why certain factors within the climate and structure of the school make it effective in preparing its pupils for the future.
It has long been accepted that, while schools cannot wholly eliminate the effects of social differences between pupils, they can, through their own good practice, improve the standards of work, behaviour and attitudes of all pupils. There is now a fairly standard list of what headteachers need to be able to do in order to create a positive ethos. Table 1.1 is a list of factors which, if they are to be influential, have to be ‘sold’ to parents, governors, teachers and pupils. Many of the factors in Table 1.1 will form part of other chapters.
Selling the ethos
In making sure that everyone who is a stakeholder in the school is aware of the basic ideals that make up the whole school ethos, it is important to communicate regularly with them. The school prospectus should take the lead in this, but newsletters, meetings with parents, open evenings with a specific theme, such as numeracy, for example, together with school policies will all have a part to play.
The communication structures within the school need to be accessible to all teachers. Meetings, discussion groups, working parties etc should all reinforce the positive ethos. Governors and the community should be approached through language that is jargon-free and non-patronising. As many subcommittees as possible should involve parents, governors and teachers working together. In many ways, selling the ethos is about marketing basic ideas about what needs to happen for the school to be successful.
Powerful leadership
The concept of leadership will be examined in more detail later in the book and it features in both the Introduction and the Conclusion. It is
Table 1.1 Factors that create a positive ethos
Effective and powerful leadership.
Senior teachers who are involved in decision making.
All teachers need to be consulted and feel that they own and are part of decisions that directly affect them.
There needs to be consistency and continuity throughout the school, eg in terms of discipline patterns, homework policies, teaching strategies, resource management, timetable structures etc.
Teaching needs to be structured, matched to pupils' needs, well paced and lively.
All teaching should be intellectually challenging for all pupils.
The environment of the school will be task and work orientated, ie every pupil will recognise that learning is the norm rather than the exception.
There will be lots of communication between teachers and pupils both inside and outside the classroom.
Record keeping and assessment are sensible and thorough and are communicated to parents when necessary in a way that can be understood.
There is a positive climate where emphasis is placed on praise rather than criticism.
Control in classrooms is firm, fair and consistent, with children being treated as individuals.
Activities are organised to take place outside the classroom as a means of offering pupils wider experience and a way of putting the academic content of the curriculum into a different context.
important, however, to examine some basic concepts, because the success of any positive whole school ethos will fall by the wayside without strong and knowledgeable leadership. Leadership style matters in that it can make or break any positive image that the school tries to create. In its simplest form, there is a continuum that stretches fr...
