Leading an inclusive school requires more than policy — it takes purpose. This category shares leadership insights, inclusion audits, staff CPD ideas, and SEND-focused strategy for school leaders and SENCOs.
Whether you’re managing provision, supporting teaching assistants, or embedding neurodiversity-affirming practice across your setting, these posts offer grounded, thoughtful support for inclusion-minded leaders.
Guest Post: 10 Tips to Embed The Listening to Learn Leadership Trait As an educational leadership coach, one of the most important skills I encourage leaders to develop is active listening. I read the previous Inclusiveteach post on how “Listening to Learn” was a desired trait for school leaders and wanted to share my top … Read more
A Leader’s Guide to Self-Promotion: How to Raise Your Profile Without Raising Eyebrows As school leaders, headteachers and principals, we work tirelessly behind the scenes to advance learning and support students. Modest leadership can lead to missed opportunities to progress your career or even open doors to other opportunities being offered. In this post, I … Read more
Why School Leaders Need to “Listen to Learn” in 2024 School leadership is increasingly complex with a myriad of conflicting priorities, initiatives and daily challenges pulling headteachers in multiple directions. Now more than ever, developing the skill of being able to “listen to learn” can help navigate these complexities more effectively than just implementing your … Read more
How to Lead Like a Marine: Run Towards Challenge, Assemble Your Fireteam, and Win Your Next Battle in Education This continues our series on how school leaders can apply lessons from popular leadership books. Here is a guide to how school leaders can apply lessons from Lead Like a Marine: Run Towards a Challenge, Assemble Your Fireteam, and … Read more
How School Leaders Can Implement Lessons from Thinking, Fast and Slow By Daniel Kahneman In his bestselling book, Thinking, Fast and Slow. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman offers a framework for understanding how our mind works and how we can use it more effectively. As a school leader, you are constantly faced with decisions that affect … Read more
School Policies and Systemic Change Systems change slowly, and embedded beliefs, policy and values are slower still to change. No one working in the education system will deny that post-pandemic the system is failing. Failing systems need leaders who are innovative, brave, confident and experienced leaders to drive change within their organisations and influence change … Read more
Table of Contents What is Horizon Scanning & How can it help Identify Future Education Trends? What if something disruptive happens and you don’t notice? A fundamental shift that affects the education system and as a school leader you are not ready to respond to it. This is where a process known as Horizon Scanning … Read more
Leadership Quotes For School Leaders. Continuing our series on examining how we can apply famous leadership quotes to school leadership our next quote is “The supreme quality of leadership is integrity.” by Dwight D. Eisenhower. Imagine you are a teacher in a school where the headteacher is dishonest, inconsistent, and unethical. How would you feel? … Read more
Table of Contents Applying “The Key To Successful Leadership” Quote to Schools The quote “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” is attributed to Kenneth H. Blanchard, an American author and management expert who has written many books on leadership, teamwork, and organisational development. He is best known for co-authoring The One … Read more
Using AI (Appreciative Inquiry not the other AI!) in Coaching Middle Leaders in Schools Appreciative Inquiry is a coaching methodology that focuses on nurturing strengths rather than fixing weaknesses. First pioneered by David Cooperrider in the 1980s, AI involves guiding individuals through a reflective process to unlock their hidden talents, re-energise their passion, and build … Read more
Why do you want to be a headteacher? & Why do you want to be Headteacher of our school? “Why do you want to be a Headteacher?” is a common and important question for aspiring headteachers, as it allows the interviewer to assess your motivation, vision and suitability for the role. It is important to … Read more
The Role of Middle Leaders/Managers in Schools This post was inspired by this article on how organisations overlook the potential of their middle managers from the Big Think. Since my NPQML I felt that there was a severe undervaluing of middle managers in schools, You can read my naive reflection from the start of my … Read more
Effective Communication Approaches for Education Leaders Educational leaders face the complex tasks of managing staff, improving student outcomes, and driving school success. How leaders communicate with teachers, parents, and other stakeholders can greatly impact the school culture and environment. Two relevant communication approaches are crucial conversations and compassionate leadership. Comparing Crucial Conversations & Compassionate Leadership … Read more
Building Your Middle Leadership Team In the complex ecosystem of a school, leadership is not confined to the top. Middle leaders (department heads, assistant headteachers, etc.) play a pivotal role in driving school performance and improving teaching and learning. In many ways, middle leaders are the bridge between senior management and teaching staff, translating strategic … Read more
The Importance of a Pre-Interview School Visit As a prospective headteacher, you are likely aware of the critical role that school visits play in the selection process. A pre-interview visit to a school is not merely a formality; it’s an invaluable opportunity to glean insights about the school’s ethos, culture, operations, challenges and strategic focus. … Read more
School Leader Interview Data Tasks Data tasks will be included during and deputy, assistant or headteacher recruitment process. They are an essential part of succeeding in school leadership roles. Mastering data tasks is the key to landing these positions and approaching them with confidence will help. Understanding data analysis and interpretation is a crucial skill … Read more
How To Lead A Leadership Team By Asking The Right Questions As we delve into the world of leadership, one of the most potent tools we have at our disposal is questioning. This skill, much like others such as active listening, time management, or collaboration, requires practice and application for proficiency. It’s no secret that … Read more
Applying Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset Model to School Leadership Teams I finally got around to reading Carol Dweck’s Mindset: Changing The Way You Think To Fulfil Your Potential this summer. I didn’t realise it had a section on leadership. The growth mindset philosophy teaches that intelligence and abilities can be developed through effort, good strategies, … Read more
Deputy Head Interview Questions and Tips for Success in 2023 This article on Deputy Head Interview Questions has been written for aspiring Deputy Headteachers in the UK. These possible questions cover most of the key leadership areas. Often deputy head roles include a significant safeguarding or DSL role. Click the link for interview questions linked … Read more
Introduction Resilience is an essential trait for school leaders, especially in the fast-paced and ever-changing landscape of education in the United Kingdom. Resilient leaders are better equipped to handle the challenges that come their way, learn from their experiences, and maintain an optimistic outlook, even in difficult circumstances. According to a guardian article are “Exhausted, … Read more
You must be logged in to post a comment.