Key Voices

Key Voices #115 - The power of local collaboration with Haringey Education Partnership

This week we speak to James Page, CEO of Haringey Education Partnership (HEP). HEP is a not-for-profit, schools-led school improvement company established by Haringey schools in partnership with the local authority. We talk about what education partnerships do and how HEP helps local schools work together in a high challenge, high support, high trust environment for the good of all pupils.  We also hear about some of the recent work HEP has been doing on school improvement, curriculum and BAME achievement.  

 

We talk about: 

• How being genuinely schools-led is central to the way HEP works 
• Haringey and the challenges schools serving the borough face 
• How they are working as a family of schools on curriculum development 
• The focus HEP have had over the past 4 years and continue to develop around Black Carribean and BAME achievement  
• How, as a school partnership HEP resources and approaches school improvement differently 
• The importance of keeping school improvement on the agenda even during the early stages of the pandemic 
• How the support HEP offers adapted to remote delivery 
• The work of their Black Caribbean and BAME Achievement Steering Group. In particular how they are helping schools to recognise and understand the systemic issues preventing all pupils achieving their potential and then finding really concrete ways to make meaningful change 
• The future evolution of HEP and other education partnerships like it

 

You can watch HEP’s 2021 BAME Achievement Conference here 

Key Voices #114 - The future of remote governance

This week we speak to Shaun Paskin, Partnerships Manager for the Midlands at Governors for Schools, Linda Unternahrer, Lead Content Editor at The Key and Gulshan Kayembe, Education Consultant about remote governance. We discuss what we have all learned from doing governance remotely during the pandemic and think about how going forward, a blended approach might actually allow those involved with governance to innovate and fulfil their roles more effectively. 

 

We talk about: 

• The roles and responsibilities of governors and wide range of complex issues they get involved with 
• The importance of governors understanding a school’s context and being able to talk to pupils and staff to better triangulate what they hear from the leadership team
• How governors can work collectively to enable some governors to carry out their role remotely 
• How specific roles, such as safeguarding link governor or Chair are better carried out by governors that can easily visit the school 
• Remote governance as a good way to increase diversity on governing bodies and can make it easier for everyone’s voice to be heard 
• How remote meetings are a more accessible way for governors to observe meetings at other schools and share best practice 
• As an increasing proportion embrace remote technology for work now and in the future, governors shouldn’t shy away from using remote means 

Key Voices #113 - Rolling out the Early Career Framework

This week we talk to Gareth Conyard, Deputy Director of the Developing Teachers and Leaders Division of the Department for Education, and Jacqueline Gilbert, Deputy Head at Park View Community School about the Early Career Framework (ECF). We hear from Jacqueline about her experiences as lead mentor for a group of Early Career Teachers (ECTs) as part of the early roll-out.  We learn more about why the ECF is being introduced and how it works in practice for schools. 

 

We talk about: 

• The rationale for the introduction of the ECF and how it will work 
• How it is different from previous NQT induction 
• Why Jacqueline and her school got involved in the early roll-out of the framework 
• How Jacqueline found being a mentor and her thoughts about her ECTs’ experience of the programme 
• How Jacqueline found juggling being a mentor alongside class commitments and the positive impact working with the ECTs  had on her own practice 
• The fact that the ECF provides a very supportive and consistent experience which is proving helpful for new teachers whose ITT was disrupted by Covid 
• While the introduction might prove to be an extra challenge for already stretched schools initially it could potentially really support the catch-up effort

 

You can sign up for a webinar about the ECF here 

You can also find further information here

Key Voices #112 - Race, identity and School Leadership with Viv Grant and Colette Morris

This week we talk to Viv Grant, Founder of Integrity Coaching and Colette Morris, Headteacher at Christ Church Primary School. Viv has created a programme called Race, Identity and School Leadership and Christ Church Primary are participating in it.  Colette and her staff have been working with Viv to explore their own racial identities, bring about long-lasting change and impact whole school leadership, learning, policy and practice with regards to race equality.

 

We talk about:

• The history of work that has been going on in schools regarding race and how this conversation is now starting to broaden out and involve more schools
• The importance of understanding your own racial identity and how you view the world before rushing to antiracist “action”
• Why school leaders and their staff should become experts in the racial context of their schools and should seek to understand the conversations that take place both in school and outside school about race
• The need for teachers to understand and be comfortable in their own identities before they talk about race with pupils 
• How Colette has taken a whole school approach to addressing race and identity, and established specific “lines of enquiry” to work on 
• How vital it is to talk to pupils about their feelings about race
• How the Race, Identity and School Leadership programme balances academic thinking, discussion and co-creation 
• Both guests’ hopes for the future of this work 

 

You can find out more about the programme here 

Key Voices #111 - Day in, day out school improvement with Paul Ainsworth

This week we talk to Paul Ainsworth, School Improvement Director at Infinity Academies Trust. Paul talks to us about the philosophy that sits behind his book No Silver Bullets: Day In, Day Out School Improvement. He focuses on the importance of incremental and sustained improvement rather than magic ideas to revolutionise how schools work. We also talk about Paul’s career to date, his role as a system leader and how multi academy trusts can be an effective vehicle for school improvement. 

 

We talk about:

• Paul’s diverse school leadership experience
• Why Paul wanted to write a book that captured his school improvement “playbook” 
• What Paul means by “day in, day out improvement” i.e. small regular improvements rather than trying to find that mythical silver bullet or quick fix
• Why it can be beneficial to work on and with existing systems rather than replacing them 
• Some of Paul’s techniques for conducting school improvement work across a trust 
• Why Paul finds working as a system leader and having an impact in multiple schools especially fulfilling 
• Paul’s thoughts about working in both primary and secondary schools 
• The kind of support Paul provides to headteachers 
• How a trust structure can support heads to improve their schools 

 

Key Voices #110 - School leadership, social media and pandemic parenting with Dr Victoria Carr

This week we talk to Dr. Victoria Carr, Headteacher at Woodlands Primary School. Victoria tells us about her current role, as well as her previous diverse teaching experiences, and how she balances work and study with being a parent and an army reservist. We also talk about some of the issues around using social media as a school leader and her thoughts about what might change as a result of the pandemic. 

 

We talk about: 

• Victoria’s current school, its improvement journey and her recent experience of Ofsted
• The fascinating career journey Victoria has been on, including stints setting up a school in Kenya and teaching soldiers in Germany 
• The academic study Victoria has done alongside her job and how she balances a demanding school leadership role with significant external commitments and being a single parent to two teenage children 
• The relationship Victoria has with her governing body
• Victoria’s thoughts on how schools can flex to support teacher parents 
• Victoria’s experiences of the opportunities and challenges of engaging with social media as a headteacher 
• How connection and collaboration via social media can be really helpful
• Why Victoria chooses to share aspects of her work and life on social media 
• What Victoria thinks might change as a result of the pandemic 

 

The TED Talk that Victoria gave on the power of language can be found here 

Key Voices #109 - A culture of improvement: reviewing the research on teacher working conditions with David Weston

This week we talk to David Weston, CEO at the Teacher Development Trust about his recent report reviewing the evidence around the impact teacher working conditions have on other aspects of a school.  David explains how teacher working conditions link to effective CPD and tentatively to school improvement and better pupil outcomes. David also tells us about how the findings of the research reviewed in the report, underpin the Teacher Development Trusts (TDT) curriculum for their NPQs and ultimately, how schools can make sure both their teachers and pupils continue to thrive and learn. 

 

We talk about: 

• The new options and opportunities the pandemic has unlocked for staff CPD
• The introduction this September of a suite of new National Professional Qualifications (NPQs), the Early Career Framework and the emphasis on CPD from government  
• How the right kinds of collaboration and professional development will actually help teachers cope with the complex demands of returning to face-to-face teaching 
• What the literature review tells us about what effective working conditions look like 
• How collaboration between teachers might work and how best to support new entrants into the profession 
• Empowering staff to take ownership of their own development as well as feeling that they have a stake in the school’s development and direction
• Creating conditions for teachers to learn and thrive in their professional practice 
• The TDT’s plans for future research in this area 
• How the TDT’s new NPQ will put the evidence in this report into practice, alongside a further exploration of leadership skills in general and knowledge specific to schools 

 

You can read the research paper we discuss here 

 

You can read the blog by Dr. Sam Sims that David mentions here 

 

You can find out more about the TDT’s NPQ here 

Key Voices #108 - Managing stress with Maria Brosnan

This week we talk to Maria Brosnan, an educational leadership and well-being specialist. We discuss in some detail what happens in the body when we experience stress, plus Maria shares some practical techniques that can help us manage our response. We also consider coaching as a way of resolving issues, the importance of sleep and the ongoing impact of anxiety linked to the pandemic. 

 

We talk about: 

• Maria’s background in well-being and her work in schools
• Why school staff can sometimes find it hard to practice genuine self-care
• The physiology of what happens to our bodies when we react to stress
• The different biological ways men and women respond to stress
• The impact of chronic stress and anxiety, and a demonstration of a technique for self-regulation 
• How to take a holistic approach to your well-being 
• Why coaching can be an effective tool for feeling more in control of your life
• How Maria’s work has changed since the pandemic and how she is currently supporting school leaders, including with her work on sleep
• The importance of nuance and compassion when dealing with others at this difficult time

You can learn more about Maria’s  approach to well-being here

Her work on sleep can be found here 

She has some free resources available here

Key Voices #107- Headteachers at the heart of their communities with Derek Peaple

“Schools are about communities of humans coming together in real-time to talk to each other and to build relationships. We might have learned a bit more about how we can learn efficiently and effectively, but ultimately it is still about those relationships and being available to those people - learning with them, learning for them and learning from them.”

 

This week we talk to Derek Peaple, Former Headteacher at Park House School,  Head of Education at SafeToNet and Director of Operations at Aspire 2Be about his career in teaching and headship. He shares his thoughts on how although school leadership itself has evolved, the role of the headteacher at the centre of the community has remained constant. We also hear more about how he developed computing and sport specialisms in his school. 

 

We talk about: 

• Derek’s route into headship and his passion for leadership 
• How he has seen the role of headteacher change throughout his career  and how he’s built a team of specialists around him over the years
• What the shift to a more ‘academised system’ means for school leadership 
• Why he decided to retire from headship 
• How Park House School developed a Computer Science specialism and became an NCCE Computing hub 
• The importance of PE in the curriculum, Park House’s work as a specialist sports college and other projects Derek has been involved in

Key Voices #106 - Building evidence around the impact of EdTech products with Michael Forshaw

“79% of schools want clear proof the solution works, but only 8% trust the claims made by the suppliers*, so there is this big trust issue.” 

*Teacher Tapp Survey December 2019 

 

This week we talk to Michael Foreshaw, Founder and CEO, EdTech Impact about how he is helping schools make more granular comparisons of EdTech products before they buy, and helping EdTech suppliers focus more deeply on the impact of what they do.  We discuss the changes resulting from the pandemic and think about the future ways in which the EdTech sector might develop. 

 

We talk about: 

• How Michael started his career as an IT technician in school and has gone on to develop two education businesses
• Why a platform like EdTech Impact is needed and how it serves suppliers and schools
• The importance of context and relevance when buying EdTech products and how EdTech Impact developed its “schools like mine” function
• Challenges around understanding the evidence of what works in EdTech
• What kind of new products are being launched 
• Questions school leaders should ask suppliers before they buy
• The realities of working in an EdTech startup and the importance of soft skills and resilience when working in tech  
• Possible future trends in EdTech and the innovative ways EdTech Impact is  working with a multi academy trust to help them find the right products 

 

You can learn more about EdTech Impact here. 

 

The EdTech Impact Buyers Guide on formative assessment Michael mentions can be found here

 

You can learn more about the  EdTech Evidence Group here. 

 

You can also get in touch with Michael direct here. 

 

“I think we’ll see more aspirational usage of EdTech over time, I know teachers are incredibly pushed around workload, it would be amazing if we could move away from selling based on ‘pain points”.