Last week I was privileged to spend some time with John at Microsoft Reading UK where he was discussing the potential role of the UK Innovative schools programme see earlier post here: http://bit.ly/boDWgd We discussed many things but we particularly focused on the current changes within education and what impact that would make on the learners and schools in the UK over the next five years. John said the changes that are being made will change education in this country for the foreseeable future and it won’t look like it has for the last 15 years. But is that a bad thing? Many schools, teachers and Headteachers are concerned and are fearful of these changes, what will they mean? They are scared of the impact on academies – what will this and free schools do to education? Are they such a bad thing? I watched yesterday Gove confirm on Andrew Marr that modular exams are definitely going back to the more traditional examination system. I know that many schools have increased their results and modular examinations has been a factor in making that happen. What do you think?
I said to John that although we don’t necessarily know what all these changes will really mean for us that ultimately it is potentially a very exciting time for education here, there is an opportunity to really transform the way we run our schools, the potential to change the curriculum to suit our learners. However one concern is the support – where will this come from? With the likes of QCDA, BECTA, GTC, SSAT etc and the DfE being downsized who will give the support and guidance to schools? The answer is we all will… I am not sure how this will work but there is more than enough excellent practice within schools so we should all collaborate and share with others.
John called this sustainable leadership and I think it is a great model of practice that we should adopt over the next few years. He said “This has fundamental implications for effective leadership, in essence it about moving beyond the historical boundaries of the school as an autonomous institution into recognition of a far wider, moral, responsibility.
The hardest part of sustainable leadership is the part that provokes us to think beyond our own schools and ourselves. It is the part that calls us to serve the public good of all people’s children within and beyond our community and not only the private interests of those who subscribe to our own institution. …Sustainable leadership is socially just leadership. (Hargreaves and Fink 2005)”
You can read more from John in a recent article on his website: http://bit.ly/9T5eDM
What do you think?