Successful difficult conversations

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Resignation date has been and gone. How was it for you? Some people who need a new opportunity have moved on. Some who you wish were staying are leaving. This presents an all too familiar leadership challenge: recruitment. And yes, we know that’s hard right now. Harder than ever. So here’s some advice if you’re feeling like there’s a hard challenge ahead. Let’s look at your data [...]
Doesn’t summer 1 go by in a blink? One minute it’s Easter, then exams start, then before you know it’s half term! As the break approaches, I wanted to take a moment to wish you a restful and well-deserved break. As ever I’m sure this term has brought its own set of challenges and triumphs, maybe you can think of a few of those wins now? [...]

I hope SATs went well last week, and the GCSEs & A-Levels continue to.   Time. Money. Two resources we never seem to have enough of.   But which is more important? Time. Why? Because: money buys time. And what do we do with time?   I know school finances are incredibly hard right now. […]

Exam season is here. SATs, GCSEs & A-levels. So I’d like to wish you, your teams and your pupils the very best. I remember talking to my class about tests and how this was a time to show off what they knew and learn from what they didn’t. It was a time to both shine and learn. [...]

It’s hard in school right now. Falling rolls. Recruitment challenges. Complex needs like we’ve not seen before. I get it.   What can you do about it? There’s only so much in your control. And sadly a lot of aspects that aren’t. I’m always looking for those schools who are achieving above average success, in […]

I know a lot of you are having difficult conversations with parents.  And there seem to be more of these conversations. And they seem to be harder.   Do you have a parent who keeps coming in for a range of issues?   A tip many find useful is to arrange a regular meeting with […]

Welcome back after the Easter holidays.   Summer 1.And we all know this is an important term for resignations. I’m not trying to depress you, I promise.  But we all know May half term is crunch time.   With recruitment more challenging than ever, it’s understandable if you want to hold onto every member of […]

Last week I shared the inspiring story of Jo and the team at Clockhouse and their journey to outstanding. In that story I mention the cultural eco-system.   What on earth is the ‘cultural eco-system’?   It has 3 elements: Vision Values Strategy   And they are critical to creating a high-performing, outstanding, team.   […]

Jo had a problem that a lot of headteachers will be familiar with.  She had a good team, who worked hard and were mostly fully onboard with her goal of delivering excellence to all her children (though some of them ‘didn’t get it’, most did). They didn’t have the easiest of contexts, being a large […]