YHRL Schools- Day one at the Inspiring Leaders Conference

After setting up our stall, promoting our wares, we settle down to listen to the welcome and introduction by Paul Goodman who mentioned, among other things, that recruitment and retention are big issues for schools (and the rest!!)

That got me thinking! Why? Why is it that schools can’t hold on to or attract good teachers?  Hold that thought, I shall reflect on it throughout this piece.

Student Phil Hutchinson spoke exceptionally eloquently about his experience in education and how he, because of one particular teacher, was inspired to achieve and achieve he did. His question, to a captivated audience was “If we don’t inspire children who will?” and that “Teachers should champion kids” and went on to say “Invest in them and tell them that! They will be encouraged.” I think the same goes for staff too.

In order for this to happen, school leaders need to be able to unlock the potential of their staff, something that Paul Bennet (former Director, Primary School Leadership at the National College) picks out in summary of Phil’s inspiring and challenging address. Your HR Lawyer Schools believe that this will encourage retention within schools. People need to feel valued and know they are adding value in what they do.

Paul also identified that we should consider the importance of relationships among other things and we, too, believe that building a relationship with our school leaders allows them to focus on what they do best.

Unlocking the potential of staff is a gift and takes time and attention. How is this possible if school leaders are stuck in stats?

Author, speaker and advisor; Roy Leighton in an enigmatic, humorous and challenging, straight to the point, address said “Don’t use data as a stick! Release your teachers to do what they do” We are driven by bad science (data)!!! If the data isn’t helping don’t do it! If it doesn’t help the children, don’t do it. He encouraged us to break some rules and do something today that is worth doing and be courageous.

He shared his 5 principals to leadership which can equally be applied to our approach to schools HR and the relationships we make with leaders within schools:

·             Be open

·             Be kind

·             Be consistent

·             Believe

·             Be the change

Adopting these principals and taking on board the encouragement to unlock potential, inspire, engage and develop your children and staff will allow a culture to emerge that attracts and retains like-minded inspiring leaders.

I loved the encouragement for us to be present and to have purpose and passion and that we need to evolve as people to evolve as professionals. People, like people that like people. We like people, we believe we can be of support to leaders in education, to free them up to inspire, release potential, engage with your customer – the children.

Don’t get bogged down with tasks that take your focus away. Don’t let HR be one of these, let go of these tasks and let us help you be the leaders you need to be, and can be.

Contact us at hello@yourhrlawyer.co.uk to find out how we can support you to inspirationally champion your staff and children. Whether it’s managing cases of absence, delivering training, conducting investigations, supporting with workforce development and restructures, we can help.

You don’t need a retainer, we are here to provide the support you need, when you need it.