Top of the class: How better management boosts education

You can tell a lot about the culture of a school from the way students’ work is displayed, says head teacher Andrew Martin CMgr FCMI. Image: Shutterstock / PhotoMavenStock

How can you tell if a particular school has good leadership? There are several obvious things to look for – whether that’s glowing exam results or low exclusion rates. Head teacher Andrew Martin CMgr FCMI takes his own novel approach: he looks at the artwork in the corridors.

“If there isn’t any, that sets off alarm bells,” he says. “If the art is behind screens that are a bit battered, I’d ask what's going on. But if the corridors have sculptures on the wall that haven't been picked at or damaged, it says something about the ethos and the way the children move around the premises. Schools can achieve that through fear and domination, but that isn’t sustainable. If it’s because children are thriving and happy there, that’s a true sign of success.”

Andrew is one of the country’s many “virtual heads”. Every local authority has one, whose job it is to provide extra support and improvement to looked-after children and young care leavers in the area’s schools. Throughout his career, Andrew has encountered many educational establishments – and knows what strong leadership can do.