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21 April 2026

Tag: education leadership

‘It’s essential that governors are paid for their work’

Education is simply too important to be left in the hands of volunteers as their commitment is sanctioned purely by the extent of their own goodwill Of all the proposals to reform school governance the one that attracts the most ire is the idea that governors should be paid. It undermines the principle of volunteering […]

Put the students’ interests at your school’s core

Social mobility is something that all educators aim for, but there are things that you need to consider first Beware the American dream It simply isn’t true that anyone can be anything they want in life, so long as they work for it. We must encourage young people to set their goals high, but our […]

Six lessons for leaders

It is hugely rewarding to become a chief executive of a trust. Having established the first hard federation in West Sussex and now as chief executive of Ormiston Academies Trust, with 30 schools across the country, I know the challenges and rewards of chain leadership. Know what you are responsible for It might sound simple, […]

Questions for new CEOs

Becoming chief executive of a multi-academy trust (MAT) or federation is an exciting step forward for many headteachers and gives the profession new bands of leadership to aim towards. But the change in role from head or executive head to chief executive should not be underestimated; neither should the move from a single school to […]

‘The job that we love is being undermined’

Government policy on curriculum, exam and assessment is crippling headteachers. The result? There will be no one left to do the job . . . We have 23 years of headship experience between us, all of them in communities that face challenging issues. We are both national leaders of education (for now!) and we both […]

Why teachers may find it more difficult to strike

Consultation on the Trades Union Reform Bill opened this week, giving the government time to calculate where public opinion lies and whether it really does have the support to push ahead It’s worth remembering that this is not the launch of the actual bill, it’s simply the opening of a consultation (which ends on September […]

Lunchtime: the most important break of the day

Ofsted regularly focuses on lunchtime behaviour. To get the precious hour right needs creative thinking and carefully planned whole-school systems The lunchtime break is many children’s favourite time of the school day – and, in a moment of honesty, some teaching staff may admit to feeling the same! During this precious hour children eat, let […]