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Episode 311: What does meaningful school improvement look like when the pressures of accountability are constantly competing for attention?
In this episode of Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, Kieran is joined by teacher, vice principal, mathematics specialist and NPQ facilitator Cheryl Ballance for a conversation shaped by 23 years in education and the experience of helping lead a school through a sustained period of improvement.
They explore the foundations of strong teaching, why Cheryl increasingly sees the early years as so important, the role of routines and mathematical representations, and why belonging, relationships and high expectations need to exist alongside one another.
The conversation then moves from the classroom to the school as a whole. Cheryl reflects on what she has seen successful schools do particularly well: creating consistency, knowing their children and families, establishing high expectations and ensuring pupils feel that they belong. She also discusses the slower, less visible work of improvement: building trust with teachers, giving change time to embed, developing middle leaders and moving from observation as judgement towards instructional coaching and professional development.
Along the way, Kieran and Cheryl discuss SATs, Ofsted and the difficult choices schools face when external measures begin to compete with what leaders believe is best for the children in front of them.
A thoughtful conversation about teaching, leadership and what it takes to improve a school without losing sight of why the school exists in the first place.