In this episode of Head Room: Curious Conversations for Leaders in Education, I'm joined by Bruce Robertson—renowned educator, consultant and author of The Teaching Delusion trilogy. Bruce brings over 20 years of experience in education and a track record of transforming schools through a relentless focus on high-quality teaching and professional learning. We explore: 🔹 Why great teachers don’t always mean great teaching 🔹 What high-quality teaching actually looks like  ...

In this episode of HeadRoom: Curious Conversations for Leaders in Education, we sit down with Dr. Denry Machin, a seasoned educator, school leader, and thought-provoking author, to delve into the complex realities of headship. Together, we explore the delicate balance between the challenges and celebrations of school leadership – from the pressures of navigating the daily demands of headship to the immense satisfaction of shaping a thriving school community. Denry shares candid insights on: S...

In this episode I'm so pleased to be joined by Georgina Durrant, a true advocate for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Georgina is a former teacher and SENDCo and is now a SEND Consultant and the founder of the award-winning SEN Resources Blog. She is also the host of the podcast SEND in the Experts and the author of three insightful books, including her latest release, SEND Strategies for the Primary Years. Georgina’s expertise and passion have made her a go-to voic...

How good are you at listening? We are all familiar with the phrase – you have 2 ears and 1 mouth therefore you should listen twice as much as you speak. However, how many of us as school leaders, can legitimately claim we listen more than we speak? In our schools we strive to train our young people in the art of communication however the emphasis can so often be on how they present to others rather than how they receive or listen to others. Regardless of how good we think we are at listening ...

"Middle leadership in schools should be much more than just bridging the gap between the top and the bottom". Professor Andy Hargreaves Join me in conversation with Professor Andy Hargreaves in my latest Head Room podcast episode where we take a deep dive into what exactly it means to lead FROM the middle. Andy has just released his latest book 'Leadership from the Middle' which offers educators a wealth of insights into how impactful this role should be on transforming education. In this epi...

It has been 18 months since I published an episode of HeadRoom and I want to thank you for your patience. During that period the downloads have continued and we have seen over 2000 episodes downloaded across 41 countries since our very first release in November 2020. In this episode I'm in conversation with Shane Leaning who was the very inspiration for my re-launch and to whom I am very grateful. Shane is an organisational coach with many years of experience working with International school...

Does your school have 'The Buzz'? Join me in conversation with Tracey Ezard as we discuss how you can develop a collaborative staff learning culture in your school. See Tracey's message below for more details and a special offer for Head Room listeners to access the 'Buzz Diagnostic'. Please note this episode is not sponsored. A message from Tracey: Getting a good sense of how strong our buzz is (Is it a buzz? A hum? Or are those just crickets chirping?) can be a challenge when we’re sittin...

'At Thinking Matters we believe metacognition is more than just reflecting on your learning. Metacognition is being able to adapt to the unknown. It is having strategies to make progress at whatever you set your mind to. Metacognition is future proofing.' In this episode we are 'Thinking about Thinking'. Join me in conversation with Lorna Gardiner, a consultant with 'Thinking Matters' as we discuss the importance of a whole school approach to developing thinking skills. Thinking Matters is an...

In this episode I'm really excited to be joined by Tracey Ezard. Tracey is an educator, speaker and author. Her education career has included primary teacher, performing arts specialist and assistant principal in the Victorian State system in Australia. For the last 15 years Tracey has worked with schools and school systems in Australia and New Zealand in the areas of leadership and the building of professional learning cultures. She has recently begun working with a federation o...

For our tenth episode I'm delighted to be joined by Jasmine Miller. A former Principal and Head Teacher and currently a coach, consultant, researcher and soon to be author, Jasmine has a rich variety of experiences in the world of education. Jasmine qualified as a teacher in her native New Zealand, then moved to teach in London and now lives in Scotland where she runs Jasmine Miller Coaching. Join us for an insightful conversation to learn of Jasmine's fascinating journey over the last ...

In this episode I am privileged to be joined by the founding director of Growth Coaching International John Campbell. John started his teaching career in 1974 and shares with us his experiences of coaching and the role it can play in the world of education. John has written extensively on the subject and discusses the concept of a 'coaching approach' to leadership as well as the benefits of peer coaching within our schools.

In this episode I have the privilege of chatting to Shane Martin. Shane has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences on a range of topics around wellbeing, positive mental health, recovery and happiness. A leader within the area of education, he has visited hundreds of educational institutions nationwide working with management teams, teachers/lecturers, students and parents. Today he talks through why he made the move from the classroom to the world of pyschology, his thoughts on...

In this episode I am delighted to be joined by Chris Munro. Chris shares with us some of his journey starting out as a teacher of technological education in Aberdeen nearly 30 years ago right through to his current position as Managing Director of Growth Coaching International in Australia and New Zealand. Chris talks about his passion for teacher development and how coaching has been an integral part in improving conversations in education right across the world.

It's the first episode of 2021 and I'm really excited to be joined by Brittany Rehal to talk about her research on teacher flourishing, what it looks like and how do we get there. Brittany shares her international teaching journey from China to Quatar, her passion for teacher wellbeing and more recently her research into the concept of teacher flourishing. Whether you're a teacher or leader in education Brittany's story is well worth a listen.

I'm joined today by Cormac Venney owner of H.I.P. Psychology (Helping Improve Performance). Cormac shares how in only a short period of time he has applied his sports psychology background to deliver much needed and timely workshops in over 130 schools on subjects such as resilience, supporting wellbeing, excelling with pressure and stress management to name just a few. For more information on how H.I.P. Psychology could support your school see Cormac's website for details: www.hippsych...

I am privileged to be joined in this episode by Christian Van Nieuwerburgh, Executive Director of Growth Coaching International. Christian gives us an overview of his journey into the world of coaching and talks us through the Global Framework for Coaching and Mentoring in Education. Christian also raises the important topic of the need for sharing good coaching practice at a global level and outlines the vision for Growth Coaching International moving forward into 2021.

Today I am joined by 'teacher turned coach' Emma Cann to hear about her exciting journey out of the classroom as a teacher and back into schools as a coach. Emma shares how she helps schools develop their coaching culture and raises the challenge to school leaders to 'Consider the cost of not developing a coaching culture in a school'. Check out more about Emma via her website at www.emmacanncoaching.com

It's episode 2! We are continuing on our theme of coaching in education and in this episode I am joined by Miriam Donnan, Principal of Mitchell House School in Belfast. Miriam talks about how she has developed a coaching culture within her school and the positive impact this has had on both herself and her staff.

It's our first episode! Today I am really excited to be joined byJohn Hill and Nichola Lynagh, both experienced coach trainers from Leon Edu, to talk through the question of 'What is Coaching and where does it fit in education?' Check out Leon Edu Ltd at: https://weareleonedu.com/