What makes a successful school?

Nhulunbuy High School, on the Gove Peninsula, in Arnhem, Northern Territory, is aiming for a personal best in this, the year of the Beijing Olympics. With a change of principal at the start of the school year, the staff have been investigating what it will take for them to ‘walk the walk’ and ‘talk the talk’ of their school vision: ‘To make Nhulunbuy High a School of Excellence in Remote Education and the school of choice for secondary aged students from the Nhulunbuy District’.

Initial interviews with all staff led to the development of a set of protocols for Skilful Conversations and the formation of Professional Learning Teams (a continuing project). Staff briefings were introduced to allow the whole time in staff meetings to be devoted to strategic reflection. These reflections were recorded and left in the staff common room for staff to add their thoughts to what other people had been writing. These reflections and the conversations around them will then be the stepping stones for developing our four-year plan, as per the Accountability and Performance Improvement Framework.

In a parallel process, we are trialing electronic communication with our Registered Training Organisation and staff involved in our vocational education area. We now have a message board to assist with communication in this area.

The starting point for our reflections on enhancing school tone was a staff meeting in which staff were given the challenge: ‘For us to walk the walk and talk the talk, for the vision of making Nhulunbuy High a School of Excellence in Remote Education and a great school, what would be see in terms of . . .?’ Staff members, teaching and non-teaching, rotated through nine ‘reflection stations’ where they were required to record their thoughts (see below). The sheets with the records of staff thoughts were left in the common room for two weeks, then typed up and left there again for another two weeks.

These sheets engendered many a conversation in the staff room and some honest and, in some ways confronting, discussions:

• ‘We need a greater sense of opting in, not opting out.’
• ‘Greater acceptance of change’ versus ‘No change for change’s sake.’
• ‘Raise the bar – we're here to provide the highest quality education to our kids.’
• ‘I expect to be led and to be managed effectively – it is my entitlement as an employee. I do not feel this currently.’
• ‘I need to be supported and assisted in ET2 management, not torn down by staff.’

The principal undertook to get these thoughts into a diagram, which was then looked at in a further staff meeting. This time, the challenge was ‘Let's be honest about where we are, so that later, we can work out how we are going to get from where we are to where we want to be’. This led to robust conversations, for example:

• Our people will be committed to working in teams versus our people are committed to working in teams.
• What are the blockers and what do we need to do to do reach our desired future?
• We are still working on the exact wording for where we are versus where we want to be.

For purposes of this paper, the findings from our nine reflections stations have determined that the following contribute to a successful school.

1. People

• are committed to working as a coherent team, despite individual preferences/differences / ages
• conduct themselves professionally
• are skilled appropriately and participate in relevant professional growth and development
• have enthusiasm and contribute positively to school tone
• feel safe and valued.

2. Programs

• are connected throughout the school
• contribute to exit outcomes we expect of students
• include deliberate teaching of social skills, self-awareness and self-esteem building
• encourage cooperative learning
• are appropriately resourced and supported
• will lead to multiple pathways
• encourage student leadership

3. Pedagogy

• is aligned with modern educational trends and research
• is chosen to ensure engagement, inclusivity and caters for all learning styles.

4. Participation

• parents are made to feel welcome at school
• parental involvement is encouraged
• public relations and marketing is important
• our School Council supports us morally and practically.

5. Physical environment

• is appropriate for modern pedagogy
• is attractive
• is safe, clean and tidy
• has lots of sports gear/ play equipment available
• has technological support for high quality teaching.

6. School discipline plan

• Is fair and effective
• Standards are known by the community
• Focuses on reinforcing positive behaviours
• Insist on high standards of behaviour and respect for others
• Is consistently supported by all staff

7. Staff development

• We will have a positive appraisal system.
• Staff are encouraged to enhance their skills to cope with changes in their work.
• Staff development is supported by our school budget.
• We provide regular positive feedback to each other.
• Mutual support among staff.

8. Special events and traditions

• We have special events that add a sparkle to school life. They enhance school tone and foster positive attitudes.

9. Our staff attitude

• All staff demonstrate positive attitudes and genuine concern and care for the education and wellbeing of all students.

From our reflection stations, we have determined we will acknowledge that we are all accountable for the success of the school and will focus on:

• quality curriculum
• quality preparation
• quality relationships
• quality teaching
• quality behaviour
• quality attitudes
• quality work
• quality achievements
• quality feedback
• quality pathways.

We are looking forward to breaking down what these mean to us as a school, and having shared language, as we do our four-year improvement plan.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ms Kate Middleton is Principal of Nhulunbuy High School, in Nhulunbuy, in the Northern Territory, Australia.