Choosing to work mostly in my school’s main office is one of the stranger things that I do as a head.
If sitting amidst the commotion of the reception area sounds like a recipe for never getting any work done, then let me reassure you that my working arrangements did not start out as a clever plan, born out of meaningful educational research. It happened purely by chance, as many things do.
When I first became head, I lost my office staff for reasons that I won’t go into, and my site manager for reasons I definitely won’t go into. There was no choice for me but to work in the main school office. There, I had to answer the phone, greet visitors, do dinner monies ─ all while addressing the school’s “serious weaknesses”.
Yes, it was busy. But back then, the head’s office was not a place you would want to be in for long anyway. It had bad colour combos and the ambience of a prison cell. So I happily worked front of house.
That turned out to be part of the solution to some of those serious weaknesses. In the main office, I was visible to staff and children throughout the day. Looking back, I can now see that this increased my presence in the school in a very important way.
‘I became invisible’
As time passed, things improved. I gradually acquired my wonderful office staff, managed to transform the head’s office into a welcoming environment and then relocated into said room.
But now there was a new problem: being confined to my office was incredibly lonely. I felt isolated from my school community and did not get to experience the daily life of my school first hand. It was as if I had become invisible.
I made the decision to move back into the heart of the school and left my beautiful office to be used for meetings, interviews with parents and confidential chats.
I’m not suggesting for a moment that this would suit every school or every school leader, but it might be worth considering even if just for the odd day or two. If, as a headteacher, you are not part of the fabric of your school, then your relationships with children and staff will not be as strong and your knowledge of the school will be less accurate. Having those things might be worth sacrificing a little peace and quiet for.
Chris Wain is executive headteacher at Pallister Park Primary School, Middlesbrough
