Parents, husbands, lovers and friends are all very well, but they are not dogs. Elizabeth Von Arnim, 1936 I love climbing mountains, I enjoy a walk along a river and I like strolling to the pub. Each of these are satisfying in their own way, but having a dog at my side will always make … Continue reading Walking the dog

I can live for two months on a good compliment - Mark Twain December is the point in the year when we reflect on the year nearly done, and think about colleagues we worked closely with and to whom we owe a great deal. School leaders do a lot of asking all year long, and … Continue reading Praising your team (10 ways to do it better)

There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves. Lyndon Johnson Belonging goes to the heart of our existence as humans. It’s a foundational layer of the Maslow hierarchy and it explains why Covid was so hard for so many. We know the WhatsApp groups to which … Continue reading 4 steps to build belonging

A house without books is like a room without windows - Heinrich Mann #1 The Why? Why we have to raise reading age#2 The What? The Reading Canon#3 The How? The routines which make morning reading work Whether barricading the blockade with Jim Hawkins, sensing disaster through Piggy’s spectacles or helping Liesel Meminger hide a Jewish accordion … Continue reading How to run a Tutor Time Reading Programme (TTRP)

There are schools that draw teachers into the profession, develop them and retain them, and those that drive teachers away. Jonny Uttley Hiring great staff is not easy. But how do we unearth real talent and hold onto it? Some say there are fewer people in the recruitment pool with the right blend of knowledge … Continue reading Fishing from a smaller pool

I've written hundreds of SDPs (or SIPs). Many bad ones, and some good ones. I've written some really clever, smart-looking ones alone that were hardly touched, and a few really simple ones together that we used daily. I know what it feels like to pour in hours of planning only for an SDP to gather … Continue reading How to write (and get more out of) your school development plan

It’s been a difficult few weeks for school leaders, especially reflecting on recent news, and seeing the national reaction. It is a moment of pause to reflect on a national inspection system which is not designed to support headteachers, but within which they are called to work. It's no wonder being a headteacher feels as … Continue reading Whose yardstick?

The sculpture is already complete within the marble block before I start my work. It is already there. I just have to chisel away all the surplus material - Michelangelo The Opera del Duomo – the committee in charge of decorating the cathedral in Florence – had an unfinished project on their hands. A document … Continue reading What’s your news?

The meeting paradoxMost meetings are unnecessary, badly run, involve the wrong people, the wrong things, are dominated by loud people, or are just boring. But the interesting thing is that some of our most creative and productive work comes when we collaborate closely with others. Meetings absorb more time and drain morale more than almost anything … Continue reading Running better meetings

‘To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.’ Soren Kierkegaard We met with our headteachers a couple of weeks ago and ‘Have Courage’ was the theme of my reflection. Right now it’s a tough time being a school leader trying to be courageous. I thanked people who had … Continue reading Have Courage

The purpose of a difficult conversation is to honestly address a colleague’s performance, behaviour or relationships, so that you can help them improve. Done well, it is a timely, professional and a kind conversation, which provides an opportunity for reflection and impetus for changed behaviour. As I wrote in my series on confidence, school leaders … Continue reading Leading Difficult Conversations

This is the final post in the series about building my confidence: Step 1: How confidence worksStep 2: Improving my public speakingStep 3: Becoming more assertive and speaking up in meetingsStep 4: Knowing our own strengths – self-esteem and self-efficacyStep 5: Facing our FearsStep 6: Making Confident DecisionsStep 7: Finding my Vocation The good news we learned in Steps 1-6 is … Continue reading Building My Confidence Step 7 – Finding My Vocation

This is the sixth post in the series about building my confidence: Step 1: How confidence worksStep 2: Improving my public speakingStep 3: Becoming more assertive and speaking up in meetingsStep 4: Knowing our own strengths – self-esteem and self-efficacyStep 5: Facing our FearsStep 6: Making Confident DecisionsStep 7: Finding my Vocation The good news we learned in Steps 1-5 is … Continue reading Building My Confidence – step 6 Making Confident Decisions

This is the fifth post in the series about building my confidence: Step 1: How confidence worksStep 2: Improving my public speakingStep 3: Becoming more assertive and speaking up in meetingsStep 4: Knowing our own strengths – self-esteem and self-efficacyStep 5: Facing our FearsStep 6: Making Confident DecisionsStep 7: Finding my Vocation "There is nothing … Continue reading Building My Confidence – Step 5: facing our fears

This is the fourth post in the series about building my confidence: Step 1: How confidence worksStep 2: Improving my public speakingStep 3: Becoming more assertive and speaking up in meetingsStep 4: Knowing our own strengths – self-esteem and self-efficacyStep 5: Facing our FearsStep 6: Making Confident DecisionsStep 7: Finding my Vocation The good news … Continue reading Building My Confidence – Step 4: Knowing your own strengths

This is the third post in the series about building my confidence: Step 1: How confidence worksStep 2: Improving my public speakingStep 3: Becoming more assertive and speaking up in meetingsStep 4: Knowing our own strengths – self-esteem and self-efficacyStep 5: Facing our FearsStep 6: Making Confident DecisionsStep 7: Finding my Vocation We’ve learnt in … Continue reading Building my Confidence – Step 3: Becoming more assertive and speaking up in meetings

This is the second post in the series about building my confidence: Step 1: How confidence worksStep 2: Improving my public speakingStep 3: Becoming more assertive and speaking up in meetingsStep 4: Knowing our own strengths – self-esteem and self-efficacyStep 5: Facing our FearsStep 6: Making Confident DecisionsStep 7: Finding my Vocation          We learned … Continue reading Building my Confidence – Step 2: improving my public speaking

This is the first post in a series about how we can build our confidence: Step 1: How confidence worksStep 2: Improving my public speakingStep 3: Becoming more assertive and speaking up in meetingsStep 4: Knowing our own strengths – self-esteem and self-efficacyStep 5: Facing our FearsStep 6: Making Confident DecisionsStep 7: Finding my Vocation … Continue reading Building my Confidence – Step 1: how confidence works

Try to fail more. That’s my one resolution this year. To be fair I’m already fairly well qualified. I’ve failed so many times at so many things that it would be difficult to know where to begin. At work, friendships, unfinished projects, decisions regretted. On the surface I see this as serial failure. A litany … Continue reading Ten ways to deal with failure

Ever spent too long on a Powerpoint presentation, quit a project or found yourself going over an essay for the tenth time? Perfectionism creeps into every facet of our lives. We want to be perfect at work, we're obsessed with our appearance, we want stellar achievements, and the followers to go with it. We even … Continue reading Kicking Perfectionism: 6 principles to help

This week Dame Kate Bingham, the woman tasked with chairing the government’s Covid-19 vaccine task force, told the Times Education Commission that she had doubted her abilities when asked by Matt Hancock, then health secretary, to lead procurement of vaccines. “Why me?” She asked, “I can’t do this. There must be someone better.” Bingham has, … Continue reading Imposter Syndrome: how we get it, three techniques to try, and why it might actually help us

We seem to have a problem in Britain with whether we want to help our poorest families. It’s not just a problem with definition – who is and who isn't poor - it is where two groups of people talking about poverty are coming at it from two totally different places. This is marked by … Continue reading No such thing as a free lunch

I once experienced something strange in school. It was as I approached the staff room door in my first few days of a remote school in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. The staff room was a cool respite from the blinding sun bouncing off the red soil of the school yard. I could hear a … Continue reading Getting Under the Skin

The grade calculation cock-up has broken students’ belief in what they have achieved. This is more important than whether it is ministers, civil servants or Ofqual who should be held accountable. We need to celebrate the achievements of this generation properly to correct this rite of passage, and introduce them to adulthood with a little … Continue reading Algorithmic Amnesia

Whenever lockdown ends, I imagine we all have a special place (other than the pub) to which we’re yearning to escape. On this Bank Holiday, I’m thinking of two days spent with my boys in the great outdoors a while ago, which didn’t quite go as expected, but where we’ll definitely be heading again when … Continue reading Kayaks and Cairns

Recording took three attempts. Nerves, a talking-piece to camera and a certain “Are we really doing this?” got in the way. But once complete and sent, it was only minutes before he’d had the first reply. "Harry they'll love the pieces. It will mean a lot to hear you and see you. It’s really hard … Continue reading Pianos and Care Homes

Warm weather this week means the government is telling us to stay in. Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer has resigned because she didn’t. And then the Queen spoke. Despite the detached weirdness of working remotely in lockdown, there are elements about it I’ve secretly enjoyed. In our whirlwind world there is something attractive about being solitary … Continue reading I am because we are

He'd known for a while it was coming. But he got the news this week. My 21-year old son was told by his university that his finals were cancelled. They were planning to ask the biochemists to 'sit' an online essay style exam across 24 hours, but even that imperfect possibility had been pulled. We … Continue reading “Nothing is Wasted”

It felt awkward – just clapping our hands outside our front doors as a sign of support for NHS staff on the frontline of their fight against CV. And yet, reluctantly I stood there in the dark hoping I wouldn’t be the first, or the only one. Armed with my instruments: a saucepan and wooden … Continue reading More than I expected

Once there was a dreaded plague which came to the Kingdom of Albion from the desert across the sea. The first signs were coughing. Next came sickness, and then some of the elders began to die. And the villagers were very sad because the people of Albion were a loving people who cared deeply about … Continue reading The Village of Albion

Choirs are mushrooming across the country. I first joined a choir at the tender age of six and I’ve never really shaken it off. Tuesday nights are special for me. I look forward to the camaraderie of the choir, the collective endeavour, the hope that we will crack this tricky piece, the soaring sound of … Continue reading Our Singing Curriculum

Driving back home along the M5, my son and I are listening to Sherlock Holmes. Watson is stunned by Holmes’ all round ignorance, and gives an informal school report: “Knowledge of literature – nil; philosophy – nil; astronomy – nil; politics – feeble; botany – variable (well up in belladonna, opium and poisons generally, but knows nothing … Continue reading Detecting the curriculum: Holmes, Hirsch and Jim Hawkins

My young son and I cycle around Strumble Head, in wild west Pembrokeshire, squeezing through tall, mossy hedgerows on tarmac made glass-smooth by years of sheep droppings. We leave our bikes on the dry Prehistoric drystone wall and walk round the peninsular towards the lighthouse. The wind hugs us tight to the cliffs and as … Continue reading Dolphins and Butterflies

"I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning." Stevie Smith 1. Getting our teachers back: The moment it hit home for me was when I heard that X had left teaching. I knew then with absolute clarity that we had a problem. Why in that moment? Because she was simply brilliant. … Continue reading Getting our teachers back. Getting our teachers’ back.

This, the third of three blogs about teamwork, looks at the qualities of world class teams and what sets them apart. Here are the first two: Teamwork 1/ Building teams, building trust Teamwork 2/ Organising your team James MacGregor Burns, writing Roosevelt's biography, said: "Great teams happen when people engage with others in such a way … Continue reading Teamwork 3/ Characteristics of world class teams

Pirates Buckets full of crabs, Decent shrimp, bigger fish than we've a right to land With that children's bamboo net; and a baby eel. Satisfied, smug and sat, hands flat upon Four inches of warm waves and corrugated sand I'm braced against the unexpected sun As lazy, loud gulls wheel above my head. Secretly my … Continue reading Pirates