New Levenmouth Academy head teacher Ruth McFarlane wants to make a difference – and started by knocking on over 1,000 doors in the community.
Ruth has been at the helm of one of Scotland’s biggest secondary schools for almost a month now.
Before she took up the new post she spent four days visiting homes and businesses in the surrounding area to hear people’s views of the school, which has around 1,650 pupils, and learn about children’s experience there.
We met up with Ruth recently to learn more about her and discover her hopes for Levenmouth Academy.
Who is Ruth McFarlane?
A teacher for over 25 years, Ruth, 51, is originally from Glasgow and grew up in Lanarkshire.
She taught at schools in the Central Belt, Shetland Islands and then Nairobi in Kenya before taking up her first teaching post in Fife as a biology teacher at Dunfermline High School in 1998.
She was head teacher at Glenrothes High School then Queen Anne High School, in Dunfermline, before joining Levenmouth Academy following the resignation of Ronnie Ross.
What are Ruth’s priorities for Levenmouth Academy?
Ruth explained why it was important to start by speaking to local people.
“Communities are really valuable to the success of a school so to have the opportunity to go out for four days was really great.
“It was good to see geographically where our young people come from.
“People answering doors were parents and some were grandparents.
“I wanted to know what were their impressions of Levenmouth Academy and what was their child’s experience of the school.
“I also wanted to know if there were any barriers to that educational experience?”
She also visited local businesses and shops which young people use at lunchtimes to find out about behaviour.
She said: “People in the school community want the school to be a success.
“It was the most motivational experience because it reinforced with me it was the right decision to come to Levenmouth as a head teacher.”
Wanting to make a difference at Levenmouth Academy
Ruth, who is on secondment at Levenmouth Academy for a year, believes there needs to be a different way and creative solutions to get the best out of young people.
She said: “This means celebrating their successes daily, believing in them and providing a structure which will enable them to be successful.”
Success, she says, should be measured not just in terms of attainment and where schools sit in league tables.
She said: “It is too simplistic.
“We need to change the narrative of what is seen as success.
“There are lots of young people in this school with lots of ambition, amazing humour, and strong skill sets who are doing exceptionally well.
“But if you are going to compare them with one measure against young people in schools from more affluent areas, you are setting them up to fail.”
While achieving National 5s and Highers is important, she says, many young people at Levenmouth Academy chose to go to college or go for SCQF (Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework) qualifications.
Violence in schools
While video of an assault on a schoolgirl in a classroom at Waid Academy has raised concerns about violence in schools, Ruth believes how a school responds to such incidents is important.
Ruth said: “All schools are facing unprecedented challenges around behaviour currently.
“The measure of a school is how you manage it.
“If there is a physical assault in school we have a community campus cop here who we would involve.”
But she said there can’t be ‘one rule’ for every situation – each one has to be looked at individually.
She added: “For me the best outcomes are through having conversations with the young people where you can explore why that behaviour wasn’t appropriate and who has been harmed.
“When young people understand the impact of their behaviour, they are less likely to repeat it.”
She added: “Levenmouth Academy is a school full of wonderful young people and I’m excited to get to know them.
“This has come at a good time in my career in terms of me being reinvigorated and motivated.
“It’s a very different context to my previous school, but I’m really enjoying it so far.”
Conversation