Headteacher Resources

Resources and articles for Headteachers including New Headteachers

 

10 Tips for December and the Lead Up To Christmas

Article by Suzanne O'Connell on HeadTeacher Update Website

The lead up to Christmas can be an incredibly special time in the primary school. Suzanne O’Connell offers 10 ideas to help celebrate the end of term and to support tired staff and pupils.

 

1. Ring the changes

After a few years in school leadership it can become tempting to follow the same format for your Christmas activities and events year-in, year-out. Why don’t you take one aspect of school life (and leading up to Christmas there are plenty) and set out on a mission to refresh it. It doesn’t need to be you directly – you can ask others to contribute their ideas too. New members of staff will bring with them a whole range of traditions some of which you might even prefer.

 

2. Make time

Everyone becomes tired towards the end of the autumn term, including you. Look at your meeting schedule and try to ensure that the last couple of weeks are not too intensive when it comes to after-school events and meetings. If possible, cancel your final staff meeting and replace it with a celebration or simply allow some time off for staff (perhaps to do their Christmas shopping). It can be very difficult for people to fit everything in at this time of year and any help you can provide will be appreciated.

 

3. A little thank you

A small gesture – a plant or flower with a card or even just a card on its own – to register your appreciation for the efforts of your staff can go a long way. Likewise, a personal message, however short, can boost morale and ensure staff start their holiday on the right note. What is important is that you recognise their contribution to your school. Of course, this kind of thing shouldn’t just be restricted to the end of the autumn term.

 

4. Staff’s children

Many members of staff will be facing the disappointment of not being able to go and see their children’s nativity or end-of-term event. Is there a way in which you can free them for that hour in the morning or enable them to go early and catch their child’s celebrations? It may not always be possible, but there is no doubt that they will appreciate the opportunity to enjoy these special occasions with their own family.

 

5. Advent treats

Join together as a school for the big countdown. Advent calendars come in all shapes and sizes. Why not have one displayed in assembly that each class opens in turn?

It needn’t be chocolate behind the doors. It could be a fact about December, something for your pupils to spot during the day, or the occasional school-wide treat (five more minutes at play-time?). You can tailor the rewards and surprises to your school.

 

6. Celebrating as a staff

The staff party is an important opportunity. However, it needs to be inclusive. It doesn’t have to be in the evening – you might prefer to schedule it for one lunchtime, perhaps on the last day, allowing everyone to get off on time.

And staff celebrations shouldn’t be seen as a burden – attendance should be optional without judgement. And think hard before considering things like secret Santa.

 

7. An inclusive Christmas

Of course not all children celebrate Christmas, but they will still want to feel involved. Primary schools are now well-versed in ensuring their end-of-year celebrations are inclusive to children of all backgrounds.

In an article for DiverseEd – We wish you an inclusive christmas, teacher – Shuaib Khan (2021) offers some great ideas to ensure everyone feels involved at this time of year.

In particular, he reminds us that there are other celebrations happening which we will want to mark and suggests having an interfaith calendar. For example, Hanukkah which is an eight-day long Jewish festival starts this year on December 25, while Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day on December 8.

Mr Khan also reminds us to be wary of the cost of any Christmas activities and celebrations for staff and families and to make the food on offer inclusive – for example having vegetarian, vegan, Halal, or Kosher options as relevant to your staff body.

 

8. Class parties and events

The run-up to Christmas can offer an opportunity for pupils to enjoy some classic games in classrooms, but this can also create more work for your staff. Why not involve older pupils with younger ones in designing and managing their own games afternoon or classroom party? They could establish a committee to organise the event, plan table decorations and so on.

Also, in the run-up to Christmas you may have several events planned by different year groups which might put pressure on the school hall. Put someone in charge of creating a hall rota and spread out the events if you can.

 

9. Thanking your community

No doubt you have a list of organisations and individuals that you send cards to ahead of the holidays. This is a good opportunity for you to involve your pupils in designing something that you can have printed to send out to your school community. Equally, this could also be done electronically or indeed it could be turned into a school fundraising activity if the cards are sold.

Take some time to reflect on each of the groups associated with your school and how you might acknowledge their contributions. It might be the card from the children, a box of chocolates, a personal message, or a visit from you. Make sure that no one feels forgotten at this time of year.

 

10. Prioritise yourself too

It is right to ensure that the run-up to Christmas works for everyone but be protective of your own health and welfare too. Where possible, delegate. Be prepared to take the risk of a younger member of staff organising the Christmas performance!

Some staff will blossom at the opportunity to organise Christmas events. Start early in your planning and keep it simple. Be selective and be ready to forego some traditions if they are no longer working for you and your staff.

And finally, plan something special for yourself too. Once the last piece of tinsel has left the building, have a plan that prioritises you when you get home. You might feel the need to jump straight into your own Christmas family preparations, but if at all possible, arrange one or two evenings where you are allowed the luxury of closing the book on your school’s 2024.

 

 

 

A new headship: How to appraoch the first three months

Published by Headteacher Update.

 

When taking on a new leadership position what should your priorities be for the first three months? Alan Shields offers his take on this popular leadership concept

Being visible is a great way to build confidence within the school community. Conversely, if a new head is not visible then it can result in nervousness and unease within the school community.’ - Adobe Stock

I’m aware that the First Hundred Days is a popular construct within leadership. As part of the assessment process for a senior job within education, I was given a task that was a variation on this theme. I was asked to outline what my priorities would be for my first three months in post and I was asked to break-down what my actions would be, month-by-month. 

This caused me to think – if I was advising a newly appointed headteacher, what would my suggestions be for those first, critical, months? Clearly every situation is different, but I think that there are some common themes that apply in most cases.

The first month: People and profile

I would suggest that your top priority is all about relationships. As a newly appointed head everybody will want a piece of you! 

Lots of people will want to speak with you – to share their perspective, to tell you what needs “fixing” at the school, to tell you how wonderful (or dreadful) your predecessor was, to give you the benefit of their wisdom, etc.

In this situation, I would advise you to deploy some of granny’s wisdom – namely that you have two ears and one mouth for a reason. In other words, this is a time to do more listening than talking. Engage in social pleasantries and, when appropriate, ask questions to clarify.

I would, at all costs, however, avoid making any policy announcements “on the hoof”. Furthermore, in more general terms, I would advise against making very early decisions about things that are not truly urgent.

If you happen upon an urgent issue, such as a gap in safeguarding processes, you may have to act quickly – everything else can wait until you have a wider and deeper understanding of matters within the school.

The second issue that you will want to be aware of during your first month is that of your profile. It is very easy to become bogged down by the number of people who want to speak with you in those early days of your new headship.

However, although it may not feel so at the time, those first few weeks can represent a slightly lighter workload. I would suggest that you use this time to actively engage with your school community and your wider stakeholders.

Being visible is a great way to build confidence within the school community. Conversely, if a new head is not visible then it can result in nervousness and unease within the school community.

So, make a point of being around the school gate, pop into classes, chat to pupils at lunch time, get to know your staff and your leadership team, attend sports fixtures, write a newsletter or welcome letter – in other words, see and be seen.

As well as helping to grow your profile, these types of activities will help you to develop your understanding of the school and what your future priorities may be.

 

The second month: Probing and pinpointing

I am not suggesting that you abandon the type of activities I have mentioned above as you move into your second month in post, but I am proposing that you may begin to broaden your focus. 

Now that you have a broad-brush overview of the school, it may be a good time to start digging a little deeper into some of the emerging issues. There may be people who you want to speak to again. You may want to dig a little deeper into data such as attainment and attendance.

You may wish to take the opportunity to look carefully at previous improvement plan priorities and the progress that has been made towards achieving them.

The principle of “triangulating” will be important. In other words, how does the available data and hard facts relate to what you are hearing from others and, in turn, to what you are experiencing and seeing yourself?

Where there is strong triangulation it indicates that the issue can be considered “a fact”. Where there is weaker triangulation, or a more mixed picture, it suggests that there may be more dubiety and, perhaps, that more investigation is needed.

Where a particular issue does not stand up through the triangulation process, it does not necessarily mean that you can disregard it completely. For example, if parents have a particular perspective on attainment but that is not supported by the facts, you may still have to do some work as you move forward to address the perception they hold.

It is also worth bearing in mind that the process of triangulating is not a single event. As heads, we constantly gather more information and, as such, our views on issues continue to evolve.

 

The third month: Planning and proceeding

As a new head, we do not always start with a blank piece of paper in terms of priorities. We may inherit priorities from a predecessor, we may have some actions handed to us through our governance structure, or there may be necessary actions because of previous inspection or scrutiny activity. Whatever the situation, you should be beginning to formulate in your mind what your priorities will be as you move forward.

As a new headteacher, I would encourage you to be circumspect in terms of how much change you plan to take forward and particularly thoughtful in terms of how quickly you plan to do it.

Saying that, a degree of change will be necessary and, indeed, desirable. If your context is particularly challenging, you may have no option but to engage in some radical surgery while doing all you can, of course, to take people with you.

If the school you are inheriting is in better shape, then you may have the luxury of taking a little more time before taking forward any more significant change.

Whatever your context, I would say that you can organise potential changes into three broad groups.

1. Changes that you may need to take forward immediately. These may relate to matters such as safeguarding, administration of medicines, or the monitoring of attendance.
2. Issues that need to be “programmed” as they will require more in-depth engagement and development over a period of time. Such matters may include learning and teaching developments, improved assessment processes, or renewed approaches to managing behaviour.
3. The final category is perhaps the most difficult to deal with. There may be potential priorities that, while you acknowledge the possible benefits of addressing them, there is simply not capacity to do so. My advice here is simple, make your peace with the fact. As the old saying goes – you can do anything, but you can’t do everything.

 

Final thoughts

For the record – I didn’t get the job I mentioned at the start of this article, but I understand that I came a creditable second to the person who was already doing it. So, I didn’t get to enact my three-month plan on that occasion. Maybe next time!

Someone once said to me that being a headteacher is a bit like a rollercoaster ride. I hope that the first few months in your new post are enjoyable.

• Alan Shields is an experienced headteacher who has worked across the independent and local authority sectors. He is now a local authority education manager including working as an inclusion officer supporting a large number of schools. Find his previous contributions to Headteacher Update via www.headteacher-update.com/authors/alan-shields