Are you feeling misunderstood?

As the ‘only one’ in a school, SBLs spend a lot of time trying to get others to understand the job that they do. In this article, Education Executive’s Laura Williams reminds you that whilst you may be feeling lonely in your role, you’re never truly alone

If you know me well, then you’ll know that I am a huge F1 fan, so the fact that the new F1 season is starting this month is a huge source of excitement to me! To non-F1 fans, it may seem ridiculous that I enjoy it. After all, “It’s just fast cars going round the same circuit again and again!”

And I get it!

Some things do stay the same. It’s often the same teams, the same drivers and the same tracks BUT…

It’s more than that.

It’s about nuance; the decisions that are made, the strategy switches, who is performing at their best, who makes the fewest mistakes… you could literally put the same drivers in the same conditions on the same track twice and end up with drastically different results.

So… what on earth does this have to do with SBLs? The SBL role to an outsider can feel just like an F1 race to a non-fan. You turn up, sit in an office, work the same hours (haha!), do the same ‘admin-y things’ and go home.

What a crock of cr*p.

Just like an F1 race, it’s the nuance that is often misunderstood or overlooked by outsiders. No two days are the same, even if they are on paper. No two SBLs are the same, even if they have the same job description. And, realistically, no two schools have the same needs even if it sometimes seems like they should!

It’s not just the type of school that you work in that can affect your day-to-day either. It’s the people you work with, the environment you work in, your personal experiences that shapes how you do things… and then there’s the variety of hats we wear on any given day!

There are also things about being a SBL that only other SBLs can understand such as…

• Wanting to feel confident and in control
• Wanting to be heard and understood
• Wanting to feel less isolated and alone
• Struggling to find the time to organise and strategise
• How difficult it is to take time out for ourselves

If you’re feeling alone right now, I promise you that you’re not. Reach out because there are people out there who get it and may well be feeling the same way that you do.

We can help each other just by knowing that we’re in it together.