As the great Charles Handy said, 'There is a paradox at the heart of things...' This is particularly so in education and in schools as organisations.

Top 10 questions that schools very often ask: very briefly answered here!

SO WHY CAN'T WE JUST REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE TUTOR GROUPS AND BE HORIZONTAL? This is the most expected question of all. Those who cannot work out the answer (some cannot even after training) find it diffiult to let go of old systems and are in denial about the need for change. We have to understand how human learning organisations work! Many excellent tutors cannot let go of their current group (understandable). In horizontal systems 1) everyone (students, staff and parents) will miss out on the massive personal growth opportunities that vertical groups will bring and 2) the tutor will never be able to have deep learning conversations and build vastly improved student and parent partnership. You either see this or you don't! Read Detoxing Childhood! Such staff constantly say, 'We already do that!' By 'that', they mean that their student leadership opportunities and tutoring are already excellent. This is rarely so. Such schools simply tick SEF boxes and rarely walk the talk of their values!

1. So what, exactly, do tutors do? They actually talk to students, encourage mentoring, grow leaders, support learning and liaise with parents. They facilitate learning conversations. They have a fairly free hand but all follow the academic calendar and Year or House activities. This is an important feature of training that all schools should have and is certainly, in my experience, what schools most demand... You can do this without advice and input but at your own peril! In essence tutors can at last follow their job description!

2. What sort of programme do they follow, if any? All (some) schools start out with a typical tutor booklet but this will be soon discarded. Please refer to House page...or find part of the answer in Q1 above...

3. Is bullying reduced? Students in VT schools, believe that their school ethos has changed for the better and victims of bullying tell us that the system is much improved in part because of multi-age friendships...bullying never goes away but the potential for a more humane / family type of relationship is enhanced... The straight answer is 'Yes'.

4. Should the sixth form andYear 7 be involved? Sharnbrook, for example,  has over 600 sixthformers and it would be foolish not to fully involve the largest source of enthusiasm and ability in the school! At a recent Leadership Conference, sixth formers said that they wanted to get even more involved in VT. Now this is what citizenship really is...such students inspire us all... Thinking schools involve everyone...sad schools don't! To fail to involve all students from Y7 to Y11/13 is a systemic failure of organisational vision and simply misses the point of VT. In such schools, VT is not being taken seriously as a major school/person improver (in essence a failure of vision and leadership)

5. What training is given? Schools need three training opportunities. a) The LT and all staff need to appreciate and understand the principles of VT and the vision especially in comparison with the old fashioned management of schools that we have b) Staff need to understand what changes (everything) and in particular how tutor time is run and managed c) Finally staff need to understand the academic tutorial and how to approach these (see training page) so that learning is enhanced and valued

6. How do House assemblies and Year assemblies work? HOH also oversee year groups and assemblies are organised on a needs basis. Tutors cannot attend year assemblies so communications have to be thought about... management is important. Basically we need HOH to start running the logistcs of the school and be the school leaders we need them to be rather than have separate Year power bases

7. What improvements have resulted in schools that already practise VT? Relationships improve across the board and so do exam results. In someways this is inevitable. Our research is increasingly positive. There is definitely a better sense of 'school' and huge advantages for staff and student development... The interest in VT is growing exponentially

8. How do academic tutorials feed this process (see below)? Proper ATs can only be delivered in a high quality way thru a vertical system. These identify targets and build essential learning relationships and so are at the heart of VT... these move the school from low to high efficiency by involving parents, students and the school equally

9. Can non-teachers be tutors? Should they? Some of the best tutors are non-teachers and they take their role very seriously and are much respected by their tutor group. This could never be achieved horizontally. Support staff are essential if tutor group sizes are to be reduced...No-one should join a school without the expectation that they become a tutor..!!

10. Do students like VT? Again, students are very positive. Very few will be in favour at the start and the sixth form team at SUS were concerned that the sixth-formers would leave en masse. The opposite has proved to be the case...

Like all questions, these are best discussed with those who have made the journey.. Got a question, please contact me! I guarantee a straight answer!!