Category: Uncategorized
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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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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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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…
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Stuck Teams
It’s a lot of fun exploring research about high-performing teams and applying the principles to your own teams. But sometimes, like anything exciting, it can seem a bit of a utopian dream when things aren’t going well. Every workplace, and every team, has its own context and circumstances, which is why I’m always reluctant to…
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Team vision: more than a stirring anecdote
Summer events often provide inspirational anecdotes for school leaders when addressing their teams, in September meetings or assemblies. An underdog, against-the-odds story from the Olympics. A holiday anecdote that demonstrates or celebrates different cultural norms. Perhaps, this summer, it will be the resilience and collaboration of communities in the face of riots. To my shame…
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Eleven Rings, by Phil Jackson
Opening Gambit I love Michael Jordan’s story and career. Growing up in the 1990s, I was too young to understand his talent beyond watching Space Jam and collecting the Tazos (yes, remember them?!) and hearing of the infamous Chicago Bulls team featuring Jordan, and led by the author of this book, Phil Jackson. Like many,…
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How dysfunctional is your team?
My researchED Warrington talk, 2024 When we think of a dysfunctional team, it’s tempting to conjure an image of a group of people arguing, scowling, raising their voices or storming out of rooms. Overt dislike, perhaps. Toxic leadership with malignant approaches to accountability, maybe. And yes, those things are bad. But the truth is, most…
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researchED National Conference 2023 – The Power of Teams
The National conference was always going to be special for me this year. John Catt and I worked out that, with my book draft submitted in spring, the release date would likely occur around this time. Sure enough, six months later, I had a very happy book launch day in and around the researchED National…
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The sun’s out! Let’s evaluate everything!
The summer term is often when the most evaluation occurs across our school teams. Planning afternoons, away days, and the ever-elusive ‘gained time’ prompt us to consider what we’ve been working on this year. The most effective teams will evaluate and debrief throughout the year, of course, ensuring that it is the norm to review…
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Building trust and rapport with students outside the classroom
Building a thriving culture of excellent behaviour, mutual respect, kindness, and joy, are common aims of school leaders and teachers. We want to go to school every day and focus on what we do best: teaching our subject, using our expertise to help children make progress, and forming healthy relationships in a safe place. Everyone…
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Thriving Teams #4: Team Debriefs
Watching footage of post-game team talks by football managers always fascinated me, on the rare occasions when the cameras were allowed into the changing room. Sometimes it was dominated by cheering and roaring champagne as a team progressed to the next round of a cup; other times, a Neil Warnock-esque manager would be snarling and…
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Wisdom Digest #1 February 2021
After one month and sixteen book reflections, my head is swarming with anecdotes, studies, and feelings that I’ve experienced from a range of inspirational writers. It is worth noting that, of the sixteen books, only three were new to me this month, while the others were previous favourites with historical phone notes that illuminated my…
Sam Crome 