As Simple as Water

As simple as water. You might be focused on school improvement and the bigger picture, but have you taken time to reflect; have you stopped and noticed what is happening in your school or have you washed your hands of the small, everyday details. School improvement is about noticing what is in front of you, and acting on it.

Coaching can help with change management. A frog hops out of boiling water, but the parable tells us that the frog adapts to gradual change and enjoys his bath. Slow, unnoticed shifts in the wrong direction can be dangerous. Standards rarely collapse overnight, they slip. What are you no longer noticing?

Take something as simple as water and drinking fountains. Do toilets/ urinals have a supply of cold water? Is there hot and cold water for washing and is the water temperature safe, not scalding? Is drinking water positioned away from toilets? Has the system been checked for Legionnaires’ disease? Is it clearly labelled as drinking water? Are you sure on this last part- so many schools forget!

These are small things, but they are rarely the only things. The question is: what else have you stopped seeing?

Like water, change finds its way into every corner. See what’s right in front of you, then come back for the next bit of advice on the small details that matter.