Testing the Temperature
How do leaders 'test the temperature' of the school and stay attuned to the emotional and operational pulse of the school?
The very best leaders are great at gauging the ‘temperature’ of the school or the area of the school they lead. They use a range of indicators to make an assessment of how well the school is doing in terms of reaching its goals. They are constantly reflecting on how close they are to the desired ‘way of being’ for the school. They then use this to make adjustments to the strategic priorities, behaviours and actions of themselves and their team. They are the hypothalamus of the school. So what does this look like?
Lesson visits
They will spend time in classrooms and watch students. They will look at how they are behaving; how hard they are working; how well they respond to the teacher; how high the levels of thinking and participation ratio are in the lesson; the quality of the work they are producing.
They will also look to see if teaching is in line with the expectations of the school. So for us, this means are teachers enacting our 15 ‘Principles in Practice’ with fidelity?
Looking at student work
They will find opportunities to look at the quality of the work that students are producing and ask themselves some key questions:
Are students taking pride over their work?
Is the curriculum being covered with fidelity?
Is there evidence of independent work, where students have had to think for themselves?
Are students being given the opportunity to engage in purposeful practice in lessons?
Are school teaching expectations being met e.g. is there evidence of ‘Do Nows’ at the start of a lesson?
Watching students during unstructured time
They will spend time watching students during unstructured time and making an assessment around how closely this aligns with our expected culture. So they will be thinking about the following:
Are students behaving in a calm, safe and dignified manner?
Are they communicating with each other in a mature and sensible way?
Are they happy and smiling - never underestimate this!
Are they talking to adults in the school?
Are they talking about their lessons and homework?
Talking to staff
They will take the time to talk to staff and find out how they are feeling. They will also notice changes in their demeanour. Do they seem content with their workload and not overwhelmed? Do they speak positively about their day, or do they seem uptight, anxious or negative? Are they professionally interested in the school's aims and goals? Do they feel that they are making a positive contribution to the organisation? Do they seem happy?
This will take many forms - line management meetings; other meetings; workload working groups; corridor and staff room conversations.
Talking to students
Similarly they will talk to students about their experience in school. What is life like for them in lessons? During social times? Are there enough extra curricular opportunities? Which ones do they attand and do they enjoy them? Do they feel safe and happy? Can they articulate what they have been learning about in lessons and how this is going? Do they have friends at school? Do they feel proud of their school? Do they feel they have a place in school? Are they thriving?
Comparison
They will compare themselves to others and learn from it. This may be comparing their school to another high performing school. Or it might be comparing their team (department, house, key stage) to another high performing team and learning from them. They will be outward looking and thrive on looking to learn from others, whether it be by networking, reading blogs, articles and books or engaging with social media.
It is important that school leaders ‘test the temperature’ of the school because it allows them to gauge the overall climate, culture, and well-being of both students and staff. When school leaders are attuned to the emotional and operational pulse of the school, they can make informed decisions that promote academic success, staff retention, and a stronger sense of community.