There are many good reasons to live and work in Birmingham – vibrant culture, green spaces, excellent transport, great food and affordable cost of living among them. The destination of choice outside the south-east for those relocating from London, it enjoys the highest quality of life of any UK city outside the capital – with far lower house prices.
But for teachers, the lure is greater still. The city’s schools frequently trump their counterparts elsewhere in the country and there’s a diversity of pupil population and school type that promises a varied and stimulating career no matter where your ambitions lie.
With its exceptionally young and growing population – it’s the youngest major city in Europe with almost 40% of its population under 25 – Birmingham naturally pays close attention to education.
Greater Birmingham has five of the country’s top 25 schools and the highest proportion of local authority-run schools rated outstanding by Ofsted. On top of that, the percentage increase of good or outstanding schools has been outstripping national rates since 2010.
Talk to anyone involved in Birmingham education and they’ll tell you this success is down to a collaborative approach in which even “competing” schools support one another. A new Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP), led by headteachers and chaired by former education secretary and Yardley MP Baroness Estelle Morris is providing support to schools across the city, whether selective, faith-based, mixed, single-sex, 11-16, 11-18, primary, all-through or special.
The BEP is also helping build relationships between businesses and schools to bridge the skills gap – vital in providing the right employees for Birmingham’s fast-developing economy.
Individual teachers, meanwhile, can find tailored support under the Teacher Talent Team initiative, launching in January 2016. The programme will provide teachers with professional development and learning opportunities in a diverse cross-section of schools, together with career management support for three years – equipping them to seize opportunities as schools recruit to match growing pupil numbers.
Janet Collins, headteacher at Springfield House community special school, speaks for many in praising the exceptionally strong professional support in the city:
“When I had my first Ofsted, help was only an email or a phone call away. Headship can be lonely if you don’t have that because you are supporting everybody else.”
Those working in schools facing challenging circumstances report the same constructive approach. Mohammed Arshad, acting deputy head and head of teaching, learning and performance management at Al Hijrah school, praises the support he and the school received from the local authority after a new management structure was implemented. “A local outstanding school helped us with data management, teaching and learning.”
Peter French, assistant director for Church of England schools in Birmingham and chair of governors at the enormously oversubscribed Hamstead Hall academy in Handsworth Wood, notes that “Birmingham has always had a tradition of supporting other schools”. Hamstead Hall is now sponsoring a struggling feeder primary, and its own teachers are all good or outstanding.
Like many in the Birmingham education community, he laments the impact of the so-called Trojan horse events, centring on an alleged plot by conservative Muslims to take over schools in the city. In all, 21 schools were investigated by Ofsted – five were put into special measures.
French says: “There are a huge number of governors in the city, as well as teachers, who work really hard. Whatever happened with the whole Trojan horse episode, it was limited to a very few schools.”
The city has responded strongly, he points out, revising governor recruitment training and producing a new code of conduct that governors must sign.
Nargis Rashid, chair of governors at two schools with a string of Ofsted outstanding ratings between them, highlights the city’s track record for strong recovery. “I think resilience is a really key word. We might get knocked down but we always come back and fight another day.
“Birmingham is a fantastic place – I’ve lived all my life in and around the city and it’s a brilliant place to live and raise a family.”
