The Power of Empathetic Leadership: Listening to Understand
In today’s data-driven educational environment, a crucial leadership element is often overlooked: empathy. This human-centred quality-the ability to listen, understand and share others’ feelings-creates the foundation for meaningful connections in our schools and settings. Research shows empathetic leadership delivers measurable benefits in innovation, staff commitment, and organisational inclusivity. As education systems face unprecedented challenges,…
Women in Maths day
The 12th May is ‘Women in Maths’ day. How can we encourage girls to believe that they can be mathematicians? Perhaps looking to some inspirational female figures is the answer! Inspiring Girls in Maths: Heroines Who Paved the Way It’s so important that all children – and especially girls – grow up believing that they can…
Supporting Primary Pupils Through Statutory Assessments
It’s the time of year when our focus turns to primary statutory assessments again. Whether your focus is the Phonics Screening Check, the Multiplication Tables Check or Key Stage 2 SATs, they can feel like a high‑stakes moment in your school year. For pupils, they represent unfamiliar routines and the pressure of being “tested.” For…
One More Step Along the World I Go
Managing Transition in the Early Years For Early Years educators, this time of year can feel particularly challenging. There’s the emotional weight of saying goodbye to your class, alongside summative assessments, report writing, sports day preparations, and-almost quietly but just as significantly-the organisation of transition. For Early Years leaders, the scale is even greater. You…
A Sense of Belonging
Creating a sense of belonging for EAL (English as an Additional Language) learners is about making sure they feel safe, seen, valued and connected in school, socially, emotionally, culturally, and academically. So what does “belonging” look like for EAL learners in schools? Seeing their Identity Reflected and Valued A sense of belonging grows when EAL…
Love Your Library: Why Local Libraries Are Magical Places for Families
Libraries are one of the most joyful, welcoming and enriching places a family can visit. In the National Year of Reading, there’s no better time to rediscover everything your local library offers – far beyond borrowing books. Whether you have a toddler who loves story time, a child discovering new interests, or you simply want…
May Day in the UK: A Look at a Much‑Loved Tradition
May Day in the UK is one of those celebrations that just feels cheerful. It arrives every year on 1 May, right when the weather starts to brighten up, and flowers begin to appear everywhere. Even though it’s been around for thousands of years, it still brings a sense of fun, colour, and community Where It All Began…
FIRST LEGO League Challenge 2026 – It’s a wrap!
This weekend saw the culmination of the 2025/26 FIRST LEGO League Challenge season in the UK, with the national finals taking place at the Harrogate Convention centre. After running five regional tournaments across the North East earlier in the year, I was lucky enough to spend Saturday 25th April as a judge at the finals.…
Growing Up Autistic: What Children Want Schools to Understand
The Language and Communication Team (LCT), Education North Tyneside’s specialist teaching team supporting language, communication and autism in educational settings, recently reflected on findings from a large UK study involving 136 autistic children aged 8-14. The research explored autistic pupils’ experiences of school, relationships and identity, placing children’s voices firmly at the centre. It highlighted both what helps autistic…
Together We Fly
Together We Fly is one of five creative, multilingual projects offered to schools and community groups as part of the Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages 2026. The project invited children and young people to express themselves in any language, their home languages, languages they are learning, or languages they are curious about, while celebrating culture, friendship and unity. Sharing feelings Participants were…
The Importance of Effective School Governance
Effective school governance plays a key role in the success of schools, but it often does more than people realise. Strong governance helps schools set a clear direction, support and challenge leaders, keep children safe, use funding wisely and make sure that decision-making stays focused on what is best for pupils. This has become even…
Reasonable Adjustments & How They Relate to EAL Learners in School
“Reasonable adjustments” come from the Equality Act 2010, which requires schools to remove barriers so pupils with disabilities (including many SEND profiles) can access learning. EAL status alone is not a disability, so the duty to make reasonable adjustments does not apply because a child is EAL. However, many practices that are good for EAL learners overlap with reasonable adjustments, and…