A Headteacher has used an innovative online method of gaining pupils’ and parents’ views on a wide variety of issues affecting their school. Marown Primary, which has 200 pupils on its register, used Socrates’ Tree to collect the views of children, their families, staff and governors. Ninety-nine respondents completed a 30-minute survey, giving input on 14 different topics. New headteacher Ian Longshaw will use the resulting data to plan the school’s future. ‘In order to get to know my new school, I recognised how important it was to hear from people representing all the different groups that are involved in its development,’ said Mr Longshaw, who took over as headteacher this term. ‘Everyone has different and valid perspectives and I wanted to offer them a forum to express these to inform my decision-making. ‘I knew Socrates’ Tree would allow me to give all my stakeholders a chance to have their say on issues relating to the school’s vision, ethos, organisation, management and design,’ Mr Longshaw explained. ‘Socrates’ Tree poses dilemmas, each one presenting opposite ways of thinking. There are no right or wrong answers. It is a way for us to hear everybody’s voice and find out what they think of how the school runs now and how it will run in the future. ‘We will use the resulting analysis to provide a starting point to tease out, discuss and resolve key issues in order to develop a well-defined and comprehensive vision for learning for Marown. ‘Socrates' Tree does not give our school all the answers,’ Mr Longshaw continued. ‘It will raise questions and issues that we need to keep talking about, so that we can develop a shared vision for learning at Marown School, informed by our friends and stakeholders.’ Marcus Orlovsky, Director of Bryanston Square Consulting Ltd, the company that developed Socrates’ Tree, said it could be difficult for headteachers to gauge opinion right across a school. ‘Teachers may hold views that they don’t share and pupils and parents may find it difficult to find an outlet for their opinions. As such, “taking the temperature” of a school can be anecdotal and unreliable,’ he said. ‘Socrates’ Tree can get under the skin of opinions and, because it’s both interesting and anonymous, yields opinions and facts that are often hard to reach.’ Mr Orlovsky said: ‘We were delighted when Mr Longshaw approached us about using Socrates’ Tree. The Isle of Man was something of an unknown quantity for us so we were grateful for the opportunity to get to know Marown Primary. We’d welcome the opportunity to speak to other schools about Socrates’ Tree.’ Ends