Jenny Smith: ‘These schools aren’t full of gangs or badly behaved kids’

http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/oct/05/jenny-smith-educating-east-end-schools

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The series Educating the East End has reached the halfway point. How’s the experience been so far?

Exciting and surprisingly emotional. Everybody’s got newfound respect for each other. We’re all looking at each other in a fresh light.

Do the children view their teachers differently now?

Oh, definitely. They’ve seen that we’re human beings with complex lives but a real passion for what we do. It’s one thing to see a teacher stand at the front of a class but quite another to watch someone like Joe deal with what he went through [rookie teacher Mr Bispham struggled to control the vocal girls in his class and pass his inspection]. Now they understand how tough this job is.

Has it helped with discipline?

Yes. Since the show started airing, a lot of students say they understand the bigger picture. They’ve stepped back and seen what’s wrong with their behaviour. A 13-year-old can’t see that in the heat of the moment. It’s changed how they respond to each other too. They never realised how much was going on in their classmates’ home lives. The stories that come out in the show are extraordinary but they’re pretty typical of what we deal with daily.

Did everyone dress more smartly when the cameras moved in?

Not so much the kids as the staff [laughs]. They certainly upped the ante – for the first few days, at least.

How has it been watching yourself on TV?

Absolutely horrible! I had to watch the opening episode three times before I could gauge what was going on, because I was in shock at my own voice. I always imagined myself as dignified and coming out with witty, poignant remarks about the state of education, but I just don’t have time for that day to day. Seeing how tired I looked was hard, too. It made me aware of the ways exhaustion can affect me. It’s not a good look to be frazzled at work.

The cameras looked inside your office shoe cupboard…

That caused me pain. I was beside myself with how messy it was. And shocked to discover I had 20 pairs in there. They just… gather. It’s been tidied now.

Did I read in the Daily Mail that you’re a shoe fiend?

Hmm. I’d like to state for the record that I certainly do not attribute my success at running a school to the fact that I wear high heels.

You reportedly said “the key to dealing with unruly pupils is to tower over them”…

They’d have to be impossibly high heels for that! Some of them are 2ft taller than me. People seem oddly intrigued by the shoe cupboard. They come up in Tesco and ask me about it. I was on TV wearing a lion costume and no one batted an eyelid but they all noticed the shoes under my desk.

What made you want to do the show in the first place?

Our kids get a bad press and that perception stops them believing in themselves. They might have big dreams but when it comes to stepping outside the school gates, they don’t believe they can compete and often revert to type. It’s much easier to conform to the stereotype than it is to fight it. The programme is showing our kids to be bright, intelligent, funny, quirky… Not gangsters, not lairy and loud, but fascinating individuals.

What’s been the reaction in the local community?

It’s surprised me how upbeat the reaction has been. There are always a few comments about how we need to bring back the cane or the birch and teach kids “proper discipline”, but 99% of people think we do a good job. It’s great to be appreciated. Not just the teachers but everybody who works here – people like pastoral support worker Hazel, or Emma, who does home support.

And from parents?

Overwhelmingly good. They say it’s put the school in a very positive light and they’re proud.

Are you proud too?

Incredibly. These are amazing kids who should be doing an awful lot better than they are. If we can get educational opportunities right for them, they’ll be the leaders of the future. We’ve got to get them to believe it, give them the confidence . The show’s helped. We didn’t think things like this happened to schools like ours. We were off the map. Now they’ve started to walk a lot taller. There’s a feelgood factor around the place.

Are applications up?

We’ve got an open evening next week and I’m expecting that will be busy. But what I’m really hoping is that it changes the perception of community schools in this area. They aren’t full of gangs or badly behaved kids. People say to me: “I wish I had a head like you when we were at school, we never saw ours”, or “I wish teachers cared like that in my day”.

Do the kids get together on Thursday nights to watch the show?

Groups of friends do. For the first episode, there were a lot of Educating parties going on. The show’s a talking point every Friday but we make it clear it’s business as usual. Routine has helped keep a sense of normality.

Are you recognised outside school now?

Yes, which is weird. There are times I could do without it – like when I’m out for a run and not looking my best – but generally it’s nice. They just talk about the show and ask after the kids, especially Acacia [whose mum was seriously ill] and Halil [who was temporarily excluded].

What do you make of current education policy?

Putting it politely, Michael Gove didn’t have a fanbase in the teaching profession. Just as we’ve seen with the NHS, this government has gone further than any other towards dismantling the pillars of education and it’s going to be hard to repair the damage caused by crazy proposals, lack of consultation and low morale. I just hope shows like this help dispel myths about schools today and start informed conversations about the future – not based on someone’s experience 30 years ago.

You work hard, and long hours. How do you relax?

I don’t really, not during term time. Headship is all-consuming, a complete adrenaline rush. But I make sure I get good holidays. I was in Thailand this summer, I’ll be in India at Christmas. Travelling’s how I recharge. But I can’t relax completely because I’ll be worrying about GCSE results…

. The whole series is available on 4oD.