The Isle of Man General Election takes place on Thursday 23rd September 2021 with all seats in the House of Keys in contention. In the run up to the General Election, the Isle of Man Branch of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has organised a series of hustings around several of the island’s constituencies which will focus on schools and education. NAHT IOM want to shine a spotlight on education throughout the election to ensure it sits with prominence on the agenda of all prospective MHKs seeking election. The branch has produced its own “manifesto for education” and has challenged the candidates to “pledge” their support to their cause. As the Branch Secretary for NAHT IOM, Max Kelly will be present at each of the four hustings events over the course of the week.

The Isle of Man General Election takes place on Thursday 23rd September 2021 with all seats in the House of Keys in contention. In the run up to the General Election, the Isle of Man Branch of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has organised a series of hustings around several of the island’s constituencies which will focus on schools and education. NAHT IOM want to shine a spotlight on education throughout the election to ensure it sits with prominence on the agenda of all prospective MHKs seeking election. The branch has produced its own “manifesto for education” and has challenged the candidates to “pledge” their support to their cause. As the Branch Secretary for NAHT IOM, Max Kelly will be present at each of the four hustings events over the course of the week.

Starting out in headship is an exciting time, but can be quite a daunting experience too. In this blog Max Kelly reflects back on his time as a headteacher and offers his insights for those new to the role by listing the top 10 things he wish he’d known when he was starting out.

I recently completed my seventh year as headteacher at a school and realised that the departing Y6s were the fist ever cohort that I'd seen all the way through their primary education as a headteacher. Seeing how well all the children had done, and watching them leave as confident and resilient learners, was a proud moment and told me a lot about the successes (and lessons to learn!) of my headship.