It takes courage to embark on a culture-changing journey. There are so many moving parts. It is like steering a ship through uncharted waters, where every decision, every action ripples through the waves, impacting the course. You can't predict every storm, but with each small adjustment, you navigate closer to the vision. The crew—your team—must work together, trusting the process and each other, even when the path is new territory, or the winds are challenging. Every change, no matter how small, shifts the direction toward a new horizon.
Fiona Blundell, Principal of East Maddington Primary School took on the challenge to “steer” the culture onto a “improve student progress” course.
It takes courage, because you are banking on the people you have indirect control of realising the new course is better than the current course. It is safer and more impactful.
At East Maddington Primary School, I partnered with the Team Leaders and Staff to build a courageous culture where people feel VASH – Valued. Accepted. Safe. Heard.
To measure the success of the Courageous Culture program and the Courageous Leaders program, the staff complete a 74 question Culture survey pre and post program under the ESAT domains. The answers in the post survey are dependent on the educator’s shift in perspective due to their change in experience over the 18-month period. This shift in behaviour coupled with other educational demands can make the outcomes even scarier.
So, is it celebration or deflation?
And the winner is …. the students.
The Data tells the story
The information is quite deep as to the questions, however what we are looking for is a shift in culture which is the first step to improved student progress.
The results below highlight the significant improvement in all areas. Yes, there are still challenges, but it is the increase in the percentage of people who agree or highly agree to the positive behaviour which is encouraging. If I feel VASH, the students will benefit. Being the best version of myself more often, benefits the students.
How to read the summarised data:
Like NAPLAN the results are compared by the number of coloured boxes:
BOLD GREEN – 90% - 100% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed.
GREEN – 80% - 89% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed.
YELLOW – 60%-79% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed.
RED – 1% – 59% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed
As they say in the classics, “We are trending in the right direction.” People are on the ship. From 8 areas above 80% to 34 areas above 80% agree or strongly agree.
So why does this matter? Because the first step is to improved student progress is culture. The staff are aligned with a clear vision and feel VASH. What next?
We have Courageous Leaders chairing collaborative meetings who are efficient, effective and engaging which builds trust. This leads to the 2025 introduction of Classroom Observation and Feedback. A methodical approach with small steps that caters for everyone to grow their impact.
Congratulations East Maddington Staff. You are awesome. Definitely a celebration.
What program or system have you implemented and measured that shows a positive culture? I hope it is worth celebrating.
P.S. The improvement in the 2024 NAPLAN results were celebrated at East Maddington Primary School as well.
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