Tim Bowen
NAHT Policy Conference 2021 Speech:
‘Togetherness, Purpose, Kindness: Extraordinary Leaders in Extraordinary Times’
Good afternoon everyone.
You are all very welcome to NAHT’s 2021 Policy-Making Conference.
It is my very great pleasure and my honour to stand here with you today as your President.
I’m very happy that I’m talking to you without the use of a screen, and that we’re all in a room together.
But for those still unable to attend in person, we are embracing the twenty-first century as never before and live streaming the conference.
In many ways, remote working has its advantages.
But nothing beats being together.
And it is with that sense of togetherness that I’d like to start my remarks today.
The pandemic has reminded us of something that many people might have forgotten:
We are all connected to one another.
My actions, yours, have an impact on those around us.
People dear to us. And people we will never meet.
Invisible fibres of humanity tie us all together.
My actions – without me even realising – could have consequences for you.
That is the way the world has always worked, of course.
But the pandemic has made those invisible connections much clearer now.
Here, I want to explicitly say something that has been conveniently forgotten.
There was no remote working for school leaders during the pandemic.
You put yourself directly in harm’s way to keep your schools open to support the children of critical workers and those who were most vulnerable, along with the staff working with them.
When little was known about the virus, other than that it was a killer, many school leaders I know were in school every single day.
Until Easter this year I was one of them.
I know how hard it has been – I know what you have given, the pressure you have been under, the courage you have shown and the sacrifices you have made.
I pay tribute to you all.
This is one of the main reasons why I have chosen Education Support as my presidential charity for this year.
Goodness knows, we have all felt like it has been too much at one point or another.
Getting professional help when that happens is absolutely vital.
You cannot keep pouring from an empty cup, as the saying goes. You must make your personal well-being a priority.
Together, you have made a huge difference to the lives of young people.
Isn’t that what we went into this profession for in the first place?
And you have worked together, across departments, across schools, across counties, to share ideas, give support and find inspiration.
Our lives are bound together even if we never actually meet face to face.
That is one lesson of the pandemic:
We all breathe the same air. We never act alone.
Let’s use the pandemic as a reminder that we should never ‘press on regardless’.
We should look to the left and right and check that nothing we are planning – which we hope will be good for us – won’t be bad for someone else.
Countless times in education policy we have seen this happen. It is time to draw an end to the kind of approaches which mean someone has to lose, in order for someone else to win.
League Tables. That’s one.
Forced academy conversion. That’s another.
Better that we have a situation where everyone is free to choose.
We shouldn’t have to act alone either.
The pandemic has taught us that we can rely on one another.
NAHT’s membership has grown significantly during the pandemic because school leaders have seen the value of collaborating and of acting together.
I am so proud that in this year of challenges NAHT has found the time and space and resolve to make real strides forward on Equalities.
As we move forward, we must do all that we can to make school leadership a realistic target for all professionals, regardless of ethnicity, physical or neurological ability or gender.
Every individual member of NAHT is valued and has a voice. Collectively, we can make a difference.
Let a renewed sense of togetherness be the unexpected benefit of COVID.
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With that togetherness, we can renew and revitalise our sense of purpose.
That is the other imperative we have been reminded of as a result of the pandemic:
What we do in school really matters.
The role of a school leader has never been more challenging but to my mind, it has also never been more worthwhile.
In many cases schools have been the only source of support available to pupils and their families.
The hard work and courage of school leaders and their teams has protected some pupils from the worst excesses of the last year and a half.
The work you have done, and continue to do now, could change a young person’s life for the better – for good.
The recovery mission has already started.
It is the government that needs to catch-up.
Its sense of direction during the pandemic has been lamentable.
Like you, I am hoping for better with the Department now under new leadership.
From school leaders, however, we have seen an incredible sense of purpose.
Almost always, schools have come up with their own solutions to the challenges of Covid long before central government has found its compass.
Recovery is down to us.
We have to imagine it.
We have to deliver it.
And now we must go further and take the lead in reforming our education system.
Emboldened – supercharged, if you like – by togetherness, we can, and we must, move forward with real purpose.
The motions we debate today and tomorrow will give us that purpose for another year.
The big ticket items of education are all here:
Accountability.
Emotional and Mental Wellbeing.
Assessment.
Recruitment.
Funding.
Equality.
And poverty.
When I started as a teacher in the 1980s,
lives were blighted by unemployment, a lack of opportunities and everyday poverty.
Here we are at the beginning of the third decade of the twenty first century and poverty, joblessness and opportunity are still barriers that our young people have to overcome if they are to be happy.
I didn’t think it would be like this.
And of course, the coronavirus pandemic makes you wonder just how much more young people will have to do, just to enjoy what we enjoyed when we were growing up and becoming adults.
Looking back at the 1980s and finding so many parallels between life now and life then, I’d say that we have the strongest case we’ll ever have that we should NOT return to the pre-pandemic status quo.
That is not our purpose today.
A ‘return to normal’ would be a huge disservice to the young people in our care.
I would like to be more ambitious for our school system and the people in it.
That is NAHT’s mission.
That is something that should involve and occupy every single one of us.
Togetherness. Purpose.
And kindness.
Kindness is my other lesson of the pandemic.
Life is tough for too many people in this country; and when life gets tough, kindness often becomes a casualty.
In every school community there have been children and families who have been brought down to their lowest point.
A kind word, a kind deed, from us as leaders, or from the people in the teams we lead – they are often the first steps on the way back from desperation.
Kindness is not a sign of weakness, it is an act of strength. And I firmly believe that whatever we do next, whatever we prioritise, we should do it with kindness.
By our example, we can show the young people we work with the power of kindness.
And with that power, they can begin to repair the world that has been broken.
They can go onto new heights.
In these extraordinary times, the people who make up NAHT have done some extraordinary things. That work has been founded on basic virtues like kindness, like togetherness, like purpose.
These virtues will see us through, and will see us surpass anything the government could ever mandate for us or expect us to comply with.
The way you have risen to the immense challenges of the last eighteen months – the leadership you have shown through your courage, commitment and kindness – these are great examples for young people to follow.
It will be my great privilege and honour to serve you and to work tirelessly on your behalf in the months ahead.
And in particular I want to raise the profile of the the wellbeing of school leaders so that you, in turn, can continue to improve the quality of life for all those you lead and serve.
I hope that you really enjoy your time at conference and return to school with a renewed sense of energy and purpose.
Thank you for your dedication to leaders and learners everywhere.
Your staff and your pupils have never needed you more – and this will continue. But above all, be optimistic and believe that, through your leadership and the skills and dedication of those you work with, environments and people can change for the better.
Whatever challenges the future holds, we will face them together – for together we are stronger.
And always remember… Your union is with you.
Thank you.