Interview With A Franchise - Brian Banks
Brian Banks is the proud franchisee of Halton, St Helens, Warrington and Sefton. He was the very well respected Headteacher of Ashurst Primary School in St Helens for over ten years. He did brilliantly well in his early days as a franchisee, booking over 100 clubs in just 10 weeks and quickly expanded his territory into Sefton. He loves working with children, believes wholeheartedly in the Magical Maths concept and is currently doing a phenomenal job in his territory. Top work, Brian!
Here he answers a few quick fire questions:
What were you doing before Magical Maths and how long for?
I was a primary school headteacher (10 years) and a class teacher for 10 years before that.
Why did you want to leave?
The job was so far removed from the profession I joined that I wasn’t enjoying teaching anymore. I progressed quickly in my career and was successful but had got to a stage where I could literally go to work in my office and not see children for a whole week. It was stressful and unrelenting. The pressure to chase and maintain a ‘good or better’ judgement and everything that went with it (lesson obs, data scrutiny, book scrutiny, capability, performance management, SAT’s etc etc) became unbearable.
What did you want instead ?
I wanted a job that would offer a better quality of life, a good income and allow me to reconnect with teaching.
Why Magical Maths?
I personally did a lot of research into different franchise options and found that most were either overpriced (eg Mad Science) or offered something I didn’t believe in (eg Kumon). Magical Maths offers something similar to my own practice and at an affordable buy in price.
What's been the best thing about taking on a Magical Maths franchise for you?
Significantly lower stress levels and independence, it is also important to note that the support from head office is always positive; unlike in education where it seems you always have to do more regardless of how good/outstanding you are. It is still hard work and not without stress points but altogether more manageable.
What would you say to any teachers/ education professionals that are looking for a new challenge (or escape) from teaching?
The single biggest thing to note if you are considering leaving is that you DO have lots of transferable skills you almost certainly don’t believe that you have. One factor that prevented me from taking a leap away sooner was that I felt trapped; a one trick pony if you will. I had only ever wanted to teach and only ever been involved in teaching; as a head teacher it was unlikely that I would secure a move back to the classroom and so I felt I had nothing to offer in any other walks of life. Since taking on the franchise I have realised I have skills in marketing, sales, finance, admin etc. It’s not a move to take lightly but you are better than the education system has told you!!!
