Secondary Team Development Days

We encourage students to reflect on their learning, find ways to improve and plan ahead for further development. Staff model this through our Professional Learning and Growth cycle which has previously been featured in a “Keepers’ Pod” podcast. It is important that teams within schools have the opportunity to grow and develop in the same way as individuals. The work of Patrick Lencioni, Google Re: Work and Michael Fullan amongst many others suggests that committing time and energy to develop high-performance teams is an essential facet of building a great organisation.

Schools are incredibly busy places, so we are providing subject leaders with the space to focus on curriculum and team development during a Faculty Development Day during Term 3. Heads of Faculty and Heads of Department are collaboratively planning these days to ensure that the time is used as effectively as possible. Our focus is resolutely on student learning and wellbeing, so these development days will include opportunities to collaborate with colleagues, to set in motion work on curriculum development and to reflect on best practice in the classroom and how it can be embedded.

The collaborative nature of the development days and the rare opportunity for a faculty team to spend a significant amount of time together is also important for the building of relationships amongst team members. Trust is the foundation of every strong relationship and faculty leaders have been working on being deliberate about how they can continue to develop trust amongst team members. High-performing teams are committed to a common goal, support and challenge each other to continually improve and hold one another to account in a way that is supportive and learning focused.

Trust can be built in many ways (the model below gives an indication of this).

Increasing ‘intimacy’ and reducing perceptions of ‘self-orientation’ are essential for an environment of psychological safety This enables people to focus their energy and attention on doing their best work, rather than worrying about what others will say or think if they make a mistake.

As a school, we are committed to developing as professionals so that we can support and challenge each other to provide the best learning experiences for our students.

Dan Norbury
Secondary Principal