Why School Leaders Should be Looking Forward to September
And putting their own self-preservation at the top of their list
The final term is a funny time of year.
There is an assumption and anticipation that school begins to wind down.
The year is nearly complete.
The exams have all been sat.
Energy is high for the summer but low from the toll of the school year.
Yet, that is so rarely the experience, especially for school leaders.
Instead of winding down, you are looking ahead to September. One foot in this year, one foot in the next.
You’re nursing your staff to the end.
The children are tired and them, along with their parents, may be throwing up some additional challenges.
You’re saying goodbye to staff and students.
And…
You’re reviewing your staffing and budget for next year.
You’re focussing on the School Improvement Plan and checking in with the priorities for next year.
You’re thinking about facilitating inductions and transitions for children and new staff.
It can feel exhausting and a bit discombobulating.
What is getting lost?
Yet, the crucial element that gets lost in amongst it all, is you.
Being prepared isn’t just about school
As I reach over 500 hours of supervising school leaders, one theme that stands out is the belief that the wellbeing of the school and staff does not include the wellbeing of the school leader.
School leaders often see themselves outside of this realm. Their wellbeing comes at the expense of everyone else’s wellbeing. It is their cup that refills everyone else’s.
Yet, what happens when your cup runs dry?
Refilling your cup enables you to pour into the cup of others.
Sustainable school leadership begins with you.
When you fill your cup, you are able to keep pouring and being there for your school community.
This requires a shift in perspective: you are of equal value and self-worth as everyone else in your school community. It is your professional duty to practise self-preservation.
How else will you still be in school come September?
Being a reflective practitioner
When you complete your teacher training, you’re encouraged to be a reflective practitioner: someone who is able to critically assess their performance in the classroom and judge what you have done well and where there is space for improvement.
This practice continues as you progress through your career, including any NPQs you complete.
Yet, you are rarely encouraged - or even taught - how to reflect on the impact that your role has on you. It misses the humanistic element of being a school leader; the human battery behind the leader.
And that isn’t your fault.
Yet, it is your responsibility to learn how to be professionally selfish and build a sustainable career in school leadership.
You are not an infinite battery
Instead, you are someone who is doing their best whilst working within finite limitations .
And to ensure that you do keep doing your best, you need to reflect on how you can look after yourself within the context of being a school leader.
The end of the school year is a great time to experiment with this practice. It’s a great opportunity to pause and reflect on the year that has been. You can assess what went well, what didn’t go so well, and the impact it had on you. By taking time to do this, you begin experimenting with new ways of working and being that may serve you so that you can keep serving your school community.
You deserve to finish the school year not on your knees and looking forward to September rather than a sense of dread that is merely delayed over the summer holidays.
I encourage you to take this time for yourself this month: you are worth it and it will make you a better school leader.