Simon Goodwin Email and Phone Number

Working as a member of the Challenge Partners has shown me the power of peer-to-peer support for school self-evaluation and improvement planning. It shows how we can build a self-improving system with rigour and kindness.

I am currently coach and mentoring school leaders in Manchester and Merseyside, while studying for the Level 7 Certificate in Executive Coaching and Mentoring at the University of Salford.

I took over the Headship from a hugely successful leader who had been in post for 19 years, but the school roll was falling and the school faced a financial crisis. Other local schools had academised and prospered. I had to lead the school through a whole-sale restructure. I'm proud that we managed to do this without any compulsory reduncancies and with staff morale intact. Then we had to reform the school's pastoral system, curriculum model, quality of teaching, personal development, our approach to SEND, Sixth Form. Everything changed except the ethos of the school. It's still a wonderfully caring, inclusive school, with even higher expectations of its young people. There have been bumps on the road, some of them provided by Ofsted and some of them provided by the pandemic. I have some battle scars.What am I most proud of in my Headship? Developing a first class team of senior and middle leaders who are improving the life chances of a generation of young people, providing a secure financial foundation for the school and securing its future within a brilliant family of schools.

This was a proper challenge. "Virtue untested is no virtue at all" as they say. This was where I developed my strength and resilience as a leader, how to communicate effectively, how to maintain morale through some challenging times. This experience showed me what a pivotal role our support staff have, especially our teaching assistants and safeguarding specialists. It gave me the opportunity to present to regional and national audiences on my school improvement work and to engage with a lot of other schools. It helped me to get a feel for the kind of Headteacher I'd like to be.

My first whole school leadership position focussed on teaching and learning - a great gig. I was lucky to work with some first class leaders, from whom I learned a lot. I took on my first school improvement projects - technology across the curriculum, rewards systems, the consultation process to become a Foundation School, while always developing as a teacher. South Wirral is a non-selective school in a selective environment where the school culture is crucial. It's a fantastically supportive and inclusive place, but one with high expectations and aspirations for its young people.

I can heartily recommend Teach First's leadership development programmes. From working with Martin Fleetwood I learned the power of attaching a coach to the whole leadership team to help unlock its potential.

Great Sankey was a great school. This was where I developed into a really good teacher - bringing academic rigour and creativity together effectively. I'm really proud of the results that we got and many of the students went on to become History teachers themselves. Every teacher can remember one special class - their best ever. I taught mine here - from year 9, through GCSEs and A Levels. They know who they are. It's also where I learned the principles and practice of leadership and helped talented teachers to develop their practice.

I loved working at Buile Hill. This was where i learned to teach, how to motivate students and to work collaboratively as a proper team of professionals. It's also where I discovered that children from disadvantaged backgrounds deserve the best teachers and I learned humility.