Sometimes, when opportunities present themselves, you can’t turn them down. This time last year I was associate vice-principal in the secondary school I had taught at for the past seven years. Now, I am coming to the end of my first term as assistant head at a primary academy in Bradford. My move from secondary to primary has been enlightening and rewarding in equal measure.
I was not a complete alien to primary. I write professional development programmes and had previously trained primary teachers as well as secondary; I had also worked in a primary school as part of a Specialist Leader of Education secondment.
Furthermore, I wasn’t getting the opportunities or experiences that I wanted in my secondary role so when a primary leadership opportunity came up through the Future Leaders network I jumped at the chance.
The primary learning curve
Whenever you begin a new job in a different school there is always a period of adjustment; getting used to a new team and how things work in this setting. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, this feeling of transition is compounded when you are making the move between phases. While I was comfortable with my teaching and learning and staff development responsibilities, there were plenty of new skills and practices which kept me well out of my comfort zone.
As a secondary history specialist, I now had to understand the primary curriculum as a whole rather than just my own subject or the faculties I line-managed. This was a massive shift and it allowed me to visualise how the primary curriculum weaves together.
In a secondary school you rely on specialists in their subject areas – they know their subject inside-out and you expect a certain level of expertise. However, a secondary maths specialist is unlikely to know much about history and vice-versa, which can mean that opportunities for demonstrating skills and understanding in other subjects across the curriculum are missed.
However, as a teacher and leader in a primary school, I need to understand how the whole curriculum fits together. While developing children’s proficiency in English and maths is absolutely core and the key to ensuring that all children at least progress in line with age-related expectations, this cannot be at the expense of developing their whole education in music, art, science and geography: every aspect needs to enhance the other.
It was also a real learning experience for me to understand how children are taught to read and write in the Early Years Foundation Stage and key stage 1 – how they are taught phonics and how to identify an “age-related expectation” for children in year 3.
It is fascinating to see how the building blocks of literacy and learning are taught to – and learnt by – children. As a secondary teacher, you pick up a student at year 7 and make assumptions about their abilities according to their key stage 2 SATs results.
Certainly, I differentiated work for students in my classes who struggled with low levels of literacy. But, having worked with English as an additional language students and those who came to secondary school with below average prior attainment, I now see that I could have done so much more to help them develop those basic literacy skills using the knowledge and tools that primary teachers use on a daily basis and may take for granted.
I have always believed it is important to build strong relationships between primary and secondary provisions, but the experiences that I now have allow me to view an even wider picture. Most secondary schools have transition days or weeks in which year 6 pupils are invited to attend their new school. However, these do not offer the insight that some secondary teachers desperately need to understand how learning is structured in the primary setting to ensure maximum progress. An understanding of this is needed if we are to set students up for the best possible secondary experience.
Secondary strategy in a primary setting
I have become far more knowledgeable about primary leadership than I had ever felt possible. However, I have also realised that my secondary background, knowledge and expertise has also had a positive impact on my new setting.
I did have a different way of looking at things and I was able to use the knowledge and skills that I already had to measure the daily quality of teaching and learning and the progress of teachers. I began recording weekly feedback for all teachers from planned learning walks, documenting the impact of this on their classroom practice and the progress of children.
This model of coaching, feedback, development and impact is beginning to make a real difference, which can now be seen in the classroom, especially in the progress of our new teachers who comprise 75 per cent of our teaching staff.
It also allows leaders to be totally aware and honest about the quality of teaching and learning in classrooms. Where good practice is seen, this can be celebrated and shared among all staff so that we are all striving for constant improvement.
Where practice requires development, this is discussed with the teacher and strategies and tools are suggested so teachers are supported in continual improvement.
Ready for the challenge
Although the recent annual report from Ofsted has shown that primary schools are demonstrating an upward trend in outcomes for students, they are certainly not without their challenges. Not withstanding the North-South divide, my school serves a very deprived area in which a majority of children are on free school meals and we work very hard to keep all of our children safe.
Nevertheless, becoming a primary leader has been a truly special experience. I have been overwhelmed by the impeccable behaviour of our children: their enthusiasm, creativity, excitement and appetite for learning is remarkable and leads me to question whether we are missing an opportunity to harness this effectively at secondary level. I love being able to use phrases like “show me that you’re ready to learn” as tools for focus in lessons, and the positivity and praise that children have for each other and their achievements.
Having come from a secondary setting, it is so valuable to be able to see the learning journey of a child from the age of three to 18; it makes me believe even more passionately that 15 years in formal education should not be wasted. Now that I have got to grips with the vital work of a primary school leader I just want to get on with it – we have a lot to get right and improve on if we are to set children up to be successful in their lives beyond education.
- Rachel Ward is a school leader on the Future Leaders leadership development programme.
Future Leaders
Future Leaders is a leadership development programme for aspiring headteachers of challenging schools. To apply or nominate, visit www.future-leaders.org.uk. The Future Leaders Trust is also recruiting for Talented Leaders, a programme to place exceptional school leaders into headship roles in the areas that need them most.