Paul Murphy is the Headteacher, Lancasterian Primary School, Tottenham, London. It’s a larger than average school, serving a diverse population. They have a higher than average number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals, speak English as an additional language, have an ECHP and SEN support. Despite these contextual challenges Paul and his […]
‘Outstanding’ A word that gets all kinds of reactions. Some of these reactions are good, some of them are bad. Some of them are true, some of them are not. It’s a well-known fact that if you want to do better, then learning from the best is one of the quickest ways to do that. […]
Crazy right? 83% of schools. Graded better than good? In the summer term 2023? Against the most recent Ofsted framework!? And they have challenging demographics? Things like high pupil premium, EAL and/or SEND? It’s true. And it’s a reason to celebrate. Because these schools are delivering exceptional education to the communities that arguably need it […]
Ofsted isn’t in many people’s good books right now, and I totally get it. There is much that can be improved about all aspects of inspections and as we’ve tragically seen, the pressures involved can be intolerable. Given the criticisms and the stress, many heads, Trust leads and CEOs I know are working […]
Pandemics, strikes, soaring bills, budget shortfalls, recruitment issues and much, much more… All just another day on the job these days, right? Have levels of uncertainty ever felt higher? Many of my conversations with schools these days involve the word ‘but’…. ‘I’d love to develop my leader’s skills to improve their abilities […]
It’s been hard to recruit good quality teachers for some time and it only seems to get harder. The reality is it’s an employee market right now: There are fewer teachers to recruit There are plenty of vacancies So how do you attract the best? As a student of excellence, I look at […]
We so often hear about schools no longer being outstanding. But what we don’t hear about as often is those that retained their outstanding judgement. And what I find is these schools have done this by creating really impressive schools, with a great culture. Tracy Cafull is one of our speakers at Moving […]
Yes, that time of year is coming when people will hand in their notice. There might be some people for whom you think it’s a good decision (for them and/or for your school). But it would be understandable if your heart sank, because recruitment isn’t easy right now. Here are 3 ways to think about […]
Welcome back! Summer term here we go! You might have heard the saying: you’re the sum of the 5 people you hang out with the most. I think the same is true of schools: You’re the sum of the 5 schools you hang out with the most. So who are you […]