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...
Jan 13, 2021 | Leadership, Partnerships, Professional development, Updates
I wrote this article for the Girls School Association; it appeared on the GSA website on 5 January 2021: https://gsa.uk.com/2021/01/5-myths-of-cross-sector-partnerships/ There are as many perceived barriers to engaging with state schools as there are benefits, not least the current restrictions placed on schools because of the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, schools are always thinking ahead and I would argue that partnership working plays an important part in any future planning. We know that the best cross-sector partnerships are...
Oct 25, 2020 | Professional development, Science, Secondary, Updates
As all parents know, we put on a brave face in order to instil a cheery confidence in our offspring. As my eldest and her friends prepare for GCSEs this year I’m acutely aware of the difficulties of studying for exams that didn’t happen in 2020 and still might not in 2021. Revising for mocks whose purpose is unknown – a useful practice run or evidence towards a centre-assessed grade? – is pretty unsettling. Add to that the fog surrounding some of the work which was supposed to have been covered during home-learning...
