Clear leadership – the important role of the principal
Internationella Engelska Skolan is strongly driven by its core principles, its ethos, which permeates the culture and guides the organisation. The most important duty of the organisation’s leaders is to inspire people and ensure they uphold our principles in their work. That’s why IES places great emphasis on recruiting principals – the key leaders of each school – who live and lead according to these. The role of the principals is to ensure that IES’ core values are converted into actions.
Principals have full responsibility for their individual schools and staff. It is a principal’s duty to recruit competent staff, motivate them to work unfailingly to foster our students’ academic and social development and ensure that they comply with IES’ core values. They recruit teachers who are passionate about their subjects and who inspire their students. IES principals are present throughout the school day, from welcoming students in the morning to being visible in the corridors and the dining hall during the course of the day. In other words, the principals have a clear role with a great deal of responsibility.
So that new school principals have the best possible start and a chance to live up to the high expectations placed on them, they take a number of introduction courses during their first few months. These are focused on important matters including student health, labour law, quality, the Education Act and safety. Since there are 48 schools there are also 48 leaders, and this means the principals have a unique opportunity to collaborate and share experiences. Along with the other leaders, and with the same focus and conviction, they are expected to work regularly and consistently to develop their schools. They are also given support through an internal mentorship programme.
For the past few years, IES has also run a leadership programme for future leaders within the organisation. Every year, a quality survey is carried out within every IES school to find out how our employees feel about a range of different parameters that are crucial to effective school operations. In addition to this work, an environment survey was introduced in all schools last year. It focuses on the organisational and social workplace environment and areas such as leadership, clarity and sustainability work are evaluated over time. The results of these surveys are subsequently communicated to the schools, and action plans are created. The objective is to share knowledge, inspire and create best practice.
An attractive employer
IES works actively to be an attractive employer, a place where competitive employment terms and a good working environment are a given. Providing a safe and stimulating working environment is of vital importance in attracting competent and engaged employees to our schools.
A good working environment for the teachers requires clarity in how things are done so that everybody works according to the same principles inside and outside the classroom. It also means ensuring that teachers never feel alone in their professional role, which can sometimes be a vulnerable position.
The IES organisation also includes heads of departments and heads of year to ensure quality in teaching and in the school environment. This type of organisational structure is unique compared with other schools in Sweden. It is also one of the keys to our good academic results and high number of students who qualify for upper secondary school.
Recently recruited teachers commence their employment with an introductory course, which focuses on IES’ core values and methodology. For international teachers, the programme also includes the Swedish school system and national curriculum. Every academic year begins with an introductory week when we bring all staff together to ensure engagement in IES’ core values and focus on the areas of development for the year ahead.
IES recruits many talented teachers from other countries and helps them to settle in so that their introduction to Sweden goes as smoothly as possible. For instance, IES gives them information on how Swedish society works and how to find somewhere to live. We also help with arranging visas and opening bank accounts. Many teachers choose to remain at IES and make Sweden their long-term home. Teachers from other countries are attracted to Sweden by the beautiful nature and secure conditions the country offers, and to IES due to our profile and culture. Recruiting teachers from outside of Sweden is also a way to deal with the teacher shortage in Sweden.
Staff turnover within IES has proven to be stable over time. Across all employees it was 22 per cent in 2023/2024 (25 per cent in the previous year) and for permanent employees it was 12 per cent (15 per cent in the previous year), indicating continued satisfaction among our staff.
IES works with a partner for preventive and rehabilitative health care and offers employees a support hotline that is available 24/7. To promote transparency and responsible behaviour, IES uses a whistleblower function provided by an independent third party. IES carries out an employee pay survey to ensure that there is no unjustified unequal pay between women and men. In 2023/2024, salaries for IES teachers were equivalent to the national average in all age categories.
IES’ employees mainly come from Sweden and English-speaking countries such as Canada, the US and the UK. Around 2,420 of IES’ 3,700 employees are teachers. 84 per cent of the teachers have a teaching degree, of these 50 per cent were educated at a Swedish university and 50 per cent hold a degree in teaching from another country. Across Sweden’s compulsory schools as a whole, an average of 66 per cent of the teachers have a teaching degree from university. IES encourages teachers from other countries to apply for a Swedish teaching qualification. An online course in Swedish is available to employees to help them learn the Swedish language.