Reflections of a Head Teacher

Anna Bosher

I am the Head Teacher at St James’ RC Primary School in Bromley, Kent, and am just about to complete my fifth year at the school. Altogether I have been a Head Teacher for 11 years and prior to that a teacher for 25 years.

My first Headship was in a very different type of school, with different sets of challenges, but I have always viewed my vocation as a privilege and over the years I have been able to see so many wonderful children go out into the wider community as skilled and valued citizens.

When our parish priest asked me to speak about the uniqueness of a Catholic Education as part of Education Sunday, I was really honoured; education is my passion, as you would quite rightly expect.

As I sat down to think about what I was going to say, my first thought was ‘Where do I begin?’ But it wasn’t long before the answer came to me because of course the beginning, middle and end of everything we do in school is rooted in the love of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, who died that we might live and in the words of Jn 10.10 ‘Live life to the full’. What we teach our children of course is that living life to the full is a life of love and service to one another and can be hard work; but that it is only through actively demonstrating our love do we find lasting peace and happiness. We are not unique in that many schools both Catholic and non-Catholic do fantastic work in their communities to support each other and many good causes. All schools have mission statements but ours of course is rooted in Christ.

Our mission statement:

FAITH IN ACTION WORKING TOGETHER

WALKING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF CHRIST

‘We believe in you and your ability to succeed.’

It is an active mission and pupils are asked to respond to the calling, given to them through Baptism and ask themselves, ‘What would Jesus do?’ in every situation where they need guidance. Whenever they are asked to ponder this question, it is not long before an answer is forthcoming. We teach them that not all people are easy to love and it is when we find ourselves in threatening situations, we have to stand firm as Christians, be assertive about how threatened we feel but always be ready to forgive and heal.

I looked up the theme for Education Sunday and it is ‘Going above and beyond’....I think this sums up the essence of a true vocation. To answer a calling does not always guarantee a smooth journey along the road. Teaching is a vocation. Where you see people entering the profession without a true vocation, careers are often very short lived. At the heart of this vocation, there has to be a desire to influence the lives of young people in a positive way and teach them the skills and knowledge that will not only prepare them for the world of work but will also enable them to be positive and valued members of the wider community. At St James’ we have a wonderful team of skilled and committed staff who are also a pleasure to be with. We make sure we are constantly upgrading our skills so that we are also learning and children can see that we are lifelong learners.

When we think of vocations in education, it is usually teachers that spring to mind. Thankfully in schools today, vocation is about the service of the whole community and this enables pupils to thrive and be educated in the fullest sense. Parents, pupils, governors, volunteers, parish members all have a calling to the life of a school. I could go on endlessly listing those who support the education of our pupils; Our Parish Priest, support staff, outside agencies, the PTA, the ‘live simply group’, Community workers, St Vincent de Paul Society, CAFOD, the British Council, our link Secondary Schools that provide workshops, Primary schools with whom we cluster in order to share training, The School’s Commission who ensure that staff are continually offered training in religious education and leadership, the list goes on....

It is however the support of our parents which truly ensures that children thrive at school; parents are the first educators. The partnership between home, school and parish has to be strong, where it breaks down is the point where children struggle to learn and make sense of the world and their part in it. If we all want the same thing and it is rooted in Christian values, then all children have the best chance in life.

I can remember in 1978, as an NQT walking up to the school on my first day as a new teacher. I had my guitar with me and took a deep breath, a bit like Maria Von Trapp from the Sound of Music. I glanced behind me as I heard the sound of a child screaming because he did not want to come to school and the mother was pulling him off the bus, determined to get him there; he had managed to get quite a strong grip on one of the handles. This was quite a deprived area and I heard the parent say; ‘come on we’re going to be late, you won’t learn to read if you don’t go’ the bus conductor said ‘Go on get into school, you are lucky to have the chance, make the most of it’ and helped the mother. As usual the child went into school and I am sure was fine, he would have worked hard and learned to read, even though it was a struggle because he had been taught to value education as a way of improving his life; this was expected.

Today children can be given the impression that education is of less value and that there is a celebrity option. We also see educated young people trying to find work after their studies; this can be soul destroying, but there is no doubt that at some point in their lives they will require those skills they fought so hard to acquire and must not lose sight of that.

As parents, grandparents and members of the community, it would be good to think that we could act like that bus conductor I saw in 1978 and keep our children rooted in what matters most. Our reference point of course being: ‘What would Jesus want us to do?’

I would also like to say something about Governors. They are volunteers who are entrusted with great responsibility and are expected to support and challenge the school in its decision making. Some of those decisions are sometimes critical and can be transformational for a school and its community, especially in the current educational climate. They give up their time without hesitation, when asked to support the school; help shape and determine the strategic direction. In a Catholic School they also have a responsibility to ensure that the Catholic nature of the school continues to be its driving force; at St James’ we are blessed with a skilled and committed board of governors that definitely go ‘above and beyond’ and I am sure this is the case in many schools.

We live in a diverse society, that is rich and varied. An important part of our curriculum is learning about other cultures and societies. We have international links with the Lebanon and have been sharing information about our way of life with them and have hosted a food tasting session; it was extremely interesting to observe the children tasting a variety of aromatic flavours. Our Global Week last year deepened the pupils’ understanding of what life is like across the world. We learn about other faiths, what we have in common and to respect others’ beliefs. All faiths are rooted in love and charity towards others; sadly, in the news, our children often witness what happens when religion is hijacked for evil purposes, we are then called to explain that this is not at the heart of any faith.

The internet takes us beyond our imaginings into a world where information is at our fingertips; conversely we have to teach children about the dangers of the internet and how to manage risk.

Resilience and problem solving are skills that employers ask for time and time again, alongside the absolutely vital basic skills; we build opportunities for these in our curriculum.

Reflection and prayer are a key part of the educational experience of St. James’ and of any Catholic School. Pupils need time to be still and have time, however short, to connect with God and be renewed by Him. Examples of how well we have taught our children, together, can be witnessed on School journeys, where pupils demonstrate excellent team work and problem solving skills as well as a basic respect for one another.

St Paul says that the Holy Spirit is at the centre of our lives and that we are ‘taught by the Spirit.’ (Corinthians 1). We teach children to listen to the Spirit, to have eyes that see and ears that hear, when listening to the word of God. We ask them to translate the word into their daily lives, with the help of the Spirit. We ask them to witness to Christ through how they live and act.

Last year we went on a day retreat to Aylesford Priory with children from the other local Catholic Primary Schools. It was a joy to see the children together, brought together by one common thread. As we go forward into the future we will be planning more joint events like this so that our children have the opportunity to reflect upon their faith and what it means to them.

These are challenging times in the world of education. At no other time has there been so much change in such a short space of time. Schools are trying to make sense of initiatives and find their place in a landscape where all schools are expected to be part of a formal cluster, there are higher expectations for pupils as standardised tests become harder and we have to find ways to interpret these changes for our communities. What is taking shape is unlikely to change, regardless of any future change of government.

What we know is that Governments come and go but the word of God never changes and is a constant in our lives. In line with our mission, we go forward in joy, together as an active community, in line with our calling ‘Going above and beyond’ for the good of our children.

This is the (slightly edited for publication) text of a talk given by Anna Bosher at St James the Great Church for Education Sunday, 16 February.

For more information on St James' School see: http://st-james.bromley.sch.uk/