Here are five simple principles we are using to help guide our thinking in the way we support our school leaders and SENDCOs around inclusion. Principle 1/ I don’t have to be an expert to play my part Working in SEND can be a lonely place. There is lots of technical and legal detail, and … Continue reading 5 principles for better inclusion
leadership
Ten tips for new leaders
The first few days as a leader of a new team can be daunting, as you plan how you want to set your expectations, build your team and eventually lead change. Here are ten tips to help: 1/ Accept feeling you are an impostorImpostor syndrome is a deep feeling that you are not enough, despite … Continue reading Ten tips for new leaders
Finding your mentor
A mentor is someone who sees more ability within you than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out. Bob Goshen. Who would you call, beyond your family, to share good news or to ask for advice or to share a difficult situation at work? Right now, many of us are writing plans for … Continue reading Finding your mentor
10 tips for more effective one-to-ones
Image - Gregor Cresnar One to ones are quiet, focused collaboration time for employees and bosses to connect. It’s their time, not yours. Kim Scott - Radical Candor We can all point to memories we have of great and terrible line managers we’ve experienced, and the shape of the clumsy boot-print or lifelong inspiration they … Continue reading 10 tips for more effective one-to-ones
Small is beautiful – 10 ways Trusts can support small schools
How do we support and celebrate our smallest schools in challenging times? In our family of schools we have a large number of brilliant small schools. Fourteen of our forty-three members of the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust educate fewer than 150 pupils. And so, while we definitely don’t pretend to have all the answers, here … Continue reading Small is beautiful – 10 ways Trusts can support small schools
To do or not to do
One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done. Marie Curie We all use to do lists. For food shopping, reminders for our children, holiday packing and of course at work. From the back of an envelope to a computer screen, this most simple of reminders seems to … Continue reading To do or not to do
Being authentic
“Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others.” Desiderata - Max Ehrmann I spoke with our school leaders last week about why I believe that being authentic is key to how we forge relationships and work as a team. In July, I discussed with our chairs of governors how we could better support … Continue reading Being authentic
5 ways to build trust
Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair. Amy Rees Anderson When employees have confidence in their leaders, they feel mutual respect, a sense of belonging and are less likely to leave. Research shows that employees at high trust companies report less stress, higher productivity, and more energy at work. Where it … Continue reading 5 ways to build trust
The Kindness of Leaders
“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
Teamwork 2/Organising your team
“Life punishes the vague wish and rewards the specific ask” Tim Ferris So now we have the right balance in the team how do we get it to function well? Some teams just hum. Seeing them operate is like watching the peleton in a cycle race. While a crocodile of lycra streams along a sunflower-strewn … Continue reading Teamwork 2/Organising your team
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