It is always really interesting when you talk to people who are not involved in education about what your job encompasses as a headteacher. I have lots of friends who work in the private sector and I am just as fascinated about the business world they operate in.
I often compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the business and education worlds. There is no question in my mind that education is becoming more business-like and whether this is a good thing or not is open to debate.
However, these conversations are interesting because everyone seems to have an opinion about education; after all everyone attends school as a child, but not everyone goes on to work in the business sector.
So I am frequently subjected to many of my friend’s misguided theories about how education would benefit from being even more business-like.
I do have to concede, however, that there are ways in which schools can become more efficient by following the examples of our business counterparts in the private sector.
However, I am also cautious of schools becoming too impersonal and there is a real danger that if we become overly focused on replicating business models in schools then we might compromise some of the values of education that make it such a great sector to work in.
I have noticed that the way in which schools recruit people is changing and the theme of recruitment is what sparked my interest in writing this particular diary entry.
It is interesting whenever I interview non-teachers for roles such as in finance or human resources or maybe even administration. If the candidates have not previously been for an interview in a school then they often find it very surreal to meet the other candidates for the position and even interact with them throughout the process.
I have also noticed the prominence of recruitment agencies that now run these processes for schools. I understand why this might be required for a headteacher or deputy vacancy, but I question why schools would use these firms for the recruitment of teaching or support staff.
Is it because they lack the human resources expertise within the school? Is it because there is a shortage of teachers in certain subjects and a recruitment agency has greater capacity to reach a wider audience? Or is it the level of professionalism that an external recruitment firm can bring to the process?
I genuinely don’t know the answer to this one, but it is a prime example of how schools have changed in recent years and become more business-like.
As a reasonably new headteacher I am respectful of the foundations that have been laid by colleagues within the education system who have served as leaders before me and I am conscious that many of the fundamental principles which attracted me to a career in school leadership are a direct result of the great work others have completed over the decades.
However, I know that there are many aspects of education that need modernisation and I am acutely aware that there are many areas in my school that still need dragging into the 21st century.
Finding the right balance here is important; I know that I cannot make sweeping changes in the same way some of my friends who work in the business world might do, but I do need to move things forward as quickly as I can.
Modernising and becoming more efficient will unquestionably help my school save money in the long-term and it will help us to create more sustainable methods of communicating and working, but I have found I need to pick my battles and carefully consider my timing in order to make these changes in the most effective way.
- SecEd’s headteacher diarist is in his second year of headship at a comprehensive school in the Midlands.