Unlocking efficiency: The Bananarama principle in school leadership

Uncover how school leaders can harness the Bananarama principle and a suite of Microsoft tools to enhance their efficiency, reduce workload, and drive school improvement, all with a little tech-savvy flair.

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on ICT Evangelist

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, leaders are continually striving to manage their responsibilities effectively. It’s not just about what you do or what you spend, but rather, how you do it. Enter the Bananarama Principle, inspired by Bananarama and Fun Boy Three’s 1982 hit single ‘It Ain’t What You Do’. For school leaders, this principle is a valuable mindset that can significantly enhance their work efficiency.

Maximising efficiency

There’s now an abundance of tech-based solutions that promise to help us save time, be more efficient, organised and streamlined, which in turn will save us time and money. In this article, we look at what the dominant player in this space – Microsoft – what they have to offer and see how they can help streamline leadership tasks.

OneNote staff notebook: The hub for leaders

OneNote Staff Notebook, often overshadowed by its sibling Class Notebook, is a hidden gem for school leaders. It can serve as a centralised hub for communication, document sharing, and best practices among the leadership team. By sharing resources, meeting notes, updates, and more, leaders can ensure everyone is on the same page, fostering better collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Effortless lesson observations with Teams and Forms

Traditional lesson observations can be time-consuming and disruptive. Microsoft Teams, combined with Microsoft Forms, offers an alternative. School leaders can efficiently conduct formative lesson observations, recording and sharing information seamlessly. The real-time collaboration feature in Teams simplifies scheduling and data sharing, putting everything in one accessible place.

Data management made easy with Sharepoint

SharePoint is a powerful tool for managing and sharing data. School leaders can utilise it to store and share student data, such as grades and test scores, as well as staff data, like professional development plans. This eliminates the need for manual record-keeping and data entry. Moreover, SharePoint can generate reports and visualisations, aiding leaders in identifying trends and areas of concern.

PowerBI: Empowering data analysis

For those not-so-fond of data crunching, PowerBI comes to the rescue. School leaders can connect various data sources, including their Management Information System (MIS) and assessment data, to create interactive dashboards and visualisations. These tools enable quick identification of areas that require attention, such as low-performing students, facilitating prompt decision-making.

In summary, being a school leader is undoubtedly challenging, but technology can be a trusted ally in lightening the load. By adopting the Bananarama principle and making the most of these Microsoft tools, leaders can work smarter, not harder. As the saying goes, “It ain’t so much what you do; it’s the way that you do it, and that’s what gets results.”