Author: Sam Crome
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Leadership: Truth is like a precious stone…
In the last week, how many times have you been in a position where you could or should have given some feedback? It could have been seeing a lesson that wasn’t quite following the behaviour policy of the school, a deadline missed for the second time by someone you line manage, or a report from…
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Culture: What you do is who you are
My children love to play-fight with me. Maybe we play too many video games together (Super Smash Bros – just try and beat me as Captain Falcon), but they love to plot my downfall. And good luck to them. I convinced them that I was trained in the ways of the Samurai almost 200 years…
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5 ways to improve any team this year
School teams are preparing for, or currently beginning, an exciting academic year. Lots is going on in education and teams are the key to schools doing brilliant work and taking steps forward with their various goals. With lots to do, read, and digest for all educators at this time of year, I won’t write a cumbersome…
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Leading beyond remits: does our leadership help staff to grow?
About a year ago I started to notice something when I met with leaders across schools. When I asked them about their role as a leader, the first thing they started to tell me about was often about their specific remit at school. I lead the curriculum. I’m the pastoral lead. I look after personal development. All…
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How to create school Superteams
I recently enjoyed Tom Sherrington’s post on how we need to help our staff teams do brilliant work together if we want to see improvement across the school. He discusses how teams need time, structure, and a culture of high-quality feedback to help improve their work, amongst other things – please go and have a read! It…
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An adoptee: reflections on schools and leadership
Every one of us has a unique story, a set of circumstances and challenges that make us who we are, and we bring that part of us to school or work every day. I’ve always tried to visualise the hundreds, or thousands, of stories coming through the school gates every morning, and consider how we…
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Bouncebackability: how educators keep moving forward
In education, every day can be a rollercoaster. You can be flying high all morning, only for something to knock you a bit in the afternoon. Your week can be a bit grim and then out of nowhere, an affirming moment turns it all around. Whether, the sudden change is positive or negative, we have…
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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…
