How to Lead Profound Educational Change: A Reflection from Big Change

29th March 2022realsmart admin

How to Lead Profound Educational Change

Caitlin Ross and Caireen Goddard, Big Change

Have you looked at our traditional systems of education and thought, “Surely we can do better for young people?” Big Change is an organisation that is generating a national conversation around ten hopes for how we could do just that.

Gesher School caught up with Caireen Goddard and Caitlin Ross, who lead the impact team at Big Change, to hear about these hopes and what it might take to change the system.

Gesher
First of all, thanks for speaking to us today and for letting us hear about the hopes of Big Change. I’m going to dive straight in: What needs to change about the education system?

Caireen Goddard
When I came to Big Change I had spent a lot of time in and around the education system, including learning from educators in the UK and examples from around the world where people were doing things really differently. I recognised the frustration of people in our schools and local authorities who wanted to do things differently, and to support young people in different ways, but who had blockers put in their way or were under pressure to deliver against certain kinds of outcomes. There was, or is, a double tension of a narrowing focus from above together with a lack of autonomy or freedom to lead education in a way they thought was really needed for young people.

I think it boils down to two really key questions:

  • What should be the purpose of education?
  • Whatʼs really important for children and young people to learn – for themselves and for society?

Across 2021 we ran a Big Education Conversation where we asked these two questions. Most people we heard from agreed that we need to rethink the purpose of education and shift to a system where childrenʼs enjoyment of and engagement in learning is paramount.

Gesher
It sounds like thereʼs a real drive for change, but what should that change look like?

Caireen
Thatʼs right, we know thereʼs an appetite for change. And we think that ʻbig changeʼ would:

  • Recognise that a one-size-fits-all model actually fits no-one.Even children who are ʻdoing wellʼ within the current system arenʼt satisfied with it because of the modes of learning and pressure from exams.
  • Create an inclusive learning system that prepares all children well for the real world.
  • Take a broader perspective on who our educators are. If we want our young people to learn skills that equip them for life, look at the degree to which the broader community,
    employers, parents, and young people themselves are involved in the nature of learning provision.

Gesher
So, tell me more about Big Change and your hopes for changing the system?

Caitlin Ross
We want to be a catalyst for change by working with and through others. We want to learn from others and create the space for hope and ambition, and to disrupt the status quo. Our Ten Hopes, which have been published as a call to action to frame our work and invite others on the journey, have really resonated with a lot of people. Instead of getting caught up in how negative the system and all its problems can feel, we wanted to orientate towards the hopeful.

Gesher
With that in mind, how do you work with change-makers like Gesher?

Caitlin
I lead on our grantmaking work and was lucky enough to be part of Gesherʼs application process. Before we met today, I took a look back at their application to see what it was that stood out.

What we really liked, and what we would look for with change-makers, was the drive to challenge the status quo on what education is and how it can be delivered. We really liked their goal around ensuring that all pathways through education and into work are valued, and also:

  • An ability to think outside the box about what traditional models of ʻsuccessʼ should be
  • The ambition for young people with special educational needs and disabilities to have meaningful professional and wider lives
  • The desire to convene everyone who will be supporting these young people at different stages of their lives
  • Challenging common sense and really looking at what young people with SEND need to live rich, fulfilling lives
  • The drive to bring other schools and professionals along with them on their learning journey. They really want all ships to rise with their tide and that is the perfect service we can provide for children.

Gesher
What advice would you give to Gesher, and others, when trying to implement change?

Caitlin
You need the right conditions to see these goals through. So, I would really say that you need:
• An ability to think about the whole system
• To be open to insights from elsewhere, all over the world
• To observe what you are learning and question yourself – to interrogate
• Be ambitious about the change you want to create with and for young people, while being humble enough to work collaboratively and learn from others
• To be strategically generous – donʼt hold on to your knowledge
• Recognise that you will always be learning.

Gesher
It feels like this could be quite a daunting challenge to take on. Whatʼs one thing people who want to lead change should think about?

Caireen
I donʼt think itʼs helpful to give the impression that any of this is straightforward or easy. Being a path-finder means you are taking a risk in the context of young people and their learning, which understandably isnʼt a hugely risk-inclined environment. I think itʼs about finding opportunities to do things differently and being confident to try new approaches. Looking to others for support and inspiration, both domestically and internationally, because we need real collaboration over competition.

Caitlin
I agree with that and would also say, donʼt just surround yourself with like-minded people. One way to create significant change over time is to collaborate and align with people who
have quite different views from you. Those unlikely alliances are really important, but like all partnerships they take a degree of willingness and trust to make happen, as well as humility.

Gesher
This has been fascinating. Just to end, do you have any final thoughts or advice you would like to give to Gesher or other change-makers?

Caireen
I would say that itʼs easy to lose sight of the quick wins, so celebrate the small successes!

Caitlin
I think having a clear vision of the change you want to create for and with young people and putting them at the centre of the work is really, really important to drive any change.

 

Caireen Goddard leads Big Changeʼs global insight network and their system change strategy in the UK, which is centred on Subject to Change, a new national project that will empower young people and the public to set a new direction for learning. For over 20 years Caireen has worked on learning, strategy, networks and innovation projects with schools, local authorities, charities, various national and global bodies, and central government.

Caitlin Ross leads on the identification, funding and support of pioneering project partners. She also leads on Big Changeʼs impact strategy, making sure that they gather the insights needed to keep growing and learning, both as a charity and as a funder. Caitlin has a frontline background in microfinance and in youth work, working on the ground with organisations in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. She brings her experience delivering scalable, impact-focused interventions to Big Changeʼs grant giving and impact work to support pioneers who are helping young people to thrive in life.

 

Professional Prompt Questions

  • What would you want life to look like in 20 yearsʼ time for the children you teach and how well are current schooling practices preparing them?
  • What would you choose to assess if you set up an education system that prepared children to be good citizens?
  • Who do you view as educators of children and young people?
  • How do you raise all the ships around you when you are gaining knowledge and trialling new educational approaches?
  • Who do you look to for ideas?

Where are all the SEND Teachers? 

21st February 2022Website Admin

By Rowan Eggar

Nearly half a million children in the UK have Educational Health Care Plans (EHCP). This represents a 480% increase since 2016. State-funded special schools have seen a 22% increase in pupil headcount over the same period. In addition, a further 12% of mainstream pupils require SEN support from nursery to the end of secondary school.  

Yet despite this, recruitment of SEND teachers continues to be an uphill struggle. Only 5% of qualified teachers work in special needs settings or PRUs (ONS, 2021) and there is a distinct lack of data on retention rates and the number of foreign teachers. This further highlights the problem, SEND teachers are not considered when looking at recruitment and retention despite the ever growing number of pupils with additional needs (OECD, 2019). 

A solution to this problem needs to be found to help these vulnerable and extraordinary pupils.  

Retention of Teachers   

The special needs teacher shortage is not limited to SEND.  It is a nationwide problem. Teacher retention is another uphill struggle. Current statistics are telling, with only 67.4% of teachers remaining in the profession after five years (EPI, May 2021). The government is attempting to address these issues with the roll out of ECT training, designed to better support and mentor new teachers. However, I would argue that placement of ECT teachers in schools they already have a relationship with would produce more high quality teachers. Firstly, these teachers have a solid understanding of the ethos and values of the school, which they may also embody. Secondly, knowledge and practice of key areas including behaviour, curriculum and safeguarding procedures. Finally, their interpersonal relationships with colleagues and the senior leadership team will provide a support network during those early and overwhelming trainee years.  

Retention of teachers is a huge problem and workload is at least partially to blame. A primary teacher is averaged to spend 52 hours a week working, which when coupled with relatively low pay and a public sector pay freeze highlights the complexities of the problem. Special needs teaching is notoriously challenging and does require a certain type of individual. However, if the right training route was in place perhaps we would be better able to identify and support the issues of teacher retention. 

COVID 19  

COVID 19 has affected SEND staff shortages significantly and is having a profound impact on staff recruitment. Unlike here in the UK, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand all have specialist SEND teacher training, whose highly skilled teachers previously made up a large proportion of our SEND teachers. Now with Covid 19 continuing, many of these individuals have gone back home. With ever changing regulations and differing quarantine regulations, there is no clear return date for them. Anecdotally, our school alone has lost 10% of teachers and teaching assistants.  

No specialist training  

In the UK, there is no specialist SEND teacher training in either the PGCE or BA education route.A recent survey showed the top two reasons for teachers handing in their notice were lack of training in managing student behaviour and SEND (TES, 2019). ⅓ of teachers would like further training or CPD on SEND. Pupils in specialist settings have a range of mild to severe needs from social communication to social emotional mental health to profound learning disabilities. Therefore, they require bespoke and comprehensive training to help them overcome their barriers to learning. While some schools are able to offer CPD and paid for training, many are underfunded and unable to. Often the needs of SEND pupils are so complex that without the correct tools and skill sets behaviour can become dysregulated and pupils are unable to learn. Without appropriate training or the right supportive setting, how can we recruit teachers into SEND? 

Should the UK not be a leading specialist in special needs training like South Africa and Hungry? Being able to be part of a world wide initiative would further attract new teachers and upskill our current educators.  

What can we do about it?  

The first step is to acknowledge the problem and raise awareness. Working together with the government, local authorities and educational think tanks will enable us to discuss the problem and come together to think of solutions. 

The next step is to develop SEND specialist training programmes. Both postgraduate and apprenticeship routes should be considered. Utilising and mentoring the extraordinary teaching assistants already present in schools is one solution. Including SEND placements onto teacher training courses would also increase awareness and provide opportunities for all teachers to learn from our SEND pupils before bringing those skills back into the mainstream and specialist learning environments. 

– Written by Rowan Eggar