Women in Leadership and Education Profile – Bethan Morgan

Bethan Morgan is an Assistant Headteacher at Pate’s Grammar School who leads on Co-curricular and Inclusivity. A geography specialist, Bethan is in her fifth year of teaching.

Born in the South Wales valleys, Bethan says that teaching has always been her calling. As a young person she saw education as a weapon to make a difference. Her thirst for education was inspired by her grandmother. Despite her grandmother achieving a place at a selective local state grammar school, she was unable pursue her aspirations to become a pharmacist due to family circumstances. She left school, aged 15, to get a full-time job to help support her family. However, due to her hard work and determination, Bethan’s grandmother became the first female Senior Executive Officer (SEO) to be promoted in Wales. Working in, what was at the time, a male dominated industry. Her wider perspective, positive mindset and can-do attitude were key to inspiring Bethan to believe in herself aspire to follow her ambitions.

Bethan studied for her BSc degree at Durham University and was one of five students from her local school to study at a university beyond Wales. Bethan’s personal experiences mean that she is acutely aware of the power that social mobility initiatives afford to ambitious and self-motivated students. As such, she has become an ambassador for promoting and leading on social mobility and inclusion initiatives at Pate’s Grammar School, aptly named Shaping Futures.

Bethan prides herself on being a fair, compassionate and collaborative leader. She equates leadership with service, to both students and staff. Attributes that Bethan sees as central to effective leadership include a sense of humility and understanding that no one person can hold all of the answers, inspiring, developing, and bringing people along with whole-school change. Bethan highlights how diversity of opinions is vital to help shape successful approaches to the change management that is right for individual school contexts. Authenticity, being true to oneself and integrity also feature in her list of attributes. “Leadership”, says Bethan, “is about untapping potential in others and providing others with the tools to be a force for change. Being a leader has been an opportunity to explore and strengthen self, vision, and values.”

Bethan is rightly concerned about what unequal representation of female leaders in the profession symbolises for all students and particularly for young females who may are not able to see themselves in the leaders around them.

The barriers to progression that Bethan as a woman in leadership and education has encountered will resonate with many. She highlights a lack of female role models and stereotypical perceptions of what a leader is. Reflecting on being promoted to a senior leadership role Bethan was aware of being seen as too young, too naive, inexperienced and not sufficiently assertive. And of course, the imposter syndrome articulated frequently by women as “I’m not ready yet.”

When discussing what has helped her progression into leadership, Bethan speaks highly of the inspirational female Alcester Grammar Principal (Rachel Thorpe) and current Pate’s Headteacher (Russel Ellicott), who she has worked closely with over the years. She refers to those who have nurtured her potential and supported her development, by offering a wealth of opportunities to learn. “Everyone”, says Bethan, “grows in a role. No one turns up in a job as the finished article. Taking on a leadership role can set you on a steep learning curve, but it is the openness to personal growth that makes a successful leader.” Bethan also emphasises the importance of finding allies, people you trust who you can talk to during the difficult moments in leadership. It is important to not feel as though you have to carry everything alone.

Asked about what she feels she can do to support the next generation of women into leadership, Bethan spoke about the urgency to start as early as possible. Through the Shaping Futures social mobility programme that she has set up, she aims to achieving equality of opportunity for pupil premium students in the local community whilst developing sixth formers at Pate’s as mentors. Following EEF (2021) research, primary students are paired with a sixth form mentor to receive academic support and a range of enrichment activities, allowing all students involved to build deep bonds. The initiative allows year 4 and year 5 children who take part to see positive role models, raising their aspirations. “If our students are going to become the next leaders of our generation, we want them to do this with a strong moral compass,” says Bethan.

Bethan also highlights the importance of building other women up to leadership opportunities. For example, schools wanting to prioritise the progression of women into leadership should focus on making sure their female staff are given access to CPD. Beyond this, intentionally creating opportunities for female staff by reviewing school staffing structures, if necessary, would help to ensure we see more women in the top roles in our schools.

Bethan feels that she has benefitted from her involvement in SSAT’s Stepping Up to Senior Leadership Programme and in the Leadership Legacy Project. Being able to draw on the expertise and insights of an experienced leader has been immensely useful on her leadership journey as has being part of a wider network of aspiring leaders. Access to tools like Clifton Strengthfinders have enabled her to explore strengths and be more confident about what she personally brings to leadership.

Bethan’s final tips and words of encouragement for the next generation of female leaders are these:

“Understand yourself, know what drives your ambitions for leadership and what makes you an authentic leader. Allow yourself to be vulnerable at times, there is power and strength in showing that you are human. If you have the right values and care about the community that you serve, then put yourself forward for leadership roles. Know that you are enough, and with integrity you will do the role justice.”