ABSTRACT
This chapter explores what the psychological contract is and why it is important to understand and be conscious of how it can be nurtured to maintain a positive school culture. From the moment a prospective applicant looks at a job opportunity and encounters the messaging that the advert sends out along with pre-application material and website content, the psychological contract between employer and employee has begun. This chapter explores how costly staff recruitment is, and how nurturing positive psychological contracts between employees and employer positively correlates to staff retention. This chapter looks at how the three stages of the three-stage lesson observation programme comprise an effective tool for building good relationships, ultimately strengthening the psychological contract. Staff feel valued because of the time and attention senior managers give to the three-stage lesson observation programme, especially at Stage 3, which is a holistic view of the contribution staff make to the school and a chance to say thank you. Once the positive psychological contracts of staff are firmly in place, the culture of trust provides an environment for change. The successful fulfilment of the psychological contract of employees (teachers) in the UK correlates directly to high levels of organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and can only have one outcome – the rewarding experience a child has in school and a positive learning environment and outcomes for all.
