If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on the child, If you can give confidence to children and staff when all doubt them, Make provision for their needs to ensure they achieve; If you persevere and forge partnerships and not be tired by waiting: If you […]
In her charming children’s picture book, Peace at Last, Jill Murphy tells the story of Mr Bear, who tries in vain to find somewhere to sleep in peace. It is packed full of humour and finishes with a surprising final twist. There is also an unofficial video version. Although endearing to the young reader and quaintly resonant […]
Believe it or not, I’ve won a castle! A cardboard castle… but, hey, what an opportunity – read on… At a conference last weekend, I put a bid in for a large cardboard castle being auctioned off for an autism charity. The castle was part of a display on an exhibition stand and it grabbed […]
I’m only human. You’ve heard it said and you may have even said it yourself. And when is it normally said? Usually after a mistake or a failure? Probably. Is it an excuse? A disclaimer? Something to be proud of? A statement of solidarity with the rest of the human race? There is […]
When I first started climbing the primary school leadership ladder – first as an Early Years Leader then as a Deputy Head – I thought I had a point to make, namely, I thought I knew how to do the job, that I could do it better than some others I saw doing it and […]
I sat in on a school leaving assembly yesterday and watched Year 6 children troop out for the last time before they left for the summer – ready to start secondary school in September. I say ‘ready’, but I could name at least half a dozen boys and not a few girls from one class […]