What brought you to education?
A lady called Mrs Horsely. When I was 7 years old I found maths easy and Mrs. Horsely pushed me and went out of her way to find some extra things for me. And I just thought, wow, what a great job you’ve got. So I wanted to be teacher since I was 7 because of her.
What brought you to a position of leadership in education?
I’ve just been fortunate enough to work with some fantastic colleagues and outstanding head teachers. There were also a couple of terrible ones, people who are about centralising power around themselves and their egos and it was there that I thought, kids deserve better. I’m not saying I’m the greatest principle but I don’t want kids to have that kind of person around them.
I was a class teacher for years but I thought I was only
making a difference for a small number of students. I wanted to have a bigger
impact and share my experiences with a wider number of kids.
I got lucky. I was meant to be a class teacher in Korea but the school was
taken over by the government just before I was due to go there. So I went back
to England and did my masters, returned to my school in Saudi and became deputy
head of school, 8 years later I became Head in Uganda and then here.
What are your responsibilities?
First and foremost I support my colleagues who do the most important job – working with our kids day to day. Whatever I can try and do to support them I do.
What are some of the challenges to being leader in educational organisation?
My dad says, you’ve got two ears and one mouth so listen twice as much as you talk.
I’m very honoured to be part of this team but even here there can be differences of opinion. I truly believe we all put the children at the heart of our decision making but we can sometimes see things from different perspectives. As a leader you have to have the courage of your convictions and even if you know something might be unpopular at times, you have to do it.
But listen, put the children at the heart of decisions but also be open to acknowledging you’ve made a mistake?
Who is your team?
Honestly? Everyone. From the kids to the parents to the educators, teachers and admin staff. I can’t do my job without everyone else. People wonder that I include the kids in this equation but they are so important, they inspire us to do our jobs well every day.
What do all good classroom environments have in common?
Relationships between student and adults.
I did some walk-through’s this morning and got into four different classrooms and in every single one you could see the interaction and support and the classroom environment is a solid one. That is due to the time and effort the educators and teachers have put into forming and tending those relationships and modelling positive interactions themselves which kids reflect amongst each other.
If you have the relationships it makes things that much easier. Children don’t learn from someone they don’t like and don’t know.
What resources do you need to do your job well?
Anyone in education will say time. It’s a job that never ends. Even with the cliché that teachers have these super long holidays, I would be hard pressed to find a teacher who didn’t spend a good part of their holiday looking for ways to improve their lessons.
We all want what’s best for these students and we all want it now because we all see where it is we want to go. You have to go through certain processes and systems and these take time.
So yes, time to keep improving. If at any point I say “Oh I’ve done everything”, make me retire.
And coffee.
What have some of your highlights been at LIS thus far?
Wow I’ve got to narrow it down.
Oh my goodness. When I get to be in the classrooms and cover some of the classes. Teaching these kids is so great and I do miss being a class teacher but I know I made the right decision being in this position.
Just seeing the success stories and not just top of the class stories. Some kids here have come in with certain concerns or lack self-confidence. I’ve seen kids come in with no English and within a year they are performing on stage. That’s fantastic.
Also getting to see my colleagues in action. Going into the classrooms and thinking wow, I wish I had thought of that when I was teaching. I am learning from my colleagues every day.
What are some of the benefits or challenges of leading in an international setting?
People come with individual experiences you have no grasp of. Even in our organisation we have dozens of nationalities and people from all walks of life. We have colleagues who are European champions of canoeing or coming in from the army and just listening to their stories is thrilling. It’s such a rich environment that if we just listen and make time to talk we can learn so much.
In terms of what the students gain, I personally wouldn’t dream of having my kids in any other school system. I spent my whole life in my village, secondary in the town next door. I look at these kids here and how without prejudice they are. They just accept each other as they are. The things they prize are fairness or humour, not race or religion. It’s wonderful.
As for challenges, sometimes when you have people from diverse background they don’t always mesh straight away. It helps to have an open mind-set. Sometimes parents expect things the way they know it from their time at school. One can sometimes be confronted with very nationalistic expectations. We would love to celebrate every festival and holiday but if we did we wouldn’t get any teaching or learning done.
We are fortunate enough though to have a very open minded community.
Define your leadership style?
I do a course on leadership and this is the most commonly asked question in leadership. There is a right and wrong answer. There are 6 different styles of leadership and a good leaders can use all six.
Affiliative, participative, coaching, directive, pace setting and visionary.
The trick is to be situational. You need to know what situation you are in and change your approach accordingly. That’s the challenge. I hope I find the right tone in every situation.
How does LIS model leadership for our students?
Give opportunities to learn leadership.
With our student council our house system or the peer mediators. You see kids taking opportunities in our music programme and shows. Teachers do it in lessons, let kids chair discussions. If you give them the opportunity it gives them the chance to reflect on their actions. It’s about building the right climate.
Some of the great teachers are not afraid to let go the reins and let students lead certain things.
What attracted you to LIS?
I learnt German for GCSE for three years and got an A. I enjoyed it and always wanted to work in Germany.
I was looking for a new position after Uganda and found this
post and went onto the website. I have never seen a school website with so much
information that really gives in-depth insight into what the school is about.
That was a massive selling point.
The fact that we are accredited by CIS (Council of International Schools) and
NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) was a big tick.
And that we do the IPC in Primary and the IB in Secondary, that was also a big tick.
So I put a lot of time into the application and got lucky enough to be called for an interview and when I came here I knew very quickly this is the place I wanted to be.
It was about my wife and children too and I knew that they would love it here and that’s been proven since they’ve arrived.
How do you deal with the stress and pressure of your job?
My family. My wife in particular, she’s a great listener and people person and always brings me back to why I am doing this job.
My immediate team – the primary school management team, the admin staff, even just talking to colleagues, you know we are all pulling in the right direction.
But biggest stress relief is doing stuff with my kids be it cooking, Lego or crafts.
What are some of the hardest decisions to make?
When you have to make the best of a bad scenario. Like if a student has made a poor choice and you know you have to take a certain action but you really would rather not. No matter what you do someone is going to be hurt or upset – that’s difficult.
What is your vision/ if there were no obstacles what would your ideal school look like?
For me, that we become the primary school of choice for the community of Leipzig and a nationally and internationally recognised centre for holistic excellence for all. Just rolls of the tongue doesn’t it?
Why should parents send their children here?
If a parent is not already a member of this school, I think they just need to get a glimpse of what these kids get to experience every day – what they get to learn and who they get to learn from to be convinced about our school. Our Hort programme alone! What the kids get to do before and after school is phenomenal, I’ve never seen anything like it and those educators are with us throughout the day. The quality of teaching within the school, the community aspect that is building these are all incredible benefits.
I just know that there are kids and families here that in twenty years’ time will say, that was one of the best time of our lives.
What are you most proud of thus far?
Knowing where we were when I first came. It was a good place, it all happened before I came, I cannot take credit for that. But knowing the journey we have taken so far and the direction we are going (and it’s a strong WE) the room parents, the staff and students getting involved, it’s wonderful. That is something we should all be really proud of. We are really getting better and better all the time.
If the kids here had to describe you what would they say? How do they see you?
Grey?
No not appearance. No false humility – what do you really think?
I hope that it’s approachable and trusting. I’ve never given so many high fives in my life. Kids do like to talk and they come and tell me things and share things. It’s one of the best parts of my job.
Read our other Leadership Intereviews:
Thomas Pessara – Commercial Director Interview
Kjersti Nichols – Primary Principal Interview
Tim Belfield – Primary Principal Interview
Neil Allen – Secondary Principal Interview
David Smith – Head of School Interview