The Wellspring Way
The Wellspring Way
Catherdral Thinking - Why Schools Need Structure
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Hello, and welcome to the first episode of the Wellspring Way. I'm your host, Elizabeth, and together we'll be exploring the highs and lows of teaching, the challenges facing schools, and what we can do to overcome them, and what the future might look like for education. Our first guest, well, it couldn't really be anyone other than Wellspring's own chief exec, Mark Wilson. Mark's led the trust since the beginning, and he's overseen rapid growth and the huge transformation from initially just one school to the 25, which sits under the Wellspring banner today. In today's episode, we're going to be talking to Mark about his vision for the future as Wellspring launches Vision 2025, its strategy for the next five years. Mark, welcome to the Wellspring Way.
SPEAKER_01Hello, Elizabeth.
SPEAKER_00Before we get into Vision 2025 and what the future might look like, can you give us a little bit of background on the Wellspring story so far for people that might not be up to speed with it?
SPEAKER_01I can. So when I joined the trust in 2014, we had one academy, the Forest Academy in Barnsley, and an aspiration to open a um a free school in Barnsley at the time. The trust was actually formed in 2012 and welcomed its first school into the uh into the group in 2013. From my arrival in 2014, we embarked on a journey really of um transformation at Forest Academy. Five schools, I think, joined us within a year, and then the the story of the trust ever since has been one of growing numbers of um schools joining our little and growing community and steady improvement?
SPEAKER_00Wellspring, it's it's well known in the sector now for its unique approach. Um it's very much about positive regard, that relational approach, um, anti-exclusions, and putting the child right at the centre of everything you do. Was that the intention from the beginning, or is that something that's kind of grown as Wellspring's grown?
SPEAKER_01In terms of approach, I would, I would, I would probably um not characterize that approach as unique. I think I think there are a lot in the sector who um have a similar viewpoint, are sympathetic to our viewpoint. I think we we've we've had to we've had to hold on to our viewpoint, let's say. Um there have been periods on the journey where it would have been easier to um have abandoned some of those founding principles. However, they are core to who we are as an organization and and and thus um I think I think a substantial part of the work of being chief executive um over these years has been to really hold on to, advocate for, champion those values. Um and they are about um a child-centred approach to education. As you rightly mentioned, there, positive regard is uh is an important um tenet of our philosophy. Positive regard is about um putting um positive human relationships at the at the heart of um what is an effective education or what what we believe is an effective um education through the philosophical position that we've taken, through the culture that we have as an organization, I think that has achieved some um interesting outputs and certainly outputs that we are proud of, but they have been outputs rather than uh ideological certitudes, let's say. So um over the full lifetime of Wellspring, we've had no permanent exclusions, something that um we're incredibly proud of. Um as measured by Ofsted, there have been 14 uh successive positive published um Ofsted inspections. Um, you know, our schools by the measures that um that are used nationally do do well um for their context, and we're very, very proud of that. Um and we have a leadership group, uh, many of whom have have gone on to further successes either with Wellspring or uh beyond us. Our pupil roles have grown, our um school budgets have become more resilient over time, and thus um the measures that that um I'm interested, let's say, have gone in the right direction. And and I say the measures that I'm interested in because I I am interested in measures like smell from the toilets, I am interested in measures like uh what playtimes look like and and what resources uh young people have available to them, and that everybody looks as though they, you know, they have a friend or somebody to be with. There's not uh people isolated in in in playgrounds where you know we're minded to things of that nature because the pupil experience is is the experience that we build out from in terms of defining whether we have um good and effective schools.
SPEAKER_00Going back to some of the things you've just said there, culture and values is is hugely important, isn't it, in the Wellspring story? That's kind of a massive, massive part of what makes Wellspring Wellspring. How easy or otherwise is it to foster that culture and that value set and make sure that that's stayed with you as you've got bigger and bigger?
SPEAKER_01Um, I think, well, in a way it's very easy, and in a way it's very hard. The very the very easy element of it is um is you know, is about its constant restatement. We, you know, we we talk about culture, we talk about values overtly, openly, um, regularly, and um, you know, try and create as many opportunities um as we possibly can to link action with values and culture. So from that point of view, it's easy. Um, it's hard from the point of view of maintaining that. Um I I tend to characterize it within the the same framework as I see um tactics and strategy, Elizabeth. In the strategy is the securing of a long-term vision, the the tactics are the minute by minute um expression of how you get there. Well, actually, if um if you're thinking just tactically all of the time, then the strategy is is compromised and you will go where you go. If you're thinking strategically, and in this space that's culture and that's values, then the um if you're able to maintain tactics that are uh aligned to the culture values, the strategy, then you get closer to the place that you want to go. Um and you know it it's always a challenge because circumstances um create shades of grey, and um thus we as leaders live in a space whereby I um have to be led by what I believe to be the right thing, and we support our leaders and nurture them, nurture a safe environment for them in which we ask them to be led by what they believe to be the right thing. Now, if I am taking every opportunity that I can to articulate culture, values, principles, philosophy, then I hope that that is the nurturing and the creation of that environment within which our community of leaders can both operate and and navigate towards the um you know the the long-term aim strategy, which is to be an organization that um is true to the values, the principles that it espouses.
SPEAKER_00That makes a lot of sense. Um create that framework where people where people have their guidelines and and they know they know where they're going and then then give them the freedom to kind of get there on their own.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. It's it it's um it's it's probably um more of a North Star than um you know a um a sat now, you know, with with you know, or a manual that that that kind of dictates every turn. Um, you know, we we don't have that, but we do we do have a north star in terms of the culture and the organization that we believe in, um, you know, the organization that we want to be, and and the the articulation of that philosophy, culture, values, uh I suppose, um, in effect, is is is the North Star shining in the night sky by which our leaders navigate.
SPEAKER_00That brings us nicely on to Vision 2025 and and where that fits in the whole star constellation mix. Um so could you tell us a little bit about vision 2025, what the key points are in that in that document and how you see the future unfolding over the next five years?
SPEAKER_01Yes, um, I can. I think um it's important first to articulate a little bit where Vision 2025 came from, um, you know, um and why a vision for for 2025. One, um, I suppose it's it it's it's it's quite neat. Um uh you know, feel kind of more comfortable articulating a vision 2025 than a uh a vision 2023, for instance. Um but there's far more to it than than that. It is um it is good practice um to um set a strategic plan um for um for the future. Usually a strategic plan um or it tends to be um set over three years because um you know that's that that that's ten that that's tend to be thought of as a a horizon that um you know one can see that far and therefore can um plot towards. I was keen to set that horizon um just a little bit further out, and um I think uh actually in in hindsight, and hindsight is a wonderful thing, um, I think that was very much the um the right decision um in light of um you know what we've experienced um during the the COVID period, in that the COVID period has required all school leaders um to deal with those matters that are incumbent upon them in that in that moment. Um and and that now um you know worryingly is uh has become quite an extended period and um and we'll continue on. Therefore, I think um a Vision 2025 is um is is wholly appropriate to the moment. Um and setting it out five years, I think allows us to be uh ambitious, ambitious in terms of um you know raw growth in school numbers uh within our community, but ambitious um on a broader platform, really, of how we now use our charitable purpose to have a broader impact in terms of our commitment to make a difference?
SPEAKER_00That's really interesting, the charitable purpose stuff. Because I mean I think people automatically think of schools as part of that, really. You know, the it's particularly at the moment, we've seen through COVID the um the extraordinary um lens that schools have gone to to kind of support communities through this. Um what kind of projects and things might you be looking at over the next five years?
SPEAKER_01Okay, so the um the the commitment in 20 in the vision 2025 around using using our charitable purpose more broadly is um sits within the um the innovating strand. Um I've not detailed those just yet, Elizabeth. So I'll I'll detail those strands and then um and then come back to the question. The the first one is um people, because people are at the um heart of our um being and our message. We have um the doing strand, then innovating, as I mentioned, assuring and sustaining. In terms of innovating, um, one of those substrands within innovating is um our charitable purpose. So at the moment, for instance, um we operate three charitable enterprises that that support our broader work. The trust itself is is a charity. It's a charity that operates schools and is committed to making a difference. So part of that difference is, for instance, we um we operate um a life skills house for young people um post-education aged 19 to 25 who can use some of their personal allowance to um develop life skills in the life skills house. So be that um you know how to use a washing machine or a dishwasher or you know, learning to you know keep a house clean or you know whatever it may be. That is the purpose served by the life skills house, that um it's not only the individual but their families, is about um an inclusive society and is about enabling people. Along a similar vein, we operate a um cafe, the makery, that um is staffed by um young people with special educational needs, and um the aim of that um charitable activity is to create um a bridge for those um young people who would otherwise be far more challenged in terms of you know actually forging um a career, being able to be employed and draw a salary, and um those young people effectively operate the cafe, operate the business, handle money, engage with with customers, make, prepare, serve, um, etc. So that you know that's a really, really important activity. Um, and I I won't go into the detail of uh of others at the moment, but there are others that that serve uh similar broader purposes um allied to the core of the work that we do. And we want to in um in these next five years um create a broader platform there for our youngsters into um you know valuable lives, um employed lives, uh want our young people to be valued and valuable members of their community, and and and so are looking at all of the avenues and pathways available um to us as a charity in order to serve a broader social purpose.
SPEAKER_00Do you see that as a way um that the academy sector might be moving in terms of that I mean they are social enterprises, they're not for profits. Is it about taking on wider social challenges over and above um delivering education? Um do you see that as something is that unique to Wellspring, or do you think that's something that's gonna get picked up and and and ran with beyond Wellspring?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I I I certainly um don't think it's unique to Wellspring. Um I've heard of um you know one or two other um examples of the type. I think in terms of um you know trusts and whether that's a direction of travel, I think that has to be wholly down to them because um, of course, we were established as uh charities with a with a core purpose, and the core purpose is to deliver um a high-quality education um for the young people in our care and and um you know to have and to maintain the trust of our communities in so doing. Um every organization thus will will have its own um take on um you know an agenda like the one um I've just outlined there and um and will be wherever it is in terms of its position to uh engage with with such an agenda or otherwise. I think for us it is important because um A of the communities we serve, B because of our scale size and confidence now as an organization, um C because of our um uh philosophy and value set. I think as a country we um we face a whole series of very substantial challenges, not only a post-COVID reconstruction, but also a post-Brexit um rearticulation of Britain and its place in the world. And in that I I certainly see the need for agile, creative, um, able young people who um are able actually to grasp some of these challenges and to um to be you know real um forces for social good. So that's very much a space that we believe that we ought to be actively engaged in and fulfilling, and and hence the the development of this as an agenda within you know the broad platform of our vision for 2025.
SPEAKER_00The other major thing in Vision 2025, um above the the social good and um wellspring being this engine for social change is about long-term planning and that long-term strategy. And something you've mentioned before is cathedral thinking. Do you want to just talk me through that a little bit and about what that means?
SPEAKER_01Yes, within the um vision 2025, um, we have made a commitment to create an estates plan, an enduring estates plan for uh a hundred year, hundred year um estates plan. On one level, um, you know, the the the hundred years is uh kind of a um you know a catchy idea, as it were, in that it's uh you know it's kind of a a nice round number that that people understand. Again, there is there's a principle behind it. And the the notion of uh can cathedral thinking is is is kind of key to that. So um well I suppose where this came from um came from a trip um to the top of the tower at Cologne Cathedral. At the moment I've not got the the actual uh number of years it it took to build Cologne Cathedral in front of me but it was in the um it was in the many of hundreds hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years taken to build this cat build this cathedral that at the time in the um middle ages was the uh was the biggest building in the world by some margin so I did a little bit of um just research into you know how how long it had taken to to build uh cathedrals and the great cathedrals of the world um you know the the older ones Notre Dame and um uh St Paul's and so on um you know we're in the uh measures of hundreds of of years so Grada Familia in Barcelona has been going thus far for uh 120 years and is still in um in development towards uh ultimately the realization of the vision and um that that really got me thinking about you know thinking on that scale and what is realized through uh you know what vision can be realized through long-term thinking of that type um compared with some of the um you know the thinking and decision making that um we find elsewhere and and certainly we find you know within the the public sector we find within um you know how you know all the way down to how how um head teachers um conceive of budgets for instance and some of that comes comes from my own experience um you know in in in terms of um uh both talking to heads and and succeeding head teachers who um you know have used all of the money um on uh the immediate resource i e um uh staffing and and and uh and education resources and money's not gone into the buildings and thus successively over time what happens if that's the case is that um buildings begin to um deteriorate and I think within the probably the public sector more broadly the there's some magic thinking that um uh there's there's money at the um there's a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow that'll you know they'll kind of um put right those things that have been underinvested in for um for many years um cathedral thinking is about a commitment to long-term thinking it's about a commitment to um strategy thinking strategically um a long-term view a long-term vision and then actually the actions the decisions the tactics of the moment being um aligned to that long-term strategy and long-term plan so um the cathedral thinking in terms of estates and a hundred year plan um is actually uh linked to the you know not only the future of our buildings but the future of the planet um you know we need to be uh greener we need to be more energy um savvy we need to be more energy efficient um um um producing our own energy can become an ambition within that 100 years and what I was wanting to do was to set out uh an opportunity that was um agnostic really of the money to deliver on a plan because that's always the challenge um we'd like to do this we'd like to do that we'd like to do the other but but the money you know we don't have the money to do it well if actually you're talking about um a hundred year um plan then then you can talk agnostic of the money because you know what we might be saying in our estate um you know particularly where there's substantial um uh uh grounds for instance is that um we uh we want to develop a planting strategy that will be um advantageous to the planet as a whole um i uh it was a way to really um you know force um the agenda at local level amongst principals and governing bodies um and amongst the community because every school is set within its community and um really ought to be in my view a community um resource the community ought to derive value from there being a school in their um in their midst so it was about community engagement as well and how we how we maximize every square inch of the um estate that we have that we have a responsibility for for 125 years if we have a responsibility for it for 125 years I wanted to be I want to be thinking about um the vast majority of of of of that time period and not about the tactics of the moment it's such an interesting concept the whole kind of cathedral thinking hundred year plans idea and I do want it's kind of hit on something bigger doesn't it in society at large really that we're all used to immediacy now you know you want something you've got it within hours um and that deferred gratification and putting the time in and the thinking about something that actually might not benefit you you're talking about perhaps next generation or generation beyond that that might might reap the benefits of it um that's a real switch in thinking that you've you're trying to um foster in your schools how do you get around the the disbelief really it's like well how on earth can I be thinking a hundred years down the line when I'm struggling to sort out what's happening today absolutely you know it's um it's it it's it's a risk isn't it you know I mean there's um um there's a school of thought that would say you know you you're very much going out on a limb here and um from from the point of view of our principles I absolutely um understand the um uh the dilemma they have whereby you know they are uh necessarily dealing with moment by moment um you know mainly COVID related um matters and I'm asking them to push their thinking out you know uh uh a long long way um I'm committed to it Elizabeth because be because you know it's my passionate belief that that's what leadership is there is a risk uh in the notion of leadership that one is um purely a visionary and a blue sky thinker and um you know speaks only of matters that are way way beyond everyone's horizon um that's absolutely not what I want to be because I believe that um I in in a leadership sense do uh marry that uh that that those longer term plans uh aims aspirations with um with sensible um decision making in the moment but you cannot you cannot in my view divorce the two otherwise um you know back to the uh North Star um uh metaphor um you know where where are you steering the thing towards going back to something you mentioned earlier which I know causes a lot of head teachers headaches um the management of the buildings you've you've there's some horror stories um in Wellsprings history isn't there about about schools that um you've discovered all kinds of things about um yeah there are some um well yeah eye-opening things really that that you come across when um you know you become involved in uh more and more schools and and certainly um through our history we've we've had let let's say our fair share of schools that ultimately we have um sponsored um that have been in you know very various stages of crisis really and um this this in itself accords with the with with the theme of what we're discussing in that um you know from from my experience schools get themselves into um into difficulties when there has been an absence of um long-term strategic or bigger picture thinking let's say for some time when you know all that um uh all that's been going on in a um a a leadership sense is um managing the moment so you know through through through due diligence uh work and and and just through actually um you know the um uh the bitter experience of um finding these things out after the event we we've come across um lots of instances in which um you know the the first cold snap um sees the boiler breaking and it turns out that um there's not been a service regime around the boiler for the last eight years you know and it's a it's a critical component in keeping the school open or um the intruder alarm hasn't been um maintained in the last in the last 10 years or um there's buildings on the land that there was never the permission to build or um you know all sorts all sorts of things that that actually get get you know right down to uh very very serious uh and fundamental health and safety um you know fire plans that um that are out of date by uh by many years um and so on and so on through to um you know famously and and a bit of a course celebre for us um uh you know putrefying rats in sealing void void stinking um stinking the place out we have developed a very very um thorough assurance framework methodology for all of our schools that is designed to ensure that the that matters of that ilk can never can never come to pass we we have a very very um thorough safety net for all of our principals to ensure that um the key systems are taken care of they can be they can feel safe they can feel assured as can the governing body which allows them to focus their attention on the teaching and learning the curriculum the pupil experience and the future helping us to um author that um that bright future yeah it seems such an extraordinary situation where you've got head teachers having to deal with building management catastrophes when that we know when they've got much much more important things that they need to um be focused on um I'm probably gonna this probably the daft question to ask based on where we are at the moment in the world but I'll ask it anyway um what do you think this next year might have in store for our schools and education? I think COVID and the management of um this COVID period remains um a uh an enormous shadow that will um likely be cast over um at least the majority of this school year. I think that has um an implication for us across the sector in terms of our um thinking and I and I think it it it exposes um a big risk for us in that um necessarily um we will have in the main of of have been focused on um very short term matters for um a very considerable period of time. I think um once COVID is behind us there will be um a period of um readjustment and recalibration um I don't think we're going to wake up on uh the first of September let's say at the start of the autumn term and um everything be back into place and smooth and fine and um you know it was it was just like it always was there will be um necessarily a period of of uh of readjustment um we have questions in the sector about um how um how accountability works um both now and and probably into um this next period so there are some um there are some big questions to um answer there and um I think um at the moment we have um a sector that um is looking for um greater coherence than um than it probably has at this time there are um a multiplicity of um voices and um stakeholder bodies and um at some point into the future that will inevitably have to go through um some sort of rationalization which will be um a big structural piece when it comes it certainly seems that the whole role of education and the position of it in society um has just come so much to the fore, hasn't it with COVID?
SPEAKER_00The people's perception of how important education is now and how we actually it can't function as a society without fantastic education and fantastic support services around that and all of it um you take any of those elements away and things start to look very very shaky so I think um hopefully we'll have all learned some really valuable lessons about how important education is moving forward.
SPEAKER_01And finally if you could make one change immediately start tomorrow to the education system in this country what would it be it would be the mechanism by which um our special and alternative um schools are funded because at the moment that is not in line with how mainstream schools are funded and is vulnerable to um lots of local contextual factors that mean um there is a postcode lottery um in terms of um how one special needs child is is funded in one authority compared with how um a child with let's say the same needs could be funded in in the neighbouring authority I think that is um you know certainly for us um a trust that is a mix of um schools in the special alternative primary and secondary sectors um that is a you know that that's a major one for us perhaps that's one we'll have to revisit on another podcast that'd be a good one um and that brings our first ever Wellspring podcast to a close thanks for your time Mark it's been fascinating to hear about vision 2025 thank you and thanks to you the listener for joining us if you've enjoyed our first podcast please subscribe and share we'll be back next time to ask what happens when teachers become the students and how we can best teach the teachers.
SPEAKER_00Till then take care and we'll see you next time
