Leadership and Management Managing the School Workforce (PDF Format)

8/2/2019 Leadership and Management Managing the School Workforce (PDF Format)

1/40

Leadership and management:managing the school workforce

HMI 1764


2/40


3/40

HMI 1764

December 2003

Leadership and management:

managing the school workforce


4/40

Crown copyright 2003

Document reference number: HMI 1764

To obtain an additional copy, contact:

Ofsted Publications Centre

Telephone: 07002 637833

Fax: 07002 693274

E-mail: [email protected]

Web site: www.ofsted.gov.uk

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial

educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproducedwithout adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.


5/40

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Main findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Managing the culture of the school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Managing the staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Managing the working environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Managing change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Annex A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Annex B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33


6/40


7/40

Introduction

1. In June 2003, Ofsted published Leadership and management: what inspection

tells us, which summarised key inspection findings about leadership and

management in schools.1 It emphasised the central importance of goodleadership and management in school improvement and in sustaining high

performance, and drew out a number of common features of effectively

managed schools.This report complements the earlier one and focuses

particularly on the human resources dimension of school management

how schools manage their workforce to ensure high-quality education

for their pupils.

2. This report is based on a survey carried out by Her Majestys Inspectors

during the autumn term 2002 and spring term 2003, involving inspection

visits to 80 primary schools and 70 secondary schools.The sample includedinner city, suburban and rural schools that had shown consistently good

standards, quality of education, and leadership and management,or significant

improvement in these areas, from one section 10 inspection to the next.

Inspectors held detailed discussions with school staff with a wide range of

roles and responsibilities, including technicians, site managers, administrators,

teaching assistants, class teachers, subject co-ordinators, heads of faculties

and departments, members of senior management teams and governors.

They also reviewed school policies and other relevant documentation.

3. The inspection was carried out against the background of the proposed

changes outlined in the Department for Education and Skills (DfES)

document Time for standards: reforming the school workforce, the intention

of which is to restructure the teaching profession and to reform the

school workforce, involving:

more time for high quality, more individualised lesson planning,

preparation and pupil assessment

a concerted attack on any bureaucracy that gets in the way of

what matters most teaching and learning and raising standards

of pupil achievement extra support inside and outside the classroom, with new support

staff filling roles at every level in the school, so that teachers can

focus on teaching.2

4. A key element in the implementation of these changes was the signing, in

January 2003, of a national workforce agreement between the government,

employers and school workforce unions.3

The phased implementation

of this agreement from September 2003 (see annex A) is intended to

achieve progressive reductions in teachers working hours by lessening

administrative and clerical burdens and providing increased in-class support.

11 Leadership and management: what inspection tells us, HMI 1646, Ofsted, 2003.

2 Time for standards: reforming the school workforce, DfES,2002.

3 Raising standards and tackling workload: a national agreement time for standards

(ATL, DfES,GMB,NAHT, NASUWT, NEOST, PAT, SHA,TGWU,UNISON,WAG), 15 January 2003.


8/40

Main findings

About a quarter of the schools managed their workforce very effectively.

They showed how managers can make the best use of the staff and other

resources to raise standards.These schools were well placed to take onthe imminent challenge of implementing the national workforce agreement.

In two fifths of the schools, management of the workforce was generally

good although there were also weaker areas.While these schools are

familiar with the governments remodelling proposals, they are likely to

find some elements difficult to implement.

Just under one in ten of the schools did not capitalise sufficiently on

the strengths of their staff and did not do enough to ensure good staff

management practice. Five of these had significant weaknesses in theirmanagement of staff and are likely to find remodelling a particular challenge.

In summary, schools that manage their workforce effectively to help raise

standards are those that actively:

manage the culture by creating a climate in which staff can work

together productively

manage the staffby implementing effective policies and procedures

which ensure that highly competent people are recruited, deployed,

and trained and developed further

manage the working environment by investing in it to make it a place

where staff and pupils feel able to work hard and are motivated to do so

manage change by harnessing the energies of the workforce to plan for

and introduce changes that lead to better teaching and higher standards.

Schools managed the culture effectively in the following ways:

managers took deliberate steps to create a culture of openness that

embraced all teaching and non-teaching staff. They recognised that theworkforce needed to work together as a team if changes were to be

implemented successfully

schools had a clear set of values and aspirations that the workforce

knew and agreed with.They held fast to these, measuring the value

of new initiatives against them

2


9/40

managers recognised the achievements and contributions of staff,

individually and in teams, formally and informally

teams were established in which all members of the workforce worked

together productively.

Schools managed their staffeffectively in the following ways:

the appointment process was fair and transparent, allowed for some

negotiation of roles and responsibilities, and ensured that the most

suitable people were appointed to the right jobs and remunerated

accordingly

managers deployed teaching and non-teaching staff effectively, and knew

how to use and build on their individual strengths

staff were well supported by the schools arrangements for continuingprofessional development (CPD), which included a wide range of

different development opportunities

the performance management procedures were used well to support

staff development.

Schools managed the work environment effectively in the

following ways:

there was investment in improving the quality of the physical working

environment

there were successful behaviour management policies and leadership

teams were prominent in implementing them

managers were aware of the need to promote a healthy work/life

balance and had begun to use flexible approaches to staffing to

achieve this

managers had made conscious efforts to help staff manage

their workload and had begun to implement plans to transfer

responsibility for the 25 tasks (see annex B) identified in thenational workload agreement.

Schools managed change effectively in the following ways:

change, including government initiatives, was introduced successfully

because managers saw the potential benefits to the school, presented

them to staff in a positive light, and took care to stage and time the

introduction of the changes

3

Main findings


10/40

information and communication technology (ICT) was used increasingly

to support effective management and teaching, and funding was used well

to improve ICT resources and develop the skills of the staff in their use

managers monitored the effect of their decisions on the work of the

school through self-evaluation and external review and took account

of the findings in future planning.

There were barriers to change even in effective schools.The most

significant were:

headteachers were reluctant to use the new pay flexibilities available

to them as they and their staff feared such decisions would be divisive

in a minority of the schools, the historical allocation of management and

incentive allowances restricted headteachers scope for making changesin staffing and the allocation of responsibilities

although schools had used different funding streams imaginatively to

increase the size of their workforce and promote staff to new posts

that carry additional responsibility points, headteachers were concerned

that the funding might not be sustained in the long term.This limited

their scope for further development of the staffing structure

teachers did not always have the knowledge and skills required to

make the most effective use of the non-teaching staff who provided

them with classroom and administrative support many schools did not have the space to provide suitable accommodation

for an increase in the workforce

few schools were good at evaluating the effect of CPD on teaching

and learning

in primary schools in particular, there was insufficient non-contact

time to enable staff to carry out fully their management roles

and responsibilities

even where schools were introducing government initiativessuccessfully, many staff perceived that the approach was uncoordinated

and the pace of change too rapid

although the long-term benefits of ICT as a management tool were well

understood, the introduction of new systems in schools had considerably

increased the workload of some staff in the short term.

4


11/40

Managing the culture of the school

Culture of openness

5. Leaders in the majority of schools in this survey understood that whenteachers and other staff felt able to approach those in leadership roles

with their ideas and concerns, and knew that their views would be taken

seriously, they were likely to be more committed to the work of the

school. Such schools promoted an open management culture and the

following features were commonly present:

the headteacher was accessible to staff

there was a collaborative ethos in which staff were respected as

responsible professionals

there was an expectation that there would be negotiation and

consultation about policy decisions, with consensus sought as far

as possible

once decisions had been made, there was an expectation that everyone

would abide by them

the headteacher was willing to confront issues and take hard decisions

when the need arose.

6. In addition to promoting openness from day to day, some of the schools

made a particular effort to consult staff in ways that enabled them to

express their views freely. Effective strategies included off-site discussion

groups, questionnaires and staff surveys.

Primary and secondary schools in one local education authority (LEA) had

participated in a staff well-being survey, which canvassed the views of all

staff, including support staff and midday supervisors, on various aspects of

school life. Staff had responded to questions on communication, the quality

of management, work/life balance, team-working, career and professional

development, and the quality of external agency support.The LEA carriedout a detailed analysis of the results and fed these back to the schools.

Headteachers were encouraged to consider all the ensuing recommendations

and to publish the responses from the different sectors of the workforce so

that everyone would have a better understanding of the views of the whole

staff. School staff felt that this initiative had been highly successful, and

schools used the results to help develop their improvement plans. Staff

valued the opportunity to contribute to the development of school policy

and, as a result, felt more committed to it.

5


12/40

7. Where a less open culture existed, staff often felt that the senior

management team paid only lip service to negotiation and consultation,

and the rhetoric of openness was not matched by the reality. In spite of

the often considerable energy invested in consultation, they believed that

senior managers had generally already made up their minds and takendecisions without heeding the views of the staff. In such schools, the

headteachers commonly believed their leadership style to be open, but

failed to recognise how differently it was perceived by their staff. This

dissonance was sometimes due to ineffective consultation procedures

while, on other occasions, the staff failed to appreciate that it was not

always possible for managers to accommodate their views.Whatever the

cause, such situations often resulted in a degree of disillusionment and lack

of commitment to implementing the decision that had been taken.

8. In a minority of the schools, staff felt unable to express their views, orat least to do so without prejudice to their careers, and, as a result, often

felt demotivated and less likely to give of their best. A change of school,

or of management style within a school, could sometimes re-engage staff

who were becoming disenchanted with their job.

Framework of values

9. The majority of schools in this survey had a clear framework of values which

were known and understood by the staff.Where they had helped to shape

them, staff generally felt more committed to them.To raise the achievement

and self-esteem of the pupils and staff, most of the schools had values that

promoted an inclusive ethos and collaborative approaches to working. In the

minority of schools that lacked a well-understood framework of shared values,

there was often a lack of common purpose and staff felt less motivated.This

had a detrimental effect on the quality of education provided for the pupils.

One teacher related how, in her previous school, to ask for help was seen as

a sign of weakness, and this had almost led her to leave the profession.When

she joined her current school, she recognised immediately that the headteacher

promoted an open door policy where staff, pupils, parents and governors couldapproach him with their views and concerns. Staff knew that their comments

would be taken seriously, and their views respected. For example, the headteacher

agreed to one teachers request to develop a mentoring programme.This resulted

not only in improving pupils attitudes to work, but also placed the school in a

better position to introduce a comprehensive mentoring scheme, as was required

as part of the Excellence in Cities initiative.The headteacher had created a

climate where it was safe to try out new ideas and to learn from mistakes.The

professional trust he placed in his staff was returned in their trust in the senior

management team and in their loyalty to the school.

6


13/40

10. While the values in some schools were widely understood without being

formally documented, in others they were expressed as a mission statement.

Effective mission statements commonly emphasised the core values of high

expectations, opportunities for pupils of all abilities, respect for others,

personal achievement and partnership.At best, the schools values werewell known to the pupils, staff and governing body and formed the basis for

decision-making and action.The following mission statement from a primary

school featured in its documentation and was prominent in classrooms and

staff work areas around the school. It was drawn up after consultation with

staff, pupils, governors and parents, and fostered a shared understanding of

what the school valued:

11. It was common to find newly appointed headteachers recognising the

importance of revisiting the shared values of the school as a key priorityfollowing their appointment.

The newly appointed headteacher in a large secondary school organised a

training day to formulate a strategy for developing a shared view of the core

purposes of teaching and learning, and for creating a clearer sense of values

and vision for the school. Prior to the day, teachers were asked to identify two

core purposes of teaching and learning.This revealed little common ground

and the lack of a shared language.Their initial views were summarised in eight

separate statements about possible core purposes and these formed the basis

of an exercise to agree priorities. Staff then identified the barriers to achieving

the core purposes.The outcomes of the day were used successfully to develop

a policy on teaching and learning, a shared set of values for the school, and to

confirm the importance of listening to one another and sharing ideas.

We believe pupils learn best when they work from first-hand experiences

which engage their interest, help them feel good about themselves and givethem opportunities to succeed.

We believe pupils are entitled to a stimulating classroom which should be a

place of order, of industry and well-organised resources.

We believe that pupils should be challenged by their work and that this

happens effectively when teachers set realistic targets and goals to which

pupils can aspire.

7



14/40

Recognising the achievements and contributionsof individuals

12. Managers in the schools generally went out of their way to make time to

show their appreciation for what individual members of staff had done or topraise them for the quality of their work.They understood that a workforce

that felt valued was likely to be motivated to achieve more highly.The means

by which achievements were recognised varied widely, but all managers took

care to deal with staff individually. Simple actions such as sending thank-you

cards or acknowledgements in the school newsletter were appreciated by

staff as confirmation that their contribution was valued. Personal support

from the headteacher at more difficult times, such as bereavement and

ill-health, were also appreciated and signalled that they took a genuine

interest in their personal and professional circumstances.

13. In many of the schools, performance management was used to recognise

and record individual achievements and to identify opportunities for

development. For example, giving teachers a new or enhanced role, such

as leading a whole-school working group, was sometimes used to develop

their leadership skills and enhance their career prospects while, at the

same time, benefiting the school. Such additional responsibilities were

sometimes recognised by awarding temporary or permanent management

allowances.Teachers achievements were also recognised financially by

progress through the threshold to the upper pay spine. Another way in

which the schools often recognised achievement was through encouragingand supporting staff to undertake professional development activities that

would help to further their careers.

In a secondary school, recognition of achievement was embedded firmly in

the style of leadership and management and reflected in the processes of

monitoring and evaluation. Clear and detailed guidance was given to subject

departments on how to review their performance during the year. All staff,

including technicians and teaching assistants, became effective at evaluating

their own practice and contributing to the cycle of departmental and school

development planning. This process of departmental review provided a sound

evidence base for identifying those who had made a significant contribution.

Teachers and support staff in a primary school particularly valued the ways

in which the headteacher and governors had expressed their gratitude to

them for their hard work and achievements by improving their working

conditions.Three attractive work areas for staff had been created around

the school through the refurbishment of stockrooms and cloakrooms.The

staffroom had also been redecorated.

8


15/40

14. The extent to which schools felt that external recognition of success

promoted good relationships varied considerably. Some felt that initiatives

such as the Investors in People award, Beacon School status or the DfES

Achievement Awards helped to reinforce a positive ethos. A significant

number were more cautious, however, when financial rewards wereinvolved, for fear of creating tensions among the staff. For example, one

small primary school had considered refusing the financial element of a

DfES Achievement Award on the grounds that it was potentially divisive.

In the end, it divided the award equally among all the staff, after careful

discussion and reflection.

Inclusive culture

15. Effective school leaders placed a strong emphasis on promoting

an inclusive ethos by seeking to harness and develop the potential ofthe entire workforce to achieve the schools aims and objectives. One

way in which they did this was to establish broadly based teams with

responsibility for particular areas of the work of the school. Many had

decided to involve all staff, teaching and non-teaching, in the professional

and social life of the school. Strategies for doing this included ensuring

that non-teaching staff were involved in performance management

arrangements and staff development activities. Giving all staff access to the

staffroom was sometimes as important symbolically as it was practically.

16. Teaching assistants particularly appreciated being recognised as importantmembers of the teaching team. A small number of the schools, however,

treated them insensitively, for example denying them access to the

staffroom at break. In several of the schools, teachers failed to make full

use in the classroom of the skills and strengths of the teaching assistants

or to consult with them over planning. They were reluctant to use them

in a teaching capacity and this led some teaching assistants to feel

undervalued and resentful.

9



16/40

Managing the staff

Recruiting and retaining staff

17. Most of the schools had fair and transparent procedures for appointingstaff. Headteachers and governors generally drew up well-defined job

descriptions and specifications of the skills and experience that they

were seeking for forthcoming appointments.The appointment process

for teachers usually entailed a searching interview, with teachers and

sometimes other staff represented on the panel.The candidates were

often observed teaching a lesson.The panels generally used clear

criteria to assess candidates capabilities, exploring, in particular, the

extent to which they were likely to share the schools values and its

approach to teaching and learning. Many of the schools reported that

recruiting teachers was becoming more difficult and that the numberof applicants for posts was declining. Schools involved in initial teacher

training, however, had often been able to recruit high-quality teachers.

18. Most headteachers and governors had a clear idea of the sort of

person they required for a post and had the courage to make what

they considered the best appointment, even when this meant disappointing

an internal candidate who might have expected to get the post. Occasionally,

however, headteachers reported feeling forced into making a poor

appointment when what they perceived as a weak external field led them

to promote an internal candidate about whom they had some significantreservations. Such appointments sometimes had unfortunate longer-term

consequences, such as the underperformance of pupils in a particular

subject area. In one school, for example, a weak teacher was appointed

internally to lead the mathematics department; teaching in the department

was subsequently unsatisfactory, standards of attainment declined, and the

headteacher had to invoke competence procedures.

19. A number of the headteachers had used monies from a variety of national

initiatives to fund promotions to newly created posts and, in this way,

sought to motivate and help to retain high-quality teachers. Excellencein Cities funding, for example, was used in many of the secondary schools

to appoint co-ordinators to work with gifted and talented pupils. Some

schools had appointed experienced and highly competent members of

staff as advanced skills teachers to develop teaching and learning across

the school. Specialist Schools saw the additional funding available to them

as important, both because it enabled them to enrich the curriculum they

offered through improved resources and also because they were able to

create additional teaching and non-teaching posts. Conversely, schools

which did not have additional funding of this kind were often acutely

aware of their more limited scope for creating new posts or awardingadditional responsibility allowances.

10


17/40

20. Recruitment and retention allowances to attract high-quality teachers were

used more frequently in secondary than in primary schools. Their use was

not widespread, however, as many teachers opposed them on the grounds

that they were seen to be divisive. Schools in areas where housing costs

were particularly high were very conscious of the need to use theirbudgets imaginatively to help recruit and retain good staff. Some used all

of their allocated recruitment and retention points, in one case awarding

an additional responsibility point to all teachers to help retain them. In a

large secondary school in the south east, arrangements were made for

three young teachers to live rent-free at a local independent boarding

school in return for some supervision duties.The same school found

suitable accommodation for a recently appointed teacher who was

unexpectedly evicted from her rented flat. Some schools arranged loans

from school funds for newly qualified teachers to ease financial pressures

in the early stages of their careers. All of these approaches were designedto help retain teachers because of the likely adverse effects of staffing

turbulence on the quality of education provided and the standards

achieved by the pupils, and because of the considerable management

time expended in recruiting and training new staff.

21. The schools generally recognised that succession planning is an important

aspect of staff management.The degree to which schools gave priority to

this often depended on their size and the extent to which they faced high

turnover and recruitment difficulties. Good succession planning was helped

by effective staffing policies and well-devised staff induction arrangements,for example paired working and shadowing before a member of staff took

over a new role. In one primary school, a teacher shadowed the deputy

head carrying out data analysis before taking on this area of responsibility

herself. In another school, to induct a new special educational needs

co-ordinator, the headteacher initially took on the role herself and

worked with the less experienced teacher to prepare her for taking

over full responsibility for special needs within the school.

22. While senior managers generally worked hard to establish positive

relationships and provide support for staff, they also recognised that,on occasion, it was necessary to deal with issues of staff competence

and conduct and sometimes to take disciplinary action. Headteachers

expected high standards of performance and conduct from every teacher

and saw competence procedures as a necessary measure where staff had

consistently failed to meet them.

11

Managing the staff


18/40

Defining roles and responsibilities

23. In most of the schools, staff have clear job descriptions; these are

generally shared to help colleagues with whom they work understand

their roles and responsibilities. Some roles, such as heads of year,

often have fairly generic job descriptions; other responsibilities aremore precisely defined for an individual. For example, one deputy

headteacher might be responsible for analysing achievement and

formulating strategies to raise standards. In the most effective of the

schools, managers used a variety of ways to clarify and illustrate their

expectations of staff, in addition to stating them in the written job

descriptions. In many of the secondary schools, for example, all members

of the senior management team were linked with middle managers, had

regular dialogue with them, and provided informal feedback on how well

they were developing in their roles.

24. Problems sometimes arose when staff were unclear about the roles and

responsibilities of their colleagues. In one secondary school, for example,

the light teaching timetable of a junior member of staff led to some

resentment among colleagues who did not realise her job entailed

considerable time supporting and training other staff in ICT. In a primary

school, on the other hand, changes in roles and responsibilities were

discussed at staff meetings before formal job descriptions were drawn

up.This strategy ensured that everyone understood the expectations of

the member of staff undertaking each new role.

25. In some of the schools, the roles of particular post-holders had not

developed in line with current expectations for the level of seniority

of their posts. For example:

One headteacher admitted to being ruthless with staff when necessary. He

felt that the role of senior managers was to give clear leadership, not to court

popularity. He believed that he no longer had any weak teachers on the

staff as they had been removed through pressure and disciplinary procedures.Although other staff often felt uncomfortable when a colleague was subjected

to such procedures, they understood the reasons and appreciated the

long-term benefits to the school.

12


19/40

26. Schools varied considerably in the way they drew up and reviewed job

descriptions for support staff. In many, teaching assistants had clear job

descriptions that accurately reflected their work and status in the school.

In one school, for example, they undertook some teaching and marking ofhomework under the supervision of the class teachers. Where they took

on additional responsibilities of this kind, these were generally included in

their job description. In a minority of the schools, however, the individual

strengths and expertise of teaching assistants were not used effectively.

This was especially evident in those schools with no performance

management system for support staff.

Staffing structures and allowances

27. Many of the schools made effective use of financial allowances to motivate

staff. In one secondary school, for example, the headteacher was faced with

the need to motivate and develop a group of long-serving heads of subject

departments, each of whom had a substantial management allowance. It was

agreed that three quarters of the allowance should be for their substantive

role and that the other quarter should be considered as payment for

specified additional whole-school responsibilities. In this way, each of these

very experienced teachers was able to make a more significant contribution

to the school while having the stimulus of a new set of challenges.

28. New headteachers sometimes found they had inherited a long-established

staffing structure in which the allocation of management points either no

longer matched the teachers roles and responsibilities, or did not reflect the

direction in which they now wished to take the school.The degree to which

headteachers had successfully managed such situations varied. Some had

waited until a member of staff moved before making changes; others used

their recent appointment as an opportunity to restructure the management

teams and to redefine the roles and responsibilities of staff.When handled

well, this restructuring helped to motivate the staff by providing them with

new challenges that were matched to their strengths and interests. It also

helped to ensure that key responsibilities for school development and

improvement were held by those most able to carry them out successfully.

In a secondary school, a long-established deputy heads role included

responsibility for health and safety, school visits, production of data for external

requirements, primary liaison, day-to-day examination arrangements and acting

as clerk to the governing body. It did not, however, include any significant inputto the strategic management of the school. A significant number of the tasks

she undertook were those that need not be carried out by teachers. The

recently appointed headteacher used an analysis of the excessive costs of

this inappropriate allocation of responsibilities in order to persuade the deputy

head and other staff of the need to reallocate a number of these tasks.

13

Managing the staff


20/40

29. A schools ability to award additional allowances occasionally failed to

keep pace with rapid changes in responsibilities. Senior managers in these

schools generally tried to maintain the commitment of the teachers by

signalling that they were aware of, and would seek to eliminate, such

inconsistencies as soon as possible. Although teachers generally attachedmore importance to job satisfaction than to pay, they did expect that the

pay structure would be equitable and that they would be fairly rewarded

for the jobs they were doing.Where schools were not systematic or

transparent about awarding responsibility allowances, this sometimes

led to a feeling of resentment among staff. Staff who thought the pay

structure inequitable were sometimes difficult to manage and did not

contribute fully to the life of the school.

Linking performance to pay

30. All of the schools in the survey were cautious about linking teachers

performance to pay, with particular concerns about the use of the upper

pay spine. Several of the headteachers had awarded all their eligible staff a

rise on the post-threshold spine, despite having reservations about a small

number of them.They felt they had been given insufficient advice about the

criteria to use in determining whether individual teachers should progress.

Teachers on the upper pay spine in a significant number of the schools had

expected a pay increase and headteachers believed they would have been

demotivated had they not received an increment. Although they recognised

that the decision could turn out to be a costly precedent, they rewardedthe performance of all eligible staff in the interests of harmony.

31. The minority of schools which had sought to apply rigorous criteria to

decisions about progress up the upper pay spine had found the process

very time-consuming, and feared challenges from unsuccessful staff,

especially since the decisions were not subject to external moderation

in the way that threshold applications had been.

32. Two further concerns occupied headteachers in making decisions about

pay.The first was that, because of uncertainties over future funding, theschools budget might not sustain, in the long term, pay increases related

to performance.The second was that, in some cases, there was a danger

that pay differentials were becoming eroded. It was not untypical for some

of the primary school deputy headteachers, for example, to find that their

pay was similar to some of their senior staff on the upper pay spine.

14


21/40

Deployment of staff

33. Some schools were making increasing use of part-time and job-share

arrangements to help recruitment and to retain staff who wished to

change their work/life balance. In one secondary school, for example,the head-of-department roles in three subjects had been shared over the

previous two years in response to the personal needs of the individual

members of staff. These arrangements had provided excellent professional

development opportunities for less experienced teachers, prepared them

for future management responsibilities and secured effective succession

planning.The arrangements ensured the school retained the services of

good teachers who might otherwise have moved on or left the profession.

The opportunity to develop the shared roles had been fortuitous, but the

school had been creative in seizing and acting on the potential benefits

of the situation. Such arrangements required careful management andmonitoring by senior staff, however, to ensure that the quality of pupils

learning was maintained.

34. Several of the schools had recently increased significantly the number of

non-teaching staff in order to carry out tasks that would otherwise be

carried out by teachers.The schools commonly used non-teaching staff

for tasks such as the organisation of supply cover, the administration of

examinations and management of the learning resources centre. As well as

enabling teachers to concentrate on teaching, these appointments often led

to improvements in the way the non-teaching function was carried out.Theappointment of an attendance mentor in one school, for example, not only

released teachers from the daily burden of tracking absent pupils, but also

led to better coordination of the schools attendance policy; trends and

patterns were monitored more closely and liaison with the educational

welfare officer was better informed. In an infant school, lunchtime

supervisors were trained and deployed as lunchtime mentors to reduce the

pressure on teachers.This relatively inexpensive initiative had additional

benefits in that pupils now had access to a much wider range of activities

during the lunch break, including construction toys and large apparatus.

35. Teaching assistants were deployed effectively in most of the primary schools

and made a valuable contribution to teaching and learning.Their attachment

to specific teachers, classes and year groups contributed to their secure

understanding of the teachers working practices and the needs of

the pupils.Where they were attached to a year team, they were often

involved in the teams planning and professional development sessions:

15

Managing the staff


22/40

36. In the secondary schools, teaching assistants and other support staff

frequently undertook a broader range of activities than in primary schools.

This support helped teachers to carry out their duties more effectively.

For example:

In a rural community school, teaching assistants played a variety of roles in

supporting teachers and pupils. Their deployment generally made best use

of their individual strengths. One had particular responsibility for providing

support in design and technology lessons. She had been trained in brazing

and welding techniques, and in the use of design-related software. She worked

very effectively alongside the teachers to support and supervise practical

activities, to the clear benefit of both staff and pupils.

Another member of the support staff held a certificate in behaviour

management from a local university and was used to help identify causesand patterns of unsuitable pupil behaviour.Her role ranged from working with

pupils who were given time out following bad behaviour in the classroom to

monitoring absences and contacting parents where there were questions about

unauthorised absence. She also supervised the team of 13 teaching assistants,

arranged their timetables, carried out their performance management reviews,

and appointed and inducted temporary teaching assistants.

In one primary school, each year group had its own dedicated teaching assistant

who attended all planning sessions, professional development activities and year

team meetings.Time was not wasted in giving instructions or receiving feedback

at the end of each lesson because the teaching assistant was an integral partof the planning and assessment process.They moved up with the pupils into

the next year.This arrangement provided continuity for the pupils and made

it easier to pass on information about individual pupils previous achievements

and difficulties.The teaching assistants were employed on a full-time contract

and paid at the top of the scale in recognition of the importance of their roles

and to ensure that they were available to join planning sessions and training

events at the beginning and end of the school day.

By contrast, in another primary school, teaching assistants were deployed

across the whole school.While this provided them with variety, they were not

part of the planning process.Their role had to be explained to them at thebeginning of each session and time was taken up providing feedback to

teachers at the end.This proved to be a very inefficient use of the time

of both the teachers and the teaching assistants.

16


23/40

37. In some of the secondary schools, the deployment of support staff was

less effective and teachers often continued to carry out tasks which could

have been carried out by others, such as preparing equipment for lessons,mounting displays and collecting money for school trips. Some teachers in

both primary and secondary schools were reluctant to delegate such tasks

to others because they had habitually seen it as part of their job. Many

more were reluctant to see teaching assistants given a more leading role in

teaching groups of pupils or whole classes. Many teachers had not received

sufficient training in making the best use of support staff. As a result, the

potential of the teaching assistants was not realised fully, teachers spent

time on unnecessary tasks, and the quality of education was less good

than it might have been.

Opportunities for professional development

38. The most effective of the schools recognised fully the value of good

professional development for their staff and ensured that teachers and

teaching assistants had regular access to a range of suitable development

opportunities. Staff in these schools felt valued because they recognised

that their managers were investing in them and this increased their

commitment to the school. Senior managers recognised the benefit to

the pupils of investing in the professional development of the teaching

staff. At best, staff were encouraged to take responsibility for their ownCPD and each had an individual programme of appropriate development

opportunities that was properly funded.

39. The schools that planned CPD most effectively had a clear and open

process by which professional development priorities were determined.

They tempered school and departmental priorities against the career

aspirations and development needs of individuals. Some imposed a

common structure for performance management objectives; for example,

in one secondary school all staff had a pupil-progress objective related

to the whole-school priority for that year, a department-wide objective

In the same school, a member of the administrative team studied on a

vocational ICT course alongside a class of Year 10 pupils. She developed

her understanding of the pupils needs and, with the agreement and support

of the teacher, undertook the role of informal learning mentor.This wasparticularly effective in the case of a group of pupils who understood the

work but had difficulty in completing coursework. She used her knowledge

of the course requirements to give closely targeted guidance, helping them to

find strategies for organising their work to meet deadlines and to achieve a

higher standard. She was particularly sensitive to the importance of providing

support that matched and enhanced the work of the teacher with these pupils.

17

Managing the staff


24/40

reflecting an agreed priority, and an objective determined by the

individual, related to their own teaching.These objectives were supported

by well-designed individual training plans which fed into a whole school

improvement plan and a staff training and development plan. Another

feature of some of the more effective schools was that they held regularmeetings for staff to discuss their work and learn from each other; in

some, this took the form of a regular voluntary learning forum that

allowed the sharing of successful practice, and encouraged teachers

to be more reflective and to focus on the pupils learning.

40. In most of the schools, there was a well-organised programme of induction

for all newly appointed staff, including those who were newly qualified.

These programmes commonly consisted of a number of sessions after

school covering topics such as the schools values and ethos, its pastoral

system and behaviour policy, the use of assessment to improve teachingand learning, special educational needs and provision for gifted and talented

pupils. High-quality support at an early stage in their appointment generally

enabled teachers to establish themselves quickly and provided continuity

for the pupils. It also commonly had the effect of strengthening their

commitment to the school.

41. Professional development was often built into the day-to-day life of the

schools. Senior managers and teachers appreciated, for example, how

opportunities to work with other colleagues in a variety of ways, from

planning and teaching lessons to collaborating on projects, were often veryinfluential in improving the teachers professional knowledge and skills.

In one primary school, the staff had produced videos of good teaching

and used them both to illustrate particular skills and to encourage lively

professional discussion about the most effective teaching approaches.

In another primary school, strong links had been developed with a local

higher education institution to provide a co-ordinated and extended CPD

programme on leadership and management skills.This replaced a staff

meeting once a month and was seen by the headteacher as a model fordeveloping tailor-made training for the school. Teachers with subject or

year-group responsibilities had gained in confidence as a result of the

training and were carrying out their roles more effectively.

A junior school had given one of its senior staff responsibility for seeking

out recent and relevant educational research to share with staff as the

basis of professional debate and reflection on their classroom practice.

18


25/40

42. In a minority of the schools, professional development was still too

narrowly defined, largely in terms of external courses and whole-school

in-service training. Staff were not seen as being entitled to a programme

of professional development matched to their personal needs. In these

schools, teachers often resented the lack of development opportunities

and many failed to thrive. Ambitious teachers frequently looked elsewhere

to develop their careers.

A 1419 college was involved in planning and teaching a transition

uni for pupils in one of its partner middle schools.The exercise not only

benefited the pupils but also had a clear advantage for the teachers

who were working collaboratively in developing innovative approachesto their teaching.

The most recent Investors in People evaluation of another secondary

school confirmed that CPD was now firmly established within its culture,

reflecting the commitment of the senior management team to the

concept of the school as a learning community. The modern languages

department, for example, held a good practice day once a year during

which the teachers observed, shared and evaluated each others teaching.

In addition, each departmental meeting included a clear focus on sharing

practice.The second-in-department had responsibility for managing this

process, organising the good practice days and establishing the focus ofthe departmental meetings.

19

Managing the staff


26/40

Managing the working environment

Physical environment and resources of the school

43. Where people work, and the conditions in which they work, often helpto determine attitudes to their jobs.This applies as much to schools as

to any other workplace. Parents recognise the importance of the right

environment for their children, and good school managers recognise it as

a key factor in allowing staff to carry out their job effectively.The majority

of the schools in this survey had created an environment in which it was

pleasant for teachers and pupils to work and which supported effective

teaching and learning.There were generally sufficient learning and teaching

resources, and many of the schools had placed a strong emphasis on

improving the physical environment.There were, however, limits to

what some schools could achieve. For example, few primary schoolshad adequate private study or working areas for teachers. Also, teaching

assistants and others working with small groups of pupils often found it

difficult to obtain a suitable room; this seriously impeded their ability to

plan together or teach effectively. In one school, for example, investment

in an additional teacher who worked with groups of high-attaining pupils

was not wholly successful because of the unsatisfactory teaching

accommodation to which the groups were assigned.

44. Although sometimes rather cramped, staffrooms were generally well

equipped to support the work and recreational needs of the workforce. Anumber of the schools had made good use of additional government funding

to improve staffroom facilities. Many had also invested in improving the

attractiveness of the outdoor environment and this had had a positive

effect on the motivation of staff and pupils. Some school buildings required

considerable improvement to meet fully the demands of the curriculum.

Cramped and poor classrooms did not necessarily have an adverse effect

on standards of achievement because of the efforts of teachers to overcome

such constraints; they did, nevertheless, often affect staff morale.Teaching in

shabby classrooms, and without a comfortable base in which to relax, to

meet colleagues and plan work, often left teachers feeling undervaluedand they were more likely to be seeking employment elsewhere.

45. The most successful schools had a clear and coherent strategy for the

development and use of ICT. Despite concerns about whether funding

would continue to support the costs of updating computer systems,

these schools had a programme for improving ICT resources that often

drew on a wide range of funding sources. Staff were trained as new

equipment was purchased and were able to make effective use of the

resources for planning and administration, as well as for teaching.Teachers

in these schools were able to work more efficiently, and to introduce theirpupils to a greater range of teaching and learning resources and strategies.

20


27/40

46. Very few of the schools had exploited fully the potential for ICT to improve

the working environment for staff and the learning environment for pupils.

One school that had made the most of the opportunities provided by

moving to a completely new building offers a possible vision of the future.

In November 2002, this large secondary school moved to a new building.

It took four years to plan and eighteen months to build.Throughout that

time, the headteacher and the business manager led the school team in the

strategic planning and managing of the project. They helped ensure that the

new school was equipped with the latest technology to support teaching and

learning, promote efficient administration and reduce the teachers workload.

There were 26 classrooms, each equipped with at least one networked

computer and every department had at least one interactive whiteboard and

data projector.There were three computer suites.The technology rooms werefitted with the latest computer-aided design equipment and the five art studios

had access to an adjacent ICT studio for activities such as digital photography.

The learning resource centre included a book collection, a range of multimedia

resources and an ICT centre. This significant investment in ICT had raised the

expectations of staff but had also brought its pressures, in the short term,

particularly in terms of technical support. An ICT manager had been

appointed to manage the systems in the new building.

The increased emphasis on ICT provision was having a significant impact on

the working patterns of staff and on the motivation of pupils. All teaching staffand the senior teaching assistants had a laptop computer.They were exploring

ways of maximising their use to support teaching and learning, in addition to

assisting them with their day-to-day administration. For example, a geography

teacher had transferred all his teaching materials and lesson plans to a CD-

ROM and each pupil had a copy. Pupils downloaded worksheets and engaged

in pre-lesson preparation.The school was monitoring the effect of this initiative

on the pupils attainment. Improved electronic communication and resource

areas for laboratory and technical staff had contributed to greater efficiency

in the organisation and availability of equipment to support science teaching.

The school was fully committed to exploiting the potential of ICT to improve

organisational efficiency. An intranet was already in place and was improving

communication within the school. Each departmental resource area had its

own computer, scanner and small photocopier. For larger jobs, staff e-mailed

their work to the dedicated reprographics unit for copying.This unit was

equipped with all the latest technology for printing, laminating and binding.

Careful planning had reduced the administrative workload of staff and

enabled them to work more efficiently.

21



28/40

Promoting a healthy work/life balance

47. The more effective senior managers monitored the workload of teachers

and took effective action to support them in managing their work. In addition

to planning and teaching lessons, the most time-consuming responsibilities

of teachers are: marking work; attending meetings; writing reports; keeping

records; planning for the medium and short term;covering for staff absence;

and, for those with management responsibilities,monitoring the subject oraspect of the school that they lead.The schools used a range of strategies

to help teachers meet these demands as efficiently as possible.The majority

had taken steps to cut the amount of time spent in meetings, for example

adopting more efficient procedures for conducting staff meetings.They

insisted that meetings started and finished on time and had clear agendas

which were followed closely, and that brief minutes were taken and

circulated quickly.These changes often led not only to a reduction in

workload, but also to an improvement in the quality of the activities.

48. One secondary school had convened a number of groups to consider issuessuch as work/life balance and staff welfare. All staff were invited to join a

group of their choice and, consequently, teachers and support staff were well

represented.These groups generated a lot of useful ideas that led to

improvements in the way their workload was managed. Another secondary

school gave all members of each subject team protected non-contact time

simultaneously so that weekly department meetings could be held during the

school day.This resulted in more productive meetings as well as reducing the

need for staff to remain in school at the end of the school day. In a third

school, the dates for written and oral reports to parents were staggered to

ease the pressure on staff. It also brought benefits for parents as they now

ICT developments were not confined to the increased provision and use

of computers, digital cameras, interactive whiteboards and data projectors.

Radio-controlled clocks had been installed in every classroom and there

were no bells to signal the end of lessons.This had reduced congestion in thecorridors between lessons, and improved behaviour. Closed-circuit television

monitored all access and movement spaces around the school. This had a

major effect on improving discipline and reduced the time teachers spend

on tracking incidents of unacceptable behaviour.

The school was committed to meeting the challenges of modern technology

and exploiting its potential to create an innovative teaching and learning

environment, where staff used ICT to enable them to work more efficiently

and reduce their administrative workload.The challenges the school faced

were the provision of a relevant training programme for all staff, tailored to

individual needs, updating staff on new developments, and the provision ofgood technical support to ensure that the systems were fully operational.

22


29/40

received two separate reports during the year, one oral, at the parents

consultation interview, the other an annual written report.

49. A few of the primary schools had well-developed strategies for the use of

ICT to reduce the workload of staff. For example, a rural primary schoolmade good use of ICT as a management tool both to reduce bureaucracy

and to improve the effectiveness of teachers planning:

50. Few primary schools allocated teachers regular non-contact time,

with the result that subject leaders often had insufficient time to fulfil the

responsibilities outlined in their job descriptions. One urban junior school,

however, provided time for all subject co-ordinators to fulfil their monitoring

roles and the headteacher was very clear and specific about the focus of this

monitoring to ensure that time was used effectively:

A wide range of material required frequently by the staff was held on the

computer network, including registers, attendance records, pupil data and pupils

reports. School development plans, school policies, performance management

plans, financial management, curriculum planning and information for parents

and others were generated using ICT, and could be quickly adapted to meet

different needs.A subject leader for ICT was appointed on a fixed-term management allowance;

a student technician was also employed for one day a week to sort out

equipment problems.The ICT subject leaders job description was well defined

and contributed to her success in introducing systems and staff training to

support the effective management of ICT. As a result, teachers who had previously

lacked skills and confidence in using ICT were generating all their planning on

computer, using the Internet and e-mail regularly, and accessing appropriate

software to support their teaching.They used pre-existing literacy and numeracy

plans, and those for foundation subjects from the Qualifications and Curriculum

Authoritys web site.They had templates for half-termly forecasts, lesson plansand assessment records, which they changed and adapted to suit their needs.

Once set up, this system allowed teachers to plan quickly and efficiently.The

plans were placed on the schools internal network and were available for

others to see and for the headteacher, curriculum managers and ICT subject

leader to monitor. Assessment records were set up and used by the teachers

to identify individual learning needs; they used them with the teaching

assistants so that they, too, could identify where individual pupils required

support. In turn, the teaching assistants added to the records when they had

further evidence of pupils progress.These records formed the basis for bothinterim and annual reports to parents. The school used its web site to provide

details for parents of the homework set by teachers, and paid a teaching

assistant to provide online homework support in the early evening.

23



30/40

51. Where teachers took on too many responsibilities, and became

overloaded as a result, the quality of support they could offer pupils

suffered.This was especially true of newly qualified teachers, who, in

their desire to involve themselves fully in the life of a school, sometimes

took on too much.While managers in a minority of the schools failed to

monitor the workload of staff, better managers intervened when there

was evidence that a teachers workload was becoming unmanageable.

A few teachers felt they had been required to set unrealistic targets for

themselves, with a consequent sense of failure when they were unable

to meet them, even though their overall performance had been good.

Provision of administrative and technical support

52. Consideration of the 25 tasks identified in the national workforce

agreement that need not routinely be carried out by teachers was leading

many of the schools to increase the number and range of administrative

and other support staff.There was an increasing focus on ensuring that

teachers and senior managers were freed from tasks that could be done as

well, or better, by others.

53. Several schools had site managers who line-managed the caretaking

and cleaning staff, and increasingly played a wider role in the school. In

a specialist arts college, for example, the site manager was involved in

supporting teachers and pupils through working with them on the lighting

and sound requirements for drama examination coursework. He was also

invited to staff meetings when decisions relevant to his work were being

discussed.The headteacher had ensured that the site managers salary

reflected his wider role.

A programme of weekly non-contact time for the deputy headteacher, subject

leaders and the special educational needs co-ordinator was introduced to

enable staff to have time to plan, monitor and evaluate their curriculum areas.

Each co-ordinator was required to submit a plan showing how the time wouldbe used and how it matched the priorities identified in the school improvement

plan. Cover for teachers was provided by the headteacher and two part-time

teachers. The school evaluated the effect of this initiative on the pupils learning

and achievement and there was clear evidence of improvement in some

curriculum areas. A questionnaire was also completed by teachers to gauge

the effect on their workload and work/life balance. Overall, the effects had

been positive. Subject coordinators felt better able to carry out their leadership

roles, and they were able to point to improvements in the quality of the

teaching in the school.

24


31/40

54. Teaching assistants were used in a variety of ways to enable teachers to

focus more on teaching the pupils. In one school, for example, departments

were able to bid for the teaching assistants time to mount displays, file

documentation, update resources, help to arrange field trips, and enter

pupils attainment data on the schools ICT system. Another school hadtrained selected teaching assistants to invigilate examinations under

the supervision of an experienced teacher, and had given a member

of the administration team responsibility for managing the supply cover

arrangements.This administrator also provided a detailed analysis of staff

absence patterns to enable the senior management team to identify any

matters of concern.

55. A number of schools, especially larger ones, employed skilled finance and

administration managers to provide support for the headteacher and other

senior teachers.There was a lack of common status or salary structure forthese posts and the roles varied considerably, for example the bursar in

one school managed all administrative and premises staff; in another, the

school manager was responsible for cleaning and technical staff as well

as for the bursar and the finance officer. Only a minority of finance and

administrative managers had qualifications and experience that were well

matched to the job they were required to do.The lack of any clear career

progression route was a significant concern for the most able and best

qualified of them.

56. All of the secondary and some of the primary schools benefited from thesupport of technical staff.The range and quality of practical work available

to pupils in subjects such as science, ICT, design and technology, and art

and design often depended crucially on the technical support available

to the teachers and pupils. In the absence of such support, teachers

were forced either to carry out the tasks themselves, or to reduce

the opportunities for pupils to engage in practical work.The number

of technical staff varied considerably between schools and also between

departments within schools.There was often no clear rationale for the

deployment of technicians; historical allocations of time and funding were

sometimes an obstacle to progress.

Support for behaviour management

57. A key feature of the teachers working environment is the standard of the

pupils behaviour.The majority of the schools in the survey had adopted a

range of measures to ensure that high standards of pupil behaviour were

promoted. In most, there was a behaviour policy based on rewarding

positive behaviour, staff were expected to follow the set procedures and

good behaviour was tied closely to an emphasis throughout the school on

mutual respect. Senior managers in these schools constantly insisted that

25



32/40

good standards of conduct were maintained.They had introduced effective

systems that supported teachers in dealing with difficult pupils and, through

their high-profile presence around the school, set an example by

implementing the agreed procedures themselves.

58. Many schools had simple but effective support systems,such as on-call

arrangements for senior managers, to help teachers whose lessons were being

disrupted. Some organised training for selected teachers to act as mentors to

disaffected pupils. In a few schools, senior managers failed to provide effective

support in behaviour management for teachers.As a consequence, some found

it harder to teach successfully, and this depressed staff morale and levels of

professional satisfaction.The majority of teachers,however, reported that

good, school-wide behaviour management systems, fully implemented and

backed by the personal commitment of senior staff, allowed them to manage

their classes and to support pupils learning more effectively.The followingexample, from a large urban secondary school, illustrates how effective

behaviour management systems can support teachers well:

During the previous academic year, the school had noted a deterioration in

pupils behaviour and had decided to make tackling this a priority for the year.

This led to the introduction of a number of initiatives:

a focus on identifying teaching and learning strategies that promote good

behaviour and increase pupils motivation, and on providing professional

development for staff to support the introduction of these strategies

behaviour management training for teachers

the establishment of a student support room (SSR) that made use of

staff with particular skills in dealing with challenging behaviour, for example

experience of working in a pupil referral unit

the use of these support staff and teaching assistants in classrooms to

target areas where behaviour was poor.

An important aspect of the strategy was the use of the SSR to promote

inclusion; this was set up to help pupils who found it difficult to cope with

learning in the normal classroom.The aim was to reduce exclusions and the

number of pupils on report. Those pupils who were sent to work in the SSR

were identified through discussions with their personal tutor, teaching staff

and head of year.They were required to work on individual targets with their

teachers to achieve the necessary changes in their behaviour that would

enable them to return to normal lessons. Pupils spent varying amounts of time

in the SSR, based on their individual needs. A range of issues was addressed to

help change the behaviour of pupils, including anger management and the

development of the pupils social and life skills and their self-esteem.

26


33/40

59. Teachers in primary schools often used teaching assistants effectively to

support pupils with behaviour difficulties. Good communication between

teachers and teaching assistants resulted in a high level of understanding

of appropriate behaviour strategies and in a consistent approach.Teaching

assistants, who knew the class well, often provided valuable behaviour

support to supply teachers who were covering the short-term absence

of the class teacher.

Consultation and liaison with parents and external agencies formed an

integral part of the work. A pupil tracking system and regular monitoring

and evaluation were also key aspects of the programme.The schools special

educational needs co-ordinator and the student support team also providedspecialist training for teachers in behaviour management and in-class support.

This focused support backed up the school-wide training in the use of

teaching and learning strategies to promote good behaviour.

Teachers in the school reported significant improvements in the behaviour of

the individual pupils who had worked in the SSR.The training provided had

enabled many teachers to reduce the incidence of poor behaviour in their

classrooms. The number of exclusions fell dramatically. Teachers could now

focus much more on their teaching and other pupils could focus on their

work.This initiative had contributed to raising standards across the school.

27



34/40

Managing change

Positive view of change

60. The theme of managing school development and change is one that hasoccurred a number of times in this report. In recent years, schools have

been faced with the need for what has sometimes seemed like almost

constant change in response to a series of central government initiatives.

The more effective schools in this survey have combined the implementation

of these changes with their own individual priorities, to support a process of

continuous improvement.These changes have generally had a positive effect

on the deployment,motivation, development and performance of teachers.

Their introduction has required flexible but determined leadership.The most

effective school managers are skilled in assessing the attitudes of the staff,

are able to establish the scale of the changes required and are careful to beseen to be committed to them.They are generally quick to capitalise on new

opportunities for their schools when they see potential benefits in them.

Use of funding

61. The effective management of change in the schools in this survey has often

involved innovative use of the budget to achieve the schools aims. Many of

the headteachers have tapped into a variety of funding sources, including

government-funded initiatives such as the Specialist Schools programme,

and made use of low-cost or no-cost services, to maximise the funds

available for school buildings, resources and staffing.They have often made

use of skilled finance managers to advise on how best to fund their plans

for development and improvement. Conversely, the minority of schools

which had not sought additional funding or made the most effective use

of their budget, often felt that they were being left behind in terms of

resources and staffing.

62. Additional government funding, such as that from the Excellence in Cities

or Specialist Schools programmes, had, for some of the schools, meant a

significant increase in spending power.This had enabled them, for example,

to provide additional ICT resources. Several of the schools had overcome

budget difficulties by entering into consortium arrangements with other

schools. By benefiting from the economies of scale offered by these

arrangements, the headteachers were able to make progress with planned

improvements at a lower cost than if they had worked in isolation. The

sharing of the expertise of staff was sometimes an equally important

outcome of collaborative working.

28


35/40

63. The provision of improved ICT resources led to the use of more up-to-

date materials in the classroom and the introduction of a wider range of

teaching styles. At the same time, it helped to reduce the workload of staff.

There was a consequent improvement in morale and motivation in many

of the schools. However, the additional resources sometimes brought

unwelcome pressure to bear on teachers who were less confident with

ICT. For example, one small rural primary school decided to buy laptop

computers for pupils and teachers, as well as electronic whiteboards in

classrooms. It was hoped that the purchase of this equipment would lead

to greater integration of ICT within classrooms. Most of the teachers

welcomed the initiative and quickly learned how to use the technology

to support their teaching. Nevertheless, a minority of teachers felt they

were under peer pressure to keep up with their colleagues and were

having to spend a considerable amount of additional time in preparation.

The headteacher of an inner-city infant school was very active in the

management of a number of Excellence in Cities projects. She was particularly

aware of the ways in which the school might benefit from projects involving

laptop computers and became a key member of the management groups fortwo such projects. In one of these, she worked with another local primary

headteacher to devise a project for a consortium of 13 primary or nursery

schools to develop innovative ways of using laptop computers in teaching.

The pooled Excellence in Cities funding allowed her to purchase a set of

24 laptop computers and other hardware to give greater flexibility in the

classroom, also a range of software.The schools in the consortium recognised

that they needed a specialist teacher to devise curriculum materials and to

manage the technical aspects of the project.The consortium seconded a

primary teacher to lead the project who had been the ICT co-ordinator at

a local primary school and was seeking a new challenge.

The impressive outcomes from this project could not have been achieved with

the staffing and other resources of the infant school alone. By pooling resources,

all the schools involved in the project were able to purchase sufficient laptop

computers.The specific expertise of the teacher employed to lead the project

was considerably greater than that of any of the teachers in the infant school.

29

Managing change


36/40

Careful introduction of initiatives

64. Staff responded positively when the introduction of initiatives was

staged effectively.The key factor was ensuring that the agreed change

was manageable and that staff were persuaded of the benefits both tothemselves and to the school. Negotiation before and during the process

of change was important in securing the agreement and commitment of

all staff. In a few schools, managers had failed to prioritise effectively or to

phase the introduction of new initiatives with sufficient care, leaving staff

feeling overloaded and, at times, demoralised.

65. Most of the schools were cautiously optimistic about the introduction

of the National Workforce Agreement. Debate prior to the agreement

had stimulated many of the schools to consider their own approach

to staff workload issues.They had often found that the agreement waslargely in line with their developing thinking. Some headteachers, however,

expressed concern over the funding implications of this initiative, especially

whether their school budgets would enable them to employ sufficient

support staff to relieve teachers of the 25 tasks listed in the agreement.

Structured approach to self-evaluation and monitoring

66. The quality of strategic and operational planning was a significant strength

in the majority of the schools.They established clear priorities based

on rigorous self-review. A minority of the schools made effective use

of external consultants, for example to lead off-site self-review days toexplore what staff felt about the school and to collect their views on its

future direction. Staff were generally involved in identifying priorities and

planning for improvement; their views were listened to and taken into

account where possible. Managers were mostly skilled at convincing staff

of the need for change even when there were initially signs of reluctance.

Staff completed a questionnaire which took the form of a personal self-review

and included the management of faculties and departments.Within the

questionnaire they noted the strengths of their current practice and wherechanges might be needed.They then indicated whether current practice was

mainly satisfactory (in which case it might be maintained), was suitable but

could be improved upon significantly, or was not working.The questionnaire

results were then analysed.This analysis provided a clear profile of the schools

strengths and weaknesses, and gave a strong steer for improving the quality

of education.

30


37/40

67. Where less effective practice was observed, managers failed to seek

evidence of the impact of their management strategies. In these schools,

there was a limited understanding of how monitoring and evaluating the

quality of leadership and management could be used to inform planning

for change designed to improve provision and raise achievement.

A large 1118 secondary school had successfully developed its evaluation of

the management of teachers as part of a whole-school strategy that employed

systematic processes of monitoring, evaluation and review.

Staff were interviewed and asked to reflect on their responsibilities interms of job description, training received, promotion and career prospects,

goals and targets, appropriateness of support received to carry out

responsibilities and the working environment.

The headteacher developed a questionnaire for staff to evaluate the

effectiveness of management in the school. Each member of staff was asked

to judge key areas of management in relation to leadership, communication,

teaching and learning, behaviour management and improvement planning.

They were also asked to rate these areas according to what was most

important to them.The design of the questionnaire allowed the strongestfeatures, weakest features and features falling short of expectation to be

identified and cross-referenced against importance ratings. The results raised

some interesting issues, not all expected.There was strong agreement, for

example, that support given to new staff was good. However, all staff agreed

that the feature falling short of expectation was the lack of non-teaching

staff input into school development planning.There were also some clear

messages for the leadership team regarding behaviour management.Their

perception was that this was a strong feature of the school. However, the

features falling short of the staff s expectations were disruption not being

dealt with promptly, pupils not clear about standards of behaviour andpupils not respecting teachers.

The headteacher also developed a questionnaire for staff to evaluate

the effectiveness of departmental management, to provide a platform for

teachers within the department to give their views. One head of faculty

managed a large team, many of whom were older and more experienced

than himself.When the responses to the questionnaire were collated, the

majority were favourable. However, there were two negative responses

relating to communication with the head of faculty. He was aware of the

disaffection of two colleagues but had not known how to approach them.

This gave him the opportunity to evaluate his own management style and

to act on evidence rather than his own instincts. He arranged individual

interviews with the members of staff concerned to discuss the issues

raised and this led to improved relationships.

31

Managing change


38/40

Annex A

The National Workforce Agreement

The National Workforce Agreement, signed in January 2003 by the government,employers and

Leadership and Management Managing the School Workforce (PDF Format)

Documents

Transcript of Leadership and Management Managing the School Workforce (PDF Format)