Every school I have ever worked in or visited is keen to improve. When school leaders often talk about improvement, they more often than not consider what is needed to help teachers grow and develop. This may be in through the provision of resources to complement the teaching and learning that we wish to see... Continue Reading →
As a school leader, solving problems, moving initiatives forward and supporting colleagues requires difficult conversations from time to time. Reflecting further, depending on how much is going on in our respective school environments, it can appear at times the a number of difficult conversations are necessary in a short period of time. Without a doubt,... Continue Reading →
What will happen? How will they react? How will I be viewed? These are some of the questions that will go through the minds of school leaders when faced with making courageous decisions, or engaging in difficult conversations where feedback needs to be given to a colleague. There is a genuine sense of fear, which... Continue Reading →
When new leaders are appointed to their various roles in schools, they are often eager to make change, to help the school improve and move forward. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make change but how one goes about it is crucial to its success and the impact change will have on the school... Continue Reading →
A large number of schools still continue to use tick box evaluation models that make little difference to the impact a teacher has on teaching and learning in a school. First and foremost, this type of evaluation model has a set of criteria that does not really allow for meaningful, rich, conversation between teacher and... Continue Reading →
Numerous school leadership courses and programs exist, designed to prepare aspiring leaders, or to further support existing leaders in their roles. Looking closely at these courses there are common themes such a leading innovation and change, establishing strategic direction and developing collaborative teams. It is noticeable, however, that many courses miss some of the key... Continue Reading →
An old colleague of mine used to say, "Happy teachers means happy students." There is some truth to this statement but upon closer examination, it quite often does not hold true. Leaders, indeed, do need to work hard at supporting teachers. Most importantly, leaders need to strive to create the conditions in schools where teachers... Continue Reading →
Having been an active blogger for about 18 months now, it has been worthwhile reflecting on the journey, some 100+ posts later. In writing this post, it would be great to see more education leaders either starting their own blogs or contributing to the discussion on many of the great education blogs that are out... Continue Reading →
