It seems a very long time ago that the world was anything like normal: every conceivable aspect of life seems to have irrevocably changed since the emergence of the coronavirus. However, with the government continuing to allow shops and other businesses to open (even if it is under heavy monitoring), the focus has remained on schools and colleges and the next steps they will take.
The virus has brought out the best (an apparently seamless transition to remote learning, adaptation to new assessment processes) and the worst (widening of inequalities, adversely impacting disadvantaged learners and communities) in education, and much of this has been shouldered by educational leaders.
As everything else has changed in education, so too have leaders. With staff and students slowly returning to schools, how will leadership change in 2020-21 and beyond? Below are five aspects of leadership that have become even more vital.
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Communication
A key quality in any leader is to clearly and effectively communicate a range of messages with a range of audiences. Never has this been more true than during the start of the pandemic and this will be key in 2020-21. Leaders will need to efficiently detail and share all changes (from PPE to potentially reduced timetables), and share with students, parents, carers and staff how they intend to proceed in the new academic year. More than this, they will need to do this over a range of mediums: text, phone, email, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, FaceTime and a host of others.
Engagement with communities and securing community support
With seemingly conflicting guidance from government, communities are looking to schools for information. Regular letters, texts and phone calls will not be enough in 2020-21, and engagement with communities and families will have to go further than ever before as a result. Integration of digital tools and technology will play a huge part, and communicating decisions that would otherwise have stayed internal (curriculum content/changes, classroom logistics, timings) will become more vital than ever as leaders and practitioners will need more community support than ever before.
Supporting remote learning
With nearly all student-teacher interaction over the past few months coming through distanced learning, teachers and leaders were tasked with becoming remote learning experts nearly overnight. A phenomenal job has been done by all concerned (from teachers to leaders to students and parents), but there is the real possibility that those who continue to isolate may not be able to attend school or college for some time. To further support these students, leaders will need to continue to identify students without resources, provide them and ensure that they (and staff) are able to use these resources to their fullest.
Collaboration
Since the beginning of lockdown, teachers and leaders quickly came together to solve new and unique challenges. As impressive as this has been, leaders should make sure that it continues into 2020-21 and beyond, and also that it is across a range of sectors. Teachers are now facing more common issues than ever before (around engagement, how to support disadvantaged students, conducting assessment via distance learning, etc), and must continue to come together to solve these problems. The most effective way to do this is to continue coming together and the most effective way to do this is to utilise the new ways of working, facilitated by leaders. Transition meetings from key stage 2 to KS3 or KS4 to post-16 via Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Hangout, etc should continue as they help to build stronger relationships in the long term. Working with other local schools to produce resources of the highest quality should also be a key theme for 2020-21.
Wellbeing and mindfulness
A major issue nationwide during lockdown, much focus has been put on mental health, wellbeing and mindfulness. From the Body Coach to connecting with friends and family on a regular basis (Zoom pub quiz anyone?), wellbeing and mindfulness have become more important than ever. Again, this focus must continue into 2020-21 and beyond. With the potential for increased workload once teachers and leaders return to school, and the additional barriers that will exist owing to the virus (two-metre distancing in classrooms, isolated students unable to attend, the impact of cancelled exams and of missing so much of 2019-20), leaders must make sure that wellbeing and mindfulness are embedded in all aspects of the curriculum in 2020-21, for teachers as well as students.
Whatever changes are made for 2020-21, there is little doubt that educational leaders will continue to find new and innovative solutions to the emerging problems faced by schools, colleges and communities.
The writer is an FE lecturer at a college in England
