What I wish I knew with Richard Sutton-Smith

"Teaching is a great and noble profession and the sheer joy of changing lives and getting children to believe in themselves is magic. Great teachers are alchemists and have the power to turn something normal into gold."

So says Richard Sutton-Smith. And he should know. He's had six primary headships, was a national leader of education and set up one of the first Teaching School Alliances in the country. He was, briefly, an Ofsted inspector but hated it, and he was also head of school improvement for a local authority. He speaks with authority and passion about his lifetime in education. It's compelling listening.

In this podcast we discuss …

• How leaders have to empower staff to try things out without fear of failure and how this is particularly important for inexperienced teachers, because you don’t get greatness in anything without letting people fail.
• The importance of balance between very exciting learning experiences and the more mundane practice of knowledge and skills that are also essential for great learning.
• Having to chase a runaway child across a building site with the school's headteacher (who was wearing his brand new blue, wool suit) and having to rescue him from the muddiest of puddles during the chase.
• Having a conversation with the deputy head in his first year of teaching about planning. She told Richard she thought she could teach his class for 2 days without doing any planning and still provide great learning opportunities for his children. Then she said ... "But you can’t Richard, and I would like to say that your planning is what we call in education a bit crap!"
• What answer you should and should not give if you are ever called in to the Headteacher’s office during your training.
• QUARK. Not a secret sect, but the key elements for teaching effective lessons.
• The importance of having an agreed approach for working with parents, especially those who may be upset or annoyed, so teachers are absolutely clear about how to conduct the discussion.
• How the burdensome scrutineers (Ofsted) create a tyranny of orthodoxy that schools feel compelled to follow and how striving for an outstanding grade leads schools to try to get everything in for Ofsted, whether it matters or not.
• When Richard inspected a school in a hugely deprived area and the lead inspector told him before going in that the school had special measures written all over it, which was the judgement she reached. During the inspection one child told Richard that, “This school tells you that you can be anything you want to be. This school is an opportunity school.” Sadly, the children’s views were not taken into account. It was his last inspection.
• Always having a beginners mind. The search is the point, the flailing around is the point, the process is the point. So taking time to learn to become a great teacher is the point.
• Find a school that supports your aspirations, beliefs, ethos and culture. When you find it, buy in to it, commit to it and add to it. If your current school is not a good fit, look for another because there are plenty of schools around where alchemy is going on, so find the right one for you.

Happy Christmas everyone! Thanks for listening. See you in 2022.