Dr Jill Berry
@jillberry102
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Former head, now leadership development consultant. Proud of 'Making the Leap' & my fiction writing. See:
Newark, Nottinghamshire UK
Joined November 2011
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Just to let you know that my new novel 'Eighteen Months' is now available in paperback & as an e-book. It's the story of a family of 4 as they navigate Covid between March 2020 & August 2021. Read the opening here & decide if you want to read on? Thanks!
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"[Schools] can't protect children if the CAMHS waiting list is 18 months, if social care is in tatters, if poverty is rife, if the police lack resources, if adult education & health services are simply not working, if schools are demonised in the press..."
@jon_severs
@tes
1/2
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1K
"I allow my staff to attend their children’s first day at school, their school plays & concerts & their graduations – they are special memories to be treasured. It is worth it – for the one or two staff that might take the mickey, the rest give you their best..."
@2409s
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We need to conduct proper exit interviews when staff decide to leave our schools, & look more closely at their stories. What can we do to improve retention & address attrition? Can we be more systematic in our analysis of why people are moving on & learn lessons?
@Ethical_Leader
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“I speak to many disengaged teachers who have worked in a school where the culture is driven by fear – fear of Ofsted, fear of results, fear of failure. Our schools should be driven by a culture of love – a love of teaching, a love of young people, a love of learning.” 1/2
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"If you haven’t run a school during a global pandemic, you can’t know what it’s like to run a school during a global pandemic – that’s a badge of courage owed to every headteacher in this country right now, whatever their setting."
@SallyAnneHuang
,
@HMC_Org
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"I believe that there is a need in education for the ‘good-enough’ teacher, particularly in response to the tyranny of the ‘outstanding’ teacher (which is a form of perfectionism, in my opinion). The good-enough teacher goes their best to care for & educate their class…" 1/2
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"When I became a Head I tried to visit as many outstanding schools as I could. They all had the same thing in common: they all ‘lived’ their values & used them to build attitudes, & ultimately ‘character’."
@Southgloshead
. Yes!
@MaryMyatt
'values should be lived not laminated'!
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Being a deputy is not just about being 'in waiting' for headship. "Being a deputy head is not a deficit role, it is a critical one & an honourable one. Good heads know that they owe their success - & indeed their ability to lead their schools effectively - to their deputies." 1/2
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"Here is a quote from
@GavinWilliamson
: 'We must never forget that the purpose of education is to give people the skills they need to get a good & meaningful job.' Contrast that with Nelson Mandela: 'Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world' "
@tes
1/2
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“The student buys into the teacher before the student buys into the learning. It’s about creating a relationship with a young person, understanding them, before they understand they need to learn something. It’s about that human touch, the connection." Mark Martin
@SchoolsWeek
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Celebrating! Had my doctoral viva today and passed! Am now Dr Jill.
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"Students who take handwritten notes are more likely to remember facts but also to have a better future understanding of the topic. Fascinatingly, it doesn't even matter whether you look at these notes - the simple act of making them appears to be beneficial."
@DavidDidau
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A friend's 7 year old daughter yesterday:
"Mummy, my teacher was poorly today so she taught us with Mrs Croft."
"Who's Mrs Croft?"
"You know, mummy - Mrs Croft's team."
Some time later....
"Oh! Microsoft Teams!"
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“If you haven’t run a school during a global pandemic, you can’t know what it’s like to run a school during a global pandemic – that’s a badge of courage owed to every headteacher in this country right now, whatever their setting” I quote you,
@SallyAnneHuang
, in this article 1/2
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"If school leaders are serious about trying to reduce teacher turnover & withdrawal from the profession, the place to start is how they treat staff on a day to day basis - is it done with dignity, respect, benevolence & transparency?"
@DrGaryJones
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"The great thing about headship is you can choose what matters. That's what leadership is: choosing what we should do but more importantly what we shouldn't, protecting the staff from the nonsense that comes in from outside, having the confidence to say 'no'."
@RealGeoffBarton
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So I had my 63rd birthday this week - how did that happen?! Had a great day at the seaside with John, and fish and chips for lunch...
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#SLTchat
A1. A head I knew & had great respect for once said, "A sign of a really good school is where the least experienced member of staff can have an idea & know it will be taken seriously." I always remembered that when I was a head.
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Teacher retention: “Desmond Tutu once said: ‘At some point we are going to have to stop pulling people out of the river & go upstream & find out why they are falling in.' I think on this issue policymakers need to go upstream.”
@LeadingLearner
quoted in
@tes
1/2
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"Nothing prepares you for headship other than headship.
Based on our experience and observations, these are the first 19 lessons that any new head learns.
And learns quickly."
@ITLWorldwide
: Think this is fab.
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Low ability/low prior attaining: "While we can accurately say a pupil has low prior attainment or is currently low attaining, to say they are low ability is to predict an unwritten future. Such fatalism creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of low expectations."
@MrsSpalding
in
@tes
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Additional revision sessions: "The more that is offered outside school, the less responsibility pupils have to take for their own progress – it’s the responsibility of the teacher to teach but not necessarily for the pupil to learn." Yvonne Williams,
@tes
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"Staff on break & lunch duty should have four “positive” conversations, with different pupils. If pupils haven’t got a worthwhile relationship with at least one adult, they aren’t really at school." Tim Brighouse in
@tes
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"I believe the BEST teachers are those who are committed to being better teachers. The BEST leaders are those who are committed to being better leaders. The ones who think they’ve cracked it? Trust me – they haven’t!"
@tes
article & webinar on ongoing professional learning... 1/2
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Visiting a School
The Application
Personal Statement
Interview Questions
Interview Tasks
General Tips
@MorgsEd
offers advice to prospective applicants for Senior Leadership positions:
Some useful, specific tips here.
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Senior leaders: "Brace yourselves. I’m about to save you a fortune in consultancy fees: if you treat staff with respect & appreciation they will work harder, their pride in the organisation will result in goodwill & they’ll go the extra mile. "
@MrsSarahSimons
@tes
1/2
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"The results of teacher assessments, we are told, is 'grade inflation' but perhaps they actually reflect grade reality – the reality of what a child has learned in that subject over time, rather than merely what they can recall in that highly pressured moment in an exam hall" 1/2
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In praise of sloth....“We all need to spend a little bit of time each day, each week, each year engaging in doing nothing because that gives the body and brain the chance to heal, repair and do the maintenance." Neurobiologist & writer
@DrJackLewis
in
@tes
I'll take it.
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"Leadership is about recognising & valuing teamwork, which means that a leader doesn’t have to be the expert in everything. Rather, they need to co-ordinate & empower people in their team to achieve."
@TeachTalks
@WomenEd
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Subject leaders - the importance of not letting meetings be subsumed by admin: "Send one email at the start of the week with everything that people will need to know, as well as any requests for information with deadlines" & use meeting time for CPD.
@EnserMark
@tes
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"I have been a head for nearly 15 years. I have, at times worked 70/80/100 hour weeks. No matter how hard I tried, I never ‘caught up’ or ‘got ahead’. All I did was get more & more exhausted, which made me less & less effective. The longer I worked the less I achieved..." 1/2
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The five worst times to bump into your students... Haili Hughes in
@tes
: "As you lie back on a sun-lounger, bikini on, cocktail in hand, you hear the dreaded words: “Hello, Miss!” "
Trust me - it's definitely worse if your bikini top ISN'T on...
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"He saw that teaching is about being human."
"He loved children & he loved teachers & understood what made them tick."
"How many education directors would know the names of all the new teachers? He'd visit your classroom & later you’d find a postcard or note in your pigeonhole."
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On the loss of teachers with 8-17 years in the profession: "These are the mentors, the tutors, the voices of experience & wisdom, the experts, the unconsciously competent professionals who can deal reliably with an unruly class on a wet Friday afternoon or a demanding parent" 1/3
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"I used to wear my 70-hour-week as badge of honour: it was worth it just to see the impact I was having & I'd glow with pride whenever comments were made about my commitment & dedication. Now I take pride in turning up on Monday refreshed & full of stories about my weekend.." 1/2
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Leaders: "Stop asking people to choose between being a good teacher & a good parent...We have to find a better way, & schools will never have a great teacher in every classroom if the experience of our teachers is a perpetual battle between work and home."
@JonnyUttley
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'Making the leap - Moving from deputy to head' is out NOW!
#makingtheleap
I am so excited.... Please RT? Thanks!
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"KS3 is the intellectual powerhouse of the secondary school, & students are entitled to a broad & diverse curriculum until the end of it. If you get KS3 right, all the groundwork has been done, so it's like a launchpad to KS4 - but, more importantly..."
@MaryMyatt
@tes
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Workload: Teachers don't object to working hard on the things that matter. They ARE drained by working hard on things which don't connect with their moral purpose.
@samtwiselton
, the
@CharteredColl
conversation on the
#FutureofTeaching
& developing & supporting teachers & leaders
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"We regard KS3 as the intellectual powerhouse of the school. If we provide an appropriately demanding curriculum for these 3 years, 2 things are likely to follow: pupils will have a strong grounding as preparation for KS4 in the core subjects & those subjects they select..." 1/2
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Inclusive education involves more than just placing children with SEND in regular classes & hoping for the best. It means schools have to build in the process to regularly re-examine what they teach, how they teach & how they assess learners' performances."
@MargaretMulhol2
@tes
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#SLTchat
What type of leadership is needed in today's schools? COURAGEOUS leadership - we need the courage to do the right thing in the face of pressures to do what might be expedient.
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"Sometimes people think that leadership is about titles. 'Head' of this, 'director' of that. In these roles you are certainly paid to have influence - but true influence is about whose behaviour you can affect, not just the plaque on your door."
@ieshasmall
The Unexpected Leader
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"As a headteacher I have this concept of “the parent test”, where I have to be satisfied that I would place my own child in the class of any of the teachers in my school & be confident they would get a great education."
@SecEd_Education
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Rather than waiting for people to volunteer, good leaders should offer staff specific opportunities that present the best potential for growth & professional development. “Leaders have a responsibility to spot potential & recognise when people have capacity to do something well.”
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"When on the receiving end of a compliment it’s imperative that we learn simply to say "thank you", rather than this bizarre cacophony of protests & self-deprecation to which British women, in particular, have become accustomed."
@_NatashaDevon
@tes
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"...But sometimes they get it wrong…The blips & mistakes are all accepted as part of being a good-enough teacher, & ultimately being human."
@AdrianBethune
in
@BloomsburyEd
2/2
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"Asked in interview: ‘Where will you go from here?’ I answered: "Home for a G&T.' They said, ‘We meant with your career!’ (Got the job)"
Love this,
@thosethatcan
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"I firmly believe that if there is one thing school leaders can do to improve staff wellbeing, it is to replace one-off performance-management observations with coaching. It is heartening to see how many schools are already heading in this direction." Kathrine Mortimer 1/2
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KCSIE 2022-23 update: 10 changes schools need to know. The new version of Keeping Children Safe in Education has been released & comes into effect in September.
@heymrshallahan
rounds up the key information schools need to be aware of in
@tes
:
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"I have long believed that the best leaders are kind people. This does not mean they do not demand high standards or do not hold people to account when they are not reaching those standards. Instead it is kindness that underpins their leadership style."
@pkainsworth
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"I think the next big thing for teachers should be a professional developmental structure for new teachers, whereby in the first 3 years they are classed as a beginning teacher. They have a 50% timetable, & a mentor who does intensive coaching with them."
@dylanwiliam
@tes
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"Wellbeing is not about cake, it is about knowing staff well enough – & having a system of transparency - so that we notice when someone is down, when they need help or when they are overworked. And it is about stepping in to offer support in that moment."
@Thinkingschool2
@tes
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"There should be one rule for marking: if it doesn't make a difference to learning, we should not do it. Our philosophy needs to be fewer things in greater depth. Pupils need high-quality feedback that, crucially, they can act on."
@MaryMyatt
, 'Back on Track',
@JohnCattEd
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"Disadvantaged students are not a homogenous mass. They do not all have poor early language development. For those that do, it is important to stress that they are not deficit. They do not lack cultural capital; their cultural capital may be different to that..." 1/3
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"Until you have good student behaviour in lessons right across your school, you cannot focus upon developing teaching & learning. You may never get student behaviour perfect in every lesson, every day, but you have to establish consistently good student behaviour.." 1/2
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Women must not be made to apologise for being assertive - we have to be true to ourselves. Speaking up for yourself & being yourself is crucial. We will be professional, constructive, measured - but we are strong & we don't have to be 'gentle'.
@NatashaHilton3
@Reah_banton
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"No contest, from all the CPD I’ve ever engaged with, these videos have had by far the greatest influence on me & my philosophy of teaching." Revisiting this -
@teacherhead
reflecting on what Bill Rogers taught him about managing behaviour:
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"If you're running a school, you have to be conscious that people are looking for that match between what you do & who you are. There has to be consistency between what you say & what you do." Tim Brighouse
@tes
'Guide to Getting into Leadership'.
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Anyone else experiencing a spike in their Twitter followers? I think this is a good sign - more people in the education community reaching out & connecting with other educators. Suspect I might 'meet' my 30,000th follower while we're all on lockdown...
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“Headship gets more comfortable, not because it gets easier, but because you get better at being uncomfortable! Find & follow people you trust, who inspire you, who will challenge you, & who you will learn from. And find those who will back you...." Lucy Pearson the FA, 1/2
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For anyone aspiring to MLship, SLship or headship, next Weds, 3rd March, 6.00-7.30pm, I'll be talking to
@MaryMyatt
about 'Stepping up' & answering your questions about how you can best prepare.
Free webinar for
@MyattandCo
. Register here Please RT? Thanks
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On school timetabling: "As a senior leader, writing a timetable is one of the most important things you will ever do...Expect no thanks, but consider it a success if, after a couple of months, staff are still talking to you..." John Rutter,
@invernesshigh
, in
@tes
. Pass it on?
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So this has come up on my Facebook memories today - from 5 years ago. The
@tes
Independent School Awards, 2015, when I was Chair of Judges. I LOVED wearing that dress... Looking forward to when we can dress up again!
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"Make staff turnover part of
@Ofstednews
' judgement on the quality of leadership & management in a school – when too many teachers leave a school it should prompt some fairly searching questions about why this is going on & what the school is trying to do.."
@DavidDidau
1/2
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"Senior Leaders should not feel threatened or insulted when Middle Leaders challenge them, just as Middle Leaders should not feel terrified of raising issues with the SLT" & as
@MrsRileyEng
says, SLT should offer constructive challenge to the head, too. If not, who will?
@tes
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"We are in a profession that relies almost in its entirety upon personal relationships to drive our ‘end product’ & it is those personal relationships in our schools, between our staff & between teachers and SLT that ultimately determine our well-being."
@HealthyToolkit
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"The best thing a head can do is to protect staff from pressure & allow them to teach in a climate of freedom, not fear"
@johntomsett
@tes
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"The best person to mark a test is the person who just took it." More learning is likely to result.
@dylanwiliam
(Just halved your marking!)
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@technologytotea
Thanks, Maggie - & I've always had a problem with the 'good teacher' 'outstanding teacher' 'weak teacher' thing anyway. In my experience, most of us can be outstanding/good/weak at different times & in different contexts (sometimes within the same lesson!) I certainly could. 1/2
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"If I ask my children about the teachers they’ve loved & respected, there is a correlation to those who set high expectations. It’s a powerful motivator; the teacher is bothered; they believe in you; they know you can achieve excellence &, yes, they’re unashamedly demanding." 1/2
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What makes a teacher successful? “It’s really more about being a decent human being.”
@dylanwiliam
, quoted in Friday's
@tes
Yes!
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"Teach boys in exactly the same way that you teach girls. High challenge. High expectations. No gimmicks. No short cuts." The key message of 'Boys Don't Try? Rethinking Masculinity in Schools' by
@Positivteacha
&
@mr_englishteach
. A great book, out on 25 Apr but you can preorder:
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"There is nothing wrong with choosing not to lead, but there is something deeply wrong with capable women opting out of leadership as a result of personal, institutional or societal barriers & being encouraged to conclude that this is a result of their own agency."
@HelenaMarsh81
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"Be wary of sweeping generalisations about families. Lots of those classified as disadvantaged will be hands-on in their children’s education, & just as many from a high-income background may be neglectful. It can be easy to categorise in education...."
@MrsLFlower
@tes
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SEND: "High expectations are the best form of inclusion. In my experience, when SEND children underachieve at school it is often not because the expectations are too high for them to meet; it is usually because teachers' or the school's expectations are too low."
@teacherhead
1/2
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20 years ago today, on 9th June 1999, I was interviewed for and accepted the post of head of Dame Alice Harpur School in Bedford - a proud and, I think, life-changing moment! Thank you to the governors & trustees who took a chance on, and had confidence in, me...
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Leaders: "Look after your staff & they will look after the children. School staff do a relentlessly challenging job; quite simply they need to feel valued by leaders to enable & empower them to have the energy to shape young lives in the most positive way possible."
@bekind1972
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"We openly encourage part-time working because we want to retain our best teachers. We have 112 teachers & over 50% of them are part-time. Since 2007, every single flexible working request has been granted. We have p/t colleagues on SLT, & we have male & female p/t staff..." 1/3
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"All headteachers should have access to a coach, mentor or counsellor, with the protocols of that relationship being established at the outset. There should be the proactive development of headteacher networks to help leaders support & learn from one another..."
@tes
1/3
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"An inspection should be about helping schools with independent scrutiny not catching them out & publicly shaming them. Ofsted’s use of safeguarding as a ‘limiting judgment’, overriding all other strengths & complexities of a school, puts heads in a position of constant jeopardy"
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" 'Low-ability' students are actually 'low-attaining'. It isn't a life sentence. They can improve. What needs to change in order to improve their attainment? Is there some provision we can put in place? Or is it something they need to change about their approach?"
@chrishildrew
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Written applications: What is the head looking for?
"Straight to the top of the pile go those whose letters explain why they are applying for this particular job at this particular school. Also a winner are those who show exactly how they fit the person spec, not only..." 1/2
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"If a child has one adult in their life whom they can confide in & who cares about them, then this can help them to cope. 'What the science shows is that if they have one adult in their life they trust, if they know that they exist in the world, they can go home..' "
@tes
1/2
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"When I was a head, I made the decision that I would continue to teach, & I chose to teach English to every Y7 class for one lesson each week...mainly to get to know the pupils at that stage of their school career & for them to get to know me." The importance of knowing names 1/2
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I tend not to post about personal stuff on my edu-Twitter account, but this is too big not to share. Our early 2024 challenge: flood water in our home for the first time since Nov 2000...
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" Classrooms are just too complicated for research ever to tell teachers exactly what to do. Teachers need to know about research, so that they can make smarter decisions about where to invest their time, but teachers & school leaders need to become critical..."
@dylanwiliam
1/2
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Seen in a staffroom today: "The secret of teaching is to appear to have known all your life what you just learned this afternoon." Love it.
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“Teachers don’t all hang out in the staffroom together as much as they used to & fewer collegial conversations are taking place. It does mean that quite a lot of the dysfunction in schools comes from relative isolation & lack of understanding”
@profbeckyallen
on
@TeacherTapp
data
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"Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other balls you juggle - family, health, friends & spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. It will never be the same" 1/2
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"...if communities have no incentive to provide and look out for each other. As Gordon Jeyes wrote on the anniversary of Dunblane 'Tragedy can be a catalyst for real change, if that is the will of the people.' We have to ask ourselves: is the will actually there?"
@jon_severs
2/2
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Teacher retention: if a teacher is really disillusioned, I would always counsel a change of school before a change of profession
#imschat
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“It’s been shown consistently that if schools devote additional time for physical activity & PE, academic outcomes don’t decrease, they aren’t compromised. You have children who are more settled, who can focus better, children who concentrate better in class.” Tony Okely
@tes
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"Whole-school, one-off INSET days where all staff are expected to follow the same activities are unlikely to improve student outcomes.. The way we approach ‘novice’ & ‘expert’ students is different & we need to bear this in mind when educating adults"
@bethgg
'Impact' journal
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