AntwisCollaborative

When I was young, I loved the books of Roald Dahl.  The absurdity and silliness kept me enthralled.   I also loved the illustrations by Quentin Blake that brought the books to life and accentuated the silliness, so much so that I naturally drifted to his stories too.  As a parent, they were my “go to” books when reading to my children.  They grew to love Dahl and Blake too.

One of my favourite Blake characters is Mrs Armitage and especially the story of her bike.  To summarise Mrs Armitage loves her bike but feels it can be improved.  She starts by replacing her bell with a horn (well, three horns in the end!) to help people and animals avoid her as she sped along.  Then she adds the following ‘upgrades’ for various spurious reasons:

• sink;
• bucket of water and a towel;
• toolkit;
• picnic hamper;
• dog seat;
• two (!) umbrellas;
• radio-cassette player;
• mouth organ;
• mast and sail and
• an anchor.

Eventually she ends up crashing because of the weight of the ‘improvements’ to her bike.

It is natural for a new leader at whatever level: middle, senior or executive to want to make changes to the things they oversee to make improvements.  It is also natural to think that the more we change and the quicker we do it the faster and better the improvements. 

In my third headship, I quickly realised that we needed to make improvements to teaching & learning.  So, I put together a team of talented staff to form a T&L Team.  They were great, energetic, creative, and in a hurry.

They came to my office to present me with a smörgåsbord of research- and evidence-based ideas that would make a difference to pupil outcomes and teachers’ workload.  There were about 30 ideas spread out on my office table.  I was impressed, but I was reminded of Mrs Armitage’s bike and previous experiences of driving change in schools.

I put it to the team that we should choose only three of the ideas based on the theory of “low hanging fruit” – i.e. what would have the most impact for the least extra effort.  We opted for:

• Do Now tasks to add to the start of the lesson cycle;
• Feedback stickers to identify www/ebi and to elicit pupil response and
• Live marking to also improve contextual and rapid high impact feedback.

I also set expectations for my team.  It is likely that only 2 out of these 3 ideas will stick first time.  It may be that one fails for no other reason than the time wasn’t right, staff capacity for change wasn’t sufficient at this time or staff simply weren’t ready for the idea.

As it transpired Do Nows and Feedback stickers were both a hit.  They made life easier for staff.  Lessons got off to a great start and created time for classroom management, registers etc.  The feedback stickers reduced the time and energy for marking and created ownership of feedback amongst the pupils.  However, the live marking didn’t stick.  It was important that no-one was to blame for this.  We re-launched live marking a few terms later and noticed that the Do now created a natural slot in the lesson for this to happen and be successful.

I accept the principle of the accumulation of multiple marginal gains but one must always have Mrs Armitage and her crazy bike in the back of their mind when managing change and avoiding a disastrous crash.

If you enjoyed this blog, please take a look at the Antwis Collaborative website. Home (antwiscollaborative.co.uk)

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At Antwis Collaborative, we are dedicated to empowering school leaders through personalised coaching, cutting-edge professional learning, and unwavering support. With decades of experience in education, we understand the challenges and opportunities that today’s school leaders face. Our goal is to help leaders unlock their potential, foster positive school cultures, and create transformative learning opportunities that impact both staff and pupils.

With 30 years of experience working in schools, including 20 years as a school and Trust leader, Antwis Collaborative brings expertise, insight, and empathy to the table. We are more than a consultancy; we are partners in your leadership journey. Our collaborative approach ensures that support is tailored to the individual needs of each leader and school, driving sustainable, long-term impact.

Connect with Us: Let’s explore how Antwis Collaborative can support your leadership and your school. Home (antwiscollaborative.co.uk)