An inspirational North London headteacher has been honoured with a prestigious national award, often dubbed the 'Oscars of Education', for her transformative leadership over the past decade.
A Decade of Leadership and a Culture of Excellence
Lucy Harrison, headteacher of The Archer Academy in East Finchley, received the Gold Award for Headteacher of the Year in a secondary school at the Pearson National Teaching Awards ceremony. Ms Harrison took the helm at the school in 2015, just two years after it first opened its doors in September 2013.
She revealed that her journey into school leadership began when she saw a flyer at her local tube station advertising the new school being built in her area. Feeling a strong calling, she applied for the top job, seeing it as a prime "opportunity to shape school culture".
Reflecting on her ten-year tenure, Harrison described turning the school into a "thriving busy place" and a "happy nurturing place with academic excellence at the heart of it." Her passion for teaching was inspired by her mother, who was also a teacher and headteacher, and from playing 'schools' as a child.
Pioneering Policies: Smartphones and Staff Flexibility
One of Ms Harrison's most significant and early decisions was to implement a bold ban on smartphones for pupils. Noticing the negative impact of device usage creeping in, she took the decisive step in May 2015 to prohibit them from the following September.
"At that point no other schools were even talking about this and it felt really brave, but I’ve never looked back," she stated, emphasising her belief that it remains one of the best decisions she has made for student wellbeing and focus.
Alongside this, she championed flexible working for her teaching staff, a rare practice in the education sector. This policy allows staff to work from home for tasks like lesson planning and marking during designated parts of their timetable, and to request adjusted hours.
"It is not about teaching lessons from home," she clarified, "but more so in terms of staff’s personal schedules... It enables them to apply for things such as late starts or earlier finishes." The aim is to generate a sense of autonomy in a profession not known for its flexibility.
A Vision for the Future of Teaching
Ms Harrison also expressed immense pride in the school's compulsory enrichment programme, where every pupil participates in two extracurricular sessions weekly, experiencing at least six different activities a year to boost creative and analytical skills.
Surprised by her award win, she described the moment her name was called and a video showcasing her school played as "very special." Looking ahead, she advocates for systemic change to support teachers further.
"I’d like there to be more time within the working week for them to focus on curriculum planning, lesson planning, and marking so that every lesson is phenomenal," she said. She also called for a careful and creative re-evaluation of the role of technology in education, ensuring any integration is firmly in the best interests of young people.
Through her award-winning leadership, Lucy Harrison has demonstrated how visionary policies and a supportive culture can create an outstanding educational environment, setting a benchmark for schools across the capital and beyond.
