Like many primary heads, Rosalind Brotherton enjoys going out onto the playground at lunchtime to keep in touch with what is happening. But unlike many other leaders, Ms Brotherton was once out in the playground five days a week as a midday supervisor.
“In some ways, the role is quite similar,” said the 49-year-old head of Flyford Flavell First School, near Worcester.
“A headteacher’s job is very much based on relationships; the job as a dinner lady is also based on relationships.
“As a headteacher, the relationships are extended - you’re working with more stakeholders. As a dinner lady, you are working more on a one-on-one basis with the children, but that is good training to help develop positive relationships as a headteacher.”
After leaving school at 16 “with some CSEs”, Ms Brotherton had first worked in general office admin jobs before becoming a stay-at-home mum at 21.
‘Working on a one-to-one basis with the children is good training’
When her marriage broke down, she needed to find a job that she could do while caring for her three sons and studying part-time for a history degree, so she began a role as a midday supervisor at Swan Lane First School in Evesham, Worcestershire.
“I started working at the school my son was at,” Ms Brotherton recalled. “I really enjoyed having children and I had done some voluntary work at their playgroup, so I thought perhaps I had something to offer there.”
Through the Open University, she first did a foundation course and then a degree, but she needed to keep working to fund her studies, so as well as being a midday supervisor, she took up a teaching assistant post in the same school in the afternoon and worked part-time in a playschool in the morning.
“The teachers at Swan Lane were inspirational and supportive,” Ms Brotherton said. “They encouraged me to go on that journey and, not having received a good education, I was enjoying learning.”
Late to class
Returning to study later in life is something that she feels has informed her approach as a teacher, and now as headteacher.
“It made me very aware how important it is to get things right early,” she said. “As much as I enjoyed it, it was a strain. There were times when the children would be in bed and I’d be up until 2am writing essays, then I’d have to be up for school the next morning. That formed my ideology now, in making sure that my school is inspirational for children.”
After gaining her degree, Ms Brotherton trained as a teacher at Swan Lane and moved on to a few temporary teaching contracts, before joining Thomas Jolyffe primary in Stratford-on-Avon as a reception teacher. A series of promotions then saw her become assistant headteacher.
In December 2013, when the school was rated “good” by Ofsted, Ms Brotherton decided that it was time to go into headship.
The following September, she started her job at Flyford Flavell; six weeks later the school was told by Ofsted that it required improvement - which Ms Brotherton says was fair. But the fall-out led to several staff leaving and some upheaval. Now, the 79-pupil school, which runs from Reception to Year 4, has received the results of its latest Ofsted, which was “good”.
Amid so much concern about the stresses of headship, why did she decide to take on the role? “I love it - I love it with a passion,” Ms Brotherton explained. “When I think of the journey I’ve been on, having worked in many roles in school means I understand the strains and stresses of each particular job.
“One of the hardest jobs is that of a dinner lady - you are only there for one hour a day. And when you are a teacher, you have the structure of a lesson - it’s easy to make sure the children behave. But as a dinner lady, it can be a stressful hour. The children run about and they do have to learn to play nicely, which can be hard for some children. They need support with that.”
One thing that Ms Brotherton has done as a headteacher is introduce lunchtime activities and games that the midday supervisors can lead, to encourage more positive playtimes.
While her role has changed, one thing remains a constant in her time working in schools. “The best thing about being a dinner lady is the same as about being a head - working with children,” she said. “It’s a privilege.”
