1. careers

Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
 Not NPQH
 Essentials of getting, then
surviving, the job
PowerPoints available at www.geoffbarton.co.uk
Getting the interview
… getting the job
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Identifying the right job for you
Using the letter to get the interview
Using the interview to get the job
Getting the interview
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Identifying the right job for you
What’s motivating you?
•Ambition?
•Boredom?
•Desire to escape?
Getting the interview

Identifying the right job for you
Pros and cons of senior management
Make an
impact
Frustration
Variety
Never
complete
High-profile
Exposed
Wholeschool
Lack of
team spirit
3 Letters
Quickly skim the 3 letters and
comment on:
The impression you get of the
candidate
 How well the structure helps you
 Comment on the style of the letter
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Writing the letter:
some hints
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2 sides max
Not an autobiography and beware
of ‘philosophy’
Target the selection criteria
Use formatting - bullets, bold, subheadings, even tables
A good letter will tell you what the
school is asking for through clear
structure
The Interview
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Preparation
The day itself
Questions
The Interview
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Preparation
Look the place over - pay attention
to uniform, site, general ethos,
quick hits for improvement
 Know the panel: it’s a governor
appointment
 Know the issues facing the school
 What are your experiences?

The Interview
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The day itself
How to dress
 What to take with you
 How to play it
 Who to talk to
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The Interview

The interview
How to sit
 Who to look at
 How long to answer for
 Some question ideas …
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Finally …
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
Effectively planning,
monitoring and developing a
quality curriculum
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
Past: what we teach
Present: how we teach
MONITORING
THE CURRICULUM
&
ASSESSMENT
Monitoring the curriculum
10 suggestions …
1: Start with
evaluation
principles
3: Draw in the TAs
9: Observation is the
key to changing
classroom practice
2: No more
documentation
4: Have term-byterm plan
6: Always focus
on IMPACT
8: Use student
evaluations
7: Make feedback public
5: Every meeting
is a training
opportunity
10: We should
measure what we
value, not value
what we can
measure
The tyranny of assessment
Dylan Wiliam (King’s College):
•UK versus Japanese teachers
•Marks can have a negative impact
•Demotivation of UK students
Research from Israel:
33% of students given marks only – made no
progress
33% given mark and comment – no progress
33% given comment only …
… increased their performance by 30%
4 key ingredients in good assessment
•Quality of questioning
•Quality of feedback
•Sharing criteria with learners
•Using peer and self-assessment
Summative assessment:
Formative assessment:
“How am I doing?”
How have I done?
Learning
teacher - peer - parent - buddy - mentor
verbal - tick-list - general comment - written feedback
Teaching & learning
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Starting-point: what are the
essential skills and knowledge our
students need?
More important: what kind of
citizens do we want them to be?
Teaching & learning
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A:
Core learning
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To be successful as a student and in later life, you
need to:
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Have high expectations of the quality of work you will
produce
Be motivated
Use target setting to improve the quality of the work
you produce
Be able to meet deadlines
Be able to carry out independent research
Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses to improve
your learning in future
Have concentration
Develop areas of special interest and expertise
Teaching & learning
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B:
Personal Qualities
To be successful as a student and in later life,
you need to:
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Be courteous
Be trustworthy and reliable
Show commitment
Be adaptable, coping with change
Have a broad range of interests eg sport/social
life/academic/cultural aspects – books, music,
films, art etc.
 Make informed decisions
 Plan and organise own workload
 Show that you value your own and other
people’s individuality
Teaching & learning
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C:
Knowledge
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There are certain areas that you will need to have
some knowledge of if you are going to be able to make
important life decisions for yourselves. These are:
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Nutrition and healthy eating
Diseases and preventative medicine
Importance of exercise
Facts about drugs
Contraception and Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Mental Health
Personal Finances
Criminal Justice System
Political Awareness
Awareness of opportunities and careers
First Aid
Teaching & learning
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D:
Citizenship
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To be a successful citizen, you need to show that you:
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Participate in school life eg year committees, School
Council, sports teams, orchestras, debating society
etc
Contribute to school life eg helping out in
departments, charity committees, school council,
contributing to assemblies etc
Get involved in local community eg helping the
elderly, play groups, primary schools, local charities,
youth clubs etc.
Are able to discuss issues in the news
Attend an organised visit
Can show some understanding of local and national
politics
Teaching & learning
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The current curriculum is failing
some students
But don’t tinker: start with the big
picture
Involve everyone and don’t rush it
And EVALUATE
Teaching & learning
Teaching & learning
SUMMARY
•Evaluation is essential
•It’s the start, not the end of a process
•It doesn’t have to be mechanical
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
The 1 most challenging thing
about being a deputy head …
PEOPLE
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
1: A boy accuses a
member of staff of
hitting him in the
stomach
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
2: Week 1 - you are
called to a classroom
where students are
throwing paper around
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
3: Someone complains
about the absence rate of
a Year Head
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
4: A member of staff is
apparently not setting or
marking homework
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
5: A Head of Year gives
consistently awful
assemblies
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
6: People say that they
find a senior teacher
aggressive and
unapproachable
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
7: A supply teacher has
consistently poor
discipline
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
8: A Head of Department
is consistently negative
at staff meetings
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
9: A parent is going to
report you to the LEA
for harrassing her
daughter about uniform
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
10: The staff hold a vote
of no-confidence in your
plans to restructure the
school
The essentials
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Be driven by a moral purpose
Have someone out of school to talk
to
It’s about judgment more than
experience
Admit to getting things wrong
It’s also about pretending to know
what you’re doing
Middle Management
to Deputy Headship
Geoff Barton
Good Luck!
PowerPoints available at www.geoffbarton.co.uk