Leadership Insights | PEOPLE | EDUCATION ASIA | 19
A More Professional Sector Another change since the 90s has been the professionalism of the sector. Membership organisations have existed for a while, with both BSME and FOBISIA dating from the 80s, but it is relatively recent that they have required accreditation for membership. CIS, COBIS and more recently BSO accreditation have grown rapidly and give another layer of credibility for parents and staff.
Better Suppliers, More Diverse Staffrooms International schools are much better served now by service providers. Rather than buy goods and services designed for the UK market, schools can now choose products tailored to the specific needs of international schools. The Middle East is becoming a hub for innovation in education suppliers, with organisations such as The Safeguarding Alliance and Edsidera having bases in the region. This makes sense from a practical perspective, including time zones, as well as giving access to a large number of quality international schools. A last welcome change to highlight is the increase in diversity of teachers to match the increased diversity of students and parents. British teachers of all backgrounds now ply their trade overseas, and they are joined by teachers from elsewhere who have accessed British teaching qualifications in their home country. The more recent move to being able to gain English QTS while working overseas has helped teachers gain work in accredited schools and helped schools as recruitment gets tougher.
The growth of school groups has also helped, with the best ones having tight internal QA processes and central policies on key areas such as Safeguarding and Health & Safety. My own organisation balances the need for schools to be responsible for their running and development with clear guidelines and, crucially, support in these key areas. This growth in professionalism extends beyond the classroom, most visibly in marketing and admissions. A simple example is that school offices were often closed in the summer holiday, exactly at the moment prospective parents were looking for a school. Schools now employ specialists to grapple with social media, SEO, Google reviews and the like. The days of the Head’s weekly email being the only source of school publicity are long gone. Luckily for Heads, there is still an avenue for their opinions: LinkedIn! Long-established schools have had to raise their game. It’s easy to be the best school in the city when there are only a few, but as the market gets more crowded it is trickier to stand out.
Powered by FlippingBook