Getting the job done.

It's a sad day when a teacher realises that they cannot get done what needs to get done and feel helpless about doing anything about it. Change in a school is difficult, fraught with committees to get things done. I've watched a number of enthusiastic teachers fall in a heap knowing that once upon a time they could affect more real change within the classroom than they can now.

The strategy of any great leader is to gather great people around you. Working with great people, great achievements can be made. We are not able in today's employment climate to attract these great people in any real numbers.

Those that we have left need to be treasured and nurtured, especially those with skills that are not readily reproduced such as upper school teachers. As a newby, without their support, ideas and guidance I would be flotsam and my students would be washing around me.

These people that keep an eye on our programmes, have a quiet word to a difficult student, give us gentle encouragement and directions to travel need to be reminded occasionally of the great job they are doing both by teachers and parents when they believe courses are going right - not just when things hit the fan.