Every
teacher knows that in each academic year your week develops a distinct
rhythm.
Perhaps your
PPA is clustered on one day – a time of valued coffee breaks and essential catch-ups
with colleagues over your marking – whilst on another you might find *that*
troublesome Year 9 group follows your ‘interesting’ Year 11s. Add in a morning
briefing, break duty, and lunchtime detentions and there are certain days you know
you just have to get through.
After ten
years, I’ve become used to the rise and fall of the teaching week. With five
years as HoD under my belt, I’d also become relatively competent at managing my
middle leadership duties on top of my own planning, preparation, and assessment.
However, this
September I became an Associate Senior Leader and I’ve found that I’ve
struggled to establish that familiar, reliable rhythm.
My day now
starts (three days a week, at least) at 8am with SLT briefing. Gone are the twenty
minutes that used to be spent getting ready for my day and liaising other English leaders in preparation for the day ahead. In the winter months, it was also the time
spent prepping cover for flu-ridden colleagues.
On Mondays, my day now ends at
6pm after the SLT meeting. Added to this, as signalled by my mandatory neon
jacket, walkie talkie, and master key, I’ve found my time taken by additional
SLT duties. Officially, my duty days are Friday and Tuesday morning, but I feel
obligated to be a line of support across the school at all times.
In short, my school
days start earlier, end later, and are now even busier than as a middle leader.
All of
these aspects of the role I was, of course, prepared for and I welcome the
chance to be involved in decision making at a strategic level and to be a more
visible presence across the school. What I’ve had to do is adapt my rhythm by
finding new ways of working: smarter, faster, and with greater delegation.
As a side-note, if it wasn’t for our excellent new Head
of English, I’m not sure managing my reduced time would be possible. My school
has rightly invested in his development as a leader (DHoF, SLP, NPQSL) and as
such they’ve given me rock-solid foundations on which to base my own
progression.
I’ve also had
to find my groove in a brand new team, one that’s close-knit from previous
cycles of the school year. As a current leader of a core subject there have
been times when I’ve felt my experiences have given me an opposing point of
view to others but I’m keen that this becomes an asset and a strength
of my involvement, rather than a staccato note in the concertos of our meetings.
What I’d
not expected from my new role, is the harmony I’ve found with other subject
areas. Leading 'Assessment without Levels' across the school has given me access
to the hallowed turf of other Faculty work rooms. As I’ve traversed the
corridors to seek people out to talk data, SIMs, and problem solving, I’ve
discovered a greater sense of camaraderie and shared purpose than I ever had when confined within English. I’m also more keenly aware of the role of support
staff, like our superb new Data Manager, in realising projects that will
eventually impact on student achievement.
Similarly, leading
events for parents and being regularly stood at the school gates has also given
me a deeper sense of the school’s place within the community. I’ve never felt
quite so proud of the children in our care or alert to the immense support
families of all compositions give to them. My SLT work, whether it's related to the new Ofsted
framework or the nuances of Attainment 8/Progress 8, don’t abstract me from
this but make my focus on it even sharper as I begin to fully understand the significance
of our school within the community that we serve.
In
conclusion, perhaps it’s no longer about trying to find a rhythm: it’s about realising
my own small part in a great symphony.
