Category: Leadership and Management
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The Tell-Tale Signs of SUCCESS: 5 Things NO-ONE Will Tell You About Your FIRST Headship
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…
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Prime Ministers vs Headteachers – WHO do make the BEST leaders and why?
The demands of leadership on Prime Ministers and Headteachers are colossal. Leaders must have conviction; the capacity to communicate and persuade; they must manage people and communities; they must translate their convictions to policy detail and then ensure successful implementation of their policies. All the while they must be the relentless and charismatic figurehead and…
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The ULTIMATE Guide To Staff Meetings At School
There are loads of blogs and articles out there which give advice on the mechanics of running an effective staff meeting: let everyone know in good time, welcome everyone by name, share the successes… you get the picture. But did you know there are some fundamental steps you can take right now which will increase…
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Not one for the faint of heart…
This is not a half-term for the faint hearted. It is one for the superhero teachers to come into their own and save the day. It one for the superhero pupils to show their resilience and reach their potential. It is one for superhero parents to reap the rewards of another year of supporting and…
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Goodbye 2020
It has certainly been a year like no other, but with the Isle of Man being COVID free in the community; a new structure and leadership in place at the Department of Education; and the end of the long-running trade dispute; a brighter tomorrow is a genuine possibility and 2021 feels much more optimistic.
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The fox and scorpion
Sometimes the people you deal with remind me of the tale of the fox and the scorpion. Sometimes one is served a harsh reminder of this tale. I have built my professional approach, ethos and indeed the schools I run on trust and relationships. In fact, I have written several articles and blogs on this…
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Visible Leadership
Leadership comes in many different guises in the world of education and much has been written about the theoretical models that exist. I have long advocated that one model cannot and does not work when applied in isolation – the best leadership is always a careful mix of different approaches that are blended through the…
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The final curtain…
And so the curtain is about to fall on the academic year that was 2019-2020. And what a year. Easily the most challenging of my career in a personal sense as well as a professional one.
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You learn from the best…
I’ve met and worked alongside some incredible people who have had a significant influence on my life, my philosophy and my work in education. In this blog, I pay tribute to those who have had the greatest influence and helped shape my thinking and make me the person I am today. I say “thank you”…
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Analysing research on the extent to which learning benefits from close levels of individualized intervention… and lessons for our own research models.
A more thorough and academic blog than usual, focusing on two pieces of research and their findings on learning and interventions; and an analysis of how these research papers differ in their approach and what that can teach us about our own research models.
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#EduTwitter: The best CPD available?
Above all else, #EduTwitter is a friendly community of people who are there because of their interest and passion in education. The benefits of joining in and networking cannot be overstated – it’s a great way to extend your thinking and add another bow to your CPD.
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Politics, Policy and Paradigms: why the SATs debate is more complex than you think…
Social media, in particular, has been a fascinating platform to observe with teachers from all phases, sectors and career stages offering their thoughts on SATs. As is the case whenever we imagine a major top-down, nationally imposed, non-negotiable change which has to be implemented (in the curriculum at an educational institution which affects the learning…
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Executive leadership: you can’t be in two places at once!
I remember that my first big decision was the decision I agonized over the most. I found it incredibly difficult to decide where I would physically be at the start of the day on day number one. Which school should I go to first, which set of parents should I speak to first, which pupils…
MANX MAX 