Sir Dexter Hutt


Under Dexter Hutt's leadership Ninestiles School, a mixed comprehensive of 1500 students in Birmingham, progressed from being a failing school to being recognised as one of the UK's most successful and innovative schools. Ninestiles was awarded the highest ever quality of teaching grades by government inspectors, and has a culture described as 'positive, vibrant and one in which individuals are valued and everyone strives for their best'. Ninestiles is one of ten UK schools currently engaged in a project of 'School Redesign for the 21st Century'.

Since 2001 Ninestiles has had its own consultancy, Ninestiles Plus, and been accountable for the improvement of three other schools - each in turn became the most improved in their respective district. Ninestiles Plus has also worked on school improvement with schools in Cape Town and Indiana. Dexter Hutt is now Chief Executive of Ninestiles Plus and Executive Leader of the Hastings Schools' Federation. He is a member of the board of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and is a former Commissioner of the Commission for Racial Equality. He was knighted in 2004 for services to education.


Leading schools in the 21st century - can we meet the new challenge?

School leaders will need to think strategically and develop the capacity to continually respond to our rapidly changing world environment if we are truly to prepare our students for the unfolding 21st century. The greatest challenge for us as school leaders is to establish an organisational culture that is receptive to continual change - one which results in the energy of our school communities being focused not on opposing change but on debating the nature of the change.
It is also unlikely that we can meet the 21st century educational challenges of personalisation and moving the concept of 'Every Child Matters' from rhetoric to reality within the constraints of our current school organisation. We may need to accept that 20th century organisations cannot deliver 21st century education. Changing our schools organisationally to meet the demands of the new century will necessitate teasing out our current 20th century default settings and exploring how our 21st century default settings might differ.

Our schools also run the risk of settling for pockets of 'good 21st century practice' rather than developing a whole school culture that supports a quality 21st century education for all. We need as school leaders, to be effective in developing and implementing whole school policies if we are to have whole school cultures - but we also need to do this without stifling the creativity of our staff. How can we resolve this tension? What kind of leadership at all levels might allow us to be loosely coupled but tightly aligned?