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Leaving grammar school with just three O-levels, Dr Caroline Whalley new chair of the British Council for School Environments (BCSE), was not expected to achieve great things. But, with the support of a number of people who encouraged her to achieve more, she turned her life around, and is now a big fan of creating opportunities for other children and young adults. After gaining another O-level, Caroline went to teacher-training college, which was followed by teaching posts in secondary schools where she taught chemistry and biology ‘not well'. It was the pastoral side of things where she excelled, which perhaps laid the path for her continuing career. It was in her early 30s, she says, when she realised what the passion was that would drive her. ‘While I could help some children, I couldn't stay teaching to make a big difference,' she says. The next step was to embark on eight years of Open University studies, which she ‘absolutely loved', and through which she gained a degree in education with a focus on curriculum, an advanced diploma in education management and a Masters in equality and diversity. By this point, she was employed at Ealing LBC, working on recruitment and retention of school staff, ensuring the right staff and enough people were being employed. Her next move took her into a management-development role at Hillingdon LBC, where she was working across the local authority and schools. It was at this time the authority was cited as providing ‘one of the best examples of integrated working'. Caroline then moved back to Ealing and took the position of director of schools, which she describes as a ‘chief inspector-type role'. ‘I was also doing a doctorate in managing underperformance at this time', she explains. ‘I came to realise communication is so very important. We haven't got telepathy skills so we need to keep people involved and working effectively together, especially when change is occurring. ‘I always work from the perspective of, don't blow my candle out to make yours shine better. ‘I began working across the system in a way I hoped would make the most difference to youngsters within the system. We needed to look at how we could position local authorities to recognise the strengths they have got, and understand the leadership agenda concerning education staff, social services staff and staff in schools. ‘We needed a fundamental change to the way we dealt with children and needed to create the idea of building a team around a child.' By this point, Caroline was executive director at Ealing, when she was head-hunted by Babcock to build the education arm within its company from scratch, so it could bid for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) contracts. A joint venture was developed with Babcock and Mouchel Parkman, and together, they became preferred bidder for Hackney LBC. She resigned from her post as founder director last November, but clearly not someone who likes to be idle, she accepted a post at the innovation unit of DCSF, and also went on to become a non-executive director on the board of her local PCT and chair of governors of the West London Academy. ‘I wanted to be on a PCT because it makes sense to me that BSF links with other areas such as health. ‘There is a need to find places for diverse communities to come together and, in today's society, that happens in schools. ‘We haven't yet defined as a society what we want schools to do, but there is a very powerful argument for creating sustainable communities that schools can be at the centre of. That is why I became involved with BCSE. ‘We have to look at what we want our schools to be, and what we are trying to achieve as a nation. We have to develop schools which aren't just part of the education system, but part of a wider system. BCSE has a responsibility to pull this together.' After what could be described as a rocky start, Caroline has achieved so much. So, perhaps it is no surprise she is determined to see schools, their environment and their role within the community regenerated. And, being at the BCSE, she is well-placed to make that happen.

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Doing it for the kids

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