The Headteacher's Blog - The Burfordian, Issue 14 2024-2025

This is the Headteacher's Blog, which was first featured in issue 14 of The Burfordian, published on Friday 13 June,2025

At Burford, we aim to support everyone’s priorities while balancing the need for students to grow in independence. When students feel trusted and supported, they are not only more motivated, they also develop into stronger, more genuine individuals. This kind of trust not only helps them succeed in exams but also builds the integrity that earns the trust of others in return.

In today’s digital world, students face daily challenges to their honesty and self-control. That’s why it’s so important to us that they learn to make thoughtful decisions on their own. At Burford, our focus on respect and our commitment to giving young minds the space to flourish through a range of opportunities is what truly sets us apart.

Of course, this is easier said than done. We understand that parents want to provide scaffolding to help their children achieve their best—especially in an environment where immediate contact via smartphones seems reassuring. However, with too much scaffolding, it becomes all too easy for children to avoid challenges, to the point where those challenges no longer feel normal. This can lead to what is known as “learned helplessness.”

In recent focus groups about mobile phones, I was struck by parents’ honesty when they shared that being able to phone or message their child at any time often intensifies their own anxiety rather than easing it. This very access, however well-intentioned, meant to bring comfort can ironically make developing independence more difficult.

Smartphones can act as a “digital umbilical cord,” keeping parents constantly connected and in turn preventing young people from facing challenges on their own. When contact comes too readily, it can disrupt a student’s ability to solve problems and manage daily uncertainties, such as handling minor inconveniences without support. Over time, this constant connection can erode their resilience and autonomy.

At Burford, we know that setting boundaries is a delicate balancing act. During our focus groups, parents often told me how difficult it is not to intervene when they know they could. And as parents, carers, or teachers, you are never completely certain you’ve got it right. Yet true care may involve stepping back just when you feel you ought to take the responsibility away (Nanny McPhee comes to mind). Our shared aim is to ensure that any intervention builds a young person’s capacity, not their reliance.

Change won’t happen overnight, but with our revised mobile phone policy, we hope to support the young people in our care as they learn to solve problems for themselves. It is certainly difficult to resist picking up the phone. Yet by working closely together (parents, carers, teachers, and students) Burford cultivates a culture where respect flourishes and young minds gain the independence they need to grow into thoughtful, capable individuals.