Fast tracking

 

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  I am Simon Atkinson and since September 2006 I have been the Key Stage 2 Phase Manager at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Chelsea. I also teach Year 6 and am the co-ordinator for ICT and Extended Schools.

  I am someone for whom teaching was not my first choice of career. After I left university I spent two years training to be an Anglican priest and then spent over eight years working in parishes in Teesside, Tyneside and Sussex. In that role I was very privileged to be welcomed – always warmly – into the primary and secondary schools of my parishes where I was able to develop very strong working relationships with the devoted and diverse people who worked in them. As the years went on, I spent more and more of my time working with schools and not just teaching RE! I became a governor and then vice chair of governors. I interviewed NQTs and helped to appoint a headteacher. I led assemblies and helped to pick up the pieces when things went wrong. And then one day, someone asked me “Why are you not a teacher?” And I couldn’t answer them! Looking back, this person was the first influential and inspirational headteacher that I worked with. She became a confidante as I explored moving into teaching and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and into the world of a trainee teacher.

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  When I seriously began to explore teaching it was still possible to join the Fast Track programme as a trainee. Alongside my PGCE interview, I underwent a computer-based assessment which tested a range of my abilities and skills. After I had passed this stage I was invited to an assessment centre where I underwent activities including group discussions, colleague interviews, an in-depth personal interview and an in-tray exercise. Anyone who has completed NPQH will know how familiar this type of assessment sounds. Soon after this process I was given feedback with an experienced psychologist, which outlined my strengths and my areas for development. Today, those joining Fast Track are all qualified teachers, in the early years of their career. These teachers all undergo rigorous assessment before they are accepted onto the programme.

  So, what has the Fast Track Teaching programme offered me? By far the most important feature of the Fast Track programme for me has been the opportunity to work alongside some very influential, inspiring school leaders.

  I have worked in two schools now. They are poles apart geographically, socially and ethnically. You can’t get much different than a former pit village in County Durham and the Kings Road in Chelsea! Yet what unites these schools are leaders who are committed not only to leading quality schools today but also investing time, energy and resources in the leaders of the future.

  Both of the headteachers I have worked with have taken risks. My first headteacher allowed me, as an NQT, to take on leading the school to the next stage of its development with Creative Partnerships. She then invited me to become the lead teacher for ICT – rolling out interactive whiteboards in every classroom to enhance our teaching and learning; undertaking the training and development of very experienced staff.

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  It was these experiences – and the skills that I brought with me from my first career – that gave me the confidence to apply for my current role. These experiences that led to my current headteacher appointing me to her senior management team and continually providing me with new challenges.

  Since I arrived in September I have taken on the leadership of the school towards Extended Schools status. This has formed part of my School Improvement work for NPQH and has involved working strategically with the headteacher, with the local authority and with other stakeholders. I have also taken on responsibility for the learning environment and am currently re-modelling the school foyer to reflect our ethos and provide a modern, welcoming space.

  In September we will sit down with the National Standards and the School Improvement Plan and identify new areas of responsibility that dovetail with my professional development needs. Working with influential, inspirational headteachers. People who are passionate about developing future leaders is supplemented by the other developmental aspects of the Fast Track programme.

  In addition to the support which is provided in school, the Fast Track Programme offers access to some very high-quality professional development opportunities. I have attended conferences with speakers including the author Sue Cowley. I have also taken part in residential courses on Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Authentic Leadership. Alongside a school-based mentor, each member of the Fast Track programme is assigned to a Personal Leadership Tutor and also has access to an online community on the NCSL’s talk2learn portal. E-learning has been a feature of the programme since its inception and talk2learn is used to share ideas and record learning.

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  MSo, what has the Fast Track programme helped me to develop? Firstly, and most importantly, the Fast Track programme has helped me to become a good classroom teacher. I do not think we can begin to do our jobs, to lead others and develop teaching and learning unless we can model the outstanding qualities that we want to see in others. I’m not particularly fussed about people knowing that I am on the Fast Track programme. It’s not something that I broadcast at every opportunity. What I am concerned about is modelling good teaching and learning to the teachers in my Key Stage and in my school and to lead from the front in raising standards.

  Secondly, the Fast Track programme has helped me to grow as a leader. Through the inspiration and the influence of working with headteachers and deputies committed to raising standards and providing the very best education for our children. Through the high quality professional development. Through the increasing challenge of my whole-school responsibilities.

  What have been the risks of being on the Fast Track Teaching programme? I think there are two definite risks of accelerating talent on schemes such as Fast Track. The first was highlighted by a colleague of mine from the programme who was warned against fast-tracking past the fun and the enjoyment of teaching in the quest for the Holy Grail of a leadership role. I wholeheartedly acknowledge that risk and think that it is important for all of us involved in the leadership and management of schools to retain that sense of fun, excitement and challenge that comes from engaging with young people. The key to this is a good sense of balance. Balance between working and living and also balance between teaching and leading.

  The second risk of accelerating talent on schemes such as Fast Track is the perception of the person on the scheme by other teachers. There is the real risk of being labelled as ‘The Fast Tracker’ and any additional responsibility misconstrued by other teachers, particularly in the NQT year. I was given some valuable advice. Not to tell people that I was on the Fast Track scheme, but to show them that I was through my classroom practice, through the way I take on new challenges and the way I seize opportunities.

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  For me, being a participant on the Fast Track scheme has not been about labels. It has been about inspiring headteachers taking risks. It has been about opening doors to fantastic professional development. It has been about me developing as a teacher and a leader. About me being inspired to aim for headship as a long-term goal.

  And so, what next for me? Well – in the short term – the next challenge is working on a building site! The demolition team arrived last Friday, as soon as the children left for the summer break. For the next 18 months I will be part of an SMT leading a school as it struggles with dust and noise and an emerging new building. Alongside that, I am working with the local authority as a pilot school for the Moderated Learning Environment which the London Grid for Learning has just commissioned. While the bricks and mortar are going up around us we will also be building a virtual school online with many exciting opportunities to transform the way that we work and learn. In the long term, the inspirational leaders I have worked with have convinced me that headship is an exciting and challenging prospect. I will continue to move towards that goal. Thank you.