Senior leadership

School culture & values: An unwritten ethos

10 January 2022

Do you use your school’s values? Or are they positive-sounding aphorisms which are rarely dusted off in the heat of battle? Bill Holledge considers how we create and use school values and discusses the Paradigm Trust’s ‘Unwritten Ethos’

Taking a step back from burn-out...

25 October 2021

Burn-out is not inevitable. As a school leader, how do you take care of yourself? Frances Robertson urges you to avoid burn-out by making time to reflect and step back from the chaos...

Meaningless words? How to build a genuine school ethos

5 October 2021

Building a school ethos can so easily become an exercise in jargon and meaningless words. James Handscombe says that it is not until your ethos gets in the way of a hard decision that you know if you really believe in what you’re saying…

In teachers we (absolutely must) trust...

7 July 2021

Do we have a crisis of trust in teaching? As a senior leader, do you trust your teachers? As a teacher, do you feel trusted? Principal Ben Solly looks at why we must place trust at the heart of our schools – and how we can do it...

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The First 100 Days: School leadership lessons from football

16 June 2021

Headteacher Phil Denton has spent the last 30 months talking to Premier League managers about the lessons we can draw from the high-pressure, unforgiving world of football management, especially when it comes to tackling the first 100 days in post...

Senior Mental Health Lead: How to have an impact

11 June 2021

If you are new to the role of mental health lead, or you would like to make sure that your role really makes a difference next year, Dr Pooky Knightsmith offers a few simple ideas to help you to maximise your impact

How to ensure online parents’ evenings are effective

11 May 2021

One of the most popular innovations during Covid has been the move to online parents’ evenings, but principal Daniel Locke-Wheaton says they require careful handling if they are to prove an effective and permanent alternative

Effective SEND provision: Four key leadership roles

11 May 2021

SEND provision in a school is everyone’s responsibility, including senior leaders and governors. Professor Adam Boddison outlines four key areas where effective leadership is crucial for effective SEND provision

Sexual violence and harassment: How schools must respond

14 April 2021

As thousands of young people share their experiences of sexual harassment and violence, both in and out of schools – safeguarding expert Hannah Glossop looks at how schools can sharpen their policies and procedures

PFI: Challenging overly expensive contracts

18 January 2021

As an academy trust CEO, Andrew Chubb successfully challenged aspects of his school’s PFI contract, leading to substantial savings. He looks here at why PFI often proves unfairly expensive for schools – and what can be done about it

Crisis management for school leaders

7 January 2021

When it comes to handling crises, Ben Solly has certainly crammed more than his fair share into his seven years of headship. Here – at a time when all school leaders are in crisis management mode – he outlines his advice for managing challenging situations in schools

Wellbeing at Christmas: Time to focus on you

7 December 2020

This Christmas holiday may be the first time that many teachers and school leaders have chance to take a breath and step back from the chaos and stress of Covid-19. Sophie Howells says that now is the time to prioritise your wellbeing – and offers some ideas

How to collect staff feedback on workload and wellbeing

25 November 2020

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve, it is important to check in on your staff to see how remote learning and Covid restrictions are affecting their workload and wellbeing. Katherine Fowler shares some practical tips on how to talk to your staff and gather feedback, so that you can help ...

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Professional development: How to receive fierce conversations

24 November 2020

Much has been written & discussed about delivering difficult conversations as a leader, but not as much has been said about how to receive them. Caroline Sherwood offers her reflections based around the seven principles of Susan Scott's Fierce Conversations

The revised Headteachers' Standards: An overview

16 November 2020

The Headteachers’ Standards have recently been updated. National Leader of Education Helen Frostick reflects on the revisions and how the standards apply to leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic

What should remote education look like in your school?

11 November 2020

What is remote learning? What isn’t it? And how are schools approaching it? Tom Middlehurst takes a practical look at what school leaders and teachers can and should be doing to fulfil their legal and moral obligations this term and beyond
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