The First 100 Days of Headship Sir David

The First 100 Days of Headship Sir David Carter – CEO of Carter Leadership Consultancy and Director of System Leadership at Ambition Institute

Goals for The Slidedeck • To provide you with a mental map of the first 100 days of your Headship • 100 days is basically February Half Term • To create a structure where this can happen • To help you balance the operational and strategic • To maximise impact and to establish your role

Knowledge Goals to aspire to for Day 100 • • Draft 1 of a Development plan should be ready to write You should know how to add significant improvement to your performance outcomes What curriculum changes are needed for next academic year? How good is teaching and learning in your school? • You should be able to segment your staff into these priority areas • Change agents and leaders-your future implementers and creators • Sound, Solid, Successful practitioners-challenge is to add the 5% to make them category 1 colleagues • Resistant lip servants-”sounds great boss” as long as it doesn’t need me to engage • Blockers and Mavericks-only one way to work and that’s my waychange averse • What do the stakeholders think of the school?

The Real Challenges to Uncover for day 100 • This will be more personal and far more context driven • The Challenges you are most likely to face around these areas: • Challenges Low Expectations Student Labelling Quality of SLT Quality of Middle Leaders Inconsistency Standard of teaching & learning • Budget • Inertia • • •

The Opportunities are greater. . • 6 Reasons why you will win! • This is your school and whilst you are accountable you are making the decisions • You have a vision that you believe in • All problems have an answer either in your school or in another • You drive and challenge the culture of the organisation-if you hear things you do not like, say so! • If leadership is the issue, there is no greater focus for a new head than improving it • If you follow the 100 day guide, the rest will be sorted!!

The Value of a personal diary-WHY? • Reflection on decisions taken and perhaps not taken • Reflection on Simon Sinek Circles keeping the focus on the why rather than the how and what=how and what become more urgent in days 101 -200 • Takes a snapshot in time-you need to remind yourself of the journey you have been on so that you have some checks and balances for the future • A reminder of things you really want to remember

The Leadership Stakeholder Map Who are your key stakeholders?

The Leadership Stakeholder Map Partners You Choose National Networks Students Teaching Staff Stakeholder Map Support Staff Parents Local Networks Primary & Secondary Partners Governors

The First 100 Days Balancing the operational with the strategic so that the 100 days impact is not lost

Horses for Courses - When to be a different type of leader • Coercive Leader-urges compliance • Do what I tell you • Authoritative Leader -mobilize your army • Come with me • Affiliative Leader -Builds harmony and emotional support • People come first • Democratic Leader -consensus through particpation • What do you think? • Pacesetting Leader -high standards and expectations • Do as I do, now! • Coaching Leader -the leader develops people for the future • Try this

The Power of Assemblies Do 3 sets of assemblies in 1 st 40 days • • Week 1 & 2 -My Standards and Expectations Week 3 & 4 -What I like about this school and what I might want to change Week 5 & 6 -How I want to improve this school Week 7 & 8 -How you can help me to make a difference • Assumes you cannot do every assembly every week!

Focus the 100 days on core activity - Managing Relationships • Students • Meet them for lunch each week, 10 at a time (200) to talk about the school • Make sure they see you at break, lunch and end of school • Get into their lessons-letters home • Work Sample • Take photos of students working and doing the right things to show in assemblies • See the 20 most challenging students on their own then with their parents/carers and offer the “fresh start” • Meet the 40 students who will be the voice of children and give you the best feedback? • SLT & MLT • 1 to establish ways of working and roles • Emphasise how you want to work • Vision session around late November/early December • Catch them doing something good • What is not for sale and what can be compromised? • What are their ambitions for the school and themselves • Share your 20 challenging students around team so they all have a SLT mentor • What type of leaders do you have in your team?

Focus the 100 days on core activity - Managing Relationships • Parents • Staff • Meet 1 a day for 100 days or until you see them all • Aspirations • WWW/EBI • Staff Questionnaire around day 40 and then around day 90 (exactly the same questions) • WWW/EBI on the NOW • WWW/EBI on 1 st draft of ideas • Feedback to staff on what you are finding out • Head’s Surgery Sessions-one evening per week for an hour 10 mins person • No Agenda, just Q & A • Log who comes and why! • Random Phone Samples • Parent Surgeries • “Meet the Head” set piece sessions after school • Parenting Evenings to support them • Two Weekly Newsletters • Website-parents section that a parent manages • Parent and Student Questionnaire at Day 90 to share 1 st draft of ideas-use Parent voice sessions to write it together

Focus the 100 days on core activity - Managing Relationships • Community • Governors • Visit Governors 1 to 1 in their work place-they will be spending a lot of time in yours! Get to know them as people • What is the expertise they offer and where is it best placed? • Link them to the strategic themes emerging from your vision planning • Need to work out who your community is • Breakfast session for primary/secondary heads • Breakfast session for 10 local business or civic leaders • Try to visit the local primary and secondary schools by day 40 • Local Residents engagement. Music concert, etc • Doorstep visits to immediate neighbours-they will have their own version of the truth and will tell you!

Learning Walks-Model how you want this done • This is the most effective way of binding all of this together • I would give at least 3 hrs a week to this • • • Take SLT with you Take a Middle Leader with you Take students with you Take Parents with you Take a Governor with you Take a Camera with you!

The Focus for Learning Walks-needs a structure across the school to assess consistency • • • Week 1 -How do lessons start? Week 2 -Do children appear to enjoy their learning? Week 3 -How much student engagement do you see? Week 4 -What is the learning environment like? Are classrooms well presented? Week 5 -How are exercise books being used? Week 6 -What is being learned? How can you tell? Week 7 -Who sits at the back of the class and why? Week 8 -Student Behaviour and engagement Week 9 -Quality of Feedback Week 10 -Do lessons have good endings? (Week 11 -20 -do it again)

The First 100 Days Roadmap • Look at the Roadmap sheet • Reference the 100 Days Document • Week by Week • Activity focus involving “Managing People” • What is your preference and solution? • Look over the previous slides about the people management • Map out your Roadmap based on your set of priorities

The 1 st Phase of the Road Map • Take 40 minutes working on your own to plan the outline of the Road Map • Spread it across the 20 weeks • Don’t be afraid to repeat things if there are different groups involved • Share your plan for 40 minutes with 2 other people

Leading Learning • Curriculum Design • Supporting Students • Teaching and Learning • Self Evaluation • Improvement Planning • The Building • The Budget

Leading Learning • Supporting Students • Curriculum Design • What experiences do students get in different year groups? • What is the approach to knowledge and information teaching? • Where is the most innovative practice taking place in the school? • Which students get the best deal from the curriculum? • Arts and PE really matter to children so they should to you • Rewards and Sanctions • What are students getting isolated/excluded for? • What is that experience like for children and does it work? • Do students repeat their behaviours? • How learning focused are the welfare staff? • What is the role of support staff in supporting students? • Talk to the parents of the 20 most challenging students

Leading Learning • Teaching & Learning • How do you want staff to react to your learning walks and lesson observations • Do 20 covers in the 1 st 100 days • Set yourself a target of 2 classroom visits per week (40 lessons) • Communicate your vision for the “effective” lesson-what would you like to see? • Digital Learning • How much digital learning is taking place? • Create 2 new Digital learning champions to support and extend technology • What does every teacher have at their disposal-skills and equipment

Leading Learning • The Building • SEF and Improvement Plan • Is there a culture of self evaluation in the school? • How accurate is the view of the school from the different groups (teachers, leaders, governors and parents) • Model to middle and senior leaders the evaluative conversation-why/how and what • Delegate different parts of the improvement strategy around the SLT • Walk the site with your building maintenance team • Where are the “hidden” areas? • Where are the worst decorated areas in the school? • Can you refurbish reception to make it belong to you? • Displays • Rolling maintenance programme • Capital expenditure • 5 to 10 year site development plan?

Leading Learning • 8 Questions to ask about the Budget • How much income do we have and what are the sources • How do we spend this income? • What is the % spend on staff (75% of student income ideally) • What does the curriculum review tell us about the number of staff we need, the teacher-student ratio, the periods needed to be taught and the size of exam classes? • How much development money is there? • How much does the building cost to run and maintain? • How did we achieve our reserves? • What are the 5 biggest risks to our financial security

The 2 nd Phase of the Road Map • Take 40 minutes working on your own to add the Leading Learning Priorities to your Road Map • Spread it across the 20 weeks • Don’t be afraid to repeat things if there are different groups involved • Share your plan for 40 minutes with 2 other people