Key Voices

Recently published research* highlighted that school pupils who identify as LGBTQ+ have lower feelings of safety than those who identify as heterosexual. What can school and trust leaders do to change this? This is the question we explored in a recent webinar, which you can now listen to in this podcast. Our guests were Evie Cryer, LGBTQ+ advocate for staff and pupils across the Oasis Community Learning trust, and Jo Brassington, educator, author and co-founder of the Pride & Progress podcast.   We talk about:  Evie and Jo’s roles and how they influence and support schools to become safer spaces for all pupils   Practical advice and strategies to help school and trust leaders reflect on their own safeguarding provision How schools and trusts can equip their staff to support pupils who identify as LGBTQ+ … and much more   You’ll find Jo’s podcast and links to more resources that Jo mentions, here.  If you’re a member of The Key, you can use our resources to help you make school a safe space for all pupils, including our gender and LGBTQ+ inclusivity whole school and curriculum audits.   *The Pupil Safeguarding Review, published in January 2023 by Edurio and The Key, highlighted that among school pupils in years 9 to 13, children who identified as LGBTQ+ typically had lower feelings of safety than those who identified as heterosexual. View the reports here.     

This week we talk to Sir Dan Moynihan, CEO of the Harris Federation about leading the trust through a major cyber attack last year. We also talk about some of the systems that underpin the Harris Federation’s school improvement and efficiency models, as well as hearing Sir Dan’s reflection on the role of the CEO.    We talk about:  How the cyber attack happen and how the story unfolded including how they got support to negotiate with the hackers  How prevalent such attacks are and how all schools should assume they will be targeted  The challenges the team at Harris faced and the support they got to recover including how the precautions they had taken had allowed them to open safely with all IT systems down Sir Dan’s own experience of being in charge during such a difficult time  Additional steps the trust is taking to protect itself in future  How Harris uses a team of subject specialists to support school improvement on the ground as part of its turnaround process How they have managed to find efficiencies through centralisation and simplification The need to retain agility even as the organisation becomes larger and the importance of feedback from the schools about the central services they provide.  The role the CEO has in constantly articulating the vision and mission of the organisation, recruiting talent, enabling action and dealing with difficult problems  You can get more detail about The Harris Federation’s experience of a cyber attack here.   You can learn more about The Harris Federation here.   

This week we talk to Shaun Brown, Programmes Director at The Difference and Mohamed Abdallah, Head of The Difference Inclusive Leadership Course about their pioneering inclusive leadership training. We discuss the theory that underpins the learning and how to overcome some of the barriers schools can face when being truly inclusive in their approach.   We talk about:  Mohamed and Shaun’s experiences in mainstream and alternative provision What The Difference does as an organisation  Why the inclusive leadership course exists and how it is different from other training available  The theory that underpins the course and an understanding that all pupils have wellbeing, learning and safeguarding needs  How behaviour practice and behaviour systems should ideally fit together and align Some of the ways in which participants have implemented strategies from the course and the impact it has had on their schools  How the pandemic may have  provided an opportunity for schools to rethink their approach to behaviour and inclusion  You can find out more about The Difference here and the Inclusive Leadership Course here.

This week we talk to Mandy Coalter, Founder of Talent Architects about her recent paper on the role trusts can play in making schools great places to work. She also explains how policymakers should consider trusts more when making policy that impacts the education workforce. Mandy also talks about how schools and trusts are broadening their understanding of what can be achieved for pupils when you take a strategic approach to recruiting, retaining and developing your people.    We talk about:  Mandy’s career and why she founded Talent Architects  How trusts can create additional capacity for school improvement The role policymakers can have in shaping the sector and how they need people with education expertise to help them make the best policy  The vital role trust and school leaders play in shaping the culture in their own schools and trusts, and building their employer brand  The need for more joined-up thinking  in education policy so improvements in one area are not cancelled out by changes in another The changing role of HR professionals and how transformative they can be when they work right at the heart of an organisation  Why education can be slower to change employment practice than other industries  Practical ways to become an employer of choice  HR issues on the horizon for trust leaders and how to balance day to day issues with longer term strategic plans    You can read Mandy’s original paper for the Confederation of School Trusts here.  

This week we talk to Iona Jackson, Head of Research at Edurio and Anna Menzel, a university student who got involved with Edurio’s research when she was still at school. We hear about what they discovered during the course of their surveys and their thoughts about what makes a difference to pupil well-being. Anna also shares her insights into being there for her friends as a “first responder” to their problems and her reflections on mental health while at school.    We talk about:  Why Edurio decided to design and run the survey  How Anna got involved with Edurio in the first place and how she inspired one of the questions in the survey  The main findings of the survey, including what it tells us about how well, safe, happy, lonely pupils are feeling and how that changes depending on various  student and school characteristics  Some of the factors that might be driving pupils to feel more stressed and anxious  Edurio’s finding that a higher proportion of pupils are now feeling lonely and who they go to for support Some of the challenges of balancing growing older and building resilience with unhelpful and negative stress  The importance of the role of the first responder and how schools can support pupils in these roles, and indeed all pupils, to listen to their friends when they need them    “Looking back at my exams now that I’m out of school… they always felt like the be-all and end-all and they never were.”   You can download Edurio’s Pupil Learning Experience and Well-being Review here  

This week we talk to Asma Maqsood-Shah, Principal at High Hazel’s Academy in Sheffield and part of United Learning Academy Trust, about how she overcame her doubts about introducing flexible working at her school and how creating a flexible culture contributed hugely to the school’s improvement journey. We discuss the initial issues the school faced, how they adopted flexible working and what some of the benefits have been.    We talk about:  Asma’s background and career to date The school’s history, context and issues with staff turnover, absence and morale Why Asma was initially concerned about encouraging flexible working amongst her staff  The importance of developing a rationale around flexible working and a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to flexible working requests How flexible working fitted into work the school was doing to improve alignment, engagement and leadership  Some of the challenges Asma and her team overcame around cost, articulating equity of access  The benefits and improvements staff, pupils and parents have seen as a result of adopting a culture of flexible working  What further developments there might be in the future   You can learn more about the benefits, practicalities and how to overcome the challenges associated with flexible working here and here    WomenEd also have a range of case studies on how to make flexible working work. You can watch the original Teaching Vacancies webinar referenced in the introduction here. You can also check out the Teaching Vacancies service here - which makes it easy for you to search for and post jobs that are flex friendly.

This week we talk to Hannah Stolton, Chief Executive at Governors for Schools and Nisadha Bandhara, Chair of Governors at Webster Primary School in Manchester. We discuss what makes a good governor, trends in governor recruitment and Nisadha’s own experience taking over the chair at her school. Hannah and Nisadha also share advice for prospective governors and make the case for volunteering.    We talk about  The work of Governors for Schools  Nisadha’s experiences of governor recruitment and becoming Chair of a Single Academy Trust  Governors for Schools’ new ‘All Pupils Every Ambition’ campaign  The skills Nisadha has brought to the role and what she has learned from being a governor  The kinds of skills governing boards are looking for in new recruits  How Covid-19 has impacted governor recruitment  The benefits and challenges of remote governance  Advice from prospective governors      You can see some of the work going on at Webster Primary on their instagram page here   You can sign up to Governors for Schools Webinars here and learn more about the ‘All Pupils Every Ambition’ campaign here

This week speak to Adele Bates, behaviour and education specialist, keynote speaker and author. We talk about her ideas around behaviour and her new book ‘Miss, I don’t give a s**t: Engaging with challenging behaviour in schools.’  Adele talks about the importance of finding your own authentic way to ‘do’ behaviour, shares a range of tools and techniques for those working in schools to add to their “toolbox” and considers some powerful ways schools can develop their whole school behaviour policy.    We talk about:  Adele’s surprisingly long and varied teaching career  Why Adele decided to focus on behaviour and her work in alternative provision  Adele’s advice for being authentic in your approach to managing behaviour  Why Adele wrote her book and the thinking behind its eye-catching title  How Adele got to understand some of the reasons behaviour can become a barrier to learning  The difference between a behaviour policy on paper and understanding how it works in practice, and the need to involve all stakeholders in drafting a policy  The importance of senior leaders hearing pupil voice and understanding the experience of pupils who struggle with their behaviour  Some practical tips for managing difficult classes    You can learn more about Adele’s work here 

This week we talk to Tom Harbour, CEO of Learning with Parents about how schools can make engaging parents in their children’s learning inclusive. Tom tells us why he was motivated to set up an organisation focussed on parental engagement. Tom shares what he has learned about how to break down all possible barriers and help every parent access ways to support their children at school.    We talk about: Why Tom set up Learning with Parents and how it has developed The various different strands to Learning with Parents’ work  What Tom and his team have learnt about effective pupil engagement, with a particular focus on how to make activities fully inclusive  Tom’s reflections on how schools and parents can best work together to support learning  What Tom thinks the impact of partial school closures has been on parental engagement    You can learn more about Learning with Parents here.   *You can read the original report from The Joseph Rowntree Foundation that Tom quotes here.

This week we talk to Andy Mellor,  Strategic Lead for the Carnegie Centre of Excellence in Mental Health in Schools based at Leeds Beckett University, and the National Wellbeing Director for Schools Advisory Service about mental health and wellbeing. We discuss the emerging role of the senior mental health lead and the various aspects of this role and associated training. We also consider the need for whole-school preventative approaches, as well as support for those most acutely affected by mental health difficulties. Andy also shares some successful strategies from his own time as a headteacher.   We talk about:  Andy’s own long career working in and with schools  The changing landscape with regard to volume and complexity of mental health need  Andy’s advice for serving headteachers based on his experience The links Andy has observed between schools that have a strong wellbeing approach and sustained school improvement  The role of senior mental health leads and what their training might involve The full range of areas the senior mental health lead could be having an impact on, and the importance of that person either being on the SLT or having good access to those who are Some of the ways in which Andy improved pupil engagement and outcomes using a wellbeing informed approach  Different training and support options available for senior mental health leads including a free community How schools might think about the mental health of their staff and the importance of school leaders prioritising their own mental health and wellbeing  You can sign up to the free senior mental health lead community Andy mentions here.    “I think school leaders are past masters at making bad situations work but schools are currently on their knees. If you combine all of this with decreasing funding levels and increased responsibility, it feels like we are coming close to a breaking point.”