Larus Academia — School leadership
Three principles that govern how a school invests, makes decisions and evolves.
This is a statement of position, not a procedure. It describes what a school believes about resources, time and authority, and what follows from believing it.
The starting point
A school exists for children to have a real opportunity to learn, supported by dedicated teachers.
Everything else is important but secondary.
Three principles follow from it
We build with carefully selected partners what we cannot do best alone.
Resources spent on functions that do not support teaching or learning are taken from children. Strength comes from keeping and working on our own strengths, and building the rest together with carefully selected partners.
Governs how the school spends and uses its limited resources.
Whoever carries the responsibility holds the decision that goes with it.
Without ownership and voice in their work, teachers disengage. The person responsible should hold the decision that goes with the work.
Governs how the school makes decisions.
Development is what continuity is made of.
A school that does not evolve and stops developing does not keep up with the competition. Ambition drives schools to build their own identity. Sustainable development is based on traditions and research.
Governs how the school evolves.
Principle I
Principle
We build with carefully selected partners what we cannot do best alone.
A school does not have to manage everything. It gets stronger by doing well what is the school's core function, and building the rest with partners. Resources and time spent on functions that do not support teaching or learning are taken from children.
Teaching, leadership, culture and the relationships with families and community stay with us. Premises, specialist provision, extracurricular activities, back office and procurement are built with carefully selected partners. Partnerships are agreed before we need them, not during a crisis.
We are reliant on our community. Every partnership and agreement has to carry mutual benefit. Being interdependent and solvent is better than being independent and fragile.
School is not an isolated island. We are part of the community creating a better society around the school.
Principle II
Principle
Whoever carries the responsibility holds the decision that goes with it.
Without ownership and voice in their work, teachers disengage. The person closest to the work knows most about it. A school where few people decide everything creates an unhealthy culture and a lack of commitment. The decision making is also vulnerable to changes.
Decisions are made on three levels, strategic, pedagogical and operational. All actions have to be based on shared values that everyone agrees on. Every member of staff is part of a forum that makes decisions on their work. Development is everyone's responsibility. Decisions are published with the reasons behind them.
Decisions may take longer and the leadership team cannot have a say on everything that happens in school. Leaders give up deciding all by themselves, and have to be able to lose an argument in public.
We know where decisions are made and who makes them. We can disagree openly without losing face. Culture is open and supportive.
Principle III
Principle
Development is what continuity is made of.
A school that does not evolve does not keep up with the competition. Ambition drives a school to develop and build its own identity. Sustainable development is based on traditions and research, not only on trends.
The development is continuous, not only project based. Every new initiative has three things settled before it starts: what it is for, who leads it, and how it is funded.
New ideas take preparation. We like ambitious plans, but we also support fast progress. Tradition and research support sustainable progress.
Development is built into the school's strategy and framework, and it is structured and resourced. It is continuously reviewed, and the school has the capacity to adjust direction if needed.
The result
Resources and time go to teaching and learning. Everything else is important, but it serves that.
We do well what is ours to do, and build the rest with partners who share the benefit.
People hold the decisions that belong to their work. Disagreement is open and costs no one their standing.
Development is structured, resourced and reviewed. We can adjust direction without losing our identity.
A successful school has a pronounced identity with a strong sense of belonging and traditions. A successful school opens up to the surrounding community, shares its decisions and keeps constantly evolving with the world around it.
Larus Academia — School leadership