A One-Team ethos in Education

Dr. Steve Munby's advice to School Leaders and Senior Leaders when asked, "How can we change the system?" has lived rent-free in my head for over three years because of the power of the embodied sentiment:

"Don't try and think you can change the whole system, but you can operate within your sphere of influence.

Some fundamental things... believe and behave that children's learning in other schools is as important as children's learning in your own school. And once you really accept that we're here to enable all children to be powerful learners, not just the ones that happen to be in our school - that's a fundamental shift in approach.

It means, when a school down the road is struggling, you don't say "Oh great! The parents will send their children to my school". You pick up the phone and say, "How can I help?" and "Come and do things together".

Because improvement of all schools in the area - and the learning of all - that's important".

[from Ep.67 of Changing Conversations podcast with Sarah Philp (CPsychol) and Billy Burke, 12th June 2022]

It came to mind again recently, when I was reading Langley Sharp MBE 's "The Habit of Excellence", in which he wrote, "Fighting power in the modern Army rests not on individual regiments ploughing their own furrow, but a one-team ethos across different cap badges, Arms and services, which accords due respect and recognition to the contribution each makes"

Now that is a mindset we can and should all try to embrace.