Reflection on first term as Headteacher, by Tom Little, Headteacher at Milton Mount Primary School
I can’t help but look back at my first term as a Headteacher and question why I decided it might be a good idea to apply for the role. Why would anyone in their right mind decide that with a two-year old and a three-year old at home think that taking on a primary school of six hundred and thirty children would be a good idea for their first headship? One of the behaviour mantras I’d learnt from an excellent educational psychologist in my previous roles was “If you can predict it, you can prevent it” which feels like advice I might have paid more attention to - these, without doubt, have been the most mentally exhausting, challenging and difficult few months I’ve ever had in education.
When I say challenging – I don’t feel like there is anything particularly challenging about my school context. In fact, almost the opposite. I’m blessed with a very capable, willing and kind staff team who want to do the best for children, children who demonstrate kindness and compassion every day, and parents who have been welcoming and supportive. The day-to-day challenges we face together are the same that, according to the statistics and media reports, all schools are facing nationally – an increasing level of special educational needs that we must meet within the classroom, funding pressures and increasing costs and colleagues within local authority departments whose caseloads are simply too high to manage.
Of course on top of that, I have had the personal challenge of trying to understand how my new school works – what motivates people, what the established policies, systems and processes are, what’s working and what’s not. This is exhausting, and just as you think you’ve cracked something, you often realise you haven’t understood it at all – whether it’s curriculum, pedagogy, finance, behaviour, HR, health and safety, or very possibly one of the myriad of things that you’re plunged into for the first time as a Head. I don’t think I ever quite realised the scale of this task, and as someone who’s always wanted to understand every detail of what’s going on, I’m coming to the realisation that I just can’t – I need just enough detail to keep myself sane, and then to trust and empower my leadership team to make the best decisions for children and staff. Learning to balance this with the needs of my family at home has been even harder, and whilst I’m grateful for a supportive wife, I’m fairly certain that sometimes she wishes I wasn’t a teacher.
Whenever I feel tested, I’ve learnt to come back to my own motivation – something I learnt to do from supportive colleagues during my time as a Deputy Head within Greensand. Every time things feel tough or overwhelming, I return to my core beliefs about education and why I was driven to apply to be a Head in the first place – a steadfast belief that all children deserve a high-quality education, to feel safe, happy and respected, and to enjoy their school experience. Despite my inexperience as a Head, I maintain a belief that with the support of those around me, we can provide the very best for each and every child who walks through the door at Milton Mount. I’ve discovered it’s going to be important for my own wellbeing to get stuck into the most positive aspects of school life as well as tackling the problems. I’m writing this post at the end of a week in which I went to the O2 with our school choir for Young Voices – a truly sensational childhood experience, and took our Girls’ Football Team to a local tournament in which they played incredibly. This is why I get out of bed in the morning.
I also remember why I chose to do this within the Greensand MAT – the supportive and collaborative culture that I’d experienced over the previous three years as a Deputy is so valuable. As all schools do, there are very many things that I would like to develop at Milton Mount, and in some MAT cultures there might be unsupportive and unrealistic demands placed on a Head to just deliver everything overnight. Naturally there are expectations of me, but there is also a high-level of support in terms of prioritisation, decision-making and CPD opportunities that gives me the breathing space to get the job done.
I’ll finish with one of the stranger things I might have said to staff facing seemingly insurmountable tasks this term: There’s only one way to eat an elephant – one bite at a time. I’ll be trying to take my own advice in the Spring Term.
