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Do we know why we are here?
How clear are schools about their purpose and what
values underpin their practice.
• What is culture?
• Task 1: Who’s Values?
• Mission or Vision – What’s the difference?
• Task 2: Who, Why, How?
• The creative process
Culture: A pattern of shared basic assumptions
that develops within the group as it solves its
problems of external adaptations and internal
integration.
Values
What members of the
organisation value
creates what they
believe
Beliefs
Norms
What people believe
will dictate how they
behave
The ways people behave over
time become the norm. New
members are taught these
norms.
Taught to new members as the ‘correct way to perceive, think and feel’
Culture Expressed in Practice
Professional relationships
• Headteacher and staff relationships
• Attitude towards pupils and other stakeholders
• Quality of leadership and shared sense of purpose
Organisational arrangements
• Roles, responsibilities and procedures for making decisions
• Communication systems
• People management arrangements
• Environment management arrangements
Opportunities for learning – for both pupils and adult
• Curriculum offer
• Attitudes and expectations for pupils to achievement
• Equal opportunities
• Staff professional development and learning
Cultural Influence – Symbols and Stories
Does the behaviour match the rhetoric?
• Symbols and Stories communicate core values, reinforce the mission and
build on a shared sense of commitment
• Symbols are an outward sign of inward values
• Stories are group representations of history and meaning
Positive or Negative?
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Written forms of shared beliefs
Heroes and villains
Rituals which reinforce core values
Ceremonies which celebrate those values
Stories which disseminate good practice
Informal networks of ‘cultural players’
Understanding Cultural Change
People’s experience with change is overwhelmingly negative –
imposition is the norm, costs outweigh the benefits, the few
successes are short lived
• If there is an evident crisis there will be a greater willingness to
change
• Change needs to be made attractive: emphasise highly
desirable features
• The stronger the present culture, the more difficult it will be to
change
Real change – real improvement is more likely to be associated
with some pain and some conflict, especially if it challenges a
person’s fundamental values, beliefs and attitudes.
Values and Attitudes
Values and attitudes relate to the affective (or emotional)
dimension of human behaviour and are a cognitive process
• Values are generally long-term standards or principles that
are used to judge the worth of an idea or action
• They provide the criteria by which we decide whether
something is good or bad, right or wrong
• Attitudes predispose us to respond in particular ways to
people and events. They are not so deeply felt as values
and quite often change as a result of experience
Task 1: Who’s Values?
Question 1: Who's values decide the culture in your
school?
Question 2: Who’s values should decide the culture for
your school?
Question 3: Do attitudes affect the culture of the
school?
Question 4: What affects attitudes most in your school?
Question 5: How are values and attitudes tested and
challenged?
Mission or Vision – What’s the difference
Mission statements focus on today. They contain
important information about what the school does, its
students, teachers and its services – Who we are and
What we do
Vision statements contain details of the future of the
school, its future plans with aims and objectives – An
image of the future we seek to create
What does the mission statement need to contain
Opening Statement ‘We aim to ensure that every pupil
receives the best education possible in a calm, controlled
environment enabling self and mutual respect to develop.’
Nottingham Academy
The School/Academy Aims
We have a partnership of pupils, parents , staff and governors
working together for:
We expect pupils to:
We expect parents and carers to ensure that:
Visionary Thinking
We are a forward-thinking school aiming to prepare our
children and students for a rapidly changing world by
equipping them with critical thinking skills, global
perspective, and respect for core values of honesty, loyalty,
and compassion.
Developing these skills is the corner stone of the education
we offer.
Students will have success for today and be prepared for
tomorrow.
Task 2: How, Who, Why?
Who are statements for and how are they created and
implemented?
• Question 1: Who should be involved in the writing of
mission and vision statements?
• Question 2: What processes should be involved?
• Question 3: How should statements be communicated?
• Question 4: How should statements be monitored,
evaluated and tested?
• Question 5: Have you got a real sense of your culture and
the values that underpin it?
Sense check: How well do you know your school and how
can you find out?
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Internal versus external validation
External review processes – who and how?
Internal review processes – who and how?
Communication strategies
What is the relationship between:
self evaluation
planning
training
The
Head
should:
Senior
leaders
should:
I believe
that:
Middle
leaders
Should:
The GB
Should:
A good
teacher
is:
A good
school
should:
I believe
that:
A good
Parent
should:
A good
student
is:
It is not enough for leaders to have the vision, sell it and then
move on, leaving others to translate it into action.
Implementation of the strategic plan needs continual
monitoring and evaluation by those with the creative ability
to understand where diversions may be appropriate and how
obstacles can be surmounted. Strategic plans should, after all
be liberating, and not constraining.
Andy Hargreaves