“They never listen!” is the allegation made against any leader taking forward change. But they do listen, and the various consultations into educational reform are a fine example of how true this is.
The Scottish government has listened to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and taken onboard many of the recommendations of professors Ken Muir and Gordon Stobart. We could argue that there are now too many consultations, that the parameters are not as all would wish and there’s not enough time. Naturally, everyone will never agree and someone will always find fault in whatever we do.
Standing on a stage in front of a couple of hundred secondary school leaders last week, I sounded out our members. This was the School Leaders Scotland (SLS) annual conference in St Andrews and, while only two raised their hand to engaging in the Gaelic and Scots and Scottish Languages Bill consultation (maybe better extend the deadline for that), almost every single hand waved their acknowledgement of being engaged with the “national discussion” of education, which the Scottish government’s Clare Hicks spoke about, and the consultation for Professor Louise Hayward’s review of qualifications and assessment.
I suspect this healthy interest was a reflection of both the audience and the importance of the subject material. The efforts that both Hicks and Hayward have sought to share in detail, the initial proposals and subsequent opportunities for everyone to help shape the direction of travel, also stimulated engagement. The slides, videos, roadshows, regular meetings with organisations and groups such as the EIS teaching union, SLS and BOCSH - the headteachers’ group of which I am a part - all point to a desire to listen.
It is now time for us all to lead. Everyone has a stake in the change process and we - education directors, headteachers, school staff, parent councils and pupil leadership groups - must play a role in sharing the links and having conversations across our school communities to help inform the change.
However, in seeking the views of headteachers before writing this piece, some reported a general apathy to the array of consultations, that there is “consultation weariness” and that many local authorities have not shared - and certainly not shared in good time - the consultation links (see above the Tes Scotland round‐up published recently), or provided any support or encouragement to engage school communities.
Others report that parent councils, despite being provided everything they need by the National Parent Forum of Scotland and Connect, haven’t shown much interest either. Some pupil representatives report a lack of engagement, but is this down to a lack of interest in the subject or because it’s not been promoted widely enough on TikTok - not many teenagers are interested in #EduTwitter.
Almost everyone is very cynical about the reform of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and Education Scotland in particular. The establishment of the various boards almost entirely lacking in school‐based staff and the perception of a frantic game of musical chairs are allegations that are never going away. However, we can’t just swap out an entire team and redesign national education bodies from scratch with no experienced personnel.
Having said that, everyone agrees that those at the very top shouldn’t remain at the helm of change. Clare Hicks has reported that more headteachers are to be involved, which is great, but others would prefer that Louise Hayward’s independent review group model be replicated at board level, with school, college and university leaders - as well as education directors, teachers, pupils, parents and employers - helping steer the ship from the wheelhouse, and not just be hidden away in the engine room.
So, how do we find a way forward? Adding more headteachers to the boards is sensible, as would be a changing of the guard at the top level of national education bodies. This may reduce the cynicism and increase engagement. Closer to school level, to ensure our voices are heard, those leading each consultation must ensure school-based staff are on their steering groups and that all schools receive consultation news and documents directly.
Headteachers have a responsibility to look for ways to engage nationally and to ensure that they take time to discuss each consultation with their staff and pupils. Taking time out of their day, and from the curriculum for a day, to help change the future of education is as important as any lesson planned for a particular day or two. A national day (or two) where the curriculum is suspended in every school (primary and secondary) could be an ideal solution: one already called for by national association representatives.
However we progress, the absolute minimum is for those leading the consultations to have school staff front and centre. In that event, it will be “we”, not “they”, who will be listening - as it should be.
Peter Bain is executive headteacher of Oban and Tiree schools, vice-president of School Leaders Scotland and chair of the BOCSH group of headteachers
