Belvedere Infant School

The overriding impact of the PROGRESS Programme is that people seem much happier. They feel that they have got a voice; that they can change things. You just feel as you move around the school that people are working together better. That shift has been really wonderful for me. Having a happier staff makes my job a lot easier.
Linda Mulley, Headteacher

Staff at Belvedere Infant School initially gave a very negative account of the school’s atmosphere. They described it as having gone from ‘warm and cosy’ to ‘cool and prickly’.

The new headteacher received pretty much all the blame for this state of affairs. People were angry with her for telling them that that they had not been giving children an educational experience that stretched them, and that they needed to change the way they were doing things.

For her part, the headteacher reported feeling unwelcome in most parts of the school, often finding that she lacked the courage to leave her office. This led to another staff complaint; that she was not visible enough at break times, lunchtime and after school.

Allowing staff to voice their feelings through the PROGRESS Programme initially felt like ‘opening a can of worms’. But it was this opportunity to voice their gripes that enabled the staff to move from blaming the head to taking responsibility for making things better. The data compelled staff to confront their own negativity.

Collectively, they came to see why it was so important that they stop sniping and start finding solutions.

These issues were worked through initially in a staff strategy group that contained people who were new to the school alongside other more established staff members who subscribed to the view that the new head was to blame for everything. Their initial conversations were quite sticky. Some were fearful about voicing their views, others had no confidence in the process. Only gradually did people come to trust each other enough say what they really felt, and start coming up with positive suggestions.

And as they went out and talked with their colleagues, they became champions of change across the whole school community. The group gradually took ownership of the school’s strategies for promoting staff wellbeing, and was given a budget for implementing changes.

A consequence of the warmer and more co-operative relationships between adults is that that student behaviour is now much calmer.