Head of department notes: who are the key people?
Is the most important person in your school or team is the one who has the key to the stationery cupboard?
Something to ponder, by Terry Freedman
One of the best bits of advice I was given when I started teaching was as follows. Don’t worry about the senior leadership; the people you need to befriend and get on the right side of are the cleaners, the school caretaker, the dinner ladies and the person who has the key to the stationery cupboard.
Obviously, they were being a little tongue-in-cheek: I don’t fancy your chances of promotion if you completely ignore the senior leadership team or, worse, treat them shabbily. But there is more than a grain of truth in that advice.