Progression

The matter of progression in teaching is one that is, certainly in my experience, somewhat opaque. This may of course be that the majority of my teaching career has been focussed in the independent sector, but I suspect that any teacher will have, at some time in their career, felt somewhat rather unclear about how to progress be it up or out.

Why is this the case? I suspect that much of the reason for this opaqueness and fog could be part of the operational structures of schools at large. Within many schools the traditional progression models tend to follow an academic or a pastoral route with relatively clear pathways – teacher to Head of Department/ Head of Year / Head of House. Some schools may offer a broader curriculum route and one may have the opportunity to manage major sports or significant broader options such as the Model UN or the Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme.

Nevertheless, these options are not always available to teachers, either because of a log jam further up the chain or other operational and personnel matters. So, the question is how can this be resolved? I am certainly not suggesting that all teachers should be desperate to progress, for many the switching of focus from the primary role is not something that interests them and this is eminently laudable and should also be recognised and the experience drawn upon.

Many schools across any sector are now looking at better progression models. More time and focus is being placed on mentoring and coaching and indeed other progression pathways are opening up in the aspect of ‘people development’ and operations. This is heartening as the profession is taking more time to invest in staff and raise the profile of the job of teaching. One such school trust has taken this to a new level and begun to look at a range of different pathways that could be opened to all in schools. Referred to as talent pathways staff are empowered through robust appraisals, coaching and mentoring to identify a potential pathway then are given the opportunity to ‘upskill’ in that area[1]. Upskilling is not a word that is often heard, particularly in the independent sector, nevertheless it perfectly encompasses what can be done to support career progression. I am not in favour of a conveyor belt approach whereby if one achieves X,Y and Z they get a promotion, nevertheless the framework that such an approach affords allows for very clear and supportive conversations and sections to be taken at the individual level.

Middle management progression can be problematic. In my own experience I was a classroom teacher for 10 years before officially stepping up to become a HoD, nevertheless, those 10 years were spent in a range of schools undertaking a significant number of minor roles. The trick and difficulty can be in identifying what skills those experiences afford and using them as a spring board to the next level. This is something that I believe is not well engaged with in terms of, again, coaching, training and mentoring. The middle to senior management step is, possibly, the most challenging. The creation of ‘Assistant Head’ positions has certainly afforded breadth to SLTs and more opportunity, nevertheless, there are only a finite number of these positions. Key to stepping up to SLT is one experience of whole school management. How does one gain this? Suggestions range from secondment to SLT, coaching from a broad range of senior staff not exclusively teaching and also supporting ARP to afford change. How can one change a culture in a school, I would suggest be being bold, bringing well thought out and well researched ideas to SLT and simply asking questions.

References

[1] Chisnell, G (2021, February) Talent pathways building a culture of career development in schools. Impact (Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching).

Thanks to https://www.jobberman.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2018/05/Career_Progression_-_Cover_Image.jpg for the image for today's post.