L. I. T

This week my school (The King Alfred School in London) were pleased to welcome Lucy Crehan, author of Clever Lands, to speak to us about different education systems around the world. Lucy has visited some of the 'top performing' schools around the world (based on PISA results). Lucy visited Finland, Japan, Singapore, Shanghai (China) and Canada. It was incredibly interesting to listen to Lucy's findings, which challenged many of the stereotypes associated with the education systems in the countries she visited and researched. For example, in Finland much of the curriculum is delivered through text books. These text books are of high quality and developed by experienced teachers and based on research of what works best in terms of helping children understand concepts or learn the skills being delivered. Lucy shared three key commonalities between the education systems she researched that she believed could lead to improved teaching and learning and increased pupil perfo...

The TEDxKingAlfredSchool event took place before February half term and it was a sell-out. Thankfully, all the amazing talks are now available online via the TEDx YouTube channel. The day was packed with stand-out moments but the KAS students who spoke all blew the room away with their confidence, bravery and the food for thought they all brought to the day. CLICK HERE

There is a host of different material describing processes or models to facilitate change. I have chosen three to share that I have found particularly thought-provoking during my time as a leader. Fullan’s Model: In Fullan’s book,  The Six Secrets of Change – What the Best Leaders Do to Help Their Organisations Survive and Thrive , he identifies what he believes are the necessary elements for growth and improvement to occur and be sustained within an organisation. The six secrets are:  love your employees, connect peers with purpose, capacity building prevails, learning is the work, transparency rules  and  systems learn . Although each secret is explained separately, there is a clear association between the secrets, demonstrating that collectively they are much more effective. (Fullan, 2008.) Love your employees Fullan begins with secret one,  love your employees . He suggests that if you invest in your employees in the right way, it can be of an e...