I firmly believe that education is the key to transforming communities. I am passionate about championing young people to be ‘the best they can be’. Irrespective of background, I believe that all young people can succeed. It is the job of educators to nurture, inspire and encourage young people to realise their potential. Whilst doing so, it is the job of leaders to inspire the community, gaining both their trust and cooperation - only when these ingredients are present can schools truly thrive and be driven to succeed.Over the last 15 years, I have experienced the transformational impact of effective school improvement. As a MAT school improvement leader, with responsibility for teaching across nine schools, I designed and delivering a bespoke training package for almost one thousand members of staff over three geographical locations in England (London, Essex and Northamptonshire). Programmes ranging from deputy headship development to effective educator courses for teaching assistants have seen improved pupil outcomes across the family of schools. In this role, I was commissioned by the CEO to undertake school improvement visits, supporting new-to-MAT headteachers to implement Trust pedagogical and curricula strategies. As a headteacher within the MAT, I have ‘practiced what I’ve preached’ - taking a school previously rated ‘inadequate’ and redeveloping systems, routines and procedures from scratch. Through effective change management, the school was fully staffed for the first time in many years, educational outcomes improved significantly (2019 outcomes) and community co-operation palpable - leading to a neighbouring school requesting to join the MAT.School improvement is a perpetual cycle, therefore leaders cannot afford to ‘stand still’. Instead we need to look at what we can do to refine, improve and evolve processes to ensure that teachers can concentrate on honing in their craft so that pupils can learn more, know more and remember more.My leadership skillset:• Strategic SEND leadership and management (MAT trust oversight)• School Improvement team leadership - supporting Headteachers with cyclical reviews and implementing SIP visits to monitor progress against set targets.• Leadership coaching for those new to role in senior posts.• Strategic safeguarding leadership (MAT trust oversight).• Root and branch evaluation to identify areas of significant need through data interrogation and framework benchmarking.
