Developing staff professionalism through leading a culture of learning

MELANIE CHAMBERS, DIRECTOR OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING, THE BRITISH SCHOOL OF BRUSSELS, BELGIUM MELANIE WARNES, FORMER PRINCIPAL AND CEO, THE BRITISH SCHOOL OF BRUSSELS, BELGIUM EMMA ADAMS, PROFESSIONAL LEARNING CO-ORDINATOR AND RESEARCH LEAD, THE BRITISH SCHOOL OF BRUSSELS, BELGIUM This case study examines leadership decisions and actions at the British School of Brussels (BSB) to develop a ‘learning organisation’ (Kools and Stoll, 2016). BSB is a non-selective, all-through international school, with 1,350 students from 70 nationalities, aged one to 18, and 350 staff. Over eight years, BSB has transformed into a thriving learning organisation. Key enabling principles at BSB align with the Chartered College of Teaching working paper ‘Revisiting the notion of teacher professionalism’ (Müller and Cook, 2024), both recognising the value of staff autonomy, agency and voice, underpinned by trust. It is well documented that a school’s culture and sub-culture relate to its effe