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 →
Sorry, this blog is a little messy – but I think it is one of the most important ones I’ve written this year. The issues have been burning away for some time. I came into teaching to educate; to build knowledge, understanding and prepare children... Continue Reading →
This week’s Government announcement of at least £3 billion to expand specialist places within mainstream schools could be a significant moment for creating more inclusive schools. The plan is to create tens of thousands of tailored spaces in local schools,... Continue Reading →
This week, scientists discovered that your nose gets colder when you’re under stress. If that’s true, there must be a legion of icy-nosed school leaders across the country right now, bracing themselves for November and the looming shadow of Ofsted. ... Continue Reading →
Atelophobia is an extreme fear of imperfection. Someone with this disorder may be terrified of making mistakes, or go to great lengths to avoid new situations because they can't guarantee that they'll succeed. The current education system is adding to School Leader Atelophobia... Continue Reading →
CONTENT WARNING - Once again – this is a ramble – this topic is huge and I start to hit on issues that I could spend thousands of hours on (And still get nowhere!). That’s not the purpose of a... Continue Reading →
Today, in an unprecedented move, all three headteacher associations came together in Somerset to make a joint statement to Ofsted. This shows the depth and strength of feeling about the treatment of schools and the profession right now. Ofsted and... Continue Reading →
“Nothing is built on stone; All is built on sand, but we must build as if the sand were stone.” Jorge Luis Borges Memory of another time, not so long ago, has washed away… I can not remember what my... Continue Reading →
A week in education can be many sparks of time, fast, slow but there’s always an end.. here’s my reflection on last week. This week there have been times I have felt like a stranded astronaut staring out at the... Continue Reading →
Old Primary Head 