This morning, my Head Andy Byers wrote a blog about his crazy Deputies and as I near the end of my adoption leave it got me thinking about my journey through education, the experiences that I’ve had (good and bad) and how lucky I am to work with a brilliant Head. The fact that I have had the most fantastic six months leave with my amazing daughter and will be sad for it to end, I think it’s testament to Andy that I’m actually also looking forward to going back to work and taking on new challenges. So although I’m about to jet off for a cheeky 2 week term time holiday (Sobering thought that the next time I’ll be able to do this is when I retire) before I return, I thought I’d write a quick blog about what makes a great (in my opinion) Headteacher. So whilst Ruby has her nap, here it is…

The best Heads that I’ve worked with…

• Have an immense passion for what they do. Their relentless pursuit to give every child the very best education that they can in often difficult circumstances always shines through
• Possess humility. In my experience the best Heads just get on with it. They don’t seek praise for their achievements and are often a little embarrassed by any public declaration of appreciation
• Regularly communicate a clear vision and set of values to all staff, students, governors and parents
• Care. They care passionately about both staff and students
• Are emotionally intelligent. They carry out their role as a dedicated professional, but also hold the human interest at the heart of what they do. This is sometimes a difficult one. At Fram we are working hard to use classroom observations as a developmental tool; we want staff to want to constantly improve heir own practice and to see observations as one small part of doing this. A good Head realises that many staff can be worried about observations but will seek to reassure staff that whilst there is always going to be an element of monitoring about observations, they should be much more about developing every day classroom practice. As senior leaders there’s nothing worse for us than knowing that staff are spending hours on planning to put on a show lesson. Good Heads simply want to know what everyday practice looks like and seek to continually build on this.
• Are transparent in all that they do. They celebrate the good and challenge (in the nicest way possible) the poor practice
• Hold their hands up when they get it wrong and are willing to listen and adapt as a better solution comes along
• Always have time for others. They operate an open door policy for staff and students
• Can poke fun at themselves
• Admit that they’re not bigger than their team. They don’t always hold the answers but appoint people that do
• Have a sense of humour. When it’s all going wrong and “the wheels are coming off” sometimes humour is the only thing that gets you through difficult times
• Are resilient. In my current role as Deputy, I’m certainly having my eyes opened by the things that are thrown my Head on a daily basis
• Make people feel good about themselves and take the time to go and see staff to tell them this

There’s probably so much more than this that I’ll think of at a later date and I’d be interested to hear about everyone else’s thoughts, but as Ruby’s nap is about to end, I just want to finish by saying I have worked with or had access to some fantastic Heads in my time and there’s a few I’d like to mention. First of all Allan Fuller- a true gentleman and my Head at my last school. He possessed humility by the bucket load and gave me the autonomy to flourish as a leader, yet was always there to catch me when I fell. Secondly, Alan Yellup, the SIP from my last school who supported me through probably the most difficult time of my career when I was about to give it all up and was instrumental in making sure I didn’t. The third Head is someone I’ve never had the opportunity to work with,  but spending a day in his company, visiting his school and seeing his charismatic presence rub off on everyone he came into contact with, made me wish I lived a little nearer to him, so I could benefit from his experience on a daily basis- Matthew Partington thank you for that visit; you inspired me more than you’ll ever know.

Finally though, the Head who has had the greatest influence on me is my current Head Andy. He believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself, teaches me things on a daily basis (even when I’m on leave) and has an endless supply of patience. Andy fully supported my decision to take six months leave, continuously makes fun at me (see below an example from a text he sent me, when I asked if my job description had changed.  He keeps telling me I’m bossy.  No idea where he gets that from), keeps me supplied with cups of tea and is someone who I can ask the stupidest of questions to and he only occasionally rolls his eyes. In a short space of time, he has led his teams to do great things at Fram. If I can be half the Head he is one day, I will be happy. Long may it continue Andy. Get the red carpet out for my return and remember Margot likes only the best of Peppermint tea! See you in two weeks.

Jane