I teach for approximately a third of the week. You may claim that the demands of the job mean you simply don’t have time to do that. But school leaders should have an unrelenting focus on learning and screen out the multitude of things that detract from this. For every task, they should ask:
- How is this related to learning?
- What significant difference will this make to learning?
- How, and in which ways, will it lead to improvements in learning?
Any jobs that fall by the wayside as a result of this process should be delegated. I’m proof that it can be done. You just need to be willing to hand over control.
Why is it important?
First, it is to show that I am not some distant figure dictating from afar with no real grasp of what it is like on the frontline. I would be teaching alongside them when I could and they would observe me doing so.
Second, I want to show that I have the same frailties as them.
Third, I want to model something I believe is central to successful schools: reflection on and engagement with the practice of teaching.
The primary responsibility of a headteacher is to ensure the continuous learning of all pupils and all staff. My question is: how do school leaders seriously believe they can fulfil that obligation while sitting behind a desk? If they don’t model effective learning (as a teacher) and teaching, it simply won’t happen.
School leaders have become distant from the classroom and many rarely leave their offices. These headteachers are in danger of becoming deskilled as teachers. I accept the argument that leadership in schools doesn’t necessarily have to involve teaching, especially in super-sized secondaries. But I would argue that it is preferable for heads to teach, and it is integral to the effective motivation and commitment of the staff that they do so. “Headteacher”: the clue is in the title.
Kulvarn Atwal is headteacher at Highlands Primary School in London
This is an edited version of an article in the 13 November edition of TES. Subscribers can view the full version here
Read the full story in this week’s TES magazine, available in all good newsagents. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here
