Today has been an emotional rollercoaster. Reaching the silver level of such a prestigious award os something that was beyond my wildest dreams. To say I’m proud is an understatement. #ThankATeacher @TeachingAwards

Want to make a difference to some wonderful children? Looking for support staff to work in my school - Weekly CPD sessions Opportunities for time in lieu We are on an exciting journey - Come and join us! X ❤️ mynewterm.com/school/Knowles…

"Requires Attention." Schools with high FSM are far more likely to sit under that label in the new Ofsted framework, especially the Achievement section. Daft thing is, it already has our attention. It always will. Poverty requires attention. Hunger requires attention. Trauma requires attention. A judgement that ignores all of that - and then penalises the people giving their lives to the cause? That requires attention too.

It feels like we are back to evaluating poverty, not education, and calling it achievement.

The relationship hasn't been reset. There was trust, optimism and hope after the election. Safe to say that there isn't now. This is gaslighting and a brilliant example at that.

Punishing schools for the challenges facing our children and communities is just callous. I won't stand for it.

School leaders are facing relentless pressure right now. Attendance challenges.
A growing SEND crisis.
Safeguarding cases that are more complex than ever.
Funding that never quite meets the need.
Staff recruitment and retention becoming harder each year. Schools are increasingly being asked to hold together the social fabric of their communities. And rightly, we are accountable. We should be. But there is a question the system needs to start asking. Schools have a duty of care to staff.
Employers have a duty of care to employees. So what duty of care exists for school leaders operating within a high-stakes accountability system? The debate following the tragic death of Ruth Perry forced the profession to confront something uncomfortable - the pressure attached to inspection outcomes can be immense. This isn’t about avoiding accountability or lowering standards. It’s about recognising that school leaders are human. Right now, many heads are carrying extraordinary responsibility for issues that stretch far beyond the school gates, while still being judged through a system overseen by Ofsted that can have life-changing consequences. A strong school system needs accountability. But it also needs leaders who feel supported, trusted and able to sustain the role. Because if we continue to ignore the human cost of the job, we risk losing the very people the system depends on. And I suspect many school leaders would quietly say the same thing: Enough is enough.

Agreed 👏🏽

The link between FSM, SEND here in this thread and low prior attainment is clear. The framework has built inequity in our inspection system.

'The quiet curse of low expectations.' No No. No. Does he not understand that context of some schools with low ks2 attainment does not mean we have low expectations but may mean children have made strong progress from low starting points against all the odds...

Great to be back on the Wirral today welcoming @WeAreCastleway and Gilbrook School to Phase 2 of the Wirral RISE Up programme. 💛We had the pleasure co-creating their bespoke RISE Up strategic visions for the year ahead. Huge thanks to the staff teams for their openness, ideas and commitment to transforming the mental wellbeing and life chances of their pupils. The Wirral RISE Up community continues to grow, and it’s exciting to see the momentum building. 💛🤝🧠💪 #RISEUp #SchoolWellbeing #TraumaInformedEducation #MentalWellbeing #WirralEducation

Fabulous! Thank you so much for choosing Katie’s chum Mona! 🎨

Another day at the office today. Tell me it’s been #WorldBookDay without telling me…

We are incredibly proud to share that we have been awarded the #LeadingParentPartnershipAward. This recognises our commitment to working in partnership with families & our community. This belongs to our community. Thank you for making our school one that truly belongs to us all.

Our wonderful school community shines in our short promo video below. I am beyond proud to lead this brilliant community and I’m always happy to talk about what we do if anyone’s interested… or even if you’re not, I’ll still tell you! 🌈💙😂

I’m looking forward to sharing our inclusion journey today. See you there if you’re joining us! 🌈💙💚

Spot on! 👏🏽

@educationgovuk when can we expect the final outcome of the curriculum and assessment review? I’m sure we were told we’d have a year to prepare for implementation? If that’s the case, we’ve already lost half a term if changes are due to roll out next September!

I’m very proud to be sharing the @WeAreCastleway inclusion journey at this event!

As an experienced school governor I will tell @bphillipsonMP & @educationgovuk that expecting schools to find pay increases from existing budgets will sink the system. Thousands will be made redundant. Class sizes will rise. Quality will suffer. Invest or move aside.

More SEND needs. Fewer pupils. Less funding. Greater challenges. Higher expectations. Educations isn’t just stretched, it’s breaking.