As part of my DfE LSO training subject ‘Communication and Managing Teams’ (of which you can find out more here) I talk about how SBLs might build their own teams. Of course, it’s unusual to build a team from scratch, but the SBL leads many different teams within their setting and it’s important to consider the skills you need in each one, how the team fits together, and where the gaps are.
As an in-school SBL, I always felt rather awkward line managing the Science Technicians. Science and I just didn’t get along at school. My strongest memory in year 9 chemistry was a stand-up row between the teacher and a classmate over the structure of a cow’s stomach. You would think the teacher might have considered the fact that this pupil was the son of a dairy farmer before insisting that a cow has four stomachs, and not four compartments in one, as was maintained by my friend! Unfortunately, this fact didn’t come up in the exam.
I’ve always thought that the role of the SBL is to lead their focused in-school support teams and supplement with external providers when it’s needed. When you are building a team, the most important factors are how the members will fit together, and their willingness to learn. Everything else, in my experience, can be trained. What is needed in schools is someone who can parachute in when you need them. For example, when
- an experienced member of staff leaves, and you have a gap during recruitment.
- you need a “where-are-we-now?” assessment to inform your improvement strategy.
- you need to bring a new member of the team quickly up to speed.
- you’d like another pair of eyes on an important piece of work.
- you need to put in a funding bid.
- something has gone wrong.
My dream for 1st Pillar has always been to work with a team of experts within education support functions, offering a bespoke tailored service to fill short term gaps, rather than tying them into something. Typically of an SBL, I’m a problem solver with a cost efficiency focus. I’ve never pretended to have the answers myself, but part of my role is to make sure I know who to ask.
My number one piece of advice to an SBL dealing with challenges in their teams is to properly assess the risks.
- Does the short term staff gap mean that others in the team might leave?
- If you don’t carry out an assessment before undertaking restructure or improvement, what could go wrong?
- Is it better to provide some intensive on-site training for a new member of staff rather than just hope they’ll pick it up?
- How important is that piece of work or funding bid?
- How can you make sure that mistakes aren’t repeated?
As I’ve begun to explore my new world of school business consultancy, I have found that there is a lot of support out here, and it’s not all high-level strategy and long-term contracts. There are experts who will happily support and advise for as little as an hour, a day, or a week while your condition is assessed, your staff trained, or your problem is solved. And they don’t cost the earth!
So the next time you have a gap, consider whether some short term expertise will fill it for you, while you get on with building your team.
