Service: enabling the staff of a large and successful secondary school to overcome a barrier to morale and raise their impact
Outcomes
With rezolvPS support, the school resolveD the practical issues over lunchtime arrangements and build a higher level of morale.
Governors were delighted at the outcome: improved morale; retained flexibility for students and families; more volunteers for lunchtime activities; better solutions.
The capability of the school staff to face difficulties and act together as a team to solve them had been substantially increased.
Background
Llantarnam School has become one of the largest and most successful schools in south Wales. Numbers of students are increasing year on year, attracted by the school’s growing reputation and improving achievements. The school undertook a number of changes to improve the day-to-day experience of young people. One of these, affecting the lunchtime arrangements, had prompted a negative response from some school staff. The differing views of the staff were hardening and affecting morale.
Process
Using rezolvPS processes we:
· gathered the full range of views by personal interview, questionnaire and observation and dialogue in school;
· enabled Governors, Leadership Team and full Staff to understand the complexity of the issue, their responses, and their impact on morale;
· engaged all staff together around a joint commitment to solving a complex issue;
· formulated a stimulating strategy to engage all staff in deciding and mandating action in teams;
· ensured that change was agreed and implemented which would build team morale
by formulating and modeling “the Llantarnam way”.
David Bright, headteacher of Llantarnam:
“The way the mandate group formed was the secret of success. The changes gained the commitment of the full staff; they saw the process was totally transparent. The staff decided the issues to be faced and many constructive ideas came up. The Governors are delighted. It feels like there are now 3 times as many teachers in school!”
David Bright, headteacher of Llantarnam:
“The way the mandate group formed was the secret of success. The changes gained the commitment of the full staff; they saw the process was totally transparent. The staff decided the issues to be faced and many constructive ideas came up. The Governors are delighted. It feels like there are now 3 times as many teachers in school!”