state v independent sector: what’s the difference?

I’m currently in my fourth year at LHS, which means by the end of this academic year I will have spent the same amount of time teaching in the independent sector as I have in the state schools. People often ask me if working in an independent school is easier but I don’t necessarily think […]

sChool reports: what is the best way forward?

The end of term for me is filled with hours and hours of report reading. This half-term alone, I have proofread three year groups worth of reports. On the one hand, I enjoy reading through them and getting to know each student and how they are performing in each subject, but on the other hand, I can’t help but think about all of the other things I could be doing, things which could be more productive and be having a greater impact for the School

The Lasting impact of teachers

We should never underestimate the impact that we as teachers have on our students. I know I would not be doing what I am today without the support and guidance of when teachers when I was in school, particularly the PE department.

Determining the effectiveness of teaching

I am currently in the process of introducing a new system for determining the effectiveness of teaching in our school. I want to ensure that we are able to come to the most accurate judgement possible about what we are doing in the classroom and how this impact on our students’ outcomes. Having thought a […]

Creating strategic alignment

Whilst creating my new CPD programme which launched in School this September, I also looked at how effective our Professional Management system was, how our INSET budget was spent and how all of this feeds into the School Development Plan. What I found was that all of these things kind of ran independently of each […]

Can we see learning take place?

When I carried out my first learning walks as Assistant Head I announced to staff that I was popping into lessons to look at the learning that was taking place not the teaching. My aim was to shift the focus of my observations from the teachers themselves onto the students to try and make lesson […]

The Dreaded Inspection

Last week our Head received THE phone call at 8am on Monday morning. For independent schools, this means ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) will be in school that Wednesday and Thursday. Cue the panic. But why do we panic? What we do every day in our roles is great, we are effective practitioners, we get great […]

Headteacher – does what it says on the tin?

This week’s blog is courtesy of my husband, Ben Solly, Headteacher at Uppingham Community College. The role of the modern headteacher is ever-evolving. Even with only four years’ experience of headship, I can detect a shift in the way school leaders are required to work. I have questioned whether this is simply my leadership evolving […]