It’s interesting to notice my own sense of vulnerability with this in terms of sharing this, but I believe this adds another dimension and enriches my work. Initially I worried it may influence people’s perceptions of me negatively, and impact on my work-and then, in a flash of light, I realised that’s what matters…that we…
I visited one of my closest friends this week. We hadn’t seen each other for a little while, but we picked up right where we left off. I updated her on my time investment on ensuring I do the work on myself to be absolutely ready for those I work with, as well as to…
Firstly we need to consider what intentional leadership is— for me it’s linked to leading with purpose, clarity, and vision. But as I’ve undertaken my own coaching learning and research, it’s intrinsically linked to how we shape up as a leader- the Head, heart and body, and our belief systems, how we embody leadership in…
Reflections on a post I wrote last week while up in the North East. Yesterday was a day I met myself in so many ways. Being back in the North East, where I was born and spent my earliest formative years reconnects me to my earliest sense of being. I don’t always have the key…
I came across a poem and the extended metaphor just struck a chord with me today, on Key Stage 2 SATs results day.I was once told that my job rested on that one set of results , that if they weren’t better than the year before I was done. I cried with relief when I…
Boundless adjective unlimited or immense. Learning abstract noun the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite. William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet When I…
My foundational purpose as an educator has been ensuring that emotional intelligence( EQ) and emotional literacy is embedded at the heart of everything and leading learning, so that effective cognition is facilitated, thus deep and connected learning develops, and that the whole ethos of a school , or classroom, is focused on balancing secure sense…
‘Stories were different though: they came alive in the telling. Without a human voice to read them aloud, or a pair of wide eyes following them by torch light beneath a blanket, they had no real existence in our world. They were like seeds in the beak of a bird, waiting to fall to earth,…
At the end of the academic year, many people will be reflecting and considering their hopes for the Summer, and looking to their next steps. As a former Headteacher, I’m only too aware of the transitional feel of the last week of term ( which is this week in Leicestershire). It’s also the 23rd anniversary…