Asst. Head T&L & CPD, ECT & ITT lead, MCCT (Research Champion), SLE, historian, MA Modern History, ASCL union rep for Derbyshire, Man Utd, music obsessive.
There was once a time where I thought my career progression would take me into leadership hopefully becoming a headteacher. But to see what the job entails now, I don’t know how anyone does it. But to see the data around how few teachers want to become a headteacher, it is
What primary & secondary school leaders need to know about effective writing transition
Writing transition isn’t a baton pass where primary hands over and secondary drops it. It’s a compatibility problem. Primary writing rewards expression, description and voice. Secondary writing demands clarity, explanation and disciplinary argument.
Same word. Different conceptions.
https://t.co/ysRqXbVdrk
@dylanwiliam@HughesHaili@Jordan_C_Adams That seems to make sense but didn’t Rosenshine also define certain teachers as ‘effective’ and, in fact, described those that adopted his principles as ‘master’ teachers? I’m certainly not advocating merit based pay but surely we need to be able to differentiate quality.
Systematic inclusion: Is literally everyone thinking, talking, practising, learning? How much does it matter to you? https://t.co/BxTyllNkqP via @teacherhead
You're a school senior leader. Your teaching load has doubled. You're on before-school duty, break duty, lunch duty, after-school duty. Meetings most evenings. Working until late at night, one full weekend day catching up.
Going all day without eating. Sleep suffering.
Sound familiar?
Deborah Allen, ASCL Deputy Director of Member Support and Head of Hotline’s Leader Magazine article shares the case of a senior leader in exactly this situation, and how her and her team can help.
Here's what she learned:
Working time protections apply to senior leaders too. You generally can't be required to work weekends. You're entitled to PPA time and time for leadership responsibilities. You're entitled to a reasonable break during the day.
Most importantly: employers have a duty of care.
This isn't "just how it is."
Worth a read if this resonates:
https://t.co/v4DKG6QQT6
@DavidDidau@teacherhead I’ve done that for colleagues in the past too who have been struggling but hadn’t really considered that as a more structured T&L improvement model. Food for thought. Thanks David.
This is where the teacher cost of living pay rise needs to be reconsidered & fully funded. I know of teachers who go to food banks & some with 2nd jobs - that’s how well paid some teachers are!
Schools won’t be exempt from inflationary rises for the services they use either.
@DavidDidau@teacherhead Or are you simply arguing the most effective teachers should teach the lessons of othersin the same subject team? If so, what about small departments with just one or two teachers? I think your idea has potential in theory but wouldn’t work practically in most secondary schools.
@DavidDidau@teacherhead Intriguing. How does that work if you teach a lesson outside of your English subject specialism? Would you have the disciplinary literacy and pedagogical content knowledge to show subject specialists how to teach Maths to higher attaining GCSE or A Level students for example?
@Samstricko181 Lots of feedback absolutely but would caution against ‘detailed marking’ in the traditional sense as the research shows that impact is questionable.
@SiobhanParker11 This is sad but inevitable given how high stakes inspections are and the pressures the new framework places on school leaders. It’s nonsense, as Martyn Oliver claims, that schools ‘don’t have to do anything extra’ prior to inspection. Fail to prepare and reap the consequences.