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 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 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. , 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 , 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. Participation in this inquiry, being emailed to them late at night; Throughout the lockdown period, the SATS. Diagram 4 summarises the key for example, was experienced as an long and detailed guidance notes being national message was ‘business as components of this ‘new’ normality for important networking opportunity, as amended, with the (headteacher) usual’, in education as well as in the this group. illustrated here. reader being left to trawl through to economy. The government’s ‘back to find the changes. For them, there was a

“Just to hear other voices of really experienced heads A ‘New’ Normal and how they have mitigated has been incredibly Emphasis Wider useful, instrumental in my mental health to survive Flexibility, Focus on on safety & underst- Tighter a mindset building this. I am feeling confident because I am listening to relationships – anding of structures of change community these voices and thinking about strategizing, and I care values achievement have legitimacy. ...These connections have been really helpful to feel competent.” Greater understanding Marking of families, transitions Good leniency on Focus New commun- practical things goes ways of ications Local networks and connections ground. In Islington, local briefings and beyond thinking with were also important and, by and communication networks enabled heads SATs & acting parents Establishing large, experienced as positive. Telford to feel part of a local community, to Trauma & staff routines and Wrekin’s ‘Belonging Strategy’ share ideas and to keep up to speed. training proved to be invaluable, creating a Within school support was strong and common language and a shared set of significant across all the schools. These expectations between the authority and school leaders were able to draw on the schools. In Hackney, the availability of Diagram 4: A ‘New’ Normal commitment, expertise, and leadership key initiatives and approaches to support of colleagues. This helped them tackle schools (for example, around trauma) the range and complexity of the was experienced as a local authority in demands on them. touch with what was happening on the

9 10 II: BACK TO BUSINESS? III: LEADERSHIP & CULTURE

They planned to introduce tighter Such an approach is likely to lead to “We need to understand In the previous section we mapped the structures and routines to create a sense positive outcomes, as there is a strong reflections of the sixteen leaders about of safety and belonging and to mark weight of evidence linking a sense of that it is not going to be their experiences of the lockdown phase transitions, for example a ‘ school belonging to academic outcomes, business as usual for a of the Pandemic. Here we look at the Box’ created over the summer which student and absenteeism majority of students. It is wider implications for schools and school children brought to school to help them and other positive outcomes, such as leadership. Is this now the time, as the feel happy, safe and comfortable. The health and well-being. The task for them about being flexible and headteacher quoted here asks, to ‘make’ ‘new’ normal was about schools as as leaders, as one headteacher argued, having a mindset that education fit for the 21st century? And if places of compassion and belonging in was to create a bridge which balanced things are going to change so, what might this mean for leadership? which communications within school the demands of a highly regulated To structure the discussion, we have set and with families were meaningful. system and target orientated system and preparing your staff our findings from this research against a with the needs of young people. for that. [...] There could be framework which emerged from earlier a lockdown at any point. research, commissioned by the National Change is so scaring, and it Education Union (NEU) that focused on schools as places of belonging.2 is so imminent. We need to The framework (Diagram 5) highlights “I am not going to be passing massive pressure over keep in mind the the connections between the three my staff for improving the children’s achievement. of different people... elements needed to create the conditions for belonging for staff and I am going to understand the students’ achievement students, and welcome and inclusion in a wide way, not in a narrow way. I want September There are things we’ve been for families: to be gentle. I think it is about finding a balance.” wanting to change for a long • Leadership: Leadership shapes culture. time, but we haven’t. [...] This • Culture: Culture shapes learning period has changed so many and behaviour. things, in a way it has been a • Culture and leadership: Culture positive learning experience. and leadership shape agency and belonging. (It’s time) to find other ways to make education fit for the 21st century.”

2A school-based research inquiry which came to an abrupt halt in March 2020 as the Pandemic brought life as we knew it to a standstill. The study aimed to bring to light school-wide approaches that appear to be having positive outcomes for young people, their families and school communities. It involved 133 young people and staff (including the headteachers), in five schools serving communities facing many challenges, located across England: Cornwall, Coventry, Islington, Lancashire and Leeds (K. Riley, M. Coates & T. Allen (2020, forthcoming). Place & belonging in school: Why it matters today. London: National Education Union.

11 12 III: LEADERSHIP & CULTURE

Facets of leadership LEADERSHIP: • Compassionate leaders are compassionate to themselves and others; Shapes are relational and authentic, and work to create a culture of compassion and the conditions for place and belonging. Culture • Caring leaders use their skills to cultivate caring communities; are physically and emotionally present in the lives of young people; and apologise for their mistakes. Caring leadership has been shown to have a significant impact CULTURE: on young people’s performance in school and on their social and emotional Shapes LEADERSHIP learning. Behaviour • Leaders of place and belonging ‘walk’ their leadership with a strong moral & CULTURE: purpose and help make ‘belonging’ work by recognising the possibilities. & Learning Shape Agency They understand their own past and the importance of the heritages and experiences of others. They connect to families and communities in a meaningful & Belonging way, exerting their own ‘agency’ and enacting the agency of others.

ii. Culture shapes learning other events that had yet to emerge; Diagram 5: Interlocking Elements in Creating the Conditions for Belonging and behaviour about the need for physical closeness in the school setting and yet the Leadership values and actions shape impossibility of achieving this. They also the culture of the school and set the i. Leadership shapes culture had their joys: their excitement about their opinion, even if it is boundaries of what is possible. When reopening schools; the opportunity to School leaders are the mediating force something different, […] we came to the end of our time with the help the children feel loved and safe. responsible for shaping the culture of the headteachers in July 2020, they seemed they are not afraid of not They could not remove the but they school. Covid-19 has led this group of to be walking two realities. would do their best to mitigate them school leaders to think afresh and to see being like the others.” They had their own and and to communicate with the families themselves as place-makers who work frustrations: about the children; about and members of staff about these with to create community, by connecting with The leadership values expressed by the the possibility of another outbreak; about compassion. families and listening to students. headteachers involved in this inquiry are influenced by a sense of compassion “Where the students have a and caring, and a commitment to place voice and […] feel that they and belonging. These broad facets of leadership are summarised in Box I.3 are part of the school, that they are not afraid to give Seashore; and (iii) research on belonging: K. Riley (2017). Place, Belonging and School Leadership: Researching to Make the Difference. London: Bloomsbury; K. Riley, M. Coates, & S. Martinez, S. (2018). Place & belonging in schools: Unlocking Possibilities. London: UCL Institute of Education. Publications and videos are available at http://www.theartofpossibilities.org.uk. Also see: 3The ideas presented here draw on: (i) work developed by the Kings Fund (https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/.../covid-19-crisis- K. A. Allen & P. Kern (2020). Boosting School Belonging: Practical strategies to help adolescents feel like they belong at school. compassionate-leadership): (ii) US research reported in Caring School Leadership (2019): Mark Smylie, Joe Murphy and Karen Oxon and New York: Routledge. 13 14 III: LEADERSHIP & CULTURE

A compassionate approach encourages Telford and Wrekin: They recognised that some of the Hackney: ingenuity and flexibility and a ‘can do’ strategies they had used to reach out culture. In the context of the Covid19 I had to have a conversation with myself to families would not have happened We really need to spend some time lockdown, compassion helped generate and say, “I know my children, I know my without the Pandemic. Across the three acknowledging what happened and the space and confidence to learn context, I know my school”. locations, the ‘new’ normal was try to build a sense of belonging […]. from the crisis and to move forward. about fostering communications As a leader I think this is a really good Hackney: In two workshops, headteachers with parents and staff. opportunity to show that we care, initiated conversations about their role I think about my community... how I so the parents know that we care in response to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ can adapt all of this to what they need. Islington: about their children. I want my parents to be involved in school, develop those movement. They saw the possibility I’ve introduced a new programme on We need to be able to have open of stepping into a new space and ‘Emotional Resilience,’ nine hours in relationships. The parents make conversations with parents and say, the school. tackling significant underlying issues the first three weeks. “this is very complex, and you probably about racism. This was described in the will be anxious when you come back”. Islington: following terms: We cannot make teachers pretend that “This is a moment in our In the context of ‘Black Lives matter’, everything is alright. That is not reality. it’s time to look afresh and decolonise lifetime when we can have the curriculum. Telford and Wrekin: open conversations about We have to make sure that race and people can feel safe We know from research elsewhere that communication with parents works so whether young people experience a they completely understand what we in expressing their opinions. sense of belonging in school is shaped are doing […] Parents have told us that It is an opportunity that we by how their schools think about, and they really value the letters, messages, cannot miss. […] We have a interact with, the communities in which communications through Facebook… they live. Positive forms of engagement We want to strengthen that and do duty to create that space for build communication and connections more communication. Through this conversation and to ensure and generate a bedrock of relationships. we have learned not to judge families… Mutuality and trust between schools that this space remains in to be more open and understanding and their communities enable them of what can be going on with them. place in our community.” to weather many storms. For these headteachers, this was the moment to iii. Culture and leadership shape take stock. agency and belonging. We observed a growing sense of agency in this group of leaders. This was manifested in the many ways they chose to step into the leadership space with added conviction, and to bring others on board. This assertion of their own professional agency was expressed in how they spoke about their communities:

15 16 IV: LEADING OUT OF LOCKDOWN INTO A NEW LEADERSHIP SPACE

“We are operating in The road ahead is not easy for these The picture which has emerged from this purposeful actions. It leads us towards headteachers, nor for their colleagues study is not one of heroic leadership: a the notion of leadership as a moral this world of incredible, across the country. They want to create solo endeavour in which our superhero endeavour, a dynamic ministry, and a frustrating unclarity. And schools which are spaces of belonging battles his or her way through the storm. profoundly place-making activity aimed the context keeps changing. and compassion, yet recognise that (Although we are deeply aware that the at building community and creating a they face the structural constraints of a physical and emotional commitment sense of belonging. That is very exhausting strong national accountability system. which these headteachers demonstrated Where the direction of travel is towards […] Collectively creating daily during lockdown is not sustainable The uncertainty which characterises schools as places of encounter, staff in the long term.) The leadership values community is challenging, today’s world and the world of the flourish, students find their voices, and expressed are about compassion, caring classroom is unlikely to disappear soon. parents are listened to. This is a rare and it is even more and place-making. The leadership actions The sense of collective uncertainty which moment for school leaders to take stock taken are about making connections and challenging when there is is in the air reinforces the importance of and decide their direction of travel. The bringing others on board. no clear information. schools as places of belonging: places headteachers who worked with us were where young people can feel confident In a world of ‘frustrating unclarity,’ as traveling in the direction of schools which I don’t think that the that they will fit in and be safe in their the headteacher quoted at the beginning encourage children, young people and 4 government knows very well identity. It also throws a spotlight on of this section reflected, school leaders staff to work together in a climate of the values of leaders and the actions are in a position to step into a new mutual respect. how to do this, and how to they take. Two things are clear from this leadership space. The study gives a sense create community. We need study: that leadership VALUES shape of the impact of well-thought out and to create certainty, and the ‘Action’ and that Leadership ACTIONS shape BELONGING: see Diagram 6. question is how to do that, because the government is not doing it.”

Leadership Leadership A Sense of Values Actions Belonging

Diagram 6: Values, Actions and Belonging

4K. Riley (2019). Agency and belonging: What transformative actions can schools take to help create a sense of 17 place and belonging? Journal of Educational & Child Psychology; Vol. 36 No. 4, 91-103 18 THE RESEARCH TEAM ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Professor Kathryn Riley, Professor of Urban At the time of lockdown, Professor Riley Finally, in Workshop 3, we asked the Education, UCL, Institute of Education is an was working with the three authorities headteachers to discuss what the future international scholar whose work bridges policy and involved in this study on issues related after reopening schools will look like. to schools as places of belonging. practice. With DancePoet TioMolina, she is co-founder The headteachers also had the option This jointly commissioned research of the Art of Possibilities, working with schools and of completing a diary exercise: ‘A day emerged from discussions about how communities to develop new forms of collaboration in my Life as a School Leader’. to take these issues forward at a time and to help create schools as place of belonging. Information from this exercise is of global crisis. Kathryn began in education as a volunteer teacher not reported in this booklet. in Eritrea, before teaching in inner-city schools and Telford and Wrekin is north-west of The headteachers are leaders of the holding political office - as an elected member of Birmingham, Hackney is in the East of following schools the Inner London Education Authority (the ILEA) - London, and Islington in the North. While and working as a local authority Chief Officer. Her each area has its distinctive demographic Hackney: international experience has included heading up the and economic characteristics, the • Randal Cremer Primary School schools these headteachers represent World Bank’s Effective Schools and Teachers Group in • Baden Powell Primary School Washington and projects with UNICEF and the OECD. have a strong emphasis on inclusion, social diversity and creative pedagogic • Stoke Newington School [email protected] approaches. • Stormont House School www.theartofpossibilities.org.uk In carrying out the research we drew on • Clapton Girls’ Academy BERA ethical guidelines and conducted • St Scholastica’s Catholic Primary School Dr Manuela Mendoza did her PhD in Sociology of nine online workshops between May and July 2020 with the 16 headteachers. With Education at UCL, Institute of Education. In her thesis Telford and Wrekin she explored the views of families, headteachers, each group, we conducted three on-line and teachers in relation to the potentialities and workshops which were recorded. • Newdale Primary School and Nursery challenges for socially diverse schools to become In Workshop 1, we asked the headteachers • Old Park Primary School places of belonging for all. She is also a researcher to reflect on the following questions: a) • Lilleshall Primary School at the Centre for the Study of Educational Policies How has the crisis been for you personally • Grange Park Primary School and Practices (CEPPE), in Chile, and has conducted and as a school leader?; b) How has it been • Burton Borough School research in schools for more than ten years. She is for your teachers?; and c) How has it been currently supporting a UCL Innovation Project on for the children, young people and their • Hadley Learning Community inclusion and belonging. families? [email protected] In Workshop 2, we summarised the key Islington: themes emerging from the first workshop • Thornhill Primary School (perceived challenges and opportunities • Prior Weston Primary School of the crisis) and asked the participants to reflect: Is something missing? Then we • Samuel Rhodes Primary and asked them to discuss: a) What support Secondary Special School and information do you need from the • Drayton Park and Montem government / Local authority / Chain or Primary Schools diocese / Within your school (including governors)? And - Are you getting it?

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