Gove's favourites

Quite an interesting study in 'Schoolsweek' about school leadership styles...

schoolsweek.co.uk/pe-and-re-teachers-make-least-effective-superheads-new-study-reveals/

That's a really interesting study daphnedill.

Amazing that the "surgeons" (studied PE/RE) get the most accolades and honours, as well as the highest salaries, yet appear to be the least effective heads. As many educationalists have suspected, low performing children are "weeded out" of these schools, thus elevating exam results - and it was found that the improvement could not be sustained when the heads left.

How interesting that the "architects" (studied History/Economics - 86% had worked outside of education before becoming teachers) who place great emphasis on visionary leadership which encourages the involvement of the community and which involves re-designing and transforming schools, achieve gradual but sustained improvement which continues after they leave.

A bit worrying that the bulk of the heads, the "philosophers" (studied English/Languages)are characterised as being good at "talking the talk" but not "walking the walk" and were recorded as presiding over a "gradual decline" in the schools.

This certainly does seem to support the idea that an effective head of any organisation is instrumental in creating the conditions that enable an organisation to achieve sustained improvement.

I know this anecdotal, but the best head I've ever known was a mathematician turned accountant turned teacher. He was very understated in his approach, but let good people get on with what they did best. He was never going to be a 'superhead' but it was a happy school, which did loads for the community, achieved good results and has been rated as outstanding by Ofsted almost since Ofsted started. So it looks as though there's something in the report.

PS. And, yes, I've come across all the other types too!

I took on a primary headship from a HT that was highly thought of. She was asked to go to a "struggling" school to improve it and then was offered a job with the then quite new National College for School Leadership. When I took on the school it was chaos because her style of leadership was about her controlling and promoting her favourite staff. The place looked good and "did interesting things" but it failed to do sufficient teaching or develop good behaviour. It took 3+ years to get the kids to see that school was a place to learn!

She knew the hoops to jump through to please OFSTED.

hha! I was the Head who had to take the school through its first OFSTED!

Let’s face it, Michael Gove did a huge amount of damage to state education - I worked in secondary education for more than 30 years and found he earned/deserved no respect, treating teachers as though we were all idiots (heard him speak BADLY at my education union conference) - and secondary schools will take a long time to recover from his influence...