Spring is almost upon us, and we look forward to a celebration of school, college and trust leadership at ASCL Annual Conference 2024 in Liverpool this month. A chance, also, to celebrate 150 years of our great organisation and the proud tradition of education leaders who have paved the way for those who inspire minds today. Despite the day-to-day challenges of the system, it is important to remind ourselves of the power of schools and colleges to change lives and build a better tomorrow – an honour and privilege. Something that this famous Greek proverb, and that I paraphrase, describes very well: “A society grows great when ‘we’ plant trees in whose shade we will never sit.”
But the privilege of education leadership and the accompanying joy that comes with it should not detract us from shining a light on the complex issues we face. ASCL’s Manifesto for the
2024 General Election frames what we see as the most pressing challenges facing the education system today and articulates a way forward for policymakers.
In short, it sets out three key challenges and urges government action to address these:
- the recruitment and retention crisis
- the widening disadvantage gap
- ever-expanding expectations on schools and colleges
A key part of this is that policymakers must draw on the experience and knowledge of school, college and trust leaders. Policy must be collaborative – done with, rather than done to.
My presidential theme this year is ‘Interconnected Leadership’ and speaks to the belief that many of the answers to the challenges we face reside in the experience, passion and expertise of educators across phases and sectors and that together we can shape the solutions. It requires the government to understand that sophisticated policymaking must be located in the lived experience of those ‘on the ground’ and must bring differing perspectives together so we can shape an inclusive and ambitious policy response.