Have you ever visited a school where teachers have told you, “Our expectations here are pretty low”?
Of course you haven’t. Having high expectations of the children we work with is a fundamental part of teaching. None of us goes into this profession with any other aspiration than wanting the best for the children in our classrooms.
But when we talk about the importance of having high expectations, how often do we take the time to really define what that looks like? And how far do we make sure that the adults in our schools are modelling those expectations effectively?
I am concerned that in some cases, we hold children to a higher standard than adults. This is a problem because children feel injustice (or perceived injustice) very keenly.
Rules for everyone
It’s why I always found it so difficult to enforce the “blazers on at all times” rule when I worked in a secondary school. When it was warm, I wanted to take my own jacket off, and to refuse pupils that same freedom felt at best hypocritical.
At worst, it seemed to be communicating to them that my expectations of them were low - as though, without their blazers, they would succumb to the urge to take to the barricades and start the revolution, when, in fact, all they wanted was to be a bit more comfortable and learn a little better.
Of course, young people need boundaries. But how often are we more forgiving of lateness, missed deadlines, loose dress codes - and, dare I say it, forgetting a pen - for staff than we are for pupils?
The line that we’re adults and they’re children so “it’s different” doesn’t hold much weight with me. Either it is vitally important to dress smartly and tightly define acceptable haircuts, or it isn’t.
Leaders need to set rules and make sure they apply to everyone.
More on behaviour:
When I was a local authority school improvement adviser, I was fortunate to visit lots of different schools. I was always on the lookout for certain signs as early indicators of low expectations.
For example, I recall once reflecting with a colleague about the amount of overt phone use on display in a secondary school, despite the school’s stated “no phones” policy.
Other common indicators for me were seeing the students being given “free time” (or it being framed as “doing maths games on the iPads”), letting students out of classes early or winding down for Christmas quite a few days in advance (I accept that I am somewhat of a Scrooge in this regard).
There is a place for recognising when the pace, the challenge or the location of our lessons needs to change - that is good, responsive teaching - but the examples above do not illustrate that.
What exactly do high expectations look like?
The problem is that the phrase “high expectations” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. And that is why it is so important for leaders to do the work of describing exactly what high expectations look like in their school, both for the children and the adults.
Part of this work is also defining what those expectations do not look like, as one of the unintended consequences of the quest for high expectations is that teachers can be left feeling that they can’t be flexible in situations that demand it.
This can be a significant contributory factor in schools being less inclusive than they could be for children with special educational needs, as making reasonable adjustments is sometimes seen as lowering expectations, rather than simply making something accessible.
So, yes, we should have high expectations in schools, but only if we take the time to define exactly what that means - and ensure we hold adults to the same high standards that we expect of our pupils.
Jarlath O’Brien works for a multi-academy trust of special schools and is the author of books on behaviour, leadership and SEND
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