I was reminded today of my tendency to become over excited about a really cool piece of technology. My geekiness is hidden behind a thin veil, and today that veil was lifted to reveal my bridal glow. The technology in question (and I should warn you it really isn't exciting to any normal human) is … Continue reading Kicking the solution habit

The researchED Guide to Leadership hits the shelves this month and I am delighted to have contributed the closing chapter titled 'Surviving and Thriving in Uncertainty'. My contribution is essentially about the complexity of schools and why leaders benefit from acknowledging this complexity. This blog post is written to accompany the chapter, partly to explain … Continue reading The Complex Question of Leadership

The fundamental decision I make each day is around how to direct my attention. As a headteacher, I have more autonomy over how I choose to spend my time than anyone else in the school. It is both a blessing and a curse. I can choose to fill my days with meetings, observing teaching, doing … Continue reading Live with complexity, attend to the complicated

Have you noticed how many of the problems we face in schools never actually get solved? Think about student behaviour, attainment gaps, workload or mental health... conceiving of these as problems for which we will find 'solutions' is daft. We don't solve these problems in the sense of solving a crossword puzzle, or fix them … Continue reading Problems require resolutions

When we think of experts (you know, the ones we've had enough of, according to Michael Gove) we might think of a specialist surgeon, a researcher into climate change, or a Nobel prize winning physicist. Perhaps we'd think of a more everyday expert, like a financial advisor, or that talented mechanic who worked out what … Continue reading The Two Forms of Expertise

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

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