Creating Value In Schools
Milli Cowling is an experienced headteacher's personal assistant as well as a certified coach. At Woodbridge Park Education Service, a multi-site and multi-age alternative provision, she works closely with the senior leadership team to provide strategic and organisational support that helps create a positive, high‑performing environment for staff and pupils. This blog post is an edited extract from our longer conversation, Quiet Leadership: The Changing Role of the Headteacher’s PA. The PA role has definitely changed. I've been in this role for about 10 years now, working with three different headteachers, all with very different leadership styles. But I came into education about 20 years ago. I started out working on reception, then moved to an admin role that focused on HR elements. It gave me an understanding of the wider school community, how schools function, how systems are in place, and also the pressures that schools face. I was working with staff across the board, at all levels, which I really enjoyed. And at that school I also served as a staff governor, which helped me understand long-term planning and organisational strategy. For the last 10 years I've worked at Woodbridge. In that time I think schools have become more complex. The PA role has expanded with that complexity, and what was once seen as diary management, meeting admin is now sitting at a much broader portfolio. PAs are now sitting on leadership teams. They're contributing to school priorities and they're holding responsibility where it used to sit elsewhere within the school. It’s a role that spans so many different layers of the school community. The role has evolved much faster than the language around it. I’ve heard the role described as the engine room of the school. It's where information happens, timing, coordination, all of those things come together. But you are also safeguarding the conditions of your leaders to do their job properly and the best that they can as well. You often take away the things that can be solved before reaching them. So you’re making a lot of judgement calls; that’s part of the complexity that’s changed, the move away from the surface level tasks and being reactive. Another thing that's changed is the contribution that you make to the direction of the school. Because you have such a wide lens of the organisation, you naturally spot patterns. And you sometimes have to feed those things into leadership conversations because when you raise something, you want it to be addressed. And ultimately that shapes culture within schools. It's that quiet contribution. The role of the PA can be a very misunderstood one. I think it's happened because schools have become so complex, and the role has evolved much faster than the language around it. So people see PA and they think it's always just admin, but it's a role that's far more than booking meetings or travel coordination. It's a role that holds a lot of organisational insights. Like I said, it’s moved from being reactive to strategic work, even if it happens quietly. Trust is essential. Communication is essential. Those are things that we’ve absorbed; we've just carried on and got on with it. Which brings me back to relationships and balance, because you are the eyes and ears of the headteacher. You notice when something is wrong, you pick up on the atmosphere, and it's important to raise those things as well. You’re holding a lot of influence from a very different perspective, because the role itself sits in a very unique space. It's close to leadership, connected to staff, aware of the operational detail as well, because you are able to see the bigger picture. You can have a different viewpoint on things, a balanced viewpoint actually. Discretion is definitely an important skill for a PA, along with emotional intelligence. You hold confidential information. You sit beside leadership but you’re part of the wider staff team as well. You have to strike that balance, and you have to be approachable and trusted. Trust is essential. Communication is essential. Don't be afraid to step into spaces that stretch you. Adaptability is key too. Because of the way schools are, you could have a perfectly planned morning and that can completely change at the drop of a hat. Sometimes you’re the problem solver, dealing with the unexpected. You need to manage those competing priorities and stay calm under pressure. That's why I think the role is so misunderstood: PAs have been drawn into organisational spaces and we've absorbed all of these things around us. It's not just meeting admin and booking things. It is all those other elements that come together now. We've just carried on with it, taken it on board. We've stepped into those gaps and we've held those threads together. It's quiet leadership I would say. There's more progression now, and I think it's becoming part of the conversation. I see being a PA as a career in its own right, but those early career conversations are the ones that you should have with your head teacher. I think that's a good starting point. I know I did that many years ago. I asked for more involvement, more responsibility and opportunities to stretch my judgement. When you have that conversation, it helps strengthen your partnership working with your headteacher as well, because you can support them, but you need to know what they want from you as well. It's having the tools to do your job. How can I best support my headteacher? Curiosity opens the doors to a lot of things. There's so many different variations of the role of a PA from school to school, because they all function differently. Some settings have their own HR department, in others, it might be the PA getting involved. So if there’s an area you’re interested in, whether that’s HR, operations or governance, say so. Suggest that you get more involved. Have those early career conversations because everyone's development is going to look different. Take ownership as well, because these things aren't just going to come to you. Borough wide networks are emerging. There are more focused leadership development opportunities. Things like coaching, leadership programmes, collaboration with different schools – they're all worth exploring. Formal courses can give you structured leaning, but development can also be a conversation that you’ve had with somebody, a book or a podcast. Be curious. Curiosity opens the doors to a lot of things. It builds confidence and it helps you step into more strategic spaces. CPD is meaningful when you put that learning into workplace practice. The application matters. As I said, it’s going to look different for everybody. But ask for it! There are pathways so seek out those opportunities, and don't be afraid to step into spaces that stretch you as well. Investigative Learning: How do you create value in your role? It’s not always clear how your role contributes to organisational value, particularly if you’re in the operational or administrative teams. What do your setting’s challenges and priorities mean for you? How can you grow in your role to meet them? A two hour session for staff in your setting, delivered live or online. Request details Expanding to meet complexity
The engine room of the school
A misunderstood role
Holding the threads together
Stepping into the stretch space
What next?
