Author Archives: kyrstie1

This is me! Too often currently I see teachers and leaders comparing themselves to others. There are some amazing personalities in life and on twitter and it can be easy to start feeling inadequate. It can also seem as if there is one ‘right’ way to do things- there isn’t despite conversations to the contrary.Continue reading “This is me!”

Some of you will know that I am currently studying towards a masters in Race Education. I’ve only had a few seminars and lectures so far but already I am starting to see many issues through a different lens. The old adage- you don’t know what you don’t know- is true, but we have aContinue reading “Stopping the silence”

Many of us, myself included, made our own promises to change things this year. We had been through an unprecedented time and whilst challenging it also brought about a revelation that we could do things differently. It’s a bit like when you make a New Year’s resolution- you start the year with a real passionContinue reading “Stick to your guns!”

I found two quotes last week which talked about leadership and motherhood and both were so similar it got me thinking about just how similar these two roles are for me. There are key traits in both roles which I think are similar and the more I think about it, if I relate the principlesContinue reading “Leading as a parent?”

So, before anyone gets the wrong end of the stick – I don’t mean my job. Despite the challenges of the last few months I love my role as a head- perhaps even more so now – lockdown has shown me that I can help support my community in many more ways than just throughContinue reading “That’s it- I quit!”

Lockdown Leadership- all change. Last week I was on an online meeting and a staff member asked the others to do a round of applause for me and the leadership team for our dealing of the lockdown situation thus far. I was moved beyond words because it was a validation, I perhaps didn’t even knowContinue reading “All change- lockdown leadership”

Let’s face it- this is a really stressful time to be looking for a job. If it’s your first job as it is for so many NQTs its even more stressful- believe me I know- I live with someone who is writing her dissertation and then focusing on getting a job (mainly so she canContinue reading “Help- I can’t even get an interview!”

I personally took a major interest in mental health and the impact on learning a few years ago when it became clear that, for the majority of my pupils, learning was the last thing on their mind. More and more pupils were entering school with significant mental health issues and we were not in aContinue reading “The Invisible Gap”

Leadership- harder in schools? So, someone just asked me if being a leader was ‘harder’ in a school than in my previous leadership roles in industry. I guess the easy answer is yes but there are many different strands to the question. The first issue is defining the term ‘harder’- do they mean more difficult,Continue reading “Leadership- easier in industry?”

From Sausages to SATs – From Industry to Education So, how does a manager of a TESCO supermarket become a headteacher in a primary school? When I was younger, if someone had told me I would be a headteacher of a large primary school I would probably have laughed. I was not one of thoseContinue reading “From Sausages to SATS”