We see a lot of values in schools now. This will always be high on my personal list. It is so powerful and can be an absolute game-changer in so many ways. I’ve already written a blog on how to build trust as a leader, but this will dig a little deeper into why it …
Author Archives: @secretHT1
Why Do I Rest?
This one is all about why I feel the need to strike the right work life balance. I am no good to anyone if I’m burned out, exhausted and stressed out. I’m ratty, shorter with people and my family end up bearing the brunt of it. This is the one I particularly feel guilty about. …
Why Do I Lead?
So, following on from the first in the series about why I teach, now we move onto why I lead. My journey into leadership was quick, I was a head at 31. I’m not going to get into the in ands out of whether people should be in headship roles at that age – it …
Why Do I Teach?
Why do I teach? I’ve never actually asked myself that question. That’s because teaching had been what I wanted to do since I was 11. I’d never really questioned the why of it because it just seemed to be a natural progression for me, decided in my head early on. It wasn’t due to one …
Thriving September
For some, September will feel like it is crashing towards them and with it will come a wave of excitement and nerves. Planning for your first class and first term can be a mix of eagerness and dread – you want the day to come, but perhaps are feeling that imposter syndrome creeping on. Maybe …
Catch Up, Not Patch Up
So much out there about catch up at the moment, and rightly so. Some children have missed everything, some have missed a lot and some have missed most of what they should have covered over the second half of this year. We’ve been asked to prioritise catch up in Reading and Maths and Phonics and …
Teaching Year 6? Congratulations!
For me, Year 6 is the best year to teach in Key Stage 2. I taught for 6 very happy years in Year 6, across 2 schools. I loved every minute of it, and I think it is a unique experience when it comes to teaching at primary. Can you always but your finger on …
Home Learning Survey
Over the last few days I ran a short survey on how home learning had been working out for teachers and what had been provided. Here are the results: Have you provided work for your students during partial closure? (2895 votes) Yes – 99% No – 1% Have you provided ‘live teaching’ during lockdown? (2888 …
I’m Tired
Maybe it’s Friday talking, but today I’ve had enough. School opening gone well, kids happy, staff happy and the problem solving aspect of organising everything was, whisper it, an enjoyable logistical challenge. I should be pleased with our team effort, and reflecting that our carefully thought through plans have stood up to the scrutiny of …
Day One – A Head’s Eye View
So today we welcomed back around 50 of our children to school. Year R, 1 and 6, plus a handful of other key workers from other year groups. Guess what? It was great. Here is a little blow by blow account of the day: 7:30am – onsite to open up. Windows, doors and everything that …
