5 thoughtful reflections for school leaders on the current academic year
Sam Moinet
Leading the revolution in school well-being | International coach and speaker | Former teacher | Founder of Student Breakthrough & Educators Coaching Academy ??????
How has this school year entered its final stage already?!
As someone who speaks to hundreds of teachers and school leaders with the Educators Coaching Academy, these are some reflections on the conversation themes that have consistently come up time and time again this academic year.
What is motivating your teachers right now?
Teachers aren't doing it for the money.
Hear me out.
I know that goes entirely against current conversations (teachers in the UK are, rightly, striking this month to receive a fair pay deal from the government). Teachers can look themselves in the mirror without guilt when they choose to argue over fair pay because, ultimately, money is and will stay lower down on their list of why they show up each day.
This is also why it's crucial that you tap into their purpose too. The conversation they want to be having with you as their manager is about why they are personally motivated to show up every day.
Speaking of purpose...
Even though I left the education system five years ago, the 'purpose piece' is something I come back to time and time again in supporting educators - why?
It's how I handle the heavy conversations with teachers about their mental health. Equally, I then get to enjoy when their new skills and approaches create a shift in their thinking. I see their motivation for being educators come back, the clarity is visible in their eyes.
It's amazing to watch this process unfold.
Connecting the dots
School leaders tell me they want more resources available to embed their vision and influence their school culture...I'm guessing that time is also your main constraint?
An amazing experience happened this year when Jamie spoke in front of the teachers on our ECA Excellence training programme. The personal satisfaction was that a 17-year-old I had successfully coached was now inspiring teachers to use their new coaching skills with the next generation of students. As I watched him in action, I realised:
This is the ideal culture that headteachers want in place; a team of staff that inspire change among colleagues and also the pupils.
This is also how you connect the dots so everyone carries the school culture.
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What are the universal truths?
I've been lucky enough to work with UK schools but also far afield as Spain and China too. There is one thing that headteachers should know - your staff are all going through similar challenges. The universal truths are that your teachers:
If these challenges are so common, is it time to look at alternative solutions for keeping hold of your best staff? I believe positive mental health is the surest approach for helping your educators, it's the most flexible tool we have for facing these universal truths.
Perception is everything
School leaders are playing a high-stakes game.
Notice the comments in the post below such as deciding to miss out parts of the exam syllabus or teachers having some freedom to teach; they are now such risky decisions because of all the external pressures to achieve grades and meet imposed demands.
I can't blame a single school leader for obsessing over external perceptions of their school, it's clearly not out of choice! Equally, everyone wants to protect their staff from these pressures.
We must keep teachers in teaching, so my polite but provoking question to you is - what can be controlled from the inside?
If you've read this far, thank you!
Here are two ways you can work with me:
School leaders - What is your biggest challenge with keeping your teachers in teaching? Message me now to see how I can help you.
Teachers - Are you the advocate for mental health at your school or college? Here's a 1-min read for you: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/3911a1adcb.html