A typical working day runs from 8am to 6pm, but anybody with a commitment to teaching understands that this job is never finite. I do like to try and get home before 7pm, but I am on duty all the time. Working in education is not a job but a vocation. The best teachers are those who understand the privilege of working with young people. Although the hours can be long, I absolutely love my job.

As soon as I arrive in my office I look through my diary – that way I can be fully prepared for the day ahead. The bulk of a head’s day is supporting people: talking to staff, parents and students; dealing with officers of the local authority (LA); meetings with the governors. It is very much a people-centred job.

I am part of the dying breed of heads who continue to teach. Although I started my working life as an English teacher – working in inner-city schools in Birmingham – I now teach Religious Education. Teaching takes up a very big slice of the week, despite the fact that I only take one examination group. Heads give up teaching ultimately because of their commitment to young people: we want to be certain that we’re able to dedicate the hours that are needed to be really effective in that role.

The majority of my day is spent meeting with members of the immediate school community. My job is about nurturing ideas and responding to concerns or issues my staff may have. We also discuss ways of working more effectively.

We have a school philosophy of ‘never stand still’, so our meetings are generally a dynamic and positive exchange. The key aim of any meeting is simple: how can we deliver an even better education for the children?

Managing the budget

I spend considerable time with the people who support the curriculum life of the school. My relationship with the business manager is central to running the school; we meet at least two or three times a week for a proper discussion about school planning. The decisions we make need to be skilfully managed in terms of what the school’s budget will allow. We want the curriculum to drive the budget and not the other way round.

I have a positive and professional relationship with Serco, the company that runs the Local Education Authority in Walsall. We are both committed to serving the young people in our communities. Therefore it has to be mutually beneficial to us to have a valuable working relationship. This is not to say that we don’t challenge one another. We have to be very frank in order to give the best output for the young people we serve.

Speed of change on a shoe string

All head teachers these days have to engage in a pace of change that I would challenge any other leader on a par with our role to deal with. The pace of change in education really is frantic. And it’s not matched by proper resources. We have to implement change at an almighty speed and on a shoe string. The budgets we have to work with are never adequate; national aims and goals are always very short term.

Constantly implementing change is tremendously time consuming and exhausting. Heads thrive on challenge but there is a very unrealistic national agenda for education. My job is to keep morale high.

I really believe in a positive, attractive working environment which means a regular set of meetings with the site manager. I’m blessed with a very effective site team and in turn the pupils are encouraged to come up with ideas.

Recently Year 8 wanted to put up some bird boxes – St Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment – so I corresponded with the year groups by email. Very often the pupils just need some encouragement to take on their own projects.

I go out of my way to make myself available to the children, who are always encouraged to come and see me. A few minutes of the head’s time is very precious and it’s essential the children feel valued as part of the school. Paperwork has to be done, and while I am a very efficient head, I will never put a pile of administration ahead of a meeting with an adult or child: people first, paper second.

Striving for excellence

There is a mutual expectation between the teaching staff and pupils. I will not tolerate a lack of respect, apathy or laziness. I expect absolute loyalty to the school. What I remind us of all the time is: where are we? We’re in the premier league. We’re an outstanding school. We set the bar very high in order to stretch and challenge young people. Our motto here is Nil Satis Optimum or ‘only the best is good enough’ and it’s as applicable to the adults as the children.

At the core of a church school is a very clear set of moral values and expectations. I remind the pupils all the times that we’re an outstanding school. I remind them that they can never, ever rest on their laurels. We are determined to constantly improve. We will be outstanding and go beyond this. There is no plateau or peak.

It’s not just the children who need to learn: I accept that every day I’ve got things to learn myself. I’ve got no sense of false pride. The power of the job is enormous and one can wield so much power for the common good. Even at the end of a long, long day, I still have the sense of thrill and privilege of being a head teacher.

PERSONAL FILE

Name: Philomena Mullins

Position: Head teacher, St Francis of Assisi Catholic Technology College, Walsall, West Midlands

Biggest challenge: Changing what was a very inadequate school building into a learning environment that my students, parents, governors and staff are proud of.

Defining moment: In November 2006, both the Diocesan and the Ofsted inspectors judged us to be an outstanding school. To be considered an outstanding Catholic school by the Diocese is the most important judgement; for Ofsted to say we were outstanding was the icing on the cake. It’s been so motivating for everyone at St Francis. What does the future hold: As a school we want to expand our curriculum. We want to offer a much broader 14-19 curriculum to embrace the multi-intelligences that our young people offer us. We want to offer satellite centres of learning in the local community for various vocational courses. The next phase of the school’s development will be its external area: an outdoor classroom, a designated ecology area and a sound garden. I’m very keen on developing outdoor education.