Greg Whitby: Why principals are stressed out

RECENTLY there has been a lot of coverage on the growing number of stressed out school principals, making it clear that it’s a demanding, and often lonely, job.

Principals are expected to lead the learning, deal with the complexity of child protection issues, managing standardised testing and international rankings, and implementing ever-increasing accountability measures.

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IN RECENT years, there has been a lot of coverage on the growing number of stressed out school principals.

It is pretty clear that leading a school community is not only demanding but can also be lonely work.

Nowadays, principals not only lead the learning but deal with the complexity of child protection issues, managing standardised testing and international rankings, and implementing ever-increasing accountability measures. And, of course, parents are expecting schools to deliver more.

Healthy principals and teachers means healthy school communities.

Like many other professions, principals are often on-call seven days a week. Add to this the fact that they are also responsible for overseeing the financial operation of schools and you can understand why some teachers are reluctant to take on the top job.

The good news is that principal and teacher wellbeing is now being seen as important as student wellbeing.

It’s a simple proposition: healthy principals and teachers means healthy school communities. Many principals now draw on the support of coaches and mentors. They are also part of a wider network of school leaders who are able to share common experiences and exchange ideas.

CEO Executive director of Schools Dr Greg Whitby is talking about the pressures principals face.

If we are serious about reversing the trend of stressed-out principals, we need to be clear about their role in a contemporary school. Given the many demands placed on them, schools need to operate on a distributive and collaborative leadership model.

The role of the principal in today’s world is to tap into the wisdom of the school tribe using it to transform learning and teaching.

We often talk about ensuring students have skills like collaboration, critical thinking and communication.

These are also necessary skills for principals. The leaders of the most innovative companies in the world foster cultures of excellence, and then work to ensure that everyone is focused on the things that really matter while minimising the background noise.

In schools, the things that really matter are the quality of relationships and the quality of teaching.

Principal pays tribute to Mylee Billingham