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Leading in a New Era: Compassionate Leadership

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Leading in a New Era: Compassionate Leadership LEADING IN A NEW ERA: COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP FOR PLACE & BELONGING SEPT 2020 A Research Inquiry undertaken by Professor Kathryn Riley & Dr Manuela Mendoza In collaboration with Headteachers from Telford & Wrekin Council, The London Boroughs of Hackney & Islington INTRODUCTION In this booklet we report on the Contextual factors inevitably have We would like to thank Telford and leadership journeys of sixteen shaped the impact of Covid-19 on Wrekin, Hackney, and Islington, and the headteachers during the lockdown schools, with communities in Hackney sixteen headteachers for the trust they phase of Covid-19, between May being the hardest hit by the force of the placed in us. We look forward to further – July 2020. Our findings are based Pandemic. discussions in actual, and not just virtual environments. We have been touched by on a collaborative research inquiry, We worked with the headteachers on the headteachers’ devotion to the young jointly commissioned by Telford a locality basis, organising our time people in their charge; by their resilience together as a personal and professional and Wrekin Council and the London and ingenuity in finding new ways to space for deep thinking and reflection. Boroughs of Hackney and Islington connect to families; and by the many steps The climate of mutual support and in which we tracked the experience they have taken to create community trust which grew from this led to shared of those school leaders: and collegiality. As as a group, they have learning and provided fertile territory worked to be responsive, to communicate • Mapping their responses to the for collecting the research data effectively and to listen to the many voices lockdown; presented here. in their school community. • Exploring aspects of their leadership While each of these headteachers has approach; and her or his own distinctive story to tell, a shared view has emerged of leadership • Reflecting on the implications for as a profoundly moral endeavour. the future of school leadership. Our inquiry has revealed much about We have divided the booklet into five parts: Covid-19 has exposed our vulnerabilities; the pressures and demands on them, the divisions within and across societies; as well as signalling new possibilities. I: TRACKING THE LOCKDOWN LEADERSHIP JOURNEY 4 and the ways in which those facing the A fresh articulation of what schools are greatest disadvantages have found about, and how leaders can lead II: BACK TO BUSINESS? 9 themselves most exposed to its impact. is emerging which has led us to ask If the Pandemic has taught us anything, the question: III: LEADERSHIP & CULTURE 11 it is that that wisdom and compassion help build connections and communities IV: LEADING OUT OF LOCKDOWN INTO A NEW LEADERSHIP SPACE 16 - and that leadership matters. To what extent does the ADDITIONAL RESEARCH INFORMATION 19 The sixteen headteachers (11 female and 5 male) lead a range of schools - experience and impact of primary, secondary, and special needs Covid-19 reshape what it means - and have a wide range of experience. to be a school leader? Some are headteachers of long standing - executive heads or on their second headship. Others were, at the time, ‘fledgling’ leaders in their first year of headship. 1See Part V for further details of the research brief and process. 3 4 I: TRACKING THE LEADERSHIP LOCKDOWN JOURNEY We begin our account of the leadership schools’ capacity to create a sense of “ For the next year, we will be Headteachers spoke of the frustration journey by exploring the headteachers’ belonging across school communities, they felt about an implicit deficit model perceptions of the challenges of the the sixteen headteachers in this study, dealing with the children’s about young people, expressed in the crisis, and identifying the opportunities as their colleagues elsewhere, have feeling of death, because language of ‘remedial action’, and the they took to work in new ways. This leads found themselves holding the ring. they had someone who died lack of appreciation or recognition of on to a discussion about the support and Diagram I summarises the challenges them as highly trained professionals. information which helped them along they have faced. or because they feel they the way, or detracted from the job could die. We are going to be ii. The potential to work In the early stages of lockdown, in hand. awareness of the unequal learning dealing with the effects of in different ways i. The challenges of the crisis opportunities available to children and lockdown.” the trauma facing some communities, “ I really feel that lockdown The Covid-19 pandemic has created contributed to high levels of stress The pressure on these headteachers has drawn the community significant challenges and pressures for and emotional overload for them schools. Anxiety, fear, and uncertainty was intensified by their responsibility together.” and colleagues. As one headteacher as the ultimate ‘leader’ of the school, have been in the air. As pressure reflected: mounted and social distancing reduced and by the multiplicity of roles they Despite these many challenges, they also were expected to take. Whatever identified the opportunities that the crisis was happening, they still had to had offered to work in different ways. manage their own personal lives and Diagram 2 summarises these. Emotional feelings. Government responses to the overload & mental pandemic contributed to the challenges. health issues across the school (fear & anxiety) The crisis has made Difficulties of High levels evident that schools creating a sense of of pressure for are not only part of the belonging in a context headteachers (be strong community but also that requires social for others, whatever create community in distancing your own problems) their localities Importance of Inadequate Importance of compassion in Adverse conditions support from flexibility, social schools: support for promoting & government & unclear relationships & of each other in sustaining young information building a sense of difficult times people’s learning (e.g. belonging no internet at home) Diagram 1: The challenges Diagram 2: The potential to work in different ways 5 6 I: TRACKING THE LEADERSHIP LOCKDOWN JOURNEY Networks with colleagues who worked in Telford and Wrekin: As lockdown proceeded a new similar contexts provided them with the I keep reminding myself that it is ok to be philosophy and culture began to emerge. support they needed, or strengthened in the moment. As a leader, make sure The headteachers looked for support their confidence to look at things that I tell my staff that but also to tell and information to help them deal with afresh. The crisis also led them to revisit myself to do it myself. Reminding myself the complexities of Covid-19, drawing taken for granted assumptions about that I am not superhuman and that it is on a range of networks and information relationships, policies, and practices. ok to stop. loops, as is shown in Diagram 3. Some Flexibility and adaptability came into information sources proved to be more their own – as did compassion. The need for social distancing which had useful than others. become paramount as Covid-19 spread, Across the three localities, these reaffirmed the importance of building headteachers recognised the community. Helping create a sense importance of school as a place of belonging was about the wellbeing of compassion: a space in which of staff and students, as well as members of the community could academic success. These headteachers Inadequate support from support each other. They recognised encouraged and supported practical government (focus on academic that to be compassionate to students, actions to connect with students and performance instead of wellbeing; parents, and teachers, they had first their families and build community: to be compassionate to themselves. messaging, phoning, visiting at a lack of recognition of them as This implied acknowledging their own distance to drop off books, professionals; information overload limitations and accepting that things creating an interactive video loop. & inadequate guidance) could not necessarily be done as in the past. iii. Support and Information Hackney: along the way One of the things that has been really “ Our philosophy is changing; Networks of support useful with my staff is saying that I between colleagues in other don’t have all the answers, I am not it is a cultural change: how Acknowledgment of the a superwoman, because this is all schools became crucial can we support each other? role of the local authority new. I am not god. That is about being High levels of support from A community of headteachers in tackling the challenges compassionate. This is not about being colleagues within thier own & ‘translating’ government the expert. and of teachers.” schools emerged directives into practice Islington: I have never done this before, so I have had to say “it is ok to not know what to Diagram 3: Support and Information do”, to take care of my mental health, because this is so hard. 7 8 I: TRACKING THE LEADERSHIP II: BACK TO BUSINESS? LOCKDOWN JOURNEY In searching for data and analysis misalignment between the challenges “ I want to get away from business’ approach was interpreted by from government, the headteachers they faced in the crisis (particularly these headteachers as a return to the experienced information overload the immediacy of community-related reading to pass tests, status quo. Drawing on their assessment and lack of clarity. Last-minute and matters) and the policy strategies to reading to make sense of the challenges and opportunities constantly changing communications adopted by government. of their reality. I’m not generated by Covid-19, their ‘new’ compounded the challenges they normality was based on caring values Opportunities to share their leadership faced. They reported examples of key chasing SATs.” and relationships and a recognition lockdown journey were considered Department for Education documents that achievement went beyond invaluable.
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