That is one of the biggest messages from Executive Headteacher Tom Hague in this throwback episode of The School Podcast with Cameron Parker. The conversation explores school improvement, behaviour, attendance, funding and culture, but importantly, the urgency needed when making changes that directly affect young people. Because while sustainable school improvement takes time, the students sitting in classrooms today don’t have seven years to wait for things to get better.
Watch the full interview on YouTube →
Where Does School Improvement Start?
Cameron asks Tom what he would tackle first when entering a school that needs improving, referencing his previous conversation with Katharine Birbalsingh from Michaela Community School. For Tom, one of the priorities is tackling disruption and creating the right classroom conditions for students to learn. But he also questions whether you can simply take a successful model from one school and replicate it somewhere else. Instead, he talks about “evolution, not revolution” creating sustainable change while working with the people already in the school.
Children Can’t Wait
The challenge is that sustainable school improvement takes time but students don’t have unlimited time. Tom argues that schools need to improve outcomes for the Year 10 and Year 11 students who need support now, while also building stronger habits and systems for younger year groups. Children can’t wait seven years for their school to improve. By then, they will already have left.
Funding, Attendance and Culture
The conversation also explores school funding, with Cameron referencing Sir Paul Tarn’s previous comments about whether schools need more money or need to spend existing funding differently. But when funding is taken out of the equation, Tom highlights attendance as one of the biggest challenges facing schools. Even the best curriculum has limited impact if students aren’t there to receive it. Tom also talks about students arriving early for basketball and breakfast clubs and staying after school, leading to the idea of “culture before curriculum.” Create an environment where young people want to attend, build strong habits and then maximise the learning.
The Main Takeaway
School improvement needs urgency. Schools need long-term strategies, but they also have young people sitting in classrooms today whose futures are being shaped right now. Build for the future, but don’t forget the children who need you now.
