I constantly share on Twitter ideas to set a positive tone in a school and firmly believe that we should all model certain behaviours consistently. By adopting this approach in schools I have worked in and visited, I have seen many changes in the way in which students react, reciprocate and then pass these on to others. Every interaction at school counts between all staff members and these signals are boosted and relayed to others in the environment.
In this article, I will be sharing ideas and strategies at I have used in the 7 schools (UK and internationally) I have worked in. Begin TODAY, modelling, displaying and demonstrating positivity in your school.
Make time
“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care” — Theodore Roosevelt
Creating a culture
What makes a good school culture? - looks at the connections, relationships and interactions between people in an organisation. Good communication and praise are a high priority in the environment and the message of what is rewarded focuses on hard work, positivity and collaboration. The first stage is to recognise what makes a positive work culture. This can be applied to the education industry and should be discussed in the SLT and then with the rest of the staff at the start of the academic year. Teachers can make mistakes, are encouraged to reflect upon these mistakes and then think about what they can do in the future. These are all important messages that we give to our students each day and should be modelled by all staff in the school. This will take time and work to build the culture and you can possibly adopt some visible 'quick wins' in changing to a positive culture now.
Challenge your team to email or say 5 positive things about members of staff a week for the term.
Routines
Positive routines in your environment can be embedded into your daily schedule and these can set expectations for others to follow and to copy. As a leader or a teacher, you can adopt some simple ideas that will have a positive impact on the learning environment in which you work. You can add many more along the lines of 'thinking of others', here are some that I do each day:
Arrive early at school.
Positively greet all staff and students in the morning (without asking for something!).
Dress appropriately for school.
Have an organised desk, room and be clean (Don't leave clutter in rooms after lessons, leave litter lying around or spill food/drinks without tidying up).
Attend meetings on time.
Smile.
Listen to others.
Thank staff, students and parents.
These are all simple ways to create a positive work environment and some examples of appreciation exercises.
“Some people think only intellect counts: knowing how to solve problems, knowing how to get by, knowing how to identify an advantage and seize it. But the functions of intellect are insufficient without courage, love, friendship, compassion, and empathy.” - Dean Koontz
It is very important to highlight the acts of kindness for one another. These will not always be seen and when they are, they should be dearly valued. We need to strive to reduce negativity in the workplace, ignore the negative and understand the negativity bias. Do not be deterred by negative comments, it is often easier to be sarcastic, negative and criticise others in a way to create an excuse to blame. Continue to model the way.
Be aware of what you say to each other, an offhand comment can lead the member of staff to dwell on this for a long period of time. Building an environment of praise, reward and highlighting great areas of work can pay dividends in staff morale and sense of belonging.
Include thank you's, specific areas of praise in your regular staff briefings so that people feel valued and appreciated publicly.
Create a 'balance' at school between the focus on students and building a positive, caring environment for everyone. This will in turn, develop a strong sense of a friendly, accommodating and warm culture in your school. You can start by creating a positive culture in your school and real ways in which to start to build that culture.
Add this (School Culture) in you SLT meetings as a rolling item to review the culture in school and evaluate the ways in which you are promoting a positive approach that students will learn from. See how many of the Dos and Don'ts you have followed during the last year and plan ahead to change this. You know when you have made progress towards a positive culture by revisiting the 4 key characteristics of a positive work culture and also taking into account some of the following:
Staff wellbeing surveys
Staff retention statistics
Student voice
Attendance/punctuality and medical statistics
“I hope you always have a reason to smile.” - Maya Angelou.
Spend time to have a positive conversation with a member of staff. Set this as a weekly target at first to speak face to face to a teacher and take the time to appreciate someone. Judge the reaction and reflect upon this:
How did it feel?
How did they react?
Was it easy to do?
What will you do next?
Will you change your approach?
Remember, you can ALL change a school culture, one step at a time. EVERY single interaction, emotion and thought at school can help 'nudge' the school in a positive direction. A positive school helps the wellbeing of staff and students, meaning a better experience for everyone.
Published by Paul Walton. @paultwalton
Principal, Educator, Leadership Coach.
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