May Morsal 31: How to be a Principal or Headteacher, my way!
I have listened to, read and spoke with colleagues who have told me about the first 100 days or the do's and don't's of headship.
Let me tell you something you already know, it is hard! Even the easy bits. No matter what you do, someone will find fault.
So, this is what I follow:
1. Have an ethos the whole school can and therefore will follow - mine is 'Uncompromising but caring'
2. Decide where you sit on the micro to macro management scale. I want to know. but rarly will tell, so I use the concept of 'assumed earned autonomy''
3. Performance versus Trust balance is vital. For me, my preference is that high Trust is much better than high performance and I don't want both in one particular person
4. Roll the red carpet out. No matter the visitor, make sure they get the red carpet treatment, from the CEO to the new cleaner to the local MP to the Primary ECT colleague
5. Own your decisions and therefore mistakes
6. I never do anything, the credit must be someone else's because 'when you do things right people might not even know you have done anything at all'
7. Social media is a key to unlocking support from parents.
Check the Thistley Hough Academy youtube page https://lnkd.in/e2f3JR58
8. Don't tell a fellow professional that they don't know the bigger picture as that is the Principal's fault for allowing that to be the case
9. CPD is vital for improvement, but the right CPD leads are more important
10. You must get behaviour right before you get teaching and learning right. Distraction free teaching is the only mechanism to allow social, emotional and Educational progress on a daily basis.
Have a wonderful weekend 😀
