Sweating the small stuff

My experience of cancer is like the death of a 1000 cuts. Slowly, piece by piece my disease has robbed me of the ability to do even the most normal of things. I can no longer drive – even if my legs worked well enough, I do not have the concentration or stamina to be safe on the roads. It is months since I have walked the dog or made a meal for my family. In fact, I rarely leave the house. In the 14 months since I was diagnosed with this disease, I have been diminished from a women who was travelling the world, touring schools in the Far East, researching, writing, publishing, training and presenting, to someone who is so fragile they rarely leave the house unless it it to go to the hospital. So, I am reduced to doing what I can do and doing that as well as possible.

There is nothing new in that. I have always been driven to do things as well as I can. Indeed, accepting that, in some cases, done is as good as perfect has taken a lifetime of learning. But the strange contradiction is that sometimes, as well as possible is exactly what is needed and, if a school is in trouble (and I am talking about real difficulties here), then slow and steady perfection can be the best way forward.

In a primary context, I often suggest that we start with handwriting development. Why? Because it is usually easy to get some quick, tangible and obvious results. But more importantly, focusing on this helps lay the groundwork for other more longer-term changes to be adopted. My experience tells me that schools that have stopped developing and are stuck in the need for dramatic improvement have often stopped being places where people work together. A school in trouble is a school where the classroom doors close at the end of the day and the blinds are drawn. Colleagues sequester themselves from one another; heads down, just desperate to get to the end of another working day. Things pile up, get overlooked and forgotten because the day to day becomes overwhelming. So, focusing on just one tangible action can really help.

Handwriting is often a useful first step. It demands colleagues work together, as each year group needs to approach the teaching a little differently. It needs commitment and a willingness to be flexible. It doesn’t really need expensive schemes or materials – there are plenty of free or nearly free materials available. It often benefits from some training, in a collegiate manner and is a positive place to start, in terms of building communities of learners. And, most importantly, if handwriting is done well, it becomes easy to see the improvements – for everyone, children, teachers, parents and leaders. Sweating these small details can be a powerful first step in the long rollercoaster of a school improvement journey.