For a school to improve, people have to feel able to say when something is not working.
That might be a teacher admitting that a lesson did not go as planned. It might be a senior leader questioning a decision they have made or a member of staff raising a concern before it becomes a much bigger problem. These conversations are not always comfortable, but they are necessary.
They only happen when there is trust.
I have worked in schools where people felt able to be honest and in schools where they were much more guarded. The difference is obvious. When people do not feel safe they become careful about what they say and who they say it to. They may agree in a meeting then express what they really think afterwards. Problems are hidden and leaders are sometimes the last to know.
That is not because people do not care. More often, it is because they have learned that speaking honestly comes at a cost.
Trust does not mean that everyone is comfortable all the time or that difficult conversations are avoided. It certainly does not mean lowering expectations. In fact, honest challenge is much more likely to be accepted when people know it is fair and intended to help.
Most teachers want to do their job well. If something is not working, they need to be able to talk about it without feeling that they are being labelled as a poor teacher. There is a difference between addressing an aspect of someone’s practice and making them feel that everything they do is being called into question.
Leaders build trust slowly. It comes from doing what we said we would do, keeping confidences and treating people fairly. It also comes from explaining decisions rather than expecting people to accept them simply because they have come from the leadership team.
Sometimes it means admitting that we have got something wrong.
I do not believe leaders lose credibility by changing their minds when new information emerges. Quite the opposite. Pretending to be certain when we are not does little to build confidence. Staff need to know that they can question a decision and that their professional knowledge will be taken seriously.
This is particularly important after a difficult period. Telling people that everyone needs to move on is not enough. People may still be hurt, angry or unsure about what will happen next. They need to feel heard and they need to see that something has changed. That takes time. Trust cannot be restored through a staff meeting or a carefully worded statement. It is rebuilt through what happens afterwards.
Delegation also tells us a lot about trust.
It is easy to give somebody a task. It is harder to give them genuine responsibility for it. If we ask someone to lead, they need the information and authority to make decisions. They also need room to approach the work in their own way.
That can be uncomfortable, particularly when they make a different choice from the one we would have made. Unless there is a serious concern, we have to allow that difference. Otherwise, we are not really developing leaders. We are asking people to carry out our instructions.
Trust also means being willing to hear things we may not want to hear. A strong leadership team is not one in which everyone agrees with the headteacher. I have always valued colleagues who could challenge my thinking and make me look at an issue differently. A leader’s response to challenge matters. If the first person who asks a difficult question is dismissed or treated differently afterwards, others will notice.
Children notice these things too.
They need to know that making a mistake is part of learning. They need to believe that adults will listen when something is wrong. They also need boundaries that are clear and fair. Trust is not separate from teaching, behaviour or safeguarding. It affects all of them.
Of course, leaders sometimes have to intervene. There will be occasions when practice is unsafe or when someone has not improved despite appropriate support. Trust does not mean ignoring this. It means dealing with concerns properly, looking at the evidence and making decisions fairly. Even when the outcome is difficult, people should understand how it was reached.
One question tells us a great deal about the culture of a school:
What happens when somebody says, “I need help”?
Are they listened to and supported to improve? Or are they judged, discussed by others or quietly seen as less capable?
People quickly learn whether it is safe to be honest.
A great school is not one where nothing ever goes wrong. It is one where people can talk about difficulties early enough to do something about them.
This is the fourth in a series on the ingredients of a great school. New instalments are added regularly: you can find the latest on the Articles page. You can also read more about my leadership background on the About page.
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