Change Projects
Helping school leaders working in stuck or struggling schools achieve real, quantifiable objectives rapidly and sustainably.
Too many schools fail to improve because leaders are already working at capacity or spread too thinly simply maintaining current standards. Leaders’ remits may already be too broad or, understandably, reactively prioritised. Sometimes, through no fault of their own, school leaders may also never have successfully led a scaled change process that brought about sustained improvement for their school.
What does it include?
With the help of an experienced education consultant specialising in change leadership, school leaders target specific high priority areas and drive the change needed with the focus, accountability, and conviction necessary to ensure success.
In addition to the direct and indirect impact of implementing a successful strategy, further value comes from stakeholders’ belief that every subsequent change initiative will also be successful.
The shape and nature of projects are flexible but typically they include:
- Initial consultation/review of target area.
- Report and recommendations.
- Action planning, including timescales and consultant follow up/monitoring/progress review days, remote support.
- Final review, including assessment of progress against success criteria using agreed impact measures.
Common Concerns Addressed
CEOs and Head Teachers sometimes believe that their leaders won’t like receiving external support, since it might represent a failing of some sort. That is why part of the package includes coaching and/or mentoring to address concerns, to demystify the nature of the partnership and process, and to establish a strong working relationship. The session will reaffirm that they are the expert in their role, and that the consultant is there to amplify their impact.
There is also a belief in the sector that consultants are not as invested in the success of a project as employees and trustees/governors. My organisation, Johnston Education Consultancy (JEC), is based on outcomes, professional development, and trust. It only works if JEC is recommended to others. As Founder and Director, I also have a lifelong commitment to, and moral investment in, improving children’s outcomes through raising standards in education.
The Eight Principles of Change Leadership
The Human Element
Whilst all school circumstances are unique, you may have come to understand, as I have, that the single biggest factor in sustainable improvement lies in people. The hundreds of school leaders who have been kind enough to contribute to our research have said that any significant organisational change means some sort of personal change for employees.
So, a large part of preparing for change is thinking about the message it sends to people about how they are doing things now. For that to happen, leaders need to understand, and show genuine empathy for, the individual challenges staff face day-to-day. It is the staff that, as a whole, will increasingly drive and own the change, and it is they who will ultimately determine whether the change survives.
New behaviours underpinning the change need to become part of individuals’ identities. What JEC does is help you, the school leader, to make lasting change, so you can confidently move on to the next priority with everything in place to ensure existing and previous changes don’t slide.
Want to find out more?
Contact us to find out more about the services we offer, or connect with us on LinkedIn.