It has been 345 days since I wrote myself a letter as I sat in my back garden at the end of summer and contemplated the school year voyage which lay ahead.

That journey is now 359 days old.

And as we reach the final week, a speck has appeared on the horizon.

Land has been spotted.

And in a few short days the ships we captain will arrive at safe harbour and all on board will disembark for a summer away from the all-consuming life at sea.

We will have time to stop.

Time to get away from the relentless tempo of the school year.

So as the sight of land… the sight of home… grows ever larger on the horizon, I find myself reflecting on the journey which is all but over for another year.

Again, two ships set sail in tandem

For the second year, I led not one, but two ships out of harbour and out to sea as Executive Headteacher of both Emersons Green & Blackhorse.

Having another fellow traveller, always within sight on the large empty ocean, lifted the spirits of the staff and leaders each and every day. Their camaraderie added energy and focus throughout this year’s voyage, allowing us to achieve more and return with outcomes which a year ago were just plans on paper.

Schools working in close collaboration, sharing aims, training, and resources, is the way to travel further than a single school could alone.

For the first time, 13 other ships were always close by.

For the first time this year, long-standing informal collaborations formalised in the formation of The Leaf Trust, and my ships were no longer single travellers, but formed part of a flotilla of 13 schools setting sail together.

Formed around common values, this group of sea-farers spent a long time agreeing leadership behaviours before leaving safe harbour. The captains speak using the same, values-led, language. This focus on the details of our relationship seemed like a luxury back when we were planning the Trust’s creation, but it pays dividends daily. We are all clear on how effective teams behave and communicate. What’s more, formalising our commitement to the crew’s well-being has led to almost all of the 850 staff staying on-board both this school year, and on into the next.

And when far out at sea in the middle of a demanding school year, seeing all 13 schools bobbing on the horizon, ready at a moment’s notice to come to our aid, has added a sense of security and collegiality.

The enemy stalking us across the vast ocean, abruptly disappeared.

The crew of both ships set sail this year fully expecting to encounter the black sails of OFSTED to engage them at 48 hours notice. Each week, between Monday and Wednesday lunchtime, the crew existed in a constant state of ‘battle readiness’. Plans were pinned to walls, detailing each leaders’ actions when the call came.

Then word, that because of our new flotilla, our (six year) wait to engage with OFSTED would be extended for another three. Nearly a decade will have passed by the time they eventually hone into view.

Whilst ultimately a distraction from our primary mission, the news left us all feeling somewhat cheated. As though a moment of reckoning had been denied.

Passengers, helpless against the storms that tossed them upon the swells, took out their frustrations on the crew.

I make this point very… very… carefully.

This voyage, like the last, has seen our community, which we carry with us throughout our voyage, frustrated by a cacophony of troubles and worries beyond their control. A nation and government buffeted by internal and external storms.

The result?

Passengers who feel that they must exert control over the aspects of their lives which they still have control over. And as the primary interface between state and family, the friction I see at the school gate is greater than at any time before. Sure, our surveys show 98% approval, but the demands of a minority of passengers have been tricky to navigate at times.

But we stuck with the plan

A school year is fraught with a thousand unexpected events and conundrums. It is easy to abandon the charted course when these are encountered and instead seek less stormy routes.

However, the voyage which the school year takes us on demands a certain discipline when facing such distractions. School improvement is built upon small actions completed in sequence, week after week, month after month, until the institution itself is reimagined. Staff do not learn new skills after a single INSET, but after repeatedly practicing these with advice and guidance provided through instructional coaching – by far the most impactful way to support change. As a captain, it is essential you don’t get blown off course or distracted by the myriads of troubles faced out at sea. Create a plan, adapt it by all means, but remember a sound plan, drilled and practiced, is the only way to improve a school.

We limp into port happy but bedraggled

It has been a successful and enjoyable voyage leading both my two schools. We have made huge progress and our schools are better places than they were a year ago.

But I also know my productivity these last few days has fallen off a cliff. Tasks which would take minutes in September, take hours as we complete the voyage we set ourselves.

I see it in all the staff.

Having given their all for a whole year, the sight of land has reminded them that their energy levels are flagging and they desperately need a break.

And, whilst the ‘all or nothing’ nature of the job isn’t perhaps something we can easily change, the unequal levels of power we are expected to exert means that we can’t maintain a constant operational tempo year-round.

The summer off may seem a luxury for some, but it is a necessity for us.

So now we rest.

So as we head into port, please give yourself permission, whatever your role, to step away from school life for a few weeks.

Don’t be tempted into low grade work – an email here, a bit of paperwork there. This time is a gift and it is okay to spend it re-energising.

Don’t be seduced by the ‘super-head’ on Twitter who claims to ‘only take a week off mid-August’, because they’re ‘far too busy’ (for busy read ‘important’) with school improvement.

They are a fool.

Wherever you can, do with your days whatever makes you happy.

Spend time with family.

See friends.

Sit under trees drinking cider.

Run.

Cycle.

Because soon enough we will be heading out for another amazing voyage.