AND FINALLY THIS YEAR!

Another Christmas and for me 2013 has been another great year...

A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE!

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it’d be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."

SHEFFIELD COLLEGE

I visited The Sheffield College again yesterday with Mike Garnock-Jones to see Heather McDonald, the College Principal, and Caroline Morrison, who leads for the College on the Made in Sheffield programme.

THE DNA OF GOOD DECISIONS!

The DNA of Good decisions.

Great decisions come from saying "I don’t know"

The higher the questions/statements ratio the better

Great decisions come from external awareness

You need to think long term

You can make mistakes, even big ones and prevail.

 By "Jim Collins"

TEN KEYS TO LEADERSHIP GREATNESS!

10 Keys to Leadership and Management Greatness.

1. Maintain absolute integrity.
2. Know your stuff
3. Share your vision
4. Show total commitment
5. Be positive and expect positive results
6. Take care of people
7. Put duty before yourself
8. Stand out in front
9. Be decisive
10. Focus on and do what matters

by "Jim Collins"

A MESSAGE ON SUNDAY!

At the end of a tough week, for those on the front line in schools, this is worth reading.
"ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. 

LEAD, COACH AND MOTIVATE!

I wonder how the workforce in our schools feels this weekend after the last week where we had the publication of Sir Michael Wilshaw's second annual report from our friends at OFSTED and the DfE published the Key Stage 2 data! Especially those colleagues who on Monday morning must turn up at schools described by Sir Michael as "totally inadequate" and teach!!

SUCCESS FOR ALL!

I met Paul Prest yesterday. Paul is an old colleague and friend who now manages the Success for All initiative.

LOOK NORTH INTERVIEW!

I was on Look North on Wednesday evening following the publication of Sir Michael Wilshaw's second Annual Report which for the first time contained regional reports.

MEADOWHEAD SCHOOL

I visited Meadowhead School again yesterday with Mike Garnock-Jones, to see Steve Fowler, the headteacher and Mark Cocken, the Associate Assistant Headteacher, Vocational and Work Related Learning, and who leads the programme in the school. Mike and I were there to discuss the school's involvement in Made in Sheffield.

CUTLERS' EDUCATION COMMITTEE

I was in Sheffield again earlier this week with the Cutlers' Education Committee to look at how we continue to develop the work we have been doing this year with Bradfield School, Firth Park Community Arts College, Stocksbriodge High School and Yewlands Technology College.

ALL SAINTS RC HIGH SCHOOL

I visited All Saints RC High School again yesterday with Mike Garnock-Jones, to see Clare Scott, the headteacher and had a great session discussing the school's involvement in Made in Sheffield.

FOUR STEPS TO ACHIEVING BRILLIANT LEARNING

As we wait for Sir Michael Wilshaw's second annual report, which has been heavily leaked/trailed over the weekend, it is interesting to remember that many of the most successful countries have recognised that command and control over education as determined by a National Curriculum, high stakes testing and inspection isn't the answer to building brilliant provision and are focusing instead on teaching, outcomes and trust.

CULTURE IS DEFINED BY TRUST!

The Great Place to Work Institute’s annual surveys are conducted with more than 1.5 million employees, in more than 3,600 organisations, in forty different countries has identified that success in any organisation really boils down to just one five‐letter word: TRUST.

A CULTURE OF SHARING, NETWORKING AND LEARNING!

Those of us who believe that every school can be a great school need to work together and create a culture where we share our successes and ideas, network with other people who share our passions, beliefs and values and continuously and constantly learn!

WE LEARN WHAT WE LIVE!

I was reading that wonderful piece 'A Child Learns What They Live' by Dorothy Law Nolte and thinking about the constant and relentless barrage of criticism we are facing following the PISA results published this week and with the press coverage this weekend before the publication of Sir Michael Wilshaw's Annual Report.

VISION AND COACHING MATTER!

The trouble with the release of the PISA results this week is that everyone jumps on the data and we start an endless blame game with politicians, unions and officials jumping up and down about the failings of their schools, their teachers, their governments, past and present!

HOW THE WORLD'S MOST IMPROVED SCHOOL SYSTEMS KEEP GETTING BETTER!

In 2010 McKinsey & Company published ‘How the world’s most improved school systems keep getting better’ which analysed twenty systems from around the world and examined how each has achieved significant, sustained and widespread gains in student outcomes. The report provides a really important toolkit to help develop brilliant learning... learning leadership, beautiful systems and intelligent accountability.

If you want to read the report visit the McKinsey website at http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/transforming_education

HOW THE WORLD'S BEST-PERFORMING SCHOOL SYSTEMS COME OUT ON TOP!

We need to develop more evidence based approaches to improving teaching and learning. I have been re-reading ‘How the world’s best performing school systems come out on top’, which McKinsey & Company published in 2007 and which examined the common characteristics of high-performing school systems. The report identifies the elements needed to achieve real gains in student outcomes. The report is a great read and provides a really great toolkit to help develop brilliant learning.

If you want to read the report visit the McKinsey website at http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/transforming_education

WITHOUT VISION!

It has been a deeply sad ending to another strange week...

FORGE VALLEY COMMUNITY SCHOOL

I visited Forge Valley Community School with Mike Garnock-Jones yesterday and met with David Bowes, the Executive Headteacher, to discuss the fact that the pilot phase of the Cutlers' Made in Sheffield programme was ending and we wanted to review, evaluate and further develop the work we have been doing.

TEN MESSAGES FROM PISA!

The more I read the PISA results the more I see that there are some really important messages which we need to use to help us guide and shape future provision.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM PISA 2012! LEARNING LEADERSHIP MATTERS

"High-performing systems tend to align policies and practices across all aspects of the system, they make them coherent over sustained periods of time, and they see that they are consistently implemented. Perhaps the most important outcome of world-class school systems is that they deliver high-quality education across the entire school system so that every student and every school benefits." Andreas Schleicher

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM PISA 2012! INTELLIGENT ACCOUNTABILITY MATTERS

"High performers have also moved on from administrative control and accountability to professional forms of accountability and work organisation. They support their teachers in developing innovations in pedagogy, in improving their own performance and that of their colleagues, and in pursuing professional development that leads to stronger education practice. The goal of the past was standardisation and compliance; now, top performers enable teachers to be inventive. In the past, the policy focus was on providing education; in today’s top school systems, it’s on outcomes, shifting from looking upwards in the bureaucracy towards looking outwards to the next teacher, the next school, about creating networks of innovation." Andreas Schleicher

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM PISA 2012! TEACHERS MATTER

"And nowhere does the quality of a school system exceed the quality of its teachers. Top school systems pay attention to how they select and train their staff. They watch how they improve the performance of teachers who are struggling and how to structure teachers’ pay. They provide an environment in which teachers work together to frame good practice. And when deciding where to invest, they prioritise the quality of teachers over the size of classes. Not least, they provide intelligent pathways for teachers to grow in their careers."Andreas Schleicher

STOCKSBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL!

I visited Stocksbridge High School again yesterday to see Steve Davies, the headteacher and Claire Jackson, assistant headteacher, and had a great session discussing the school's involvement in Made in Sheffield.

AND REMEMBER TO...

“Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it.”

Wilfred Peterson

HAPPY SUNDAY!

"That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest."

Henry David Thoreau

LIES, DAMN LIES AND BORIS!

The older I get the more I despair at the mess our society has got itself into. And I despair at the lack of connection between ordinary people and our political class.