13.Ensuring that the school provides a service as well as a product

One of the great traditions of education in the UK is that it has always been regarded by its proponents at national and local level as an education service. We are not just in the business of providing a one-dimensional product such as test or examination results but a much broader approach which educates the whole person. If this is the case, we should focus much more on that service and how it is perceived rather than just on the product. For example, when teaching a particular lesson, the teacher is not just in the information transfer business, teaching the material and then going away. What he or she is involved in is a much more sophisticated and complex relationship with the child which focuses on other aspects of the child's development. The successful teacher shows that he or she recognizes the individuality of the class members and values that individuality. It is aspects of the hidden curriculum such as caring relationships, encouragement and equality of opportunity which are important in developing the whole child. These factors and attitudes also give positive messages to parents about the school's approach to children. Staff, therefore, have to recognize and internalize these values not just because they are sound educational practice but because this 'service' element is a critical performance indicator for the school from the client's perspective.

Another example of this product-orientation which neglects the wider service aspects is provided by staffs who becomes obsessed with activities such as form filling, routine marking assessment and reports, neglecting the key role in a people-orientated activity-relating to their clients. Such routines should never be allowed to become purely administrative and mechanistic chores. The feedback which a pupil receives on a piece of work or a term's or a year's work should be a part of the process of development and improvement. Clients expect useful feedback and the priority that is given to this aspect demonstrates the values and approaches of the school.