Over the past few days, I have received messages from school leaders and teachers across the country. Many have shared stories of unexpected marking decisions, disputed reviews and outcomes that simply do not seem to align with the evidence in... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, I received our draft inspection report. As the word draft is attached to it, I should immediately point out that there are limits to what I can discuss until the final report is published. Quite understandably, school leaders are... Continue Reading →
On Inclusion: From my book - Lessons From the Heads Office - Sage 2023 "Creating a sense of belonging within and beyond the boundaries of our school is a fundamental cog in the system of good educational leadership. Inclusion should... Continue Reading →
"Be reassured results are accurate" Bridget Phillipson - Schools Week 16th July 2025 My team have spent much of the past two days doing something that I suspect many school leaders across the country are doing right now. Checking SATs scripts.... Continue Reading →
If you’ve been around long enough in educational leadership, you start to see cycles. One statement that never seems to go away is the - We take all the children with SEND whilst that school up the road does nothing....... Continue Reading →
5 minutes read time.
For more than a decade, I’ve led a 0-11 (All Year Round - 0-18 in holidays) mainstream primary school for over 600 children. We run a highly successful 55‑place specialist provision embedded within the heart of our school. Over 130... Continue Reading →
Why “Internal vs External Support” Risks Becoming a New Source of Unfairness The 2025 Education Inspection Framework (EIF) brings a major shift in how leadership, governance, and improvement capacity are judged.Much of this shift is positive: schools should know themselves... Continue Reading →
Let’s start with the football… Manchester City score. Semenyo in with a clever goal... (I'm a life-long Bristol City supporter not a Man City support - I loved this player when he was with us) The away fans roar. The... Continue Reading →
