Head of School Karen Denton celebrates completing her Master's Degree. We spoke to her about the experience...
At the Thinking Schools Academy Trust, we are passionate about offering Continued Professional Development (CPD) opportunities to our staff. One of our focuses is to grow great leaders to support our mission in Transforming Life Chances. We caught up with Karen Denton, Head of School at Penbridge Junior School, to learn about her experience of completing a Level 7 Apprenticeship and Masters Degree in Education, Leadership and Management.
How did you find out about this opportunity?
I first found out about the opportunity through receiving an e-mail from the Trust. It mentioned the course would be funded through the apprenticeship levy, so I thought it was an amazing opportunity to develop myself professionally. If this email hadn’t come through, I don’t think I would have ever completed the qualification.
How did you feel about enrolling on this course?
I was excited. It was something I had always wanted to do; gaining a Master’s degree. I started working towards one in the past but had to stop part-way through due to personal circumstances, so it was wonderful to be given this opportunity to do it alongside my job as Head of School. I’m not going to lie, I was a little apprehensive about completing the course at the same time as my full-time headship job, but our Executive Head Anna Webb and TSAT gave their full support.
What was one of the biggest things you learnt?
I loved working on the module which focused on strategy in education. I began this assignment by looking at the culture of Penbridge Junior, thinking about how I could develop more collaboration between staff. The module also unpicked how strategy supports key decisions within school; learning how having a vision and developing that can help me to ensure all the effective systems and structures are in place to support our strategy. I feel my course has allowed me to have a direct impact on how my school operates, with a positive benefit on staff and the children.
What have you learnt most about yourself?
Doing the qualification at Level 7 really made me look at myself as an individual. How am I leading? How am I collaborating with other people for the benefit of our children? What can I do to improve the way I communicate with staff to get the best out of them? There were many questions like this which have transformed my approach to my role, paving the way for continuous improvement.
How would you encourage other staff to enrol in a course?
Believe in yourself, anything is possible. Our job is full and busy, but if you really want to achieve something and take on some professional development for yourself, there is a way and there will always be people who will support you and enable that to happen. Taking on continued professional development opportunities through the apprenticeship route ties what you do directly back into your day-to-day work, so you can link your projects and assignments into what you are already doing.
What were you feeling that moment you graduated?
I had an enormous sense of pride that I had actually achieved this. It was a huge challenge, and I had to be really resilient to keep going, but that sense of achievement was a very special moment. To know my husband and two sons were in the audience when I walked across the stage at the Royal Festival Hall in London was incredibly special. We enjoyed a big family party – with other special occasions – to celebrate.
