LEAD ARTICLE: “Unleashing the Power of Self Development: How Deep Should Educators Dive?” by NAPCE’s Dr Matt Silver
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Unleashing the Power of Self Development: How Deep Should Educators Dive? By Dr Matt Silver

In the ever-evolving landscape within, and more prominently beyond, education, the pursuit of self development isn’t merely a choice; it’s a professional imperative.

As educators and educational leaders, the impact we have on the lives of our students goes beyond textbooks and lesson plans.

It’s about inspiring, shaping, and equipping the next generation for success in an increasingly complex world. Self development isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.

But how deep should educators go on this transformative journey, and what are the rewards awaiting those who dare to venture into its depths?

Let’s explore.

At its core, self development is about growth—growth as professionals, as individuals, and of our lifelong learners. It’s not about learning more skills, but applying them, realising the limitations of the constructs that shaped our past version of ‘self’ and expanding our opportunities in the now.

By continually seeking ways to nuance our impact on the lives of others and our wider communities, we engage many more on the journey. It’s a dynamic process that transcends the boundaries of our organisations, existing concepts and contexts, influencing every facet of our existence.

In a world of rapid change and now equipped with AI, we must keep speed with our own capacity to adapt, maintain connection with others, and ensure the sophistication of our thinking and quality of decisions integrate many more insights into our collective evolution. This shines a new light on pastoral care in leadership, not just for learners but for educators.

The Profound Impact on Educators

Leaders are spending so much time on their short term systems, that energy required to develop themselves and their strategy is incredibly limited.

Every session we run we ask the question of what is on your mind and 85 per cent reflect the ‘now’ to do list. Even when they become aware, guilt overshadows the commitment as underlying assumptions of leadership have been so conditioned into their approach.

The Glass House provides a map of adult, team and system development across multiple lines of maturity. We continue to see the same pattern of direct man management and reliance on being directed in our initial diagnostics.

We find that developing a leader’s capacity requires a more conscious use of energy and what to do with it. The alignment of their purpose, values and beliefs allows them to create align and capacity, creating the space to step back and plan into the future, conscious of the qualities in their team and a return on the investment in their growth. The same echoes out on tapping into the true potential of their community.

Educators engaged in self development experience a profound transformation that positively impacts their professional and personal lives. Why? Because they see or experience something that previously they did not know was possible.

In May 2023 details of UK Government research into professional development of teachers was released and highlighted a range of education specific knowledge and skills both sought and received by educators.

Interestingly the most received professional development was all knowledge and student management based.

The presence of soft skills was only alluded to by four per cent of participants in the survey and only through teacher-parent/carer cooperation (Jones, 2023).

Although the survey clearly shows professional development is covering a range of knowledge and skills within teaching, learning and leadership, there is little to no evidence of leader or teacher development on a more personal, human level (in the self or collective sense) beyond the knowledge and skills realm.

Whilst continual professional development is shown to have a positive effect on teacher job satisfaction, we have to ask whether the development being offered is enhancing potential to transform our education system or to meet it’s current metrics (McJames, Parnell, O’Shea, 2023)?

As pastoral educators and educational leaders, the impact we have on the lives of our students goes beyond textbooks and lesson plans.

It’s about connecting, inspiring, and equipping the next generation for success in an increasingly complex world. Equally, the pressure of the role for a whole host of reasons means leaders must also be able to sustain the energy expenditure and the quality of its use, with the dropout rates illustrating the current gap.

Self development isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. But how deep should educators go on this transformative journey, and what are the rewards awaiting those who dare to venture into its depths? Let’s explore.

What self-development can do for us:

When we embark on the journey of self development, we’re not just enhancing our own lives; we’re unlocking a profound potential that can ripple into every aspect of our professional careers and community.

Engaging in self development across multiple lines of development can have a profound impact on educators to enhance multiple aspects of our personal and professional journey.

On a personal level self-development of physiology and emotions enhances our resilience and adaptability. Having greater awareness of our values, ego, purpose, strengths, resistances and aspirations we become more equipped to acknowledge growth and move with and/or challenge change for the better and thrive in demanding environments.

We have to be able to consider why and how to use emerging change and the tools accelerating it.

Self development further nurtures effective communication skills, partially stemming from increased awareness, literacy and management of emotions and appreciation of the values and ego stage of others in relation to your own.

It also enhances a deeper listening, exploring where people may be coming from in their own communication and the causes behind it.

This extends not only to interactions with students but also to collaboration with colleagues, parents, and stakeholders. As educators delve deeper into personal growth, they become more emotionally intelligent enabling them to better understand and connect with their students. It promotes compassion, two levels deeper than active listening, and a supportive learning environment.

As you can sense this spills over to impact a multitude of professional practices and competencies including teaching skills, attendance, and outcomes.

Through an increased openness we are more adept to learn innovative strategies, shifting culture, augmenting technologies effectively and stay current with educational trends to better cater for the wide range of student learning needs we encounter and ultimately enhance the learning experience.

It additionally cultivates leadership qualities and enables leaders to inspire and empower their teams’ collective agency.

Are we asking our learners to lead their learning too? What capabilities do they require? Great leaders lead by example, know and do not hide their vulnerabilities. They are transparent that they are continuously improving themselves to catalyse those around them to have courage and innovate – all capacities our learners will require to sustain their own futures.

On a more student specific level, educators who have a deep understanding and connection to themselves serve as powerful role models for their students and foster opportunities for students to also develop further and believe beyond their own childhood boundaries culture has bestowed upon them.

This encourages moving beyond academic achievement to focus on students’ emotional maturity, character development, and applied learning – that all enhance performance.

So how Deep Should You Dive into Self Development?

The depth of your self development journey is a matter of personal choice and goals that are likely to depend on the stage of development you are at.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, as every educator’s path is unique and there are several ways to progress on your journey. Some of the key practises and concepts we have found within our work at The Glass House include the following:

Guidance and facilitation:

As education leaders and coaches we have found being asked carefully considered questions from someone removed from your immediate context creates helpful and alternative insights into one’s self-development journey. Having the support of someone within this capacity to hold a safe space can also help to navigate challenges with more than your own perspective, before going out and practising the next step in a low risk environment, building up to situations that originally trigger the need to address it. Committing and maintaining a focus in both long and short term by discovering your original assumption and holding it up in the mirror to your purpose brings real drive to partner with the emotional reset required to change habits. The suggestions below sound simple, but so too does going to the gym. A coach has similar roles to a personal trainer, stretching and prompting us to apply ourselves in order to embody our growth.

Self-reflection:

Through reflecting on strengths, challenges and aspirations, individuals can deepen their insight into what has shaped their development to date as well as moving forward. We then better understand the intent behind decisions and the alternative lens our values shade, reducing emotional responses and objectifying more of what we are actually experiencing. This includes appreciating yourself for all you have achieved and are achieving as well as holding yourself accountable for the progress you seek to make. The discussion with the voices of your ego can be fascinating rather than intimidating.

Embrace Challenges:

Challenges and suffering are what can lead to the greatest growth and self development. It often involves stepping out of your comfort zone. Embracing challenges and view setbacks as opportunities for growth, consider your resistances and where they may come from, what is holding you back here and what small steps can you take to move forward?

Balance Work and Life

While self development is crucial, maintaining a work-life balance is equally important. Burnout hinders growth, but over stretch also hinders quality. Ensuring you allocate time for self-care, relaxation, and personal pursuits outside of your professional role is important, but so is developing the capacity of your physiology and emotions, having more energy to share more wisely. This self-care however needs to be meaningful, routines and commitment to the activities are the structures that create habit change, with people and things you love most are powerful tools to reset, refocus, and build drive.

The Rewards of Deep Self Development

Educators often avoid deep personal development due to various reasons. Fear of change is a significant factor; the unknown can be intimidating. Comfort zones, while limiting, provide a sense of security that change disrupts. Additionally, people may lack awareness of the benefits or believe they’re too busy to invest time in self-improvement. The process can seem overwhelming, requiring commitment and effort. There’s also the misconception that personal development is solely about fixing flaws, rather than enhancing strengths. For some it is financial, unaware of the significant returns of coaching or team journeys. However, embracing personal development is about embracing growth, which provides a greater resilience and potential for a fulfilling life. This is extremely attractive to building a reputation of employer of choice with leaders saying ‘I feel valued because I feel invested in’. Our most recent work has kept 100 per cent of leaders in role or promoted. Overcoming these hurdles opens doors to a world of self-discovery and empowerment that takes you, your team and your learners to the next level of performance. Are you currently aware of what that looks like?

The Depth You Choose

In the end, the depth to which you journey into self development is a deeply personal choice. In 2021 the average school spend on teacher continual professional development was approximately £3,000 per teacher each year (EPI, 2021). We urge you to consider the type of development opportunities on offer and how your teaching expertise can move beyond the traditional skill and knowledge approach to consider self-development on a more holistic and transformational level.

Whether you choose to wade in the shallows or dive into the abyss, remember that every step forward is a step toward your own growth and the betterment of education as a whole. The rewards are boundless, and the impact immeasurable. So, ask yourself, how deep will you and your organisation go?

Dr Matt Silver
CEO of The Glass House Leadership Lab
Vice Chair, NAPCE

The Glass House provides a map of adult development across multiple lines of maturity that builds a deliberately developmental framework that addresses the mental models required for systemic change. We offer the diagnostic tools for both individual and team stages of development, which provides you with a justification for taking the next step and the advantages this will bring, as well as the ability to benchmark progress and impact.

References:

Education Policy Institute (EPI). (2021). The cost of high-quality professional development for teachers in England. [Online]. Available from: https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/the-cost-of-high-quality-professional-developmentfor-teachers/

Jones, A. (2023). Teachers’ Professional Development Remains a Work in Progress. [Online]. Available from: https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2023/05/18/teachers-professional-development-remains-a-work-in-progress/
McJames, N., Parnell, A. & O’Shea, A. (2023). Factors affecting teacher job satisfaction: a causal inference machine learning approach using data from TALIS 2018). [Online]. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131911.2023.2200594 

GOOD PRACTICE: NAPCE Team Visit Schools in Northern Ireland that had Success in Awards
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NAPCE Visit Schools in Northern Ireland

NAPCE was pleased to be invited to visit schools in Northern Ireland in June.

Although it was not possible to accept the invitations from all the schools NAPCE, represented by Phil Jones (National Chair), Noel Purdy (Editor of the journal ‘Pastoral Care in Education), Eileen Donnelly (National Executive Member) and Anne Jones (NAPCE Admin team) visited three schools on one day to see the good practice taking place in pastoral care and support for children and young people.

All the schools visited had been nominated for Awards in the National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education, organised by NAPCE.

The first school visited was Tor Bank School. This is a special school in Dundonald.

The day starts with a car park full of buses bringing the children and young people into the care of the staff.

Tor Bank is a supportive and empathetic community in which parents, teachers, classroom assistants, therapists, nursing staff and other interested parties share and work in collaboration to design and implement programmes to meet the holistic needs of the individual pupil with complex learning preferences.

There was an opportunity for the NAPCE guests to meet different members of staff and to hear about the good practice taking place.

There was a clear commitment from the staff to meet the individual needs of all the learners in their care.

They shared information about their plan to foster the well child with four different areas to focus on.

Knowing myself
Sharing my interests
Learning new skills
Regulating myself

The school provides an amazing programme of interventions to meet the individual needs of its learners.

These include aromatherapy, music therapy counselling, travel training, art therapy and the opportunity to contribute to Tor Bank Radio.

There is a clear focus on the well-being of staff at the school with a clear understanding that if you look after the staff, they are going to be more effective in looking after the children and young people in their care.

The school has a peer-led approach to staff well-being with a team of volunteer staff working together to support the well-being of colleagues.

This means that staff can approach their peers if they need any support, and the team of volunteers can raise any ideas or concerns with management.

The team organise events and fundraising with the aim of boosting staff morale. One idea to make staff feel valued and appreciated is an opportunity to nominate colleagues for their positive contribution to the work of the school with prizes in a draw including hampers.

The NAPCE team then travelled to Glenlola Collegiate School in Bangor.

This is an all-girls grammar school founded in approximately 1880. The school is proud of being child centred and is determined to support all learners in achieving their full potential.

There was an opportunity for the guests from NAPCE to meet pastoral staff and some of the students and to find out about the good practice in the support and pastoral care that is provided.

It was clear that pastoral care is at the heart of the work of the school and there is a deep-seated belief in nurturing not just academic excellence but also emotional resilience and well-being.

In 2019, with the assistance of the School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), the school embarked on a transformative journey by establishing a dedicated Wellness room.

The NAPCE guests visited the Wellness Centre and saw for themselves how this area provides a tranquil space for reflection, relaxation and rejuvenation.

The school has invested in the pastoral care and support it provides for its pupils with staff appointed to key pastoral roles including a ‘Pastoral Support and Welfare Officer’, a qualified social worker dedicated to providing targeted support and intervention to students and their parents in need.

The school has a clear focus on peer support. Pupils are trained to have responsibility in different roles that provide them with the opportunity to support their peers.

Peer support provides a safe opportunity for pupils to share concerns and explore their own solutions to a range of difficulties.

It acknowledges that young people often feel easier talking to other young people about issues that affect them. The young people who are trained as active listeners and facilitators provide additional support for the school’s pastoral systems.

Peer Supporters are an integral part of school life and visit their form classes on a weekly basis to carry out activities to foster a sense of inclusion within these classes.

In June 2023 the school expanded its peer support through the ‘Pupil Wellness Team’ by appointing ‘Peer Leaders’ to oversee peer support initiatives across different year groups. These students are selected for their exemplary leadership skills and empathy.

The final visit of the day was to St Mary’s Christian Brothers Grammar School.

St Mary’s CBGS is an all-boys Voluntary Grammar School located on the Glen Road in West Belfast.

It is explained on the school website that the school was founded by the Christian Brothers’, in 1866 and moved to our current site in 1968.

The school is inspired by the vision of Edmund Rice who wanted to create schools that provide excellent education and cultivate Gospel-based values.

St Mary’s continues this work today with over 1,170 students aged 11-19.

The school website explains that “Teachers recognise the uniqueness of every student, encourage firm friendships among the boys and foster a sense of community. It is within this caring and supportive environment that our students are allowed to develop their unique talents and become enthusiastic and highly motivated learners.”

The NAPCE visitors were welcomed by senior staff at the school and colleagues from other local schools.

There was a discussion about the challenges facing staff working in pastoral roles in schools and about some of the ideas and good practice being implemented to support learners.

The school was the winner of the Pastoral Development of the Year category in at the National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education 2023 for its work on restorative approaches to behaviour management.

The school found that challenges to authority increased after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The school felt that more was needed than a punitive approach to behaviour management. Difficult conversations were introduced to make learners accountable for their actions.

This is not seen as an alternative to a sanction. Sanctions are applied, if necessary, but a difficult conversation can take place afterwards to make the young person responsible for their behaviour.

The focus of the restorative approach is to make young people accountable for their actions with four principles.

• Accountability
• Empathy
• Resolution
• Prevention

The use of restorative approaches has seen the school move from a ‘blame culture’ to an ‘awareness of harm culture’. The process involves authority doing things with them rather than to them or for them. The school is now training students to be restorative peer mentors.

Raymond Herron from the school leadership team will be speaking about the schools’ restorative approaches to behaviour management at the NAPCE annual conference in Worcester on October 11^th.

Visit napce.org for details and to reserve tickets or contact NAPCE by email at admin@napce.org.uk for more information.

Phil Jones, National Chair commented: “It had been a pleasure to visit the schools and to see the good practice in pastoral care and support for learners.

“The schools made NAPCE very welcome, and it was inspiring to see so many examples of staff in schools wanting to make a real difference in the learning experience and future life chances of the children and young people in their care.

“Congratulations to NAPCE member schools in Northern Ireland for the excellent pastoral care and support being provided for children and young people. ”

Schools from Northern Ireland are well represented amongst the finalists for the 2024 National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education along with schools from other parts of the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.

It will be great to find out about the good practice in pastoral care and support for learners at the grand presentation event for the 2024 awards in Worcester on the evening of 11^th October.

Details about the awards grand presentation event and tickets can be found at www.napce.org.uk of email admin@napce.org.uk for more information.

CONFERENCE: NAPCE Annual Conference 2024 – Tickets On Sale Now & Special Offer
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NAPCE Annual National Conference 2024 – Tickets On Sale Now

Annual National Conference

‘Good Practice in Pastoral Care in Education’
October 11^th, 2024
In the Graeme Hick Pavilion
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcester

The Conference provides an excellent professional development opportunity for all professionals working in pastoral roles and for anybody who wants to make a difference in the learning experience of children and young people.

Keynote speakers include.

• Victoria Raynor, Director, Raynor Safeguarding -‘Opening Windows to Opportunities. The Purpose of Pastoral Care in Education’.
• Dr Caron Carter, Senior Lecturer in Childhood Education at Sheffield Hallam University – ‘Children’s Friendships Matter’.
• Liz Slater, Liz Bates, Independent Advisor, Trainer, and Magistrate – ‘The Role of the Trusted Adult’.

Good practice presentations from previous winners and finalists in the National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education organised by NAPCE include.

• Raymond Herron, Senior teacher, St Mary’s Christian Brothers Grammar School, Belfast – ‘Restorative justice approach to behaviour management’
• Oribi Davies, Director of Inclusion Hub, Friern Barnet School, London -‘Alternative provision to enable young people to remain in mainstream provision’.
• Ellie Costello, Director Team Square Peg, – ‘Working with families to promote good attendance and to support young people in their education’.
• There will also be a presentation from Jill Robson, NAPCE National Secretary – ‘Interactive Pastoral Care’

The Conference will be Chaired by NAPCE National Chair, Phil Jones.

Follow the link for more information and tickets.https://2024-napce-annual-conference.eventbrite.co.uk

CONFERENCE SPECIAL OFFER

Join NAPCE as an individual member for 2024 for £44.00 (£21.00 retired, NQT, students rate ) and have free entry to the National Annual Conference along with back copies of the academic journal ‘Pastoral Care in Education’ and future hard copies delivered to your address.

Or

Join NAPCE as a group member for 2024 for £66.00 as a school college or university (£43.00 primary and special school rate) and have free entry to the National Annual Conference for 2 people along with 2 back copies of the academic journal ‘Pastoral Care in Education’ and two copies of future hard copies delivered to your address. The named person for a group has all the benefits of individual membership.

Go to www.napce.org.uk and click the link for membership and the online application form.

Once membership is confirmed go to https://2024-napce-annual-conference.eventbrite.co.uk to reserve tickets at the free member’s rate.

ARTICLE: Safeguarding – “Keeping Children Safe in Education: Three ways to get ahead for September” from headteacher-update.com
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Keeping Children Safe in Education: Three ways to get ahead for September

With the new academic year on the horizon, we thought it might be useful to feature what should be a key aspect of any school, safeguarding.

Our friends at Headteacher Update recently published a helpful article written by Elizabeth Rose an independent safeguarding consultant and the director of So Safeguarding. You can read the article in full below. For many more resources on many aspects of education be sure to pay a visit to https://www.headteacher-update.com/

Keeping Children Safe in Education: Three ways to get ahead for September

The statutory safeguarding guidance Keeping children safe in education is updated every year in readiness for September. Elizabeth Rose looks at the latest changes and what schools need to be doing.

The draft of this year’s version of Keeping children safe in education has been published (DfE, 2024) and although changes are minimal in comparison to previous years, there are still important points to be aware of and action that needs to be taken to respond to the updates.

The final document will be published soon and will come into force from September 1, 2024. There may be some changes from the draft version, but plans can still be put in place now to respond to and prepare for the changes.

The definition of safeguarding

The definition of safeguarding has been updated to more closely align with the statutory guidance Working together to safeguard children (DfE, 2023a), although it doesn’t currently include all of the same elements. However, there is greater emphasis on early intervention by meeting the needs of children as soon as problems emerge and direct reference to harm outside the family home as well as online.

Early help 

The adaptations around early help extend further than the definition of safeguarding and the list of children for whom staff should be additionally vigilant has been updated.

Notably, there is a direct reference within this list now to children who go missing from education (as well as home or care) and children who experience multiple suspensions, are at risk of permanent exclusion, attend alternative provision, or attend a pupil referral unit.

This refreshed list makes it clear that these children are more vulnerable and reminds staff of their responsibilities to be particularly alert to the safeguarding needs of these children.

Types of harm 

There is greater emphasis throughout on exploitation, which is now included where “abuse and neglect” are mentioned. This highlights the issue repeatedly and underlines the fact that children are victims of exploitation in the same way as they are of other forms of abuse and neglect.

The definition of abuse also emphasises that children may experience harm when witnessing the ill-treatment of others (in the case of domestic abuse, for example).

Information-sharing

The points around the designated safeguarding lead’s information-sharing responsibilities have been extended and there are wording changes throughout linking to information-sharing.

It is now additionally clear that child protection records should include all concerns, discussions and decisions made, including the rationale for those decisions. This should include instances where referrals were or were not made to other agencies.

Areas still under review

Two areas remain under review – “children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or gender questioning” and “radicalisation” (within Annex B). This is because of the consultation into the proposed guidance for schools on gender questioning children (DfE, 2023b) and the updated definition of extremism published in March (DLHC, 2024). Proposed changes can be seen in the draft document, but these may change in due course.

For a full list of changes see both the “Table of substantive changes” in Annex F in the Keeping children safe in education draft guidance and other minor changes detailed throughout the draft document.

Three ways to prepare 

1, Read and understand: For safeguarding leads, reading the updated document, as well as re-reading Working together to safeguard children (DfE, 2023a) is essential, to ensure that you understand the changes fully and can see how the updates work together across the two documents. Read through and highlight key changes as well as important areas you want to prioritise in training and development next academic year across the wider document.

2, Think about your policy: You may use a model policy that is likely to be updated for you (by the local authority, for example) or you might be responsible for updating the policy yourself. Either way, it isn’t just a case of copying and pasting from guidance or from the model. Think about what the changes mean for your context and how they will have an impact on your practice and procedures. Review the year that is coming to an end and think about anything you have learned and managed that could help to strengthen your policy. Local context and personalisation are essential.

3, Consider your training: Consider how you will ensure that any changes in the document are effectively communicated to staff and think through how this will have an impact on practice. Staff can be told about changes, but deeply understanding their responsibilities and what the changes mean for them may take more time to embed. Helping them to understand what changes mean for the school, for the children, and for the expectations of their everyday practice is essential. Don’t forget training for part-time staff, governors, volunteers, agency staff and contractors too – all of those working in or on behalf of the school need to know your policy and procedures.

Final thoughts

As you can see, the “technical changes” still have repercussions for policy, practice and training. Although we haven’t had the final version of the document yet, there are still lots of things that can be put into place now to respond and prepare for the adaptations and to strengthen practice next year – whether these are drawn from the updates or from your own learning across this academic year.

• Elizabeth Rose is an independent safeguarding consultant and director of So Safeguarding. She is a former designated safeguarding lead. Visit www.sosafeguarding.co.uk and follow her on X @sosafeguarding. Read her previous articles for Headteacher Update www.headteacher-update.com/authors/elizabeth-rose 

Further information & resources

• DfE: Statutory guidance: Working together to safeguard children, December 2023a: www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children–2
• DfE: Gender questioning children: Non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England and Wales (draft for consultation), December 2023b: Click here.
• DfE: Statutory guidance: Keeping children safe in education, May 2024 (draft pending publication of final version which does not come into force until September 2024):www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education–2
• DLHC: Guidance: New definition of extremism, March 2024: www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-definition-of-extremism-2024/new-definition-of-extremism-2024

Find out more about Headteacher Update and pay them a visit via the link below.

https://www.headteacher-update.com/