There is one other overriding condition that I would expect to see if any school or college is to succeed - that is 'Synergy'.  Some years ago, when setting up the IT infrastructure of one of the first City Technology Colleges I published the following statement:

"It is not that we have hand-picked the best students for our college, it is not that we have splashed out millions of pounds on all the latest leading-edge equipment, it is not that we have head-hunted the best teachers from around the UK.

"It is quite simply that ever boy, every girl, every teacher, technician, lab assistant, LSA, office staff and caretakers, cooks and cleaners ALL use the same basic applications and use the same terminology - and are not frightened to ask each other 'how to do things'."

It is noticeable that those schools which are coping with the latest initiatives such as VLEs, E-Portfolios or PLEs are invariably the schools that have learnt the lesson of 'whole-school adoption' and have been working together as a team, often for many years.

I believe that it is this synergy, working together without contradiction, recognising our different needs and experiences as a whole-school Policy, that can enable a school or college to add a 10% year-on-year  'Added Value' to any set of league tables or Parental Surveys. 

◄ ►