How to write an effective SEF for your school Are you about to tackle the school self-evaluation form? Ciara Lamb shares some tips for writing your SEF, so you can be confident it is set up to effectively support your school's development
Seven starting points for interrogating your curriculum What are the seven starting points that will ensure you have a healthy, open conversation about your school’s curriculum? John Tomsett, co-author of a new book on curriculum conversations, discusses some of the key questions we should be asking…
Women in leadership: Smashing the glass ceiling Despite teaching being female dominated, men remain twice as likely to hold leadership positions. Headteacher Erika Eisele considers why this is and reflects on her own experiences as a school leader
Empowerment and school leadership: How empowered do you feel? As we move through an age of empowerment, Jonathan Cordiner considers and challenges what empowerment is, what it really looks like, and what it means to and for headteachers
Five lessons of primary leadership After 10 years as a headteacher in east London, Tom Panagiotopoulos has written a book chronicling his experiences. We asked him to give us five lessons for successful primary school leadership
SONAR leadership and a pedagogy of connection School leaders should ‘seek first to understand, then to be understood’ if they are to build relationships – and that requires active listening. John Dabell explains the principles of SONAR leadership
A culture of ethical leadership: Five approaches As we emerge from the pandemic, ethical leadership has never been more important. But what does it look like? Primary school head Jim Mepham looks at five main approaches and the principles of ethical decision-making
Four steps to develop your school’s senior leadership team Building and developing a successful senior leadership team is an important part of the role of a headteacher. Simon Clark shares four strategic tips for how you can do this
Designing whole-school CPD: Three streams, one cycle With so many high-quality materials available to schools, the challenge these days is not the what of CPD, but the how. Applying recent EEF research into the mechanisms of effective CPD, Robbie Burns advises on designing a whole-school CPD cycle
Teacher appraisal: Professional development reviews Teacher appraisal forms part of established practice in maintained schools and the majority of academies. Brian Rossiter shares practical advice when reviewing performance with colleagues as part of a professional development cycle as we move into a post-Covid world
Staff wellbeing: Which talking therapy is best for you? As a school leader, do you talk about the pressures you face? Talking helps wellbeing and prevents burn-out. Emily Kenneally considers how you can make time to talk and outlines different types of talking therapy and their uses
Twelve ways to lead like a turtle Do you lead like a turtle? John Dabell explains why turtles can teach us a lot about effective school leadership
CPD: Building a culture of collaboration that sticks When it comes to professional development, how can school leaders build meaningful and impactful collaboration? Concettina Johnson offers some questions for reflection, examples and tips
School governors: A culture of no surprises Ahead of the inaugural National School Governors’ Awareness Day, Steve Barker suggests ways in which this volunteer army can work more closely with school leaders to create a culture of ‘no surprises’
Jenny’s dilemma: How can you change school culture? Ever tried changing school culture? Wholesale changes to practice rarely last. Harry Fletcher-Wood argues that small, step-by-step change creates a much better chance of success. He advises how…
The golden triangle: How to improve performance management in schools The golden triangle of performance management takes in quality improvement, performance development and CPD. Matt Bromley explains, offering some key tenets of effective performance management systems
School culture & values: An unwritten ethos Do you use your school’s values? Or are they positive-sounding aphorisms which are rarely dusted off in the heat of battle? Bill Holledge considers how we create and use school values and discusses the Paradigm Trust’s ‘Unwritten Ethos’
Jazzy leadership: The essential elements of a great school leader 'Do not fear mistakes. There are none.’ From improvisation to risk-taking, drawing on two leadership books, John Dabell suggests some of the elements that make for effective school leadership
Resignations and retirement: A looming leadership crisis? There are real fears that the added pressure of Covid-19 will drive many more headteachers to quit. Suzanne O’Connell looks at the barriers we face to headteacher retention and recruitment
Taking a step back from burn-out... Burn-out is not inevitable. As a school leader, how do you take care of yourself? Frances Robertson urges you to avoid burn-out by making time to reflect and step back from the chaos...
Meaningless words? How to build a genuine school ethos Building a school ethos can so easily become an exercise in jargon and meaningless words. James Handscombe says that it is not until your ethos gets in the way of a hard decision that you know if you really believe in what you’re saying…
No going back: Choosing the right MAT for your school Once your school has joined a multi-academy trust there is rarely any going back. As such, we must choose the right MAT for our ethos and community. Paul K Ainsworth offers some advice to primary heads and governors when taking this important decision
Leadership: Certainty in uncertain times A new academic year dawns and we continue to live with the uncertainty of the pandemic. Dr Pooky Knightsmith offers us some simple ideas for leading with certainty in uncertain times
Wellbeing: How to look after yourself as a headteacher Whether you are an experienced headteacher or new to the job, Kate Smith shares some strategies and ideas to help you protect your wellbeing in the months ahead
Three principles for an inclusive school environment Ensuring an inclusive school environment which supports every pupil to be their best is a priority for school leader Bavaani Nanthabalan. She discusses three core principles for achieving this
