Category Archives: Professionalism

12/01/2026
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Authentic Leadership, Leadership, Professionalism

Escape from the Planet of the Pudding Brains.

To survive on the Planet of the Pudding Brains, you cannot rely on the environment to provide structure. When your situation is “liquified,” you must become your own source of gravity.

Here is a survival guide designed to keep your feet on the ground while everyone else is drifting into the fog; and when yours does too.

The Universal Condition

Before we look outward, we must look inward: We are all pudding brains at times. It isn’t a unique condition belonging only to “the others”; it is a fundamental part of being human. Under enough stress, exhaustion, or uncertainty, our own thoughts can lose their shape and become gelatinous. Acknowledging our own capacity for “soft logic” is the first step toward reclaiming our solid ground.

When situations at the start of a new term seem to go wrong and spin beyond your control, you cannot rely on the environment to provide structure. You must become your own source of gravity.

The Interstellar Survival Guide

Subject: Maintaining Sanity Amidst Structural Liquefaction

Mission: Transitioning from “Lost in Space” to “Commander of Self.”

1. Elevate Intentionality: Find Your North Star

On a planet where decisions shift like dessert, your greatest tool is a fixed point. When leadership is reactive and chaotic, you must be the opposite.

• The Survival Tactic: Do not let the “pudding” dictate your schedule. Start every morning by defining one non-negotiable objective.

• The Mantra: “The environment is chaotic, but my moves are calculated.” Even if the ship is spinning, you can choose which button to press.

2. Combat Complacency: Resist the Quicksand

Pudding-brain leadership is contagious; it’s easy to stop trying when it feels like nothing matters. Complacency is the “atmospheric pressure” of this planet that tries to flatten your ambition.

• The Survival Tactic: Audit your “auto-pilot” moments. If you find yourself saying “it doesn’t matter anyway,” you are sinking. Set a “micro-standard” for excellence that is independent of leadership’s approval.

• The Mantra: “I work for my own standards, not for their chaos.”

3. Champion Growth: Terraform Your Own Space

If the new term feels like a setback, view it instead as a “stress test” for your skills. In sci-fi, the best protagonists grow the most when the life-support systems fail.

• The Survival Tactic: Identify one skill you can sharpen specifically because of the current mess (e.g., crisis management, patience, or lateral thinking).

• The Mantra: “I am not just surviving this term; I am using it as fuel for my next evolution.”

4. Inspire Deeper Connections: Form the Resistance

You aren’t the only one looking for solid ground. The best way to survive a “pudding brain” environment is to find the other “solid-brained” people and link up.

• The Survival Tactic: Move past surface-level venting. Ask your colleagues: “How are you actually holding up, and how can we support each other’s goals?” Authentic vulnerability creates a “gravity well” that keeps you all from drifting away.

• The Mantra: “Connection is our oxygen; we breathe better when we stay linked.”

The Survival Manifesto

• When facing Ambiguity:

Instead of falling into the pudding brain trap of drifting without purpose, choose to Elevate Intentionality. Define your own direction when the map is missing.

• When facing Stagnation:

Instead of falling into the pudding brain trap of checking out or giving up, choose to Combat Complacency. Hold yourself to your own high standards, regardless of the surrounding slump.

• When facing Chaos:

Instead of falling into the pudding brain trap of blaming the environment, choose to Champion Growth. Use the friction of the situation to sharpen your skills and evolve.

• When facing Isolation:

Instead of falling into the pudding brain trap of “every person for themselves,” choose to Inspire Deeper Connections. Build a community of “solid-brained” peers to sustain each other.

Note from Command: On the Planet of the Pudding Brains, the goal isn’t just to wait for the term to end. The goal is to remain “solid” in a world that has gone soft.

Here’s to a better second week.

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19/08/2025
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Authentic Leadership, Children, Education, Leadership, Professionalism, Training

The Authentic Leader’s Playbook for 2025/26 – pre-GCSE results.

In the dynamic and sometimes dizzying world of education, change is constant. For the 2025/26 academic year, a number of significant shifts are on the horizon, from updated inspection frameworks to new safeguarding guidance and changes in staff pay. While some leaders may view these updates as a series of reactive hurdles, authentic leadership must be defined by a proactive stance, the ability to look ahead, anticipate new challenges, and prepare the school community for what is to come. This approach transforms potential disruptions into opportunities for strategic growth and collaborative adaptation. Staying ahead of the curve, scoping the possibilities and pitfalls allows a level of confidence, a sense of control and the beginnings of a playbook of approaches.

One of the most prominent changes is the impending new Ofsted inspection framework, expected to take effect in November 2025. This framework will replace the current single-grade judgments with a more detailed report card system and a new five-point grading scale. For the authentic leader, this isn’t just a matter of waiting for the new rules to be published. It’s a chance to elevate intentionality by beginning conversations with staff now, analysing the proposed “evaluation areas” and identifying where current practices align and where improvements can be made. By using the consultation outcomes as a guide for ongoing self-evaluation, a proactive leader ensures their school is already operating with the new standards in mind, making any future inspections less of an event and more of a confirmation of existing good practice.

Equally critical are the financial and staffing updates, most notably the 4% pay award for teachers and support staff. While the DfE will cover a portion of this, schools are responsible for the remainder, a detail that requires meticulous financial planning. Authentic leaders, understanding that stability is built on transparency, have already factored this into their budgets and have begun transparent conversations with their teams about how the increase will be managed. They recognize that a leader who is “on the horizon” understands that financial decisions directly impact staff morale and retention, and they will use this opportunity to champion growth and evolution by showing their team that they are valued and supported.

Furthermore, a series of important updates to statutory guidance, including Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and the new rules on the use of reasonable force, demand more than a last-minute policy review. The authentic leader sees these as a mandate to deepen the school’s commitment to safety and wellbeing. They will ensure that their staff receive comprehensive training on the new requirements—such as the need to record significant incidents of force—long before the September deadline. By embracing the spirit of the updated guidance, a leader doesn’t just meet a minimum standard; they foster a culture where student and staff safety is a continuous priority, not a box-ticking exercise. The updated RSE guidance, which can be adopted from September 2025, also falls into this category, requiring thoughtful consultation and proactive curriculum development to support pupils appropriately. This process helps to combat complacency by moving beyond rote compliance and fostering a genuine sense of purpose.

Ofsted’s New Inspection Framework

One of the most prominent changes is the new Ofsted inspection framework, expected to take effect in November 2025. It replaces single-word judgments with a detailed report card system and a five-point grading scale ranging from causing concern to exemplary. For authentic leaders, this is a call to initiate staff discussions now—reviewing proposed evaluation areas and aligning current practices with future expectations.

Using the consultation outcomes as a guide for ongoing self-evaluation ensures that the school is already operating in line with the new standards, making future inspections less disruptive and more confirmation of existing good practice.

Staff Pay and Financial Planning

Equally critical are the financial and staffing updates, notably the 4% pay award for teachers and support staff. The Department for Education (DfE) will fund part of this increase, but schools must cover the remainder. Details are available via the DfE’s funding update.

Authentic leaders will have already factored this into their budgets and begun transparent conversations with staff about how the increase will be managed. They understand that financial decisions directly affect morale and retention and use this moment to reinforce that staff are valued and supported.

Safeguarding and Statutory Guidance

The updated Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) guidance, effective from September 2025, introduces new expectations, including the requirement to record significant incidents involving the use of force. This is supported by revised guidance on reasonable force, which outlines statutory duties for schools.

Authentic leaders will ensure staff receive comprehensive training well ahead of the deadline. They embrace the spirit of guidance not just to meet minimum standards, but to cultivate a culture where safety and wellbeing are continuous priorities.

School Uniform: Affordability and Policy Reform

The cost of school uniform has come under renewed scrutiny. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has urged schools to immediately limit the number of branded items required, ahead of a statutory cap due in September 2026. The proposed cap will limit branded items to three at primary and four at secondary, including PE kit and ties.

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), responded by affirming that schools are already mindful of financial pressures on families. He supported the intent behind the policy but suggested that a cap on total uniform cost might be a more effective solution. He also highlighted the broader issue of child poverty, calling for a meaningful government strategy to address it.

Authentic leaders will take this moment to review their uniform policies, engage in consultation with families, and ensure that affordability is central to their approach. This is not just about compliance, it is about equity, dignity, and ensuring every child can attend school without financial strain. One less barrier, one less excuse; one less concern.

Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Updates

The updated RSE statutory guidance, published in July 2025, can be adopted from September 2025, with full implementation expected by September 2026. This guidance calls for thoughtful curriculum development and meaningful consultation with parents and pupils.

Authentic leaders will treat this as an opportunity to strengthen the school’s approach to personal development, ensuring that RSE is inclusive, age-appropriate, and aligned with the school’s values.

Authentic leader’s understands that the educational landscape is constantly shifting. They do not merely react to government bills and guidance as they come into force but rather anticipate their arrival. By paying close attention to upcoming changes in inspection, staffing, and safeguarding, they can strategically prepare their school, ensuring that policies, practices, and people are all aligned. This foresight creates a stable and resilient school community, transforming external mandates into internal, collaborative opportunities for improvement and allowing them to inspire deeper connections with their staff and children.

The authentic leader, in every interaction, acts as an architect of their school’s future.

23/07/2025
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Authentic Leadership, Education, Leadership, Professionalism

The Resonance of Empty Desks: Traversing the Complexities of School Attendance

The rhythmic ebb and flow of school bells, once a steadfast hallmark of childhood, now often rings out over an increasing number of empty desks. In the wake of an unprecedented global disruption, the issue of school attendance has emerged as a complex and pressing crisis, echoing across classrooms and communities worldwide. Recent studies and reports paint a concerning picture, revealing not merely a statistical blip, but a profound societal challenge with far-reaching implications for individual futures and the collective good. From the alarming surge in lost learning days to the disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, the multifaceted nature of declining attendance demands urgent attention and a nuanced understanding of its intricate drivers.

One of the most immediate and striking revelations from contemporary research is the sheer scale of the attendance problem. Reports from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and The Difference, such as their March 2025 publication “Who is Losing Learning?”, highlight a staggering 67% surge in lost learning days between autumn 2019/20 and 2023/24 due to suspensions and absences. This isn’t merely a minor deviation; it signifies a systemic shift, where a significant portion of the student body is increasingly disengaged from the foundational structures of education. While overall absence rates may show slight fluctuations, the persistent and severe forms of absence remain stubbornly high. Data from the UK’s Department for Education (DfE) indicates that the persistent absence rate (missing 10% or more of school sessions) for the 2022/23 academic year was 21.2%, equating to around 1.6 million pupils. More recently, the Centre for Social Justice’s “School Absence Tracker – March 2025” revealed that in Summer 2024, 172,938 pupils were severely absent, meaning they missed 50% or more of their school time, an increase of 187% compared to pre-pandemic levels. These figures, regularly updated by the DfE on their pupil attendance in schools page, are not mere statistics; they represent hundreds of thousands of individual stories of missed opportunities, fragmented learning, and potentially jeopardized futures.

A deeper dive into the data reveals that the burden of this crisis falls disproportionately on already vulnerable shoulders. Disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs (SEN), and pupils eligible for free school meals consistently demonstrate higher rates of absence. For example, in 2022/23, 36.5% of free school meal-eligible pupils were persistently absent compared with 15.6% of pupils not eligible, as noted in the House of Commons Library’s briefing on school attendance. This disparity, further detailed in the Centre for Social Justice’s October 2024 “School Absence Tracker”, underscores a critical flaw in current systems, suggesting that existing inequalities are not only perpetuated but exacerbated by factors contributing to absenteeism. Addressing school attendance, therefore, is not just an educational imperative; it is a social justice issue demanding targeted interventions and a renewed commitment to equity.

Beyond socioeconomic factors, a pervasive and increasingly acknowledged driver of absenteeism is the burgeoning mental health crisis among children and young people. Studies, such as “Not in school: The mental health barriers to school attendance” by the Centre for Mental Health (April 2024), starkly illustrate this connection, revealing that children with a mental health problem in Autumn 2022 were seven times more likely to have missed 15 days of school than those without. The pressures of modern life, the anxieties amplified by the pandemic, and the often-insufficient mental health support systems converge to create a formidable barrier to consistent school engagement. This highlights the critical need for schools to evolve beyond purely academic institutions, transforming into spaces that actively prioritize and support the holistic well-being of their students.

The consequences of this attendance crisis are far-reaching, rippling through academic attainment and ultimately shaping future life chances. Research consistently demonstrates an undeniable link between consistent attendance and academic success. The House of Commons Library analysis of 2019 data showed that pupils who did not achieve grades 9-4 in English and Maths GCSEs had an absence rate of 8.8%, compared with 3.7% among pupils who achieved grade 5 or above. Furthermore, only 35.6% of persistently absent pupils and a mere 11.3% of severely absent pupils achieved grades 9-4 in English and Maths, significantly lower than the 67.6% of all pupils. The cumulative effect of missed lessons, disrupted learning, and fragmented educational experiences creates an ever-widening chasm in knowledge and skills, hindering future educational progression and employment prospects. NurtureUK’s April 2025 data release, “School absences linked to rising unemployment in young people,” starkly illustrates the long-term societal cost of this immediate educational challenge, noting that 1.49 million pupils now miss 10% of their lessons, and severe absenteeism rose to 2.3% (171,000 pupils) in 2023/24.

In response to this multifaceted crisis, recent research and policy discussions have converged on several key themes. There is a growing emphasis on understanding the nuanced drivers of absence, moving beyond simplistic explanations to address the complex interplay of individual circumstances, family dynamics, and systemic failures. Furthermore, a focus on fostering a sense of community belonging within schools is gaining traction, with the Education Development Trust’s April 2024 article “Improving school attendance by fostering a sense of community belonging” underscoring its importance as a driver of attendance. Crucially, the rigorous analysis of data, as highlighted in papers like the October 2023 ResearchGate publication “School Attendance and Absence in England: Working with Data to Inform Policy and Practice Beneficial to Young People,” is becoming indispensable for informing effective policy and practice, including safeguarding vulnerable pupils. From a broader perspective, comparative studies, such as those presented in the European Education journal’s 2023 special issue “Comparative Perspectives on School Attendance, Absenteeism, and Preventive Measures in Europe and Beyond,” offer valuable insights into international strategies for addressing absenteeism, providing a global context for local solutions.

A Next Stages Approach: Proactive Strategies for School Leaders

Addressing the persistent challenges of school attendance requires a dynamic and empathetic leadership approach, moving beyond reactive measures to proactive intervention. For school leaders, the next stages must involve a comprehensive strategy built on data, well-being, robust relationships, and targeted support:

First, establishing robust data-driven understanding and continuous monitoring is paramount. Leaders must move beyond mere attendance registers to implement sophisticated systems that track absence data not just overall, but disaggregated by key demographics like FSM eligibility, SEND status, and year group. This granular analysis, a core recommendation of various reports including the DfE’s ongoing statistical releases, allows for the pinpointing of specific cohorts and emerging trends. Regular data review meetings, perhaps weekly or bi-weekly, involving the attendance team, pastoral staff, and senior leadership, are crucial for identifying students at risk early and discussing individual cases. Critically, staff must be trained to engage in empathetic conversations with families, not just to record an absence, but to understand its underlying reasons – whether related to mental health, transport issues, family illness, bullying, or curriculum disengagement. Benchmarking against national and local data allows for the setting of realistic yet ambitious improvement targets.

Second, a resolute focus on prioritizing well-being and mental health must be at the core of any attendance strategy. Drawing directly from the Centre for Mental Health’s findings, schools must integrate and expand access to in-school mental health services, counselling, and comprehensive well-being programs. This involves dedicated mental health leads, school nurses, and strategic partnerships with external mental health charities. Crucial staff training is needed for all personnel to recognize signs of mental health struggles, offer initial support, and understand referral pathways. Fostering a genuinely supportive school culture where students feel safe, valued, and heard, perhaps through peer support programs or explicit lessons on emotional regulation, is essential. For students with significant anxiety or mental health barriers, flexible and reintegrative approaches, such as phased returns or blended learning, should be considered as part of a structured plan for eventual full participation.

Third, building stronger relationships and fostering a sense of community is vital. Proactive and positive home-school communication must replace reactive absence notifications. This includes regular check-ins, parent workshops on available school support systems, and creating accessible points of contact. The initial contact regarding an absence should be one of genuine concern and an offer of help, recognizing the complex challenges many families face, as highlighted by the Education Development Trust’s emphasis on belonging. Furthermore, strengthening students’ connection to the school through extracurricular activities, student leadership roles, and mentorship programs can significantly enhance engagement. Forging partnerships with local community groups and charities can also provide a wider network of assistance for families grappling with socio-economic barriers.

Finally, implementing targeted interventions for vulnerable students and reviewing curriculum engagement are critical. Data-driven early identification of students at risk of persistent or severe absence is key. For those with chronic absenteeism, individualized attendance plans, developed collaboratively with the student, family, and relevant school staff, are essential to address specific barriers and set achievable attendance goals. Effective multi-agency working with social services, educational psychologists, and CAMHS is non-negotiable for students facing complex challenges. Furthermore, school leaders must critically review whether the curriculum is relevant, engaging, and accessible for all students, as disengagement is a significant driver of absence. Actively seeking and incorporating student voice in shaping the school environment and learning experiences can profoundly impact their desire to attend.

In conclusion, the current landscape of school attendance is far from reassuring. The echo of empty desks serves as a potent reminder of a crisis that is deeply intertwined with societal inequalities, mental health challenges, and the fundamental right to a quality education. Addressing this complex issue demands a concerted, multi-pronged approach that moves beyond punitive measures towards a holistic understanding of the barriers to attendance. By investing in mental health support, strengthening community ties within schools, addressing socioeconomic disparities, leveraging robust data analysis, and continually adapting to student needs, school leaders can begin to fill those empty desks, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to fully engage with their education and unlock their potential for a brighter future. The challenge is significant, but the imperative to act is undeniable.