“When all team members are located in one large room, someone’s information becomes yours, without even trying. You start thinking in terms of what’s best…. for the group at large and not only where you stand.” (Takeuchi, Hirotaka, & Ikujiro Nonaka. “The New New Product Development Game ” Harvard Business Review (Jan/Feb 1986): 285-305 That […]
The One With Those Lost
Wendy Jacobs, primary headteacher Kate Fox, literacy teacher Emma Clarke, science teacher Indro Sen, maths teacher and union rep Carol Flynn, learning mentor Katie Horne, nursery worker Barrie Ashley, Caretaker
The One About Key Working
David Benyon. Hettie Williams. Gwen Mayor. Ann Maguire. Phillip Lawrence. They might not all be names you recognise. What they have in common is the courage they displayed in terrifying circumstances. In all except Hettie’s classroom, those decision cost them their lives. I’m writing this on the eve of my first key worker shift at […]
The One About Contagion
*I am not a scientist* I’ve held off blogging about COVID-19, or coronavirus, until now. But the briefing from Government on 16th March has shaken me and spurred me into action. As a still relatively young teacher, with no underlying health issues, I am required to attend work still. To associate in close proximity with […]
The One About Job Sharing
How Can Job-Sharing Enhance School-wide Curriculum Design? This article first appeared the Chartered College of Teaching’s journal, Impact, in Summer 2019. In January 2019, Damian Hinds announced that the DfE would be supporting schools to implement flexible working practices such as job-sharing, where two teachers perform the role of one full time staff member, as […]
The One for NQTs
This week, I had the chance to be 10% braver and present at a Digital TeachMeet for NQTs, organised by OneStep CPD. The format of a traditional face-to-face TeachMeet was loosely followed – a series of short presentations followed by Q&A time. I had chosen Managing Your Workload as my theme. You can download my […]
The One About The One I Would Be
Things I will do: Trust my staff Listen Remember birthdays {Note: this post was unfinished but is published anyway to share what I thought at the time}
The One About SATs Stress (FAO: Damian Hinds)
I was recently sent this article written by the Education Secretary, Damian Hinds. I have thought hard about what he had to say about SATS preparation in schools, and the purpose of SATs… Hinds criticises schools who place, in his eyes, too much focus on preparation for SATs, and accuses them of causing children undue stress and […]
The One About Being the Best
I’ve seen a few posts on Twitter this week from schools who’ve had letters from the DfE about their school’s KS2 results. The schools are proud of the achievements of their pupils, but I’m not sure I agree with the sharing of these letters. (And I’ll admit at this point, we didn’t get one!) From […]
The One About Being Flexible
I’ll lay all my cards on the table. I’m a teacher, I work part time, I have two children and a dog and no family very close by. When I heard this week that the DfE were releasing a document aimed at making teaching more flexible to aid staff retention, I was optimistic that finally […]