Teach-Secondary-14.1

M y original reason for seeking out a leadership role was that I could do more for the kids at our school than I was already. I believed I could achieve better outcomes by providing learning and teaching environments that genuinely supported them, their teachers and the community – and that’s remained the case ever since. For me, everything always comes back to that one kid who’s sat on their chair in front of you. Every decision youmake as an educator will have an effect on that child – fromhow you work with your faculty, to your interactions with parents and the wider school community. It all impacts upon them, to one extent or another. The infallibility fallacy Earlier inmy career, while working at a school in Jakarta, Indonesia, we had a principal who was incredibly humble, had an easy ability to laugh at himself and never took himself too seriously.If he ever got something wrong, he’d be quick to acknowledge it. I’d already worked in a number of leadership roles by that point, but this turned out to be a huge ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rob Crowther is Head of School at ACS Cobham How to make a leader Rob Crowther contemplates the professional development, self-reflection and practical steps needed to advance from the classroom into SLT point of learning for me – because up to then, I’d always felt that you needed to be virtually infallible when holding leadership role. What I learned then, and have taken withme ever since, is that the more you show you’re not infallible, the stronger your relationships with people will be. You can remain open to newways of thinking, sometimes not be in possession of all the answers, and be liable to occasionally get things wrong. Navigating the storm I don’t use Twitter/X all that regularly now, but at one time I used it quite frequently, and came to see it as a kind of ‘bitesize’ form of personal development. I’d often print out advice I’d seen via Twitter onmy wall, one of which remains there to this day – a note that says, ‘ Bring students into your calm– don’t let don’t let them bring you into their storm. ’ I’ve since shared that with our faculty and parents, and it’s gone on to become something of a mantra for the school: Remain calm, find a way through the storm, give the storm time to blow out, and then take it forward . Ongoing professional development remains hugely important for me. A large part of my professional development this past year has involved making connections at various conferences and events, but I’m also finding now that newer, less traditional and more targeted professional development opportunities – ones which enable you to rapidly put things into practice – are becoming extremely valuable. Vision andvalues To those interested in making the move into leadership themselves, I’d advise firstly seeking out good development opportunities, learning from others and finding good mentors. My philosophy has always been that when somebody asks me to do something – ‘ Can you just do this? ’ – I’ll generally answer ‘yes’, and then figure out the details afterwards, learning what’s required in the process. Act on every available opportunity to assume more responsibility and to lead. Also, involve yourself in any opportunities to take students on trips, as it’s incredibly important that you get to know them. The extent to which you can connect with students will always come through very clearly when assuming new roles, be it at your current school or any others. Because we’re ultimately in the business of educating young people – and you need to knowwho they are. Be curious and be resilient. Get to knowwho you are as an individual, and finally, try to align your goals, vision and values with those schools you actively want to for work for. When applying for job roles, I won’t cast a wide net. Instead, I’ll identify those schools I believe are aligned withmy vision and values, and the rules to which I subscribe. I’ve stayed at ACS Cobbham since 2016 because I’m closely aligned with the school’s vision and the values we have – and because it’s a place where I’d want my own children to be educated. 31 teachwire.net/secondary C P D TEACH SECONDARY SPECIAL CPD