By Henry Faber, co-founder of Oppidan Education

This year was my second at the ISC Conference in Westminster, where I shared the stage with James Dahl, Master of Wellington College.

Good catering and a nice view of Parliament put aside, this was a good chance to escape my Hammersmith cave to hear from, meet with and present to school leaders from around the country. Post-lunch, we were treated to a panel discussion on the future of independent schools. I was particularly struck by Rudi Lockhart’s two framings of the debate around the value of independent schools:

🔵 THE (c)ONSERVATIVE CASE

These schools are institutions of excellence and they have an economic impact. The angle is then about preserving and spreading their value. Bursary provision, open access, partnerships. These are great schools, so let’s widen their impact.

🔴 THE LIBERAL CASE

The state shouldn’t have a monopoly. Parental choice is important - even a human right!? How do we let 1,000 flowers bloom? How do we ensure diversity in the system and avoid impeding that with too much regulation? How do we make space for taking risks and developing new ideas?

His joint session with Mark Brotherton, David Woodgate and Marina Gardiner-Legge put forward an impassioned defence for the sector and its value, particularly relevant as we finished Partnerships Week.

And onto the afternoon, my chance to share the stage with Wellington College’s James Dahl. A Head of Classics at the age of 23, it’s no surprise James has scaled his way through Wellington Admissions and DH roles to running the school. We spent 30 minutes workshopping ideas around mentorship and essential skills, with a focus on how to enable personal growth pupil engagement as part of a student’s school journey. A big thank you to a very engaged audience of about 50 people.

Some key takeaways:

With the right narrative and leadership, it’s possible to bring along teachers, parents and students, so that all stakeholders are invested in character growth and personal development.

The more we embed role modelling and a sense of ‘anti hierarchy’, the more buy-in we see from our students. Through a plethora of social learning experiences, there are plenty of tools in the kit to engage students with their role in the school and their wider aspirations.

We have to decide who we are measuring impact for. Busy schools can occasionally lack coordination when there’s so much going on; the challenge is to connect a golden thread through culture and provision to maintain a clear narrative.

As Oppidan’s footprint continues to grow in independent, state and international sectors, I feel emboldened by the deliberate focus on skills work and the approach to and understanding of what good mentoring can achieve. For any schools considering their approach to character education and skills, we’d love to hear from you.