LET'S FIND ANOTHER WAY!

We are in real danger of creating a negative and destructive culture where bullying, command and control and high stakes testing are seen as the only way to achieve excellence. Those in control dismiss anyone who disagrees with them as the 'enemies of ambition' despite evidence from the best performing systems across the world which reinforce the need to nurture, develop and support learning leadership, beautiful systems and intelligent accountability.

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

The solutions to all the problems facing educators the world over are out there somewhere. No one is wrestling with a challenge, an opportunity or a problem that someone somewhere hasn't already solved.

TOGETHER

SHARE, NETWORK AND LEARN: PASS IT ON!

The solutions to all the problems facing educators the world over are out there somewhere. No one is wrestling with a challenge, an opportunity or a problem that someone somewhere hasn't already solved. In schools and colleges across the globe talented colleagues are releasing the magic, sharing their passion and inspiring future generations of teachers, classroom assistants, doctors, nurses, cleaners, accountants, lawyers, administrators, entrepreneurs, cashiers, bankers, journalists, academics, politicians and every other job and profession you can think of! The future of our world sits in classrooms everyday and our job is to develop the knowledge skills and character they will need to create a better, brighter and more successful world. AND we simply need to share, network and learn to make the extraordinary commonplace.

By the way don't believe those pessimistic negative voices that say that change takes forever and won't change anything. Let's start now and share what works! Share one great idea with a thousand others and you'll end up with a thousand ideas coming your way that will change the way you think, the way you work and help you release the magic.

WHY NOT SHARE THIS WITH A FRIEND?

WORK MATTERS!

Why do you do what you do at work?

What really, really matters to you?

What makes you get out of bed in the morning?

What motivates or inspires you at work?

What inhibits or demotivates you at work?

How do we create a culture of excellence? A culture where everyone goes the extra mile to achieve that bit of magic. A culture where everyone cares about the business and everyone feels a sense of ownership. A culture where everyone is trusted, empowered, valued and respected for the unique contribution they make. A culture that is rooted in developing those unique talents alongside core skills, character and higher level skills. 

ST MARTIN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL

I visited a brilliant primary school on Guernsey yesterday morning. I had been invited by Cate Mason, the headteacher at St Martin's Primary School, to visit the school on one of my trips to the island and it was wonderful to meet Cate and some of her team and see what they are doing to release the magic!

HAPPY SUNDAY!

REMEMBER TO SHARE, NETWORK AND LEARN AND THANKS FOR LISTENING!

It’s amazing that the blog has reached colleagues in the United States, Russia, Germany, France, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Austria, Romania, Philippines, Sweden, Poland, China, Canada, Ireland, Singapore and Australia as well as colleagues all over the UK this month.

CREATING REALLY GREAT SCHOOLS AT THE HEART OF EVERY COMMUNITY!

Following my visits to some great schools I was thinking again about what it takes to build brilliant...

What are the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that makes up a great school?

GETTING TO GOOD!

The OFSTED "Getting to Good' report sets out how schools have developed their practice and moved from satisfactory to good to outstanding. It identifies some key issues school leaders and their teams need to consider as they work together to create a learning team focused on excellence. 

TOWARDS A FAIRER AND MORE HUMANE APPROACH TO ACCOUNTABILITY!

"The assessment and accountability system is toxic because it gives one voice the power to dominate over the others, terminating the discussion, leaving people feeling bruised because they have not been engaged. It does this because it was designed in response to a breakdown in trust between education professionals, policymakers and the wider public. The system was failing, people said, and it was the fault of the professionals. Therefore, it was necessary to set the judgements of inspectors against those of students, staff and other school stakeholders, and to make their judgements the grounds for executive action against schools."
DEMOS Report: DETOXIFYING SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY by James Park

COACHING MATTERS IF WE WANT GREAT SCHOOLS!

Our colleagues and our children and young people are unique, talented and creative. We start every day, very week, every month, every year with such enormous possibilities and such enormous potential. And yet we all know that the current education system which is driven by a command and control culture and steeped in blame, mistrust, irrelevance, seems to bore so many, disengage so many and fail so many. Where does it all go wrong?

CULTURE MATTERS!

We must create a culture in our schools where we break down the walls and the barriers which limit personalisation, curiosity and creativity and stubbornly maintain the status quo and limit our opportunities to make that step change in outcomes.

We must network, learn and build on the magic, the wonder and the real excellence in the system and challenge the things that don't work. If we want to build brilliant learning places we need to develop a culture where we welcome feedback and help everyone in the school workforce to continuously update their knowledge and skills and have opportunities for good quality professional development.

SUCCESS IS ALL ABOUT TEAM!

Research clearly shows that the leadership of schools can have a hugely positive impact on the educational outcomes of young people... but success is all about TEAM!