Leadership

3 Must Do’s to Keep and Get Teachers … Because We Are Standing On the Edge

“Building bridges across the chaos… because we are standing on the edge”

Liminal Leadership

We feel closer to the edge than ever before; there are bright spots in the education system but overall it feels stressed, appears fractured and lacks a cohesive national narrative. Insufficient funding is affecting provision for pupils and limiting teachers’ salaries; excessive invalid accountability is creating perverse incentives and fear leading to poor short term decision-making plus there is a woeful lack of retention and recruitment. Dr. Mary Bousted wrote a brilliant article for SecEd that you can read here.

Continue reading →

Less Busyness; More Progress #ThursdayThunk

If medicine was run like education there would be many more patients who wouldn’t survive the random, un-evidenced and poorly researched treatments given.  I can look back on a career of maximum effort, huge expenditure of energy, long hours and too little progress.  Continue reading →

We Don’t Need Permission

I’ve always taken the view; forgiveness is often easier to get than permission.  I was lucky to work for a number of headteachers and governors who kept an eye on the bottom line but granted me the freedom to work as I saw best.  It also helps if you develop a sixth sense about when it is time to explain your stance and when you should quickly, unreservedly and sincerely apologise.  I became better at the letter as my career progressed.

Continue reading →