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


Lesson 1: The children come first

At the heart of school leadership there should be a firm belief that most decisions should ultimately add value to the children’s lives. Whether that’s setting a menu for lunch or drafting a policy for teaching and learning.

Too many initiatives distract from long-term goals. Those initiatives come and go and so do the people promoting them. The only person a school leader should promote is the child. After all, the children are the reason we have a job.

At a meeting I once asked: “How will this add value to our children’s education?” Every head in the room whipped round like a demon possessed. No-one answered my question. I dare say no-one could, and their silence spoke volumes.

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