Adam Boxer, Lead Practitioner, Educational Consultant and Co-Founder of Carousel Learning
Schools and MATs, however, are not naturally conducive to seamless integration. Despite executing the same functions on a surface level, there is enormous variability in the day-to-day operations of different schools. We can add to this the further complication of the sheer quantity of things that teachers and leaders have to do. One final complication is the time sensitivity: in many workplaces decisions can be pushed off until a new employee has the chance to consult an established colleague. In the heat of the classroom decisions are made thick and fast, and that deferral often cannot exist.
The integration of new staff is therefore one fraught with difficulty. There are, however, steps that educational organisations can take to help smooth this process.
Write a How-To
Teachers and leaders have to execute a dizzying array of operations; ranging from issuing students detentions for chewing gum to entering data into management information systems to making a safeguarding referral to requesting leave. Executing the operations might not be difficult in and of itself, but most people can’t remember the correct steps involved in all of them. As such, a school or MAT-wide "How-To” can be extremely useful. For each process, draw out a simple flowchart showing clearly and unambiguously what needs to be done for a range of different operations. Make sure the flowcharts are well organised so it is easy to find the required one, and add information at the bottom for which staff member should be contacted in case of questions.
Unwritten rules
The cultural norms and mores in any given organisation underpin the way colleagues carry out their responsibilities. Ordinarily, they are only learnt in a reactive fashion; new staff are left to figure them out as they go. This inevitably leads to mistakes and potential embarrassment, as well as the dilution of the values that make an organisation tick. In response, leaders should ensure that there is no such thing as an "unwritten rule.” If there is a way colleagues are expected to act or behave, write it down. For example, if a head of department doesn’t want colleagues to edit central tracking spreadsheets, write it in an administration policy. If a MAT SEN lead expects local SENCOs to regularly issue updates about EHCP applications, it should be written down.
This philosophy goes beyond the administrative. For example, if colleagues are expected by managers to clearly and unambiguously apologise when they have missed a deadline, this should be written down in a culture policy. Don’t expect new staff to automatically know it and don’t leave them to discover it for themselves.
This becomes exponentially more important as an organisation grows in size. For example, if a MAT wants to maintain a common culture and set of expectations across its schools, it will need to ensure that these values are clearly and explicitly demarked and communicated.
Write One Pagers
Most policies and documents require a lot of text to fully delineate their scope, execution and justification. Not all users of those policies need all of that, and new staff can quickly be overwhelmed and overloaded by the effort involved in establishing the most important headlines. As such, each document or policy should also come with a One Pager summary that follows the mantra of "most useful to most people most of the time.” You will never be able to cover everyone’s needs with a summary, but you can get most of them.
Create dedicated communication channels
New staff often feel uncomfortable asking questions, not wanting to look like they are behind or struggling, especially when they are trying to make a good impression on new colleagues. Leaders should therefore deliberately set up "safe” communication channels (e.g. an email group or an Instant Messaging channel) for asking questions. Leaders should make it clear that it’s there to help and it is for that purpose, and that the more questions asked the better. Leaders should then make sure their responses are immediate and upbeat, using phrases like "thank you so much for asking” or "great questions, we should have been clearer about that – sorry!”
Remove all obstacles
New staff have more to worry about than established staff, so if there are things you can remove from them while they are settling, you may achieve a faster integration. For example, when writing timetables, try to ensure that new staff don’t teach in multiple classes. Similarly, you might expect established staff to gather equipment and exercise books for all their classes at the start of the year, but you might do this yourself for new staff.
Make it a standing item in line management
If a manager has new staff starting in their department, their line manager should regularly be foregrounding the new staff’s integration. This should exist at all levels across a MAT, and all senior leaders and principals should be able to clearly communicate their new staff integration plan and what stage new staff are up to.
The CST Blog welcomes perspectives from a diverse range of guest contributors. The opinions expressed in blogs are the views of the author(s), and should not be read as CST guidance or CST’s position.
Adam's blog is also found on CST Hive, as part of the Directors of Improvement Professional Community. To find out more about joining the Community and CST Hive, please email profcomm@cstuk.org.uk.
