Good grief

On the morning of May 1^st, my younger brother Tony died suddenly. This afternoon, under a beautiful spring sky, we buried him. He was 33 and lives on through Lauren and their children Joseph, Anthony, Maria, Elizabeth and Lucia.

A few nights before he passed, I mentioned to a friend how blessed I had been in life to reach my forties without losing anyone close to me in an untimely fashion. Little was I to know what would happen a couple of days later.

I’ve been taken aback at how Tony’s death has hit me. The grief is unlike anything I have experienced before. I’m normally a fan of stoicism, but on this occasion I’m trying not to ignore the feelings that have been unleashed. Instead, I’m attempting to surf the waves of grief that come my way, and embrace the moments where I fall and get temporarily sucked under.

He was such a smashing guy. The memories of him shared by friends and family have been inspiring, hilarious, and heart-breaking in equal measures. It is clear that the teenager voted “Boy of the Year” by his Sixth Form peers went on to be a treasured member of the wider community. Again and again people have mentioned his kindness,  and an ability to form and maintain relations with all sorts of people from all walks of life.

Tony was a man of faith and family. Where I moved away from the religion of our upbringing, he remained a committed Catholic of the most traditional flavour. On all sorts of issues, we held very strong, and very different opinions. This could have been a source of tension or argument, but it never was.

We generally chatted about the usual sort of things – kids, work, childhood memories, our disappointing lawns, and so on. However, when we discussed more provocative topics, he never let things get personal or descend into an argument. In this way and many others, he was one of life’s diplomats. Where others might have pulled back, he forever tried to balance responsibilities and respect, to seek common ground and maintain relationships.

This trait of Tony’s keeps bubbling up in my mind when the grief tries to pull me down. Angry arguments have dominated our country in recent years. We’ve increasingly celebrated division over diplomacy, purity over pragmatism, and cynicism over compassion.

I’ve certainly played my part in this at times. I was already rethinking things these past few months, but Tony dying has brought into focus for me an example of how someone can make a difference in a really positive way. I wish I’d seen it and told him before he died – not that he’d have accepted the compliment if I’d given it, as he was modest to a fault.

Instead I’m left trying to work out how to extract positives from his passing. He was strong of opinion yet had friends from all over, and I’m convinced I can learn from this. And while he is no longer here to bring people together, we are and we can*.

I want some good to come of this grief. Kindness and respect towards others were his hallmark; I’m going to take time to figure how I can make it mine too.

Anthony Keith Lehain
4th July 1986 - 1st May 2020

* He also once forward-rolled for a mile for charity. I’m not sure what we can take from this, but I’m never shy of making tenuous links between things, so anything is possible.

To everything there is a season...

Confession: until I was well into my 20s, I didn't know that the lyrics to The Byrds song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" came from the Bible. When I finally twigged, suddenly there was an additional depth to it all, followed by a feeling of embarrassment that I'd not know this before.

In the same category as this can be placed:

- not knowing that Garibaldi was anything other than a type of biscuit;

- the discovery that the ship Bismark was named after someone quite important; and

- aged 30 realising that "Summer of '69" was not, after all, a song about Bryan Adams growing up in my hometown of Reading. (Don't ask.)

Not just a biscuit, apparently.

Ecclesiastes 3 1-8 has been going around my head quite a bit the last few weeks as I carried out one of my regular "where am I now? what should I do next?" ponderings.

I have been so very lucky. Getting the chance to set up and then lead a new school in one's own town has been even more amazing that I'd ever imagined. Yes, we've all worked incredibly hard as a team along the way - but we have always recognised the role of luck, and of the kindness of others, in our successes.

In just seven years we've managed to go from an idea among a group of teachers to a popular, oversubscribed, high-performing school, and then most recently we've formed a new multi-academy trust ("Advantage Schools") and got the green light to open a second new school in nearby St Neots. And actually it is because of this success that I have decided that now is the time for people to find my successor and for me to move on.

We've been working hard as a new MAT to have a very clear plan as to what we are going to do over the next few years. As a family of schools, we are looking to build upon what both BFS and Elstow School (our primary partner) has achieved to date, and to grow over the next few years. 

We're in a really strong position for someone to come in and lead. We've accumulated decent reserves as a result of careful management since we opened, and have a pretty healthy financial picture over the next few years too. Student numbers are growing at BFS as our local reputation develops, and our partner primary is consistently oversubscribed. Our St Neots Academy project is going to bring something quite special to the families of St Neots in the next year or so. And linked to the above, we will probably have the strongest set of staff to date next academic year, with potential for further development as we continue our move to a knowledge-based curriculum, and the benefits that brings to everyone.

So considering the above, and the next few years for both Advantage Schools and me, I decided that it would be a good time to have someone else come in and oversee the next phase of our journey.

Right from the start I'd always said that when we reached a point where I felt it was right for someone else to take over my baby, I'd happily move aside. This has always been about trying to improve things for local kids. We've made quite a bit of progress in this regard, and soon it will be someone else's privilege to head up our mission.

If you fancy taking over my hotseat or just to find out more about what we've got planned, drop me a line.

Between now and when I move on, I'm sure there'll be a time to weep and a time to laugh. In the meantime I've got some Year 11s to finish off for GCSEs, a curriculum to finalise for September, and the day-to-day lovely, crazy, brilliant, joyful, frustrating, unbelievable things that go with being Principal of my favourite school ever. 

***Bedford Free School to introduce 12 hour school day***

**PRESS RELEASE – EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 ON 01/04/2016**

Bedford Free School in significantly longer school day announcement:

• BFS to be first in country with compulsory 8am – 8pm lessons, Monday to Saturday.
• Changes to be introduced after extensive consultation with current Year 11 students.
• Impact of 72 hour school week to be assessed in partnership with University of Luton.
• School exploring the possibility of compulsory weekly-boarding and 24/7 learning from 2017.

BFS is delighted to announce today that from this September they will be the first school in the country to have lessons from 8am until 8pm, Monday to Saturday.

Principal Mark Lehain said:

“We have always been proud of our longer school day, and for a while now it has felt as though the obvious next step was to extend the school day late into the evening, and the school week into Saturday.”

Before making this momentous decision, extensive consultation with students was conducted. Mark Lehain said:

“Whilst our Year 11 are leaving us in a couple of months and won’t be around to actually experience the 72 hour school week, we decided that being the oldest and most mature students they would be most objective about such a change. I was delighted when they agreed so wholeheartedly with our proposal.”

Louisa Gradgrind, Head Girl, said:

“I only wish that I had been able to benefit from such a long and intense educational experience. My time at BFS has been amazing, but when I think of the hours I’ve wasted in the evenings relaxing and spending time with my family, I shudder to think what learning I have foregone.”

Timothy Cratchit, Head Boy, added:

“It’s not just about extra English and maths - when the Deputy Head Mr Donald pointed out how many extra hours of History that BFS students would enjoy, the penny dropped. Being able to study both Nazi Germany AND Vikings will transform life chances. I was delighted to be able to recommend adoption of the 72-hour school week to the Governors.”

The impact of such a long school week will be assessed in a unique partnership with Prof. Isla O’Daly at the University of Luton. Prof. O’Daly, Emeritus Professor of Feast Days & Holidays at the University’s Cauldwell Campus, explained:

“The short school day is a legacy of Victorian Britain, when today’s students need to be prepared for the jobs of tomorrow – jobs such as cyber-tree surgeons and cake database designers. The 72-hour school week is a brave move by BFS – its impact on student engagement, achievement and sleep patterns will be fascinating to track.”

Initial findings from the research are expected to be available by April 1^st next year. In another innovative move, the additional lessons will be staffed by local volunteer 6^th formers. BFS Chair of Governors Nigel Smythson said:

“We know how powerful peer teaching can be. We also know that school finances are only going to get tighter. Putting these two facts together, asking local teenagers to teach our teenagers for free made sense.”

Looking ahead, BFS are also exploring the possibility of converting the rooftop extension, currently being constructed, into a 500-bed dorm, and introducing compulsory weekly-boarding. Principal Mark Lehain said:

“The brain functions 24/7, 365 days a year – we are looking at how closely we can match the school experience to this. It’s also what Michael Gove would have wanted were he still Education Secretary. This is my tribute to him.”

Pride and Exam Results - lessons from our first set of GCSEs, no 1: "nobody knows nothing"

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a free school head in possession of exam results must be in want of a blog to explain the reasons for their incredible success.

However... this is not one of those posts.

A week on from Results Day, whenever I have talked through everything with people, two points keep pushing their way to the front of my mind:

1) we did alright in the end in terms of attainment (top of the town & second in our LA in terms of 5A*-C inc. E&M), and really well in terms of progress, but I can't stop focusing on those that didn't do as well as we'd hoped (for instance, 9 kids missed out on the "magic 5" by one subject & fewer than 3 marks - that's >10% of our cohort);

2) truthfully, during the long wait for results, we had no idea how we had done; if results had been 67% or 47%, as opposed to 57%, we wouldn't have been completely surprised (although obviously we would have been delighted with the former & heart broken with the latter. * )

Me, discussing forecast
grades with governors

If I'm honest, it's all left me feeling somewhat flat. (I wasn't expecting euphoria - but was hoping for more of a sense of relief than I'm experiencing so far!)

I know that a big part of this is just me being me. I also know that there was the fact that I/we felt under particular pressures as these were our first results, and one of the first for free schools.

But forget my irrelevant feelings. I've made a conscious effort to talk to other Heads this past week, and read as many related articles and blogs elsewhere too, and this seems to be a relatively common response. Anticlimax abounds. Is this really the case amongst Heads and other teachers - or just my reading of things?

Here in Bedford results remained flat compared to last year and undoubtedly too low for anyone's liking - and this certainly wasn't for want of colleagues trying their best to rebound from last year's large falls.

The LA average was 51.9%. Strip out the two big village schools and I calculate the town average to be roughly 44%. I don't know how other schools' outcomes compare to their forecasts, so can't say if this is what was expected.

Anyway, what is the first lesson I'm drawing from our results?

I think it is this: right now I reckon that "nobody knows nothing." With all the changes working their way through English education right now - and I think they are nearly all necessary - the volatility within the system is going to make students' outcomes (and teachers' lives) pretty unpredictable.

There were some amazing results at BFS across a whole bunch of subjects. My school came out on the "right" side of it this time around. But will we next time?

Even with our all-important first set of results out of the way now, seeing what is going on elsewhere hasn't half left me nervous about next summer already!

Whilst we landed roughly where we thought we would this time, and forecast a big jump next year, I'm no longer sure we can say that last bit with any great security. So the nerves I've felt for the past 6 months, which I thought were just a first time freakout, haven't dissipated yet. I think I am going to start the new year as anxious as I finished the last... 


(* = Don't get me wrong - we had an internal forecast of 60%, and a range that we thought we'd be in, but it was massive: when asked by people how we'd do, I'd say "somewhere between 45% and 65%.)

The Free School Final Checklist, point 1: agree your Red Lines.

(This is part of a series of posts looking at the final things to check before opening a new school: http://lehain.blogspot.com/2014/08/opening-free-school-next-week-few-last.html )

Working on the basis that people who had done it before would know far more about things than me, between the start of the Bedford Free School campaign and its eventual opening in September 2012, I made it my business to talk to as many people as possible who had already opened schools themselves.

Two (or more) heads are better than one when setting up a school

So many people were so generous with their time and experiences. Amongst others I spoke to Bruno Reddy & Max Haimendorf of King Solomon Academy, Sarah Counter of Canary Wharf College, Iain Denning (who was starting head at Hazeley in Milton Keynes & is now at Sharnbrook Upper School) and Peter Barnes (Head at Oak Grove in MK)

[Of course I also spoke with Toby Young, whose West London Free School opened in 2011, a year before BFS, and who wrote a great book about it called, of course, How To Set Up A Free School.]

Two things cropped up with every single one of them. The first wasn't a surprise to me: the importance of getting culture right from day one.

What I wasn't expecting - and what I would encourage all people about to open a school to get sorted NOW - was the other point: BEFORE THE SCHOOL OPENS make sure you have agreed with your Governors what your behaviour "red lines" are going to be.

Don't want no blurred lines at your school. (For SO many reasons.)

Every new school will have had to produce its behaviour policy & exclusions policies well in advance (these policies will have been checked during the pre-opening OFSTED inspection). However, it is one thing writing (copying?) and adopting these - it is another thing completely to have to implement them.

The last thing you want in any school - particularly a new school - is for there to be any differences of understanding between the Governors and those running the school when it comes to hard decisions, especially those as important and emotive as exclusions.

So, if you are about to open a school next week and haven't yet done so the most important thing I think you should do is:

1) find some time (somehow!) to meet with the Governors - at the very least those you have lined up to form your Governors' Discipline Committee in the event of any exclusions (and if you somehow haven't agreed who those will be and got them the necessary training, do it IMMEDIATELY)

2) talk through (again) the principles you want the culture and day-to-day behaviour to be based upon

3) more specifically, consider scenarios with more extreme breaches of behaviour & how they expect that they will be dealt with: do they want internal procedures to manage them - when might it have to be a FTE or even a PX? 

What exactly does "zero tolerance"
mean to your governors?

No one wants or expects poor behaviour in their brand new school, and the vast majority of schools won't need to draw upon the more serious aspects of their behaviour/exclusions policies any time soon. 

Having things clear in the minds of you and your governors means you can make things clearer in the minds of your staff and students come opening day - helping to prevent the kind of incidents that would require its use in the first place.


Next up: - Hold on to the Vision: keeping your eye on the ball amidst everything else.

Opening a free school next week? A few last minute things to consider...

It has been a real privilege to be involved with the free school programme right from the go.

I first got involved when I heard about the New Schools Network through a friend & met Rachel Wolf for a coffee to find out more. That would have been early 2009 I think - it's been around 5 and a half years since then and in that time free schools in England have gone from a Policy Exchange idea to Conservative party policy to a reality.



There's been a General Election & the 2010 Academies Act to make them happen, and processes for application and pre-opening set up (and relentlessly retweaked) by the DfE. As I type this 174 schools have opened, with another 156 approved to open in the future.

One of the best aspects of being in the first wave of free schools has been the goodwill and support available to us from so many sources - including, but not limited to, NSN and the DfE. We have been able to see how things evolve over time and to be able to share our experiences with new groups wanting to open their own schools.

Bedford Free School has now been open for two full academic years, and next summer we'll be (I think) the first brand new free school to have a set of GCSE results - 20th August 2015 is very much on all our minds already. (This will be only our third year of operation but Bedford still has lower/middle/upper schools, with transitions between years 4/5 and 8/9, and so we opened with both a year 7 and a year 9).

With around one hundred new free schools due to open in a week or so, I thought it might be worth sharing some of the main things we have learned since opening in September 2012. I don't particularly claim we are experts at anything, and we still have huge amounts to learn as a school - but I think our experiences to date provide some useful examples and pointers for those about to start on the next (and most important) part of their free school journey.

I've been pondering what lessons are most relevant with only a week to go, so I won't be discussing building works (too late now!) or the pre-opening OFSTED (presumably passed long ago).

For ease, I'll break them up into a few posts, and start with those most pertinent to getting off to a smooth start next week. (If there are any experienced free schoolers out there who think I've missed anything, or anyone about to open who wants me to write about something on their mind, get in touch to let me know: mark@lehain.com)

Topics:

- (No) Blurred Lines: things the Head & Governors need to agree before a student crosses the threshold.
- Hold on to the Vision: keeping your eye on the ball amidst everything else.
- Day 1 practicalities: things to have to hand.
- IT and other lesson resources: assume nothing.
- Student & staff records and your MIS: get it right first time.
- Bye bye friends & family: planning for term 1 survival.
- Sept '15: recruiting another intake whilst running a new school.
- Switching from start up to delivery: getting from ideas to implementation.

No ifs, no buts - what we can learn from Outliers & outliers

Like many teachers, a frustration I have is the lack of time (and energy) to read as much as I'd like during term time.

Fortunately, my birthday falls at the start of the summer holidays & I am blessed with friends who buy me great books as presents knowing that it's the one time of the year when I am likely to be able to commit to read them properly. Until I set off on the epic adventure that is setting up and running a free school, summer holidays were a festival of reading.

The Good Book

Summer 2009 one of my reads was Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I love pretty much everything he has written. (I finally got around to his latest, David & Goliath, this holiday.)

The way he takes complex concepts and brings them to life through anecdotes, examples and evidence always leaves me wanting more. I love the way he gently but firmly forces his readers to confront counter-intuitive ideas. In Outliers he takes the reader on a journey, exploring what we can learn from exceptional individuals and organisations, climaxing with the tale of KIPP, and a brilliant telling of his own family's story.

It blew my mind, and was the single biggest thing that got me seriously working out how we could improve educational standards where I live. When I returned to work that autumn, I didn't know quite what I wanted to do, but I knew that I would be doing something different the following year.

And 5 years on, here I am at BFS, focused every day on how we can achieve our own outlier status next summer.

Why am I writing about this after results day 2014?

There were many fascinating concepts explored in Outliers that have stuck with me: "accumulative advantage", the 10,000 hours rule, and rice Vs wheat & the link with maths ability, to name but three. The one of most interest to me today though is the idea that by looking at persistent outliers we can nearly always learn something about how we can do things better. 

All too often in life, when we come across someone or something exceptional we revert to "yes... but-ery". We look for reasons why the success of others can be explained away and our own relative failures can be justified:

"Yes, it's great that artist has had such success, but he always had the backing of his family"

"I love what they've achieved, but they had a lucky break"

Since entering teaching in 2002, I have been amazed at how often people dismiss strong performances by others with "yes...but-ery". If students haven't done so well over time when compared with others, we have a whole litany of reasons to hand as to why ours underachieved or theirs did better:

"Yes, but that school has improved the intake of the kids it gets..."

"Yes, but in Bedford we lose loads of bright students to the private schools..."

"Yes, but that school doesn't have as many kids on FSM..."

Outliers suggests we should be doing the exact opposite: rather than dismiss outlandishly good results in individual schools, we should be knocking down their doors to see what they're doing & what (if anything) we can learn from them.

Mr Reddy's Secrets to Success

I was lucky enough to meet Bruno Reddy, one of the founders of King Solomon Academy in 2010. It turns out he grew up in Bedford & he heard we were setting up a new school, so he got in touch and insisted we meet so he could share what KSA had learned so far in their journey.

Clearly they continued to learn lots as yesterday they announced one of the most phenomenal set of GCSE results I've ever seen. Look them up. Amazing.

Yet if you go on Twitter right now and search "King Solomon Academy" or "Perry Beeches" or the name of other super-high performing schools, you will find teachers discussing their amazing results, and all too often it's done with a sense of "yes, but..."

Too much discussion is about whether their success is because they have small year groups/more funding/high attrition rates/sneaky selection etc etc etc - not "OMG, that's AMAZING, I want that for my students, tell me more!?"

And whilst these outliers are, by definition, relatively few and far between, they are starting to grow in number, thus making their success even harder to ignore. Maybe when it was just one school it would be forgivable - but just off the top of my head I can think of KSA, Perry Beeches and Mossbourne as three schools who seem to have bucked historical trends and shown that entire cohorts of kids can achieve.

So well done to Liam Nolan & Team PB, Max/Bruno/Natasha & the KSA crew, and everyone else engaged in the mission of bucking trends and becoming outliers. Thanks for showing us the way ahead & what is possible.

It's now for the rest of us to be humble and listen and learn from them.

(I've already blocked out time in my diary to go and visit. Guys - you teach me how you do it and I'll bring cake, that sound like a deal?)