Articles - Leadership and Management

Mark Chaplin shares insight into how primary headteachers can design a questionnaire for parents that will help them carry out effective self-evaluation at their primary school

Providing continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities within school walls can have huge benefits, says headteacher Neil Berry

School bursars and business managers can enrich both their schools and their own professional roles by getting involved in the wider life of their schools, says Ruth Bradbury

Emotional literacy coordinator Julie Leoni pays tribute to a late colleague, and reflects on what she learned from her about emotionally literate leadership

Do you think you know the key points regarding internet safety for children and young people? Jenni Whitehead says that a recent report challenging current thinking on the related dangers suggests not, and offers some suggestions of advice for young people

For headteachers the new Children's Plan poses yet more new challenges, with possible changes to the primary curriculum, flexible school start and greater involvement between school and family. Angela Youngman investigates

Is your voice being heard at school? Elizabeth Hartnell-Young explains how a project undertaken by a team at Nottingham University revealed that teachers and students have a lot to say about the learning process, and that they should be heard

Your teaching staff must have the health and physical capacity to teach, but in assessing this you must make sure you comply with disability discrimination rules, says Yvonne Spencer

How effective is wraparound childcare provision in addressing issues in areas of deprivation? Therese Allen, head at Mychall Primary in Birmingham, dicusses why it plays such a key role in her school

Whose opinion takes precedence in a dispute over provision, asks Michael Segal - parent or local authority?

Planning, coordinating, managing, sustaining, networking and facilitating; these are all key aspects of an extended school manager's role. Fran Shelley discusses these different aspects of her role as extended schools manager at Downside Middle School in Newport

Are students and student voice involved in strategic decision making at your school? 'Learning conversations' at Rivington and Blackrod High School, near Bolton, means that they are, explains Ingrid Cox

School size is a key factor in student achievement, according to a Channel 4 documentary, but Pam Woolner disagrees with its theories about school environment

If you work with children or vulnerable adults, there are difficult decisions regarding when to disclose sensitive information. Chris Webb-Jenkins examines the impact of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 on this issue

Employers looking to prevent and defend claims of stress, and employees who are suffering from stress at work, should make time to read the complex litigation involved, urges Tamara Ludlow

Why have previous attempts at community schooling largely failed? Pam Woolner from the Centre for Learning and Teaching at the University of Newcastle discusses, and sets out possible implications for the current initiative

In a bid to help students raise their achievement and know success, the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust initiated Raising Achievement Transforming Learning (RATL). David Crossley explains the school-to-school mentoring scheme which allows teachers to learn from the success of others

At some schools, individual cases of underachievement can be masked by overall good performance. Liz Allen tells how her school in Bromley overcame this by redesigning its whole approach to teaching and learning

Before you recruit a new member of your early years childcare team, you must first effectively define the job to be done and your expectations for the ideal person to do it

Early Years Update looks at the proposed new Ofsted inspection framework

What impact will Every Child Matters have on CPD in schools? According to Steven Coombs and Mike Calvert, it will be huge; and schools need to be ready read more

Admissions authorities and statutory appeal panels can avoid potential litigation from parents by using tactical decision making, says Yvonne Spencer read more

How can outreach work effectively engage hard-to-reach community members? Partnership working and forward thinking has been successful in breaking down barriers to participation, as Nazia Hussain, project manager for Keighley extended schools cluster in Bradford, explains read more

Michael Segal explores a school's legal position in implementing a reinstatement order, and how far they are obliged to enforce it

Muriel Thomson tells how she has transformed the way teaching assistants and other support staff are used at Brixham College, Devon, bringing wide-reaching benefits across the school

If a child makes a vague allegation is it OK to ask questions? How should an allegation against a member of staff be treated? Jenni Whitehead discusses some of the concerns facing managers when coping with these issues

After a long standing struggle between learner-centred and standards-led aims for primary education, two papers for the Primary Review note the emergence of a hybrid read more

How can we go about building trust into the education system? Here we look at the NAHT's Commission of Inquiry into Assessment and League Tables read more

The idea of extended schools has a long history, says Pam Woolner, and we can learn from ideas that have been tried in the past read more

After celebrating her 80th birthday, Joan Sallis looks back and makes a plea for stability read more

Chris Webb-Jenkins walks you through the new vetting and barring regime, which comes into effect in autumn 2008

Schools and colleges that work in partnership provide a better offer to their students, make faster progress and improve their performance, says Robert Hill read more

Chris Fenton discusses the benefits of working towards the International School Award, and how it can be used to build teamwork in improving schools and impact professional development

Staff at Park View Community School, Chester-Le-Street, describe how introducing a competence-based curriculum has enabled students and teachers to begin a learning journey

Are schools rising to the challenge of CPD for the whole workforce; including teaching assistants? Elizabeth Holmes investigates what schools need to do to ensure that everyone receives professional development

To allow full use of teaching assistants, curriculum managers need to ensure both TAs and teachers have the support they need. This involves quality line management and a clear understanding of how to plan for effective learning, Lynn Maidment explains

A key judgement means claimants need prove only abuse − not employer's negligence. But this could be good news for schools writes Dai Durbridge read more

Analysing how critical leadership roles are being performed in your school can be a worthwhile exercise, says Richard Bird, former headteacher and now legal consultant to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) read more

Headteacher Simon Uttley explains how he transformed a 'notice to improve' school to one of international status with 'exceptional leadership' with help from a sophisticated digital environment read more

Our European neighbours do education differently - with different starting ages, reading levels, varied approaches to the curriculum and assessment, extremes of class size and funding. What can we learn? Dave Weston shares his experience read more

Angela Youngman talks to heads of small schools around the country and gains an overview of the challenges and pleasures of the job read more

What are the essential characteristics for a school leader? Roger Smith reflects on what leadership is and what makes it work read more

The NCSL is doing much more than training the next generation of heads, as Crispin Andrews discovers when speaking to Paul Bennett read more

Early Years Update looks at the National Healthy Schools Programme and the key issues it aims to address read more

Business managers and bursars are ideally placed to help their schools develop more robust approaches to fundraising, argue Paul Ainsworth and Josephine Smith

Deputy headteachers Paul Ainsworth and Josephine Smith consider how school leaders can reinvigorate their G&T programmes so they are an integral part of their school's success read more

Health and safety is not only essential, it can also be a very useful planning tool if approached sufficiently far in advance of a school event

The responsibility of SEAL and the development of emotional intelligence ultimately lies with the school, argues headteacher Neil Berry, and can have a real impact on school improvement read more

What is your next step if you're given a poor Ofsted report? Angela Youngman discusses this, and talks to one headteacher who took over a school in the 'notice to improve' category

Would you like to be a fly-on-the-wall at your own Ofsted inspection? Paul Williamson, assistant head of Greenbank High School, shares the insights he gained from doing just that

Articles – Leadership and Management