Apple for the Teacher
Pencils are sharpened – or as is the case now, iPads charged – and kids, parents and teachers are raring to get back…or are they?
If you’re a Head of School – do you really know how engaged your staff and parents are this year? Or are you taking the smiling faces you see in the corridor as a confirmed state of happiness? If so, please think and read on.
Disengaged staff, students or parents are not always easy to spot – they don’t walk around wearing purple stripes or sad faces; far from it, they’re often the ones that simply go unnoticed. However having disengaged people within your school can really bring it down, not just in the levels of work produced or achievements reached but in the overall feeling of your school. Actively disengaged people can be draining to manage, communicate with and work with and that can really impact on the day to day feel of your school.
So do you really know what your staff and parents feel about your school? Do they feel as though they belong to the school, do they feel respected or that their input is valued? What do they really think about how you communicate with them? Are you happy to just wait for your next Ofsted inspection to find out?
Wouldn’t it be great to get key insights from the parents connected to your school and the people working within it, so that you’re always well prepared to iron out any dips in communication or management before it really impacts on the rest of your school.
Wouldn’t it be great for them to anonymously feedback their ratings on statements such as:-
- I feel welcome in school
- I believe the school is well managed
- I feel as though I belong to the school community
- I am kept fully informed about everything I need to know
- I feel as though I know enough to be able to help my child with their school work
Confidential online surveys provide Head Teachers and Governing Bodies with the insight to proactively manage their schools, to highlight great practice and to make positive changes where required.
Head Teachers end up in a stronger position, with a greater understanding of what ‘outstanding’ really looks like in terms of engaging with people and parents and with a clear plan of how to get and stay there.
Now wouldn’t you like your children to be at a school that is ran by a leadership team that really understand how to actively engage with, not only their students but also their staff and parents – I know I would.