The Shifting Sands of School Culture

The Shifting Sands of School Culture

Throughout a career in education, one of the most fascinating—and challenging—phenomena to observe is the delicate nature of institutional culture. I have spent the majority of my career in environments where a "culture of respect" was the default setting. In those schools, the discipline of learning was ingrained; classrooms ran smoothly not because of iron-fisted rule, but because of a shared, quiet understanding of expectations.

However, the broader educational landscape is rarely uniform. At various points, most leaders will find themselves "retooling" to address environments where that default setting has been disrupted. I am currently reflecting on the specific challenges that arise when a culture begins to unravel, characterised by:

• Boundary Testing: Defiance, aggression, and a casual approach to uniform standards.

• Presence Issues: Endemic absenteeism and the internal "truancy" of wandering corridors.

• The "Broken Windows" Effect: Where low-level disruption—phones, chatting, or lack of equipment—signals to students that the environment is no longer one of high expectations.

It is sobering to see how quickly a tipping point can be reached. As soon as students perceive a sense of impunity, the "quiet middle"—those children who want to do the right thing—can be swept along by the tide.

So, for any leader or teacher facing a cultural shift, how do we navigate this without losing our focus? Here are the pillars I rely on:

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1. Radical Consistency over Severity

Impunity is the fuel for chaos. The solution isn't necessarily harsher punishments, but the certainty of a response. It is far more effective to be consistently persistent than occasionally explosive.

The Threshold: The battle for the classroom is often won or lost at the door. Correcting a small detail before a student enters the room establishes that they are entering a governed space.

2. Protect the "Quiet Middle"

In a disrupted environment, the 10% of students causing the trouble can demand 90% of our energy. We must consciously pivot back to the students who are meeting expectations. Narrating the positive behaviour you see reminds the disruptors that they are not the protagonists of the lesson.

3. Depersonalise the Defiance

When a student is rude, it is rarely a personal attack on the teacher; it is a performance for their peers or a reaction to a lack of structure. Viewing these outbursts through a clinical, "systems-failure" lens is essential for maintaining professional calm.

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Final Thoughts

While it is tempting to meet poor behaviour with ever more serious consequences, the real power lies in the "slow drip" of unwavering expectations. Retooling isn't just about new sanctions; it’s about holding the line with a calm, professional smile until the students realise that the path of least resistance is, once again, the path of learning.

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The FLMOP Framework

I stumbled across this last night; something I will be trying with my classes.

The FLMOP Framework

The goal is to provide the Means of Participation (MoP) before the Task/Question.

Front-Load (The "Signal")

Before you reveal the question, you tell the pupils exactly how they will be expected to participate. This settles their "behavioural" brain so their "cognitive" brain can focus on the content.

Example: "In a moment, I am going to ask you about the causes of the Cold War. You will have 30 seconds of Silent Solo thinking time, and then I will use Cold Call."

Means of Participation (The "How")

You explicitly name the mechanism. This eliminates the "grey area" where pupils aren't sure if they should put their hand up, shout out, or talk to a neighbour.

Common MoPs:

• Cold Call: "I will pick a name from the jar."
• Mini-Whiteboards: "Write your answer, then wait for the 'Show Me' signal."
• Turn and Talk: "Turn to your partner and decide on one answer."
• Hands Down: "I want to see no hands; I'm going to choose someone myself."

Why it’s effective

• Reduces Anxiety: Pupils know exactly what is coming, which is particularly helpful for those who struggle with "on the spot" pressure.
• Eliminates "Opt-Out": By front-loading a Cold Call or a Whiteboard check, you signal that everyone is accountable for the answer before they even hear the question.
• Maintains Pace: It stops the "hands-up" culture where the same three pupils dominate the lesson, allowing you to sample the understanding of the whole room.

The "Bad" vs. "Good" Example

Standard Way: "What is the capital of France?... (shouting starts)... please put your hands up, guys!"

FLMOP Way: "In a moment, I'll ask for the capital of France. Front-load: No hands up, please. MoP: I'm going to wait 5 seconds and then Cold Call. [Pause] What is the capital of France?"

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Useful Google URLs

Over the past year or so, I've been luxuriating in the fact that once again I'm back working in the Google ecosystem. One thing I've been introduced to by my boss, who's somewhat of a Google nerd(!), is the ability to mess around with the suffixes at the end of the URLs.

Here are some examples:

Forced copies

The whole point of Google is generally to adopt the canonical principle, but there are use cases for forcing a recipient of a document you're sending to make a copy of it. If you want to do this, here's how.

Make sure you share the document and are using the share URL:

Change everything after edit... in the URL to copy as below:

Now, when you share the amended URL, the recipient will see something like this, forcing them to make a copy:

Forced English

This is particularly useful for Google Forms, which browsers have a habit of converting into the recipient's geo-located language unless you actively prevent this. Here's how:

Get your sharing permissions correct and view the live form in an incognito window:

After viewform append ?HL=EN where HL stands for Host Language and EN is the abbreviation for English, like so:

Share this link with your intended recipients, and they will see the form in English regardless of their location or browser settings.

Preview only

This is useful if you're sending a document or slideshow and you want to conceal that it has anything to do with Google. All recipients will be able to see is the content. Here's how:

Get the sharing permissions of your document/slideshow correct first:

Get rid of everything after the last forward slash and replace it with the word preview. Google will do the rest and the URL will look like this:

Share this link, and your recipients will see the document or slideshow in preview mode only.

Link to specific slide in Google Slides

Occasionally, you want eyeballs on a specific slide rather than the whole deck. You can do this as shown here:

Get the sharing permissions of the slideshow correct first and call up the URL:

Add the following text after the last forward slash: preview?rm=minimal&slide=

Add the slide number you want to link to after the equals sign (2 in the example above) and share that URL with your intended recipient.

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A parents' guide to revision

It can be a daunting task for parents to guide their children through the process of preparing for public examinations. As the summer exams approach, I offer this advice to help parents navigate the complexities surrounding getting adolescents properly prepared for their exams:

The important stuff

Keep things in perspective. Yes examinations are important, but they are a long way from being the be-all and end-all. Make sure your child knows you love them for who they are whether or not they go on to get stellar results. 

Create a happy and secure home. Somewhere they feel safe. Eat together as a family if you can, restrict screen time, and model respect and humility. It's far more important to be kind than clever.

The practicalities

Give your child a space where they can work independently and quietly. This is easier for some families than others, but do all you can to make it work. Serious study cannot be achieved with younger siblings running around, or with the TV on, or scrunched up on the sofa. A desk, a lamp and a comfortable chair in a private room is the ideal as a minimum.

Encourage your child to draw up a revision timetable and stick to it. Work back from the dates of the exams and make sure that there's time for everything. During the holidays children need time off, but they also need to study. I recommend four hours/day at GCSE and six hours/day at Sixth Form level. This may seem like a lot, but this is their one chance and it's competitive out there.

Show them how to break down these long periods of study into manageable chunks. The Pomodoro Technique is an excellent aid here. A Sixth Former might therefore do four Pomodoros and then have an hour off. Another four then have lunch and finish off with four in the afternoon or evening as fits in with their other commitments.

Encourage them to build in breaks for exercise (vital) and socialising. In the case of the latter, though, these holidays will be a little different. They can't expect to succeed if they are spending too much time with their friends. Focused study needs isolation. It will end soon...!

Make sure that they have what they need for their particular examination specification. Their school should be able to provide you with a list of specifications if you ask. Better schools should also provide revision materials and advice; they will have also drilled students on what they need to do over the holidays.

Emergency provision

I sometimes hear from parents whose children return home for the Spring Break completely lost as to what they need to do. Perhaps circumstance has meant they've missed a lot of school - illness, war, political uncertainty and economic misfortune have all affected children to a greater or lesser degree in the part of the world where I currently teach. Often pupils in this situation have very little in the way of written notes, they have no idea what will be in the exam, and they don't know what they need to learn.

In these situations, I often point parents to the CGP Guides. These are specification-specific and tell students exactly what they need to know in a clear and easily readable format. They are also available as digital versions for those who cannot get access to the printed version. Here for example is the link to the Edexcel Maths IGCSE Digital Revision Book. They exist for all other mainstream subjects too.

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Advice to new owners

Digging a hole, 2022.

Reflecting on my experiences across international start-ups, I’ve seen that the relationship between Owner and Head is the single biggest predictor of a school's success. Here is my 'open letter' to those taking that leap.

Dear Owner,

Congratulations! You have decided to invest in a school. In order to have amassed enough capital to allow you to do so, you deserve a considerable amount of respect. As a lifelong teacher, with no great wealth to my name, I am in awe of people like you. Through enterprise and hard work, you have added so much value to the world. And now you are set to start a school—what a wonderful gift to give to future generations.

The chances are that this line of business will be new to you and so I offer a little advice in the hope that you won't make the mistakes that I have seen others make in the past when starting up from scratch:

1. Don't underestimate the task. Everyone went to school, and most people, therefore, think they understand education. There is a world of difference though between having been to school/university yourself and actually running a school. Education is full of snake oil salesmen, myths and blind alleys. Choose your advisors carefully and focus rigorously on what can be proved to work, not what sounds good or looks good on a marketing brochure. Although it doesn't sell well the truth is that to do well in school, as in life, you have to work hard. There are no easy/quick fixes and you can't buy success.
2. Make sure you have a big war chest. Starting up is going to be painful and cost you a lot of money. If you can be profitable within the first five years you will be doing well. Most of the easy pickings are now gone. Expect some parents to be slow payers/no payers and have a watertight procedure on how to deal with this.
3. Pace yourself. You need at least two years from the moment you put up the website to the moment you welcome your first pupils. Sure, people will tell you it can be done faster than this, but they're likely blinded by excitement and over-optimism.
4. Focus on working on your business whilst others work in your business. This is an absolutely crucial distinction. There will be too much for you to do alone—you need to trust people and let them get on with their jobs. By all means, have regular meetings with them to hold them to account. But so long as you have appointed the right people you should otherwise let them alone to run your school for you.
5. Appoint a Director of Admissions early. The success or failure of your school will depend on the recruitment of pupils. This is why it is vital to appoint a knowledgeable Director of Admissions right from the very start and give him or her the budget and autonomy to begin recruiting. Together with the Head, they will start to populate your school and secure enrolments. Do not try to do this yourself and do not make the mistake of relying solely on (expensive) online advertising. When people are looking for a school for their children they need to speak to real people. Remember two years...
6. Do not over-egg the pudding. Promising parents rugby when you have no pitches, or ice-skating when you have no ice rink is dishonest. There is a certain type of family who are attracted to the pioneering spirit of joining a new school—these people are your core market. If you need to pull the wool over people's eyes in order to get them to sign up you're storing up problems for yourself.
7. Start small and plan to grow in a sequential way. If you try to open up to all year groups at once your small cohort of start-up staff will find themselves overstretched and/or you won't be able to afford to offer a reasonable diet of subjects in an economic way. Post-16 education is particularly expensive and difficult to run from a standing start with small numbers of pupils. If you're not sure why, educate yourself.
8. Be honest about your facilities and staff. When you start you will likely lack many of the facilities that more established schools enjoy. You may not have a special needs department, a counsellor, or music teachers. Be honest about this and listen to the professionals you have appointed when deciding what can or cannot be done. For every special case there is an opportunity cost. Listen to what you're being told to avoid breaking the camel's back.
9. Expect problems. Staff will leave, pupils will leave, and parents will get angry. If you are running a secondary school you'll need to be prepared to expel some pupils—startups attract pupils and parents who are refugees from more established schools and bring with them a lot of 'baggage'. If you cling onto these types too tightly for fear of losing revenue it will backfire. Build trust with those staff/parents/pupils who stay the course. Be kind.
10. Pay competitively and follow through. To attract good teachers you need to pay competitively, but most teachers are happy to work for a fair wage in a school where they feel they can make a difference. Once you've settled on a fair rate of pay do exactly what you said you were going to do. Moving the goalposts after appointment will immediately undermine trust at a time when you need it most.
11. Understand industry standards. It is industry standard to pay teachers an annual salary divided into 12 equal increments. Note that this involves paying them in the summer holidays—even if they have decided to leave your establishment. This may stick in the craw, but that's how it works. If you really can't stomach this way of operating, spell it out clearly from the outset.
12. Communicate, communicate, communicate. I understand that there are some aspects of ownership that must be pondered in lonely isolation. But you simply must be transparent with your appointed Head. He or she will be able to steady the ship for a while if credit is running dry. If you just stop paying bills with no explanation people will smell a rat.

I really hope it all goes well for you. I, for one, am rooting for you because the world needs more well-led schools with owners who have gone into the enterprise with the right motivation.

Best of luck!

Tim

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Working in an MCI School

Dear Colleague,

Congratulations on securing employment at Malvern College Egypt. MCE is one of a growing group of Malvern College International (MCI) Schools that exist around the world. In joining MCE, you are joining a family of schools which, although all very different, share a set of principles and values that inform their culture.

The 'Malvern Qualities' articulate what MCI stands and provide direction and purpose for all those who work in the schools. As you prepare for your new adventure in Egypt it is worth reflecting on them and what they might mean for you as you start teaching with us:

RESILIENCE

In coming to Egypt, you will be leaving behind the comfort of the familiar for a new adventure. The rewards will be great, but there are also likely to be moments of loneliness and disillusion. This is especially true if you are new to international teaching. On top of all the problems associated with your day job will be those associated with getting to grips with a new set of surroundings. Expect the unexpected, expect difficulties, and determine to face them down with humour and enthusiasm.

CURIOSITY

We expect our pupils to be curious, and to ask questions - we should be too. Take an interest in your colleagues (without being invasive, obviously!) Get out and about, meet people and join in with things. Treat your time in Egypt as an opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Be curious. 

SELF-AWARENESS

Remember that in Egypt you are somewhat of a curiosity. You are highly paid, western and English-speaking. Be aware of the privileges these things afford and conscious of the potential for cultural misunderstanding. Go out of your way to be kind and polite. Becoming an entitled expatriate is not a good look.

KINDNESS

Kindness trumps everything. Check yourself regularly: am I being kind? That's all that needs to be said really.

INDEPENDENCE

You're an adult, behave like one. Of course people will help, but it's surprising how infantilising coming to a new country can be for some people. One of my favourite aphorisms is: 'Find solutions, not problems'. If you do this, everyone's life is made easier.

INTEGRITY

This is best defined as doing the right thing when nobody is looking. This means we should practice what we preach. Think about that.

AMBITION

Be ambitious for yourself and for your pupils. The school will support all reasonable requests for training and self-improvement. We practice what we preach (see above).

OPEN-MINDEDNESS

You're going to encounter some alien concepts and practices in your first few months in Egypt. Before rushing to condemn have some humility and try to discover why things are the way they are. Being able to see things from another perspective is exactly what an international education should be about. We practice what we preach...

RISK-TAKING

Seize the opportunities living and working in Egypt will give to you. Venture away from the familiar and do something that scares you from time to time. With discomfort comes growth.

COLLABORATION 

Remember you're not doing this alone. Actively seek out the support of your colleagues both professionally and personally. In the early days you are likely to need to seek out personal friends from the pool of teachers at work to a greater degree than may have been the case at home. Embrace this opportunity to collaborate.

HUMILITY

You will make mistakes, things will go wrong. Be prepared to admit these mistakes yourself and be forgiving of those of others. Above all, don't take yourself too seriously - life's too short.

Meanwhile, enjoy the ride!

With best wishes,

Dr Tim Jefferis

Head of Secondary

 

 

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Getting the right people on the bus

 Interview panels are fond of questions about vision. I'm often stumped - even more so when it's asked over Zoom and I haven't yet visited the school in question. I usually end up muttering something vague and non-committal - cringing inwardly as I do so - and resolve to do better next time. 

Having done some digging around I'm going to try responding in this manner next time I'm asked about vision: 

• It would be presumptuous of me to lay out a vision before having got to know the school properly 
• Jim Collins' 'First Who then What' mantra resonates with me
• My early focus in a headship role would therefore be to focus on staff - getting 'the right people on the bus, in the right seats' 

Using the bus metaphor, Collins explains the reason for this focus on people first as follows:

If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get ten miles down the road and you need to change direction? You’ve got a problem. But if people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus, then it’s much easier to change direction: “Hey, I got on this bus because of who else is on it; if we need to change direction to be more successful, fine with me.” Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction; you still won’t have a great company. 

In this vein, I was intrigued to see that the US Navy Seals evaluate their people on a two-by-two matrix which I have augmented slightly with Jim Collins' insights as below:

Clearly having people 'on the bus' with neither technical nor character strength is no good and they must be (humanely) removed or redirected. But the very worst people of all to have on the bus, those who will be most corrosive to the team dynamics, are those with a high level of technical competence, but a low level of character strength (shown in red on the diagram). Left to their own devices these dark actors will ruin the culture of a school whilst, in the wrong sort of school, enjoying the invulnerability that comes with having good metrics. These individuals need to be rooted out and removed leaving the top two quadrants to get on with their jobs.

So, my vision? To make it all about people.

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