I was reminded of the difference effective middle leadership can make during a visit to a secondary school in South London last week, where members of a subject team were effusive about the supportive and collaborative approach taken by their head of department. Their sense of common purpose was evident in both their teaching and the purposeful learning in classes. Having middle leaders like this can have such an impact on the experiences of other staff. Last week the DfE published a summary of the second wave of working lives of teachers and leaders. This annual survey of over ten thousand teachers and leaders in state schools in England explores opinions from teachers and leaders on a range of areas including workload, wellbeing, and experiences of professional development. Most teachers and leaders reported enjoying classroom teaching most or all the time (79%) and most teachers and leaders agreed that their manager and school support their wellbeing. For teachers and leaders considering leaving the state sector, high workload was the most reported factor.

There has been much written about the difficulties of recruitment and retention in schools, and it is an ongoing challenge for school leaders to balance the demands and pressures of a crowded curriculum and external accountability with maintaining a happy motivated workforce. Last Autumn, the EEF published a practice review of workload reduction for teachers, emphasising practical strategies including collaborative planning and resource-sharing among staff members to distribute workloads more evenly. Additionally, schools were advised to streamline assessment processes and provide guidance on marking policies to reduce unnecessary workload pressures. However, the ultimate success of any measures to improve working conditions comes from staff feeling they are being listened to and middle leaders making policies work on the ground. Headteachers may never make every member of staff happy, but it is so important to encourage a culture where the impact of policies and processes on those that are implementing them are heard.

Thank you for everything you are doing. Make sure you enjoy the weekend!

Stephen Hall

Chief Executive Officer, Camden Learning