Education for Empowerment

Out of the post-Covid world that we will ultimately find ourselves in, could we see it as an ideal opportunity to reflect and reset in order to identify our core purpose as educators?  There is currently plenty of discussion surrounding ‘catch-up’ and alleviating the gaps that may have arisen in children’s learning over the past year, but how often do we truly consider what our roles are or how we might create the best model for education within society?

What values do we look for in our centres of learning?

To maintain the highest standards

To be world-class in outlook and expectation

To set the agenda for a communities’ needs

To enable independence and autonomy in learning

To build a foundation of trust and responsibility

Do we uphold the concept that ‘learning for all’ is a constant process and that we are all open-minded in our outlook towards the opportunities that everyone is given? Our children deserve to live within a culture that strives for the highest levels of attainment coupled with an understanding that aspirations are without bounds.

We must build outstanding, effective classroom-based pastoral care that is both immediate and incisive enough to enable limited disruption to learning whilst maintaining the highest quality of learning support that all children may, at some point, require.

How well do we know our communities?  The visibility and presence of school leaders, to be the first point of contact that families see and that can provide a familiar and friendly welcome that removes barriers and builds rapport and connections.  How often do we remind ourselves of the situation people find themselves in and how this could impact in some way upon their children’s learning?  Do we take ourselves away from the school context and into the community in order to change our perspectives and create an empathic foundation for better understanding the needs of the people we support?

Many families recognise and uphold the values of education and the importance of learning.  There is a clear desire and willingness to both positively engage and want the best for their children. We must consistently build upon that capital and lay even stronger foundations in order to become symbols of academic achievement that can break through potentially negative cycles of poverty and disadvantage as well as create opportunities that mirror all of our aspirations and aims.

Our organisations must strive to become communities of effective practice – enabling opportunities for shared support; building upon focussed development; creating staff-led training that is purposeful and rooted within what our requirements are.  We need to place greater emphasis upon the importance of support from within, using experience and skill combined with a clear and defined structure for implementation across all levels – this will recognise the power of teamwork and collaboration as well as harnessing individual endeavour.

A school should be a beacon of excellence for the community that it serves. Educators model the importance of learning and the growth mindset required to ensure that no barriers exist to the possibilities that the world around us presents.