One of the key aspects of our behaviours as teachers and guides to young people is to be innovative. It is a crucial skill and Einstein once defined insanity as “repeating the same mistakes over and over and expecting different results.” When there is a deficit or an obvious need, innovation is most often embraced and sought in order to drive forward positive change. In short, it is welcomed.

When things are going generally well or we have patterns and customs that we are attached to, innovation can be more challenging. Sometimes, a call for change or innovation may feel like a slight on what we have done before or what we have achieved. Or, when change and innovation is introduced, we may feel the need to be defensive and to decry it as “that will not work here” or oft heard “we tried that once and it didn’t work.” We are, like the children we serve, liberated through routines and rituals and innovation can be a perceived or indeed real threat to our sense of self and security. Understanding these normal emotional reactions and turning them into professional responses is a key behaviour to ensure that we self-improve as a family of schools.

For me, being innovative is a crucial behaviour within Education. We exist in a volatile, uncertain and changing world and as the responsible adults we have a duty to change and evolve with it. That does not mean abandoning cherished customs or traditions that give us a sense of identity and belonging, but it does mean being open, optimistic and creative to the opportunities that change brings.

Hard as it is for individuals and for organisations such as ours to innovate, it is a necessity. Being innovative is an essential part of aspiration. President John F. Kennedy’s bold aspiration to “go to the moon this decade” motivated a nation to unprecedented levels of change and creativity and achieved what had once been unthinkable. As a Trust, it is now our time to look to infinity, and beyond (apologies Mathematician colleagues.)

Dan Morrow – Trust Leader & CEO