The Frank and Stan Chat which covers Education and Leadership issues, is back for its seventh academic year. Who said it wouldn't last?

Frank and Stan Chat feel privileged to have Dennis Sherwood as a guest. His career includes reading physics at Clare College, Cambridge, followed by an MPhil at the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University, and a PhD in biology at the University of California, San Diego. Dennis is a Sloan Fellow, with distinction, of London Business School.

He joined Deloitte Haskins + Sells as a trainee IT consultant, and spent 18 years. For 12 of those years, he was a consulting partner, pioneering business and financial modelling, and founded a centre of excellence in the use of mathematics and statistics in business. He then became an Executive Director with Goldman Sachs, taking up the role of Head of Management Controls (Europe), responsible for internal audit and internal consulting in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich and Milan. Subsequently, Dennis was appointed Managing Director of the UK operations of SRI Consulting.

Dennis is an accomplished public speaker, and has appeared on the platform of many conferences; he has written many articles, for journals such as London Business School's Business Strategy Review, Management Today, Accountancy and Accountancy Age. He is also the author of fifteen books, including Unlock Your Mind, Smart Things to Know about Innovation and Creativity, Creating an Innovative Culture, Seeing the Forest for the Trees, Creativity for Scientists and Engineers, Strategic Thinking Illustrated - Strategy made visual using systems thinking, and 'Missing the Mark' Why so many school exam grades are wrong, and how to get results we can trust.

For those who have followed our chat over the past few years, you will know that we always invite Dennis to join us in early September to take stock of the examination results period. Dennis managed to secure an extensive recent Observer piece about the vagaries of the examination system, making clear why so many grades awarded are wrong. He was also interviewed by Sky News recently. This chat covers much of this but also considers why a third of students feel they have failed their secondary education and the back story to the recent news that a headteacher of a small primary school who recently underwent surgery for cancer had a deferral refused by Ofsted.

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The joy of our weekly chats lies in the contributions made by our amazing guests. This week is no exception as we are joined by a former HMI, Mathematics subject lead and specialist adviser, Steve Wren. Steve has been keeping a keen eye on Ofsted's new inspection framework and has shared his insights on social media. Today he focuses on the problems around attendance and behaviour. Stan gets things rolling by considering how compliant schools and their leaders are, even when there is much to be disgruntled by. He considers what would happen if a school didn't go out of its way to work openly with inspectors. Frank closes the chat with his growing dislike of SUV drivers parking on yellow lines so that their children can avoid a two-minute walk to school. He also draws attention to two headteachers who regularly call this action out despite it not being in their job description.

It's a belting chat. Enjoy, we believe you will!

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The SPOTLIGHT editions of the Frank and Stan Chat provide us with a chance to meet colleagues with one topic of conversation. The 30th edition is with Sian Hampton and Alice Gregson. They have created a System Leadership programme that is focused on a range of partners delivering services for children and families. It brings educators together with those from health, social care, housing and other partners to consider how jointly they can contribute more if they are better coordinated.

The chat considers how previous attempts have been marginally successful and what is currently being attempted. Sian and Alice get a chance to chat about their new programme. If you are interested this is the weblink you will need. https://elevatingleadership.co.uk/programmes/

Enjoy.

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It is always a joy to have John Malynn back as a guest on the chat. He is the only senior civil servant we know of to lead on accountability for the DfE, including its relationship with Ofsted, and also be invited to join the inspectorate as a key policy adviser. A rather unique set of experiences.

With so much happening in politics this week we focus on the important work of the Education Select Committee and their meeting with Sir Martyn Oliver on Tuesday. Before we get into that ,Stan considers what he gained from a restful week in Spain and how it influenced his thinking on the drive for better attendance. John then considers a host of DfE announcements, why they were made and who will monitor their introduction. Frank then considers how the Chief Inspector wanted to focus on provision rather than outcomes in considering how effective Ofsted is in managing staff wellbeing.

It's a lively and lengthy chat but please stick with it cos there are some interesting insights in how government works and how the relationship with the inspectorate has changed over time.

Enjoy

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Part 1 due to a power cut during the recording: Part 2 follows.

Stan is away this week so Frank had the chance to chat with Dave Smith, a former colleague in the Coop Group Press and Media team, someone Frank worked with frequently when he was the CEO of the Coop Academies Trust. Our relaxed chat covers how best to use the media, including social media, for the benefit of the school and how it is really not acceptable to have a head in the sand approach. Dave offers some straight forward advice and tackles the problem where a few headteachers consider themselves to be great communicators when in fact they are not. As with many things in this area it is important to know what to do in advance of a problem arising. We also cover how a proactive approach can support the handling of the increasing number of complaints schools are receiving. There is a link at the end to a chat Frank had with Joe Dundas about marketing and communication a few years ago. The video has had nearly 400 views and can be broken down into chunks. Enjoy.

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Both of us look forward to Aelwyn's annual visit to the Frank and Stan Chat. Always well prepared, challenging and at times controversial Aelwyn is, as my wife says, a proper HMI. After over 20 years of working for Ofsted in various roles, he retired a few years ago, but he remains committed to his desire for all children and young people to succeed.

Stan gets things rolling as he considers a couple of complaints about services he has received recently. The difference in the way he felt after both of them is quite striking. He considers whether schools can learn from the starkly different outcomes.

Aelwyn then considers how strongly schools are committed to enrichment activities and how things have changed over time in terms of what some staff offer to their pupils. He recalls in detail his attempts to coach a rugby team when his talents were possibly better suited to music.

With time short, Frank lays a marker down for the next chat when he draws attention to the manager positions at his beloved Southend Utd and Southampton FC. There is much to learn from those two situations at the moment.

And yes, we are chatting to Aelwyn about another appearance in May 2027.

Enjoy, cos it's a belter.

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Frank began working with Alice when she invited him to be the co-leader of a leadership programme with her for Forum Strategy. They struck it off straight away and enjoyed a few years collaborating and sharing connections to improve the impact of their leadership work. Alice is driven by a desire to share and listen to others and her relaxed approach comes across very strongly in this week’s chat. She has recently commenced a new role away from Forum Strategy so it was good to catch up.

Stan gets things rolling by reflecting on the recent SPOTLIGHT chat with Malcolm Greenhalgh who challenged us to think more carefully on the importance of transition and the need for, what he called ‘Inclusive Flexibility’. Stan digs into the available research to determine whether the aspects he considers to be fundamental to good transition are borne out. He confirms they are but reflects on the academic descriptions used to explain quite straightforward approaches.

Alice considers the recent local election results and their potential for change in the short and longer term for education and those leading schools, Colleges and settings. We consider whether the achievements of the current government have been explained well enough and Frank expresses a belief that a lack of radical approaches to press and media ownership are not helping.

Frank brings the chat to a close by reflecting on the PM’s work and how he is trying to manage conflicting advice. He relates this to the work of a SLT in schools where there is a need for private dissent but public support for leaders. If this is eroded then those being led begin to feel an erosion of power and influence.

Frank and Stan found the chat fascinating. Alice was a great guest and brought the best out of the hosts. She will be back in w few weeks as a SPOTLIGHT Guest with another colleague, and we can’t wait.

Enjoy.

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