At this year’s (brilliant) Music Teachers’ Association conference, I sat on a panel for a session amusingly titled: ‘Moving to the dark side: stepping up to SLT’. The ‘dark side’ is a common perception of our school senior leadership teams (SLTs). It’s a view rooted in a lack of confidence in their understanding of music, based on experience where it is forced into systems that simply do not work. But, for many reasons, we need creatives in leadership teams – music leaders bring a voice to the whole school leadership table that is unique and significant.
Fundamentally, we need leaders with the vision and courage to place creativity at the centre of our learning communities. If music is going to survive the catastrophic decline we currently see in the state sector, we have to have leaders who cherish, understand and know how to nurture it. More practically, music leaders already have so many attributes that are desirable for whole school leadership. Musicians are great analysts. Musicians can come out of the detail and see the big picture. Musicians are experts at people management. They work with talented individuals that they bring together under a clear vision to produce something greater than the sum of those individuals, managing egos, issues of self-confidence, celebrating success and addressing under performance. Music leaders are used to organising events for the whole school, working with tight budgets, negotiating with other leaders and drawing staff in from all disciplines to support. They know how to be leaders and team players, and can easily flex between the two.
How did I get here?
It was never my intention to be a headteacher. I was very happy leading music across a successful MAT, writing cross-phase curricula, ensuring every child could learn an instrument, designing pathways for their development and organising inspirational and aspirational events. However, the opportunity to set up a music specialist school on a highly deprived estate in north Bristol was such an exciting proposal that my plans changed. My accidental route to this role left me with gaps in my knowledge and experience and so my advice to aspirant senior leaders or heads is to plan to fill some of those holes earlier than I did.
The move from middle to senior leadership represents a shift from a defined area of responsibility to being accountable for the whole school. As a curriculum leader this requires you to delve into the types of knowledge and skills other faculties focus on and how this impacts their pedagogy. Read up on assessment theory, quiz your colleagues on why, how and what knowledge skills and understanding are assessed. Understand your whole school SEND strategy – learn about the evidence behind the policies that are in place.
If you’re aiming for headship from a curriculum pathway, often the biggest blind spot is the pastoral/safeguarding side of the school. Volunteer for areas of school life you are least sure of. Gain clarity about the waves of pastoral intervention your school has in place. What is the provision for students who struggle to access mainstream education? Offer to visit an Alternative Learning Provider, sit in on a reintegration following a suspension and find out about what support is put in place to help young people in these situations.
Another key area is finance. Understand how your school is funded, how and why funds are distributed and where the biggest funding issues are. Read your school’s self-evaluation and development plan – quiz your leaders on this. If your school were an ensemble, which parts are sounding great, which parts need attention? How would you improve the ensemble?
Applying for a leadership role
Your covering letter needs to catch the short-lister’s eye quickly and effectively, standing out in a field of 20 to 50 applicants. As a musician, you offer a lot (see above) but a non-specialist head will need this spelling out. There are a few key things I’m looking for:
- Vision for the role
- Clear impact in your current post evidenced by hard and/or soft data
- Strategic thinking
- Self-reflection and evidence that by knowing yourself, you can flex in leading others
- You are up to date in current thinking for the area you are applying for
- The school’s mission, values and drivers are aligned with your own.
The interview
When you are called to interview, have a strategy for the day, treating it like a competitive audition. Interviews are false environments. Make eye contact, smile, consider your nervous behaviours and purposefully avoid them. Avoid engaging too much with other candidates, who will inevitably affect your confidence. You need all your energy to be channelled into the tasks set. Practise everything you can beforehand in the same way you would rehearse for a performance. However you are feeling, be bold in sharing who you are, just as you would do sharing a piece of music.
And finally…
Conductors do not play all the instruments but set direction, tempo, dynamics and give specific feedback. Similarly, headteachers are not experts in all aspects of school life but lead individuals and teams to produce something very special. If you’re unsure whether to take the step into leadership, follow my example: I found that personal growth really does happen outside of your comfort zone, and this was hugely rewarding. You have all those skills mentioned above (and many more!). With the change in rhetoric coming from a new government, now is the time for musicians to step up. Without being overdramatic, schools need leaders like you – the musical life of this country needs leaders like you.
