Jul 23, 2021 | Communication, Leadership, Partnerships, Primary, Professional development, Secondary, Updates
I’ve just read Nancy Kline’s book “Time to Think” – over 20 years too late. As a new middle leader in the 90s I could have done with her sage advice. However, I think that many of us in education naturally use these summer weeks as ‘time to think’ (once we’ve slept for a few days and reacquainted ourselves with our families!). It’s part of the ebb and flow of the school year. For school leaders it’s a time to zoom out and think strategically. And that might include reflecting on partnerships with other schools: how do these fit...
May 15, 2021 | Leadership, Partnerships, Updates
At school everything is compulsory or forbidden. Or so it seems to many schoolchildren. As teachers we chide our students’ lack of independent learning, often overlooking their resourcefulness, maturity and creativity. I think by our nature teachers like to retain an element of control, but amazing things can happen when we let students take ownership of a project. And it’s the opportunity for student initiative in school partnerships I really want to talk about here. In this blog I start by...
Feb 23, 2021 | Leadership, Partnerships, Primary, Professional development, Secondary, Updates
I had the opportunity to update Kent influencers last week on the educational landscape regionally. It was the perfect platform to talk about school partnerships and their crucial role in academic recovery post-Covid.Schools have managed to continue collaborating during lockdown, making use of new relationships and innovative technology and meeting new need. Student initiatives have been particularly heart-warming: making PPE, raising money for computer hardware, reading stories over Zoom and instigating peer mentoring schemes for attainment...
Feb 7, 2021 | Leadership, Professional development, Science, Secondary
I was delighted to be invited to write this blog for WomenEd after renewing my friendship with its founder and my former teacher, Vivienne Porritt! It first appeared on their website on 31 January 2021: https://www.womened.org/blog/how-can-school-leaders-help-fix-the-leaky-stem-pipeline. In it, I offer suggestions to school leaders, drawing on my own experience as a teacher, leader and trainer-adviser. The proportion of girls choosing A level physics and pursuing STEM careers has remained stubbornly low for decades. But recent...
