How important are school values?

How much attention do you, or should you, pay to a school's stated values? Are they a critical signal for the culture of the school, or throw-away marketing guff?

We think they’re important enough to show on each school listing, and even to filter your search by, but we understand that some people may be cynical. In this post we discuss the reasons that we think that values are important, how to take them seriously, how to use our school reviews to validate whether the school really lives their stated values, and what to do if you don’t think the school is behaving with integrity in the context of their stated values.

Values done right

Whether in a school, a corporation, or life in general, establishing a set of stated values is a waste of time unless they are fully committed to and taken seriously.

Less is more

The single most important principle is that ‘less is more’. There is a virtual infinity of “good things”, or “virtuous behaviours” that could be added to a list of values. The job of the institution is to choose the top 3-5 out of that infinity.

Of the schools that state explicit values in our directory, the average number of values stated is 4.5, but some schools list as many as twelve. Twelve is too many. If you value everything, then you value nothing…

Meaningful and relevant to the audience

Whilst most institutions will want to create a supporting document to add more detail to their list of values, this should not be necessary to explain what the values actually mean.

“Growth-mindset” is a splendid value (which is why we have adopted it ourselves), but does a five year old have any idea what it means?

Differentiated

Of the schools in our directory that list explicit values, 26% of them state “kindness” as a value. Kindness is a great value, but does it differentiate that school from all of the others?

If it’s taken extremely seriously, then yes. If the school trains its pupils to proactively identify classmates that are struggling, and go out of their way to offer them support and a kind word, then they truly differentiate themselves on the strength of this value.

If they mean “unkindness (name-calling, bullying, etc) is not tolerated”, then this is table-stakes for any school and it should be left to the disciplinary process to lay this out, not the values-statement.

Universal

Beware any values that target the nature of the person rather than how they conduct themselves. “An outgoing nature” may seem like a great value at first glance, but what about the introverts? To them, this value reads as a great big “not welcome” sign.

Graded on a curve

Success against a value such as “participation” should be judged relative to the nature of each child. For many, a reasonable expectation might be that they always audition for the lead role in the school play, whereas others may deserve praise for joining the ensemble.

The age of the child must also be taken into consideration. Behavioural expectations and the consequences of violations should, of course, be very different for a six year old compared to a fifteen year old.

Celebration

Role-models of the values should be recognised and celebrated publicly. End of year values awards should be distributed and house points awarded in assemblies for those that truly live the values as a positive example to all.

Zero tolerance

There are many versions of the following quote to be found in business manuals, but Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker sum it up well in ‘School Culture Rewired’ when they say “The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate”.

This means that it doesn’t matter what you list in your prospectus or paint on the wall behind reception if you tolerate the antithesis of your stated values.

Of course, and especially when talking about children with growing minds, this does not mean a one-strike, or even a three-strike, policy. What it does mean is that violations of the values are never overlooked, and repeated violations with no sign of improvement are treated as a disciplinary matter, ultimately leading to exclusion.

And this is what we ultimately mean by “taking it seriously”. You chose those 3-5 values out of the infinity that were available; what was the point if you tolerate those that don’t adhere to them?

For example, treating “kindness” seriously might look like the following:

• A child violates the “kindness” value in Year 5 by making fun of another child’s weight in the playground. It should be brought to the attention of the child that this was unkind, why it’s important to be kind, and the emotional impact this would have had on the other child.

• The same child makes fun of another child for being ginger later that same year. They are reminded of the previous conversation, the points are re-emphasised, and the child sits in reflection during a break time to think on their behaviour. It is not treated as an emergency, but it is mentioned to the parents that there have been a couple of conversations about unkind behaviour.

• During Year 6 there are similar incidents, with an escalating disciplinary response. The conversation is fair and balanced and the child is asked whether there is a reason that they are behaving this way. Maybe there has been some provocation, maybe there are underlying emotional regulation issues, or maybe there are problems at home that are being acted out in the playground.

• It is an empathetic and supportive process, while at the same time it is made clear that this behaviour will not be tolerated and the consequences will be very severe if it continues. The school works with the parents all the while.

• During Year 7 the behaviour escalates, and parents of other children start to contact the school to raise concerns. It is made clear to the child and their parents that they are on their final chance to improve their behaviour before being removed from the school.

Parents treat values statements as a manifesto

When a school lists values in their prospectus, on their website, or talks about them in their open days, parents do not take them as a set of meaningless aspirations, they take them as a commitment.

Sticking with “kindness” (as one of the most cited values), they will send their child to that school expecting that they will be treated with kindness and will be trained to treat others likewise.

And they will be very disappointed if this does not turn out to be the case…

It will (and should) be seen as not only a failure of leadership, but also of integrity. It is the very definition of integrity that one consistently aligns their behaviour with their stated values or principles.

Parents can, and must, call the school out if they’re not taking their values seriously. It was part of the pitch, and you should expect them to deliver on their commitment. If they fail to do this then you are not getting the product that you thought you were, and you should reconsider your options.

How can you know if a school lives their values?

Check the reviews from our community! 

This will be reflected in the “culture” star rating on the school listing, but you can see more detail if you look at individual reviews. We explicitly ask “How well does the school live its values”, with a star rating and a text box for a detailed explanation.

So, if a culture of kindness is super important to you, then you can find the schools that claim such a culture in their values, and then read reviews from the community to see whether they walk the walk, or just talk the talk.

Why would schools not take them seriously enough?

The simple answer is that where schools do not take their values as seriously as they should, it’s for the same reasons that many businesses don’t. In most cases, it will be because they have become part of the furniture. They were created twenty years ago, and in a very different time by very different leaders.

All leaders are different and have different priorities and visions for the school. A refresh of the values when a new leader comes in is an opportunity for them to put their stamp on the culture and to fully own and commit to them, but this won’t always seem like a priority for a new Head, or they may feel that the existing values are a part of the heritage of the school and it’s not for them to re-write.

Another explanation is that it’s too tempting to make exceptions, especially when times are tough (as they are across the independent sector right now). If a school states “Humility” as a value (as several in our directory do), are they really going to be prepared to take serious action and have difficult conversations with the parents of a persistently arrogant and braggadocious child?

If the school wanted to demonstrate cast-iron integrity then they absolutely should, but it’s understandable that, when the sector is under financial pressure, they are reluctant to upset a fee-payer.

But schools should think very carefully about this temptation. Returning to ‘kindness’, a toleration of unkind behaviours is likely to normalise unkindness in the prevailing culture. After all, as stated, culture is not defined by what you say, it’s defined by what you tolerate. You get the culture you deserve.

By being unwilling to risk losing the child that repeatedly acts unkindly, they risk losing many more parents that see the culture sliding.

What do you think?

Are you convinced? Do you take stated values seriously, or are they just the same marketing fluff that all schools repeat? How would you feel if a school raised serious concerns about your child in the context of their values?

Let us know in the comments below.