I haven't taught any A Level subjects for a few years now, and my favourite - Economics - for even longer. But I'm back in the game, and three lessons in I'm loving it. Being a headteacher, I don't teach much. For the last two years I filled a gap teaching Computing to Year 7 … Continue reading Greeting an old friend

The most difficult thing of all... was the lack of teaching. Students began the day by working on their own weekly plan, approaching teachers in the middle of the 'market square' for advice when needed. Uutiset News (Finland), 15.8.2019, 'Parents file complaints over "failure" of new school' Two contrasting news stories have caught my eye … Continue reading Order and Chaos

After 24 years of watching other people's children pick up their GCSE results, it is my turn to be the anxious parent. I will go into work today to see how the students at my school have done, then I will go with my daughter tomorrow to see how that unfolds. Double whammy. It is … Continue reading Am I an Enemy of Promise?

There are some things that you know to be true, and others that you know to be false; yet, despite this extensive knowledge that you have, there remain many things whose truth or falsity is not known to you. We say that you are uncertain about them. You are uncertain, to varying degrees, about everything … Continue reading Leading beyond what is known

Is there a definable group of skills that leaders should possess? Most people who give this question any thought would say yes - it is easy to come up with a list of skills we identify with leadership. However, I find the idea increasingly problematic. In essence, this is what I think troubles me about … Continue reading The untethered skills of leadership

20 ft. high on Blackpool promenade Fake royalty second hand sequin facade Limited face paint and dyed black quiff Overweight and out of date Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier, the Manic Street Preachers I once read a letter to The Times which made me laugh so much that I carried it around in my wallet for … Continue reading Elvis Impersonators and the Disadvantage Gap

I made a rare visit to Waitrose this morning having received some discount vouchers in the post. There were a range of vouchers for specific products and a general money-off coupon for spending more than a certain amount. It was sufficient to motivate me to be more extravagant than I normally would be on a … Continue reading Token gestures

“A map can never replicate the ground itself. Often our mapping sessions would induce us to bite off more than we can chew. At home we would plot a route over terrain that would, in reality, turn out to be sucking bog, or knee-high heather, or a wide boulder-field thick with snow. Sometimes a landscape … Continue reading In-between days

The essence of my talk at ResearchED Rugby 2019. Do you have a leadership position in a school? If so, think about the last day you were in work. For what proportion of the day were you leading? 100% (its everything I do!), 70%, 30%... less than 10%? And what were you doing that constituted … Continue reading There’s No Such Thing As Leadership

Green Eggs and Ham was published in 1960. It is a children's book, written by Dr. Seuss and contains only 50 words; a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, … Continue reading Green Eggs and Ham