Author: Sam Crome
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How to make team debriefs your superpower in 2026
How many times have you sat in a team meeting where you are evaluating an area of the group’s work, and you walk away thinking ‘we just didn’t properly get to grips with that’, or where you question ‘did that actually help us move forward?’. It can be frustrating when you outlay time, say 30…
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Budgets, Culture, and Nativities: End of Term Reflections from a new Headteacher
In the summer term 2025 I was a secondary school Deputy Headteacher, alongside being Director of Education across the secondary schools in our trust. All of a sudden, I took on an interim headship at a one-form entry primary school. In my hometown. Where two of my children attend. What could go wrong? Well, luckily,…
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Crossing the Bridge: my first half term as a primary school headteacher
To my shame, I have spent much of my career… not avoiding Year 7 and 8, but certainly not jumping over the trench wall to teach them. I’ve probably spent too much time revelling in being the pre-19th century teacher for A-Level English Literature, and basking in the giddy heights of being involved in KS4…
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9 traits of thriving secondary schools
I’m currently working through the Marvel Infinity Saga with my children, having waited until they are the perfect ages to really take in its splendour. We just finished Black Panther (what a film!), and a quote from tech-whizz Shuri gave me an idea for a blog. More from her later, but fundamentally it made me…
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The Spirit of Our Team
When I was at university, I spent two years working for a homeless charity. It was the making of me. Aged 20, I had the privilege of supporting a huge range of people who had far more life experience; I learnt so much from them and about myself. I won’t bore you with the details,…
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The Social Brain: the psychology of successful groups
I’ve done a lot of reading, thinking, and ‘trying out’ when it comes to belonging in organisations and teams, always attempting to think sceptically and critically so that I follow evidence and never hitch my wagon to ‘nice to haves’, but rather get to grips of the whys and hows of groups working well. The…
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You Have Made a Difference
This week I attended our Year 13 prom – my last as Deputy Headteacher at my school of five years. It was a wonderful occasion. At 17-18 years old, the students are (mainly!) mature and interested in engaging with staff, and we spent the evening having meaningful conversations, reminiscing, talking about what’s next, and indulging…
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Resisting mutation: how to prevent psychological safety from becoming an empty buzzword (part 3)
If you have joined me for part 1 and part 2 of the series, you will now be familiar with the research behind psychological safety, its core principles, and some of the inevitable misconceptions and mutations that have arisen so far. We have acknowledged that, while the evidence for psych safety is so compelling in…
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Resisting mutation: how to prevent psychological safety from becoming an empty buzzword (part 2)
Welcome back, psychological safety and teamwork fans – thank you for returning to the series, and for all of the great feedback on part 1. In the previous post, I suggested that the term psychological safety was in danger of becoming diluted with well-intentioned but inaccurate applications of what the concept is. Even in the…
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Resisting mutation: how to prevent psychological safety from becoming an empty buzzword (Part 1)
Like many, I’ve been familiar with Psychological Safety and the work of Amy Edmondson for a number of years, and was convinced by the research (still am!) that it was a concept that could ignite the way teams thrive. I blogged about the basics of what it is and how to introduce it back in…
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Teaming Tales: Stalled Systems
This is the first post in a series called Teaming Tales. Each post will feature an area of teamwork that often veers into dysfunction, using a fictionalised fable to explore the issues, followed by strategies to help move forward. Catherine is five years into her teaching career, and is flourishing into an excellent teacher. She…
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Happy Economics, by Mark Price
Opening Gambit I recently had an interesting conversation with an employee at WorkL, the company dedicated to happiness at work, and used by the Sunday Times Best Places to Work run its surveys of employees. WorkL’s survey comprehensively shines a light on employee engagement and satisfaction, but Mark Price, the founder of the company, and…
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5 ways to boost your teams this January
The mammoth 15-week autumn term ended with a triumphant spree of nativities, carol services, assemblies, events, sickness bugs, and, yes, for some reason, Ofsted inspections. Chances are, whether your spirits were sky-high, or dragging along the floor, you finished the term in a hurried flurry of getting everything done, or at least trying desperately to…
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Helping your teams to thrive in autumn term 2
I’m not a huge believer in obvious or cliché claims of cause and effect. Even as a child I found it irritating when someone linked being outside for too long with catching a cold. Sometimes, things just happen! Don’t read too much into it. But, when you run staff surveys throughout the school year, you…
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Thriving Teams: researchED national conference ’24
As ever, the researchED national conference was an inspiring day of learning, networking, and sharing. Luckily, the weather was milder than the scorcher of 2023 (and I didn’t have a flip flop malfunction this year), and Parliament Hill School hosted the event brilliantly, along with Helene, Tom and the big team of helpers. My aim…
Sam Crome 