What impact has the pandemic had on you personally and professionally?
The pandemic has affected all of our lives in so many ways; some we are aware of, others we are yet to uncover and will take years for the full effect to be understood and realised.
In a professional, capacity, it has affected me in a number of ways. Leading two schools means I have had to oversee the switch to remote working whilst maintain high-quality education, strictly controlled COVID environments when face to face, which has meant that everything the school has done has had to be rethought and redone and the management of confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the school communities. At all times, whilst teaching remotely, holding parents’ evenings on line and managing business demands, pastoral support has become the main focus for both staff and students and we have brought in more staff to work with our pupils as the effects of the pandemic have been very real and apparent. With staff, we have put in new processes to ensure that we are touching base with all our staff on a weekly basis to check in with them and provide support where required. Our staff, pupils and parents have been incredible and have supported us, responded quickly and ensured that we have made the transition from face to face teaching, to remote learning, to back to the classroom with then mixed face to face and remote learning as efficient and effective as possible.
In a personal capacity, we have had substantially more time together than we have probably ever had. My husband has been home-working since last March. My 2 children have experienced the full range of issues as they started the pandemic in Y9 and Y13 and finish in Y10 and first year University. So I have experienced like, most parents, the experience of remote learning, exam results, starting University and online learning from home, cancelled driving tests, missed dance lessons and more besides. It has shown me how resilient our children are and how they have adapted quickly to the challenges thrown at them, including spending so much more time with me!
How has Covid-19 changed your way of management?
Managing in a pandemic has been challenging as there is so much you don’t know, yet are expected to know and are trying to work out. At one level, it hasn’t changed my management style as change management has always been one of my strengths and I have managed teams remotely previously. My key principles have become to research and establish the facts, analyse what this will mean, check with colleagues before acting and then do so quickly with clear explanations and expectations. The most difficult area has been around staff management. As one of my staff says “you have an amazing ability to walk in the building absorb huge amounts of detail and know what is going on within minutes” and that is not as easy working remotely. For me an important element of my role as a leader is to walk the building and talk to staff to pick up issues for the school, their students and importantly them as individuals. For that reason, I have been in both schools as much as possible during the pandemic to support our onsite provision for key workers and vulnerable students and, more importantly, to see staff. I have joined more meetings and sent out more regular staff briefings to stay in touch with my staff
Going forward, is there anything that you will be doing differently?
As the pandemic lifts, so we will review everything we do, again. We expect to keep our parents’ evenings online, we intend to further invest in technology and our ability to delivery a hybrid of blended learning and we will be looking at the long-term effects of the pandemic, especially around pastoral support for our learners.
What has kept you hopeful during this time?
An interesting question. I think that this being a global pandemic has meant that this is not “just us” at any level as a country, region, village, school or family has meant that at some point, I knew that there had to be a solution and a way through the pandemic. My outlook is “half glass full” and I have been tremendously grateful for the NHS and all key workers who have kept working throughout this and ensured that our needs have been met. The hope of the country through the claps for the NHS, the late Captain Sir Tom Moore, the local community spirit and for me personally the resilience and gratitude of my staff, parents and students has continued to keep me positive. And finally, my family who spent most evenings laughing at the latest box set that we have been watching and spending quality time together.
However, the lifting of the official restrictions, is, the first part of this journey as we deal with the longer term effects of it. I remain hopeful that we will continue to work together as families, schools and communities to leave a lasting legacy from COVID as a positive one.
Kate Tague is the Executive Principal of the WMG Academy Trust, which consists of WMG Academy for Young Engineers Coventry and WMG Academy for Young Engineers Solihull. The Coventry academy opened in September 2014 and was rated Good by OFSTED in March 2017. The Solihull academy opened in September 2016 and was rated Good by Ofsted in March 2019. The Trust works very closely with WMG, the University of Warwick and a wide range of small, medium and large local and national employers. Prior to her role with the WMG Academies, Kate was Vice Principal at Black Country UTC and an Assistant Principal in Tamworth before this. As well as teaching, Kate has worked as a local authority advisor in Staffordshire and for the awarding body Pearson, leading their BTEC and vocational education programmes across the country. Kate is married with two children and lives in Staffordshire.
Kate Tague was a finalist in the Business Woman of the Year Awards 2019.
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