TOUCHING TOMORROW: REMODELLING IN ENGLISH SCHOOLS. Dame Patricia Collarbone DBE, EdD, MBA, BA

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1 Abstract TOUCHING TOMORROW: REMODELLING IN ENGLISH SCHOOLS Dame Patricia Collarbone DBE, EdD, MBA, BA Since the mid 1980s successive governments in England have focused on reforming the English education system. The first stage of this development depended on the development of self-managing schools while at the same time imposing more central control on the curriculum and its assessment.. Greater accountability, an open school inspection system and the publication of national league tables accompanied this. The re-election of a Labour Government in 2001 heralded a new stage in this programme. The agenda now switched to greater flexibility, freedom and innovation occurring at school level. The system, however, had become too entrenched in compliance and initiative overload to be able to take the opportunities on offer except in a few centres of excellence. Standards in primary schools had improved dramatically in previous years but were about to plateau. Results for sixteen year olds had continued to show steady improvement but for eighteen year olds a newly introduced system looked ready to collapse. A major report undertaken for the Government by PricewaterhouseCoopers suggested teachers were overworking and much of what they were required to undertake was unproductive. A major cultural shift across the 23,500 maintained schools in England was seen as the way forward. The result: following an eighteen month pilot programme, remodelling was born. At the same time Raising Standards and Tackling Workload: A National Agreement was signed by the Government, the employers and the unions. This agreement, which improves teachers conditions of service through specific phased changes, aims to lead to real improvement for pupils, teachers and support staff. The national remodelling agenda is designed to support the implementation of this Agreement and bring about a major cultural change in all maintained schools, no matter their size. This agenda focuses on four aims: supporting schools to implement the National Agreement; supporting schools and local authorities to develop innovative solutions to reorganise within the context of the new demands; providing a change management process and accompanying tools to support the first two aims; and ensuring the programme reaches 150 LEAs and 23,500 schools over a period of three years. My aim in this brief paper is to focus on the role of remodelling in more detail. It is an extension of my keynote address at the Making Schools Better Conference in Melbourne in August 2004.

2 Introduction The National Remodelling Team (NRT) has been established by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) within the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) with a mission to provide challenge and support to schools in implementing the changes outlined in the National Workload Agreement and to support forward-looking ways of remodelling the school workforce in England. The National Workload Agreement is an agreement between the DfES, employers and unions and focuses on improving teachers working conditions while raising standards for pupils. The NRT has established a network of support that provides practical guidance designed to enable schools to implement a radical programme of school workforce remodelling and release the potential for creativity and innovation which already exists in our schools. Remodelling exists to encourage school communities to work together in existing and new collaboratives. Sustainable change depends on staff creating and sharing knowledge together. Team working in this way creates empathy, synergy and alignment, the hallmarks of a learning community. Remodelling helps schools to develop a purposeful and inclusive climate that secures high standards and sustainable growth - encapsulated in NCSL s own mission statement every child in a well-led school, every leader a learner. Ultimately it is about better learning opportunities for all pupils. It s about change. Change An important aspect of the work of the NRT is to introduce and promote a selfdirected change process which is well tried and tested in both the business world and public sectors. Our own experience is based on the success of the pilot programme Transforming the School Workforce Pathfinder. This change process recognises the importance of dealing with not only the rational but also the emotional and political dimensions of change. Ignoring or minimising these latter two dimensions is often the reason why change agendas fail or cannot be sustained. The process is led by a school change team. This team includes a crosssection of all school representatives. Indeed, several Pathfinder schools included pupils, parents and governors in the process. The Pathfinder programme has shown us how creative teamwork can produce some remarkable successes, and a true sense of positivity from the school leaders and staff involved. One quote from a teacher in a Pathfinder school summed up the agenda for me:

3 My teaching is now more focused on learning with more creativity and risk-taking. My time is only being used for children. With this renewed passion for my vocation who knows what the future might hold? Schools are supported to develop a school-based, self-directed change process. This is to enable them to re-examine their core purpose and review their existing systems and working practices. Many tasks, we believe, can be simplified (perhaps through the use of ICT) or abandoned altogether. School Change Teams need to ask penetrating and often painful questions: What are we doing? Why are we doing it? Does it enhance pupil learning? Can we do it in a different way? Do we need to do it at all? Answers to these questions must come from the schools themselves. The NRT exists to provide guidance not ready made or prescriptive solutions. How does the NRT support schools? One way is through the NRT website at This website contains case-studies, practical suggestions, help-lines and guidance. It is constantly updated by a dedicated and experienced team. One important area is the "Ideabank" where school staffs and others are able to post good ideas and comment on those already there. Secondly the NRT supports implementation of the Workload Agreement. We have developed a self-directed toolkit which is available through the LEA. We have trained LEA remodelling advisers regional remodelling consultants as well as other education consultants in order to have a team of facilitators available to support schools. Our objective is that by April 2006 all twenty three thousand schools in England will be involved. Change brings about resistance in all of us, but if the change process can overcome initial resistance, progress will develop exponentially. As one remodelling advisor told us: The remodelling agenda is about cultural change and I have no difficulty in fully subscribing to this it s positive and life affirming. Dramatic organisational change can occur within a system powered by the passion and creative commitment of a few dedicated individuals. The NRT change process is designed to provide a framework for creative and imaginative thinking.

4 How will we know schools have succeeded? Schools will have succeeded in implementing and taking ownership of the remodelling agenda, if five years down the line school leaders can genuinely say: Staff want to be at the school. Morale is high and staff enjoy an improved work/life balance. Recruitment and retention of good staff is straight-forward. There are new opportunities for teachers and support staff alike. Pupils look forward to coming to school. They believe they are achieving. Standards are rising. Pupils want to be here. Parents notice schools doing things differently and their children s motivation improving. They believe in the school and support the staff. Governors are confident that the Workload Agreement has been implemented and the school welcomes change where it enhances learning. Evidence beginning to emerge from impact studies suggest much of this is already beginning to happen in the schools Conclusion The challenge for schools in England over the next five to ten years is to demonstrate that they have the aspiration, professionalism and moral purpose to lead the next stages of reform. These reforms will need to operate at school, local and national level. The Government s agenda for education envisages this as a reality. Tailoring services to meet individual needs means that schools, colleges and children s services must have the freedom to innovate and adapt. So, in the next phase of reform we will give freedom and autonomy to the front line. We will simplify the planning, funding and accountability systems which often get in the way of innovation and change. (Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners, DfES, July 2004) Remodelling is key to helping schools to meet the challenge set out in this agenda. The future of a universal public sector education service may well depend on schools meeting this very challenge. It is my belief that it can be achieved. Remodelling acknowledges the unparalleled resource which exists in all schools the staff. By harnessing the expertise, commitment and passion which exists within the whole staff, schools can begin to shape their own futures.

5 Dame Patricia Collarbone is the Director of Leadership Programmes at the National College for School Leadership and of the National Remodelling Team. She was formerly a secondary headteacher and is the founding Director of the London Leadership Centre at the Institute of Education, University of London.