The Year 6 Inspire Improvement Fellows

We were told right from the start to ‘trust the process’ but we didn’t actually know what that process was at first. It started like a blind date with 12 people, all of us stripped back to our core values and beliefs but it ended with all of us having a connection with each other and our learning and knowledge underpinned by curious questions.

Though we did not know each other we quickly formed connections and a shared understanding of what each weekly meeting involved. We set our ground rules and expected ways of working and reviewed these at each session to ensure they remained appropriate and useful. We checked in and checked out using the provided cards or images and this allowed us each of us time to update the others with how our week had been, good or bad, and enabled us to understand each other’s positions and how we may react to the session at hand.

Supported by our managers, who allowed us to be released for the sessions, we were given the space to explore leadership in a different way with an ultimate aim of creating a caring culture and improving our own work environments.

We were encouraged to look at what we currently have and ‘how we do things around here’ and how we could transition to better leadership, more effective teamwork with an understanding of the importance of values and beliefs and how this affects the team.

As part of the interview process we were also told that we would be stepping outside our creative comfort zone but that this would be in a safe and supportive learning environment. In reality this meant lots of glitter and glue! Many of the Fellows agree that they felt ‘artistically challenged’ however the safe space agreement, which we developed collectively, allowed us to take risks and open our minds to new approaches. We quickly developed a sense of belonging and drew strength from each other and flourished.

We may have reached the end of the formal part of the programme but our journey as a network has only just begun. We have developed friendship and contacts that we can call on in time of need and support. The beauty of the programme is that our professional diversity was a strength rather than a hindrance and we quickly realised that we all face similar challenges and had similar opportunities for development.

The Fellows and the facilitators made this programme enjoyable and enabled us to achieve a shared vision and an experience that only FoNS can provide. Haikus, songs, poems, art work, personal reflections, all contributed to the diverse learning that we took part in.

We finished with our very own art gallery, which none of us would have considered possible at the start of the programme. We embraced the challenges and we all feel proud to have been involved. The shared vision of all in attendance has been amazing and we all have more tools to use as a result.

Together we found our voices and courage to think outside the box and to continue our journey to inspire and improve.