Caring

I’m glad that something we all seem to be talking about in this dizzying darkness is gratitude. I was thankful on Thursday night for those gilded flames of hope in a murky world; for the hand clapped birds that fluttered into the grateful sky, invisible but there, streaming upwards from our hands in fortitude and …

When: Part 2

This is Part 2; I wrote Part 1 last week. Part 2 was very hard to write. I don’t know how many of these I will write as we find ourselves tentatively edging along an unknown path. But let’s edge along this path together. There is no way back. When this has passed, we won’t …

When: Part 1

This is Part 1. I don’t know how many of these I will write as we find ourselves tentatively edging along an unknown path. But let’s edge along this path together. There is no way back. When this has passed, it’s best we remember the small kindnesses that are steadily growing like moss, cushioning and …

Leadership: The centre cannot hold

I’ve been thinking a lot about thinking. Or at least trying to, because as Willingham reminds us, “we are not naturally good thinkers.” Willingham is very clear: our brains are not designed for thought, but for the avoidance of thought. Instead, we rely on memory. Now this has huge potential for good as school leaders, …

Curriculum: Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Last year I wrote about how some things to do with curriculum have got a bit weird. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how some things to do with curriculum have got a bit weird. This bloated weirdness has magnified: curriculum is almost not curriculum. Like a curricular Jacob’s ladder, we trudge towards …

If we don’t think, curriculum dies

Last year I wrote about how some things to do with curriculum have got a bit weird. Although there are conversations about curriculum, there aren’t really conversations about curriculum. And these conversations about curriculum that aren’t conversations about curriculum often happen at the highest level in schools and MATs, but unfortunately, those conversations frequently determine …

Looking for an assistant headship or deputy headship? Things to do before you apply

Sometimes I get asked for advice by aspiring senior leaders or current senior leaders about job applications for assistant headships or deputy headships. Adverts for jobs start popping up more frequently around this time of year. If you’re an aspiring senior leader, or a senior leader looking for another position within a senior leadership team, here …