With the prospect of another term of absences and restrictions ahead of us, we remember the anticipation that accompanied the return to school.

Whilst the optimists amongst us hoped for a Covid-free start to the new year, the realists were just waiting for a repeat of what we’ve come to expect over the past two Januarys and unfortunately, they got it right. Omicron has ripped through with unnerving speed and we find ourselves battling the latest strain of covid.

As we write, schools in the United Kingdom are having to strengthen measures already introduced to control the spread of the virus. In Quebec, the rapid spread of Omicron before Christmas has resulted in schools being closed until January 17 at the earliest, and in Dubai several schools have reverted back to home schooling after a significant number of staff tested positive after returning from holiday abroad, and were either refused entry to the country or required to undertake an extended quarantine on return.

So to avoid heaping more misery on an already tense situation, for this post we will look back to my time as a head teacher of a large urban secondary school in England.

I would look forward to the start of the spring term, knowing that over the next few months, myself and my leadership team would play a significant role in our students’ learning, especially for those taking public examinations. I would refer to this as the top hat and tails time, or picking up trucks.

These feelings of optimism were in stark contrast to those I felt at the end of the autumn term, when I would breathe a long sigh of relief as we closed the gates and ushered everyone home for Christmas. The first half of the Autumn term was dominated by our induction programmes, which ensured that students and staff were clear about our expectations and, should they have fallen short, they had been challenged and supported. We would also have adjusted our theory of action from our review of last year’s public examination results.

In the second half of the term, with the second six-week cycle completed, I began to feel progressively trapped as the waning daylight resulted in me arriving and leaving school in the dark. My school roles had also changed. I was a figurehead for the Christmas concerts, mediating amongst staff as lessons were disrupted while students were withdrawn for rehearsals and performances, and ensuring cover was provided for classes as staff fell sick. Add to that the joy that accompanied planning the following year’s school budget.

‘Bah humbug,’ as Ebernezer Scrooge was so fond of saying. There was, however, some light relief as the leadership team served Christmas lunch to the students and attended the concerts but on the whole, I would give it 5 out of 10.

In contrast, I referred the start of the Spring term as ‘top hat and tails’ because it was a time when we, the leadership team, needed to be seen strutting our stuff, so to speak.  We needed to convince everyone that we had a plan that would progress our students’ learning significantly. Their D grades will have become B, and Cs become As.

‘Picking up trucks’ referred to our role as a leadership team in moving the large obstacles standing in the way of our students achieving these outcomes. Some of these we could predict from past experience, others we would stumble upon, but whatever they were, we would surmount them. When others hesitated, we will be there to help them regain the momentum that drove the improvements.

The underlying purpose of all this was for every student to make progress. The role of the leadership team was to ensure that the improvement action took into account three key factors: time, place and disposition.  The time was the same for all, we were heading towards the examination. It was the place and disposition that we needed to cater for.

As our experience grew over the years of what was required and how to attain it, we would mine our collective memory to ensure we set the right course of action for everyone.  The leadership team would provide the direction and the resources and I, as headmaster, would roll up my sleeves and tackle the most difficult challenges, be it students, teachers or subjects.

Thus by the Easter holiday we would be ready for the break but satisfied in the knowledge that we had done all we could to ensure our students were as well prepared as they could be for the challenges ahead.

To all our readers in our growing collaborative learning community, Richard, Graham and I wish a Happy New Year to you, your colleagues, relations and friends.

Take care and stay safe

George