“It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all of my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly kind at heart.” Anne Frank (1929-45) Kindness has always been some way down the pecking order as a leadership skill. In the … Continue reading The Kindness of Leaders
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Hope in the dark
We will never have a perfect sense of what needs to happen next. We are always feeling in the dark. We do not have to become somebody else - the more authentic and grounded our hope is, the more true and helpful it is. Breanna West. The week before half term I watched part of … Continue reading Hope in the dark
Walking the dog
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
Praising your team (10 ways to do it better)
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)
4 steps to build belonging
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
How to run a Tutor Time Reading Programme (TTRP)
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)
Fishing from a smaller pool
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
How to write (and get more out of) your school development plan
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
Whose yardstick?
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?
What’s your news?
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?
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