Blog

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    Learning outside of the classroom.

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    When education became compulsory in 1870 it was part of a system where someone stood at the front of a room and imparted knowledge and those listening had to learn from it. In many ways very little has changed unless…

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    Keep it Simple!

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    Children like to know where they stand. They like to know what is expected of them and most have a very strong sense of what is right  and wrong. In many schools if you ask the children what their school…

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    Who Can I Turn To?

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    There is no doubt that Headship is a very lonely job. It’s very strange – you spend years in the classroom where you have your colleagues, SLT, the head, to turn to when you need some advice or a second…

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    Thank you for That!

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    You will never please all the people, all of the time. I had to learn this very early on in my teaching career and it became even more obvious when I became head! A child should be the centre of…

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    The elephant in the room!

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    I really don’t see how I can share my thoughts on headship without mentioning the sword of Damocles that hangs over all of us – OFSTED. I don’t intend to be political with anything I write, I am not a…

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    Should I apply for the Headship of the school I am currently working in?

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    Now, that’s a question that many people ask themselves and only you know the answer. I had been at my school for 25 years under the same head and it was all I knew. Well, that isn’t strictly true. The…

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    How do you retire after 41 years working in the same place?

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    I truly believe I am institutionalised – I went to school, I went to Drama College / Teacher Training College and then I went back to school and I’d never left. Why … is a story for another day! Step…

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    All About Me!

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    I am Mare, and for the last 41 years I have worked in a very successful primary school in the East of England. I started there as a probationary teacher – that’s what ECTs used to be called in the…