Educating the East End - Ms Smith interview

20 August 2014

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Earlier this year, Frederick Bremer School in Walthamstow, East London, opened its doors to cameras to film Educating the East End following the phenomenal successes of Educating Essex and Educating Yorkshire. Here, Head Teacher Jenny Smith explains more.

Why did you want to put Frederick Bremer School forward for this series?

I wanted to be able to show what our pupils are like. I wanted to highlight all the impressive, ambitious and funny young people we have working in this school. An opportunity to put that on the map wasn’t really one we could turn down. The young people of this community get a bit of a bad press and this is an opportunity to really promote them for the right reasons - and I think that will have a ripple effect on the local community. I also want to show how important community schools like this are, for developing community cohesion and what an important job they do in local areas.

Why do you think the producers chose your school?

Apart from the pantomime, I think it’s probably the diversity of the school. The fact that difference is celebrated and completely accepted in the school. That every single pupil in this school is known as an individual - and that the relationships are incredibly strong. As a result, people really enjoy coming to school here, both the staff and the pupils.

Did you encounter many objections from staff, governors, parents and pupils?

Obviously when we first raised the idea of possibly being involved, there were concerns and fears, quite rightly. I was the one asking an awful lot of the questions, as were the parents, my staff and the school governors. But actually, once people understood more about the process and knew the production company better, the trust grew; we became very, very confident in the process. We went to the Yorkshire school, we went to the Essex school, we spent a lot of time talking to people there, lots of different groups of people about their experiences. Both Vic and Johnny [the Head Teachers from the two schools previously featured] came here and really helped reassure us about the process and the safeguards in place.

What did Vic and Johnny say about the experience?

They both said it was the most amazing thing that they had ever done and that what it has done for their schools has been genuinely transformational.

Did you have any misgivings yourself? What were they?

I don’t know that misgivings is the right word, but maybe reservations, because it is a big undertaking. I’m responsible for 900 students, 100 plus staff, and our reputation in the local community, and I’m not going to do anything that damages any of those or puts any pupils at risk. So I had a lot of questions, but I’ve been very reassured throughout the process by the safeguards, the checks and the support that are in place for everybody.

Had you watched Educating Yorkshire and Educating Essex when they went out?

Yes, I watched both of them.

What did you think about them?

I thought they both showed how hard teachers work, what a fantastic profession it is, how interesting schools are and how interesting, fun and sometimes difficult being a teenager can be.

Tell me a bit about Frederick Bremer school.

Frederick Bremer school has been open since 2008. There are 900 pupils, and is on the edge of Walthamstow, in what used to be an old industrial area and is now rapidly developing in terms of businesses round here. It’s ethnically diverse, there is no one ethnic group that is more than 18 per cent of the school population. It’s two-thirds boys to one-third girls.

Why is that?

It’s simple – there are three girls’ schools in the authority, so we’re going to be disproportionate as a result of that.

Does that bring with it specific issues?

No, not really. Most recently, I was working in girls’ schools, and one of the things I was surprised about when I came here was how confident and independent the girls in the school are. They don’t actually see being in a minority as an issue at all.

What are the challenges you face, as a school?

Our biggest challenge is that we have to get our GCSE results up. That was reflected in our most recent Ofsted report, which said it’s our most important area that we need to improve on. But we’ve got everything in place to ensure that happens, and we’re confident our results are going to go up this year.

Weren’t last year’s results the best you’ve had?

They were the best results that we’ve had, but we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of making our results in line with national results.

You’ve been at the school for coming up to two years. How are you enjoying it?

Every day I come to this school, I love it. Every day another child will put a smile on my face. They will make me laugh, they will have a story, or they will have a very moving experience that they will share with me. Every single day is different and unique – and it’s not without its challenges, but it’s a challenge that’s brilliant to be part of, because this is an incredible school with incredible kids.

How long did the cameras film with you for?

The bulk of the filming lasted seven weeks. They came in after February half term, so from the end of February until towards the end of April. However, the production team have been back to film several events outside of the main filming period, the filming occurred this year.

Was it disruptive, having cameras in the school? Did you notice a reaction from the students or staff?

It was actually an awful lot less disruptive than we thought it was going to be. After one or two days of getting used to the cameras around the school, when everyone was on their best behaviour and conscious of them, everyone just relaxed and it was business as usual. It’s probably fair to say that there was a decided switch in smartness for the first couple of days, particularly amongst the staff! But you can’t maintain that every day. We were back to normal within a day or two.

So do you literally forget the cameras are there after a while?

You never completely forget they’re there. When you’re wearing a mic all day every day, you are conscious of it. But this job is so busy that you don’t have time to be conscious of the fact that someone might be watching you. You’re in the job and you’re doing the job.

You’re responsible for the education and welfare of 900 students and over 100 staff every day. Does the responsibility ever overwhelm you?

There are times when the job can appear very, very challenging, not least because expectations change and the national agenda changes an awful lot and we always have to respond to it. But at the end of the day, I have to keep in my mind the core purpose of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. And what we’re doing is getting the best possible education for these kids and that’s why I get up every day and why I keep doing it. Yes, it can seem daunting, but only if you choose to let it overwhelm you and daunt you.

What qualities do you think a good head teacher needs?

I think the most important thing is to have an absolute grounding in a sense of moral purpose and vision and passion for the job, and empathy for young people. They are not robots and they are not machines. They are all individual human beings who deserve to be recognised as such.

What’s the toughest part of what you do?

The toughest part about the job is that it can always be done better. You can always teach young people better, you can always do that bit better. I always go home and think, “Is there something else I could have done? Could I have done even better?” It is a job that is endless in its possibilities. You might do really well at one thing and then you look at what the next challenge is, what the next target could be, and you keep on pushing upwards. When you’re aspirational for young people, the sky’s the limit.

What’s the best thing about what you do?

The best thing about being a head is the sheer unpredictability of young people, who never cease to amuse, entertain and surprise me.