Schools and shifting priorities
02/01/2022
Following an unprecedented couple of years, schools are looking ahead, trying to navigate the short-term and long-term issues caused by the extra pressure of the pandemic.
Our recent whitepaper - Rising to the Challenge: The future of the public and voluntary sectors – highlighted that like other public service providers, schools have been left with a hole in finances, with extra ongoing expenses and an extended role, with many schools already juggling needs and facing difficult financial decisions before COVID-19.
Although the Omicron variant has been a recent influence, the return to school in January has seemed more akin to years pre-COVID-19. However there have been huge adaptations schools, and the education system, have had to make leading to a ‘new normal’ within the education system.
The ‘new’ normal
While schools are stretched and trying to make sense of this new normal, alongside routine activities, inspection rigour is ramping up.
Education establishments have rapidly adjusted to a new world and have been phenomenally successful at handling major changes,” explains Tilden Watson, Head of Education, Zurich Municipal. “Whereas once inspections may have been the sole focus for weeks, there are too many other things to manage now.”
Schools’ remit has been extended beyond anything envisaged before. Pre-COVID-19, schools did not have to take the lead on ensuring pupils were fed, provide digital devices to access learning, or step in for examination boards.
Those adaptations and extensions have made schools even more important than ever as they take a central role, not just in the lives of pupils and their families, but as the core hub of communities, providing constancy, safety and support, and leading by example.
Schools may feel it is time to accept that it’s not realistic to focus on just one challenge at a time”, Tilden explains. “One of the learnings for the sector has been that school’s have to have a broad focus managing risks and opportunities should now be an integrated part of everyday business. This means priorities may shift in response.”
Managing risk
Schools have to navigate a responsible path through this, at the same time as facing strategic risks like cyber and data security, climate change action failure, and financial vulnerability.
There are various ways to prioritise risk and using a risk matrix is the most common method. However, schools should consider proximity too. For example, two risks could appear as a high likelihood, but where are they on the radar? Are they close-up or further away? When do you have to start mitigating them or how soon is a solution required? Answering these questions will inform decision-making on prioritisation.
“When resources are stretched and the workforce is ill, under recruited, or just exhausted, how and when resource is deployed to meet a challenge is crucial,” emphasises Tilden.
Workforce
The changing nature of work and workforce challenges was deemed the most impactful issue since 2020 across all sectors in our future of the public and voluntary sector research. Like many sectors providing public services, recruitment and retention, plus mental ill health and Long COVID are likely to be ongoing considerations for schools.
Schools in particular, cited mental health and wellbeing as the most influential challenge for this sector, now and for the next five years, which impacts the workforce directly.
'It's difficult keeping staff going, and there is a war on talent, so the risk of losing them is high,” says Tilden. “The right kind of leadership is what’s important for schools to tackle these workforce challenges. A certain type of leader is required during transitions; one that can see the big picture and have a clear vision – and someone who can take everyone with them.”
While the worst of the pandemic is hopefully behind us, school leaders should recognise that adaptation and transition will continue as all sectors face very different ways of working and providing services.
Although the education sector was the least optimistic in our research, our survey showed that generally the way organisations have dealt with the pandemic has resulted in having the skills, confidence, and resilience to adapt longer-term, and to rise to future challenges.
Further guidance from Tilden and his team is available by contacting us on 0800 232 1901 or info@zurichmunicipal.com
