- News (190)
- 20/12/2008: April has left the building
- 19/12/2008: Into the darkness
- 18/12/2008: The bombshell
- 17/12/2008: Normal people should not apply
- 16/12/2008: How to advertise for a new headteacher
- 15/12/2008: QCA in chaos; top man resigns
- 13/12/2008: Ofsted has no legal existence
- 12/12/2008: Our mission statement
- 11/12/2008: Ofsted's destruction of documents exposed
- 10/12/2008: Who is in control?
Admin site
Educational Sites
Other sites
Related websites
How to get managers to listen
Since its foundation four years ago the School of Educational Administration (SEA) has taken the view that the most under-used resource in most schools is the school administration.
The idea is that if the school managers involved the administrators more in their planning - consulting admin on new developments rather than just saying “we’ve decided to do this - implement it please”.
Such a change of view obviously makes a lot of sense - but some administrators do object that the managers in their school simply will not listen. There seems to be no way to get them to change their approach, and treat administration as a “do this” resource rather than a centre for innovation and efficiency.
Changing people’s long engrained attitudes is indeed hard. It involves developing negotiating skills and putting forward ideas for change in a variety of ways. The SEA (which sponsors this news group) is doing its part by emphasising to managers the huge benefits that can accrue to a school if school administration is seen as a proactive force for change, rather than a reactive centre.
The SEA is launching a significant campaign after Easter aimed at school managers, pointing out that a school administration that is not included in its planning and development meetings is a wasted resource. This campaign is linked to information about the SEA’s courses, and asks managers to encourage administrators to take one of the courses.
The two courses that the SEA runs - the Certificate in Educational Administration and the Work Management and Administration course both hold the idea of the school’s administration as central to change, and indeed the Efficiency Project which is part of the Certificate in Ed Administration course is based on the idea that the school administration can come up with an idea for change, and negotiate the change with the school managers.
The final date for applications for the next intake on to the QCA validated one year distance learning course The Certificate in Educational Administration is May 6. The Work Management and Administration Course is a two month course, also by distance learning. The next intake for this course closes on 31 March.
Both courses are validated by the Institute of Administrative Management, and recognised by the Council for Administration - the government body which oversees administrative matters in all parts of education, business and industry.
A copy of the prospectus is on www.admin.org.uk You can obtained printed copies by emailing prospectus@admin.org.uk or by phoning 01536 399 007.