Where will I do my pineapples? The little book of building a whole new school
Author(s): Gill Kelly (Author), Ian Gilbert
Publisher: Crown House Publishing
Publication Date: 31 Aug. 2011
Language: English
Print length: 160 pages
ISBN-10: 1845906969
ISBN-13: 9781845906962
Book Description
Imagine the scenario where a newly appointed Deputy Headteacher in charge of Curriculum is suddenly asked questions like `How many RJ45 sockets woquld you like in your new classroom? What type of cabling would you like? Cat 4 or 5? Add this to the relentless drive to raise standards as well as organising the timetable, teaching, doing break duty and offering a friendly ear to staff… you get the picture. This is the story of a community placed in an enviable position of receiving funding to build a new campus and the technology to transform learning. What is discovered very early on, is that no one had considered the human impact of such a project. This book seeks to do exactly that. The process of community engagement is addressed as well as the psychology of human behaviours that emerge in such a context. Written through the perspective of a senior leader, with many amusing and bizarre stories, the book describes how the struggle and effort required to keep sound educational principles at the heart of a project is worth it. What came out of the process was a building that had a variety of learning spaces, fully trained staff, modern ICT and a bespoke year 7 transition curriculum. It was the only school building in the country to be delivered on time, within budget, with a ground breaking CPD programme. This is not to say that everything went smoothly. There was a lot of pain along the way, and many lessons learned about how to manage change. Perhaps more significantly, `Where will I do my pineapples? is about people and the potential to change millions of lives. We should start with consideration of human needs and end with it.
Editorial Reviews
Review
This book shows us the importance of vision, bravery and the human touch in making lasting sustainable change to the way a school is run. –Andy Colley, Advanced Skills Teacher.
I would recommend this book to anyone in school management, not just those involved in building a new school site. The nuggets of wisdom in the appendix are almost worth buying the book for on their own. –Jane Werry, Director of Music & Lead Teacher, Hayes School
As the title might suggest, this is a book full of tasty chunks. The book charts the course of a school as it tries to modernise its offer to pupils through its belief system and the approach to learning, offered a new lease of life by the promise of a new building. Gill Kelly describes some of the key moments in a journey to transform experiences and the intense effort and energy that is needed to move mindsets. It is a professional and human book which makes the reader think, `Why don`t all schools do that?` –Mick Waters, Professor of Education at Wolverhampton University
About the Author
Over Gill Kelly s 17-year career in the educational sector, she has worked in an inner city school in Swindon and two large 11-18 schools in North Somerset before becoming the principal at The City Academy, Bristol. Her last role as deputy head teacher of Nailsea School in North Somerset, gave her the opportunity to provide the ICT solution for the school rebuild under the BSF (building schools for the future) project.
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