Key Voices

This week we talk to Diana Osagie, ex-headteacher, coach and leadership specialist . We talk about Diana’s experiences of headship and the work she is doing to support female leaders thrive.  Finally, Diana shares some super practical advice for new headteachers and the governing bodies supporting them. 

We talk about:

• The fact that no-one teaches school leaders to be leaders

You can register for the free 3 day Transformational Leadership Challenge we discuss (starting on Monday 13th September) here 

This week we talk to Sir Jon Coles, CEO of United Learning. Jon shares his thoughts on this year’s exam arrangements and what could happen next year. As well as, why it is so hard to make good policy and how he feels the pandemic has really emphasised the benefits of being part of a large trust. 

We talk about : 

• This year’s exam results and what they could mean for future cohorts

You can learn more about United Learning here

This week we talk to Steve and Paula Kenning, Managing Directors of  Aspirations Academy Trust, and Ian Livingstone CBE, a games industry veteran, who is working with the trust to found a new academy in Bournemouth - the Livingstone Academy. We talk about the principles underpinning the work of the Aspirations Academy Trust and hear about how Steve and Paula have worked with Ian to found a different and exciting new school. 

We talk about: 

• Steve and Paula’s experiences building a trust and developing their educational philosophy 

You can learn more about the work of Aspire Academies Trust here

This week we talk to Iona Jackson, Head of Research at Edurio and Amy Ferguson, Deputy Headteacher of an Independent Special School. We discuss Edurio’s recent research report on Equality, diversity and inclusion among school staff. Iona tells us about the report’s main findings and Amy shares her reflections, and suggestions as to what schools can do practically to become more inclusive.  

We talk about: 

• What the terms equality, diversity and inclusion actually mean 

You can download Edurio’s report here 

Amy mentions the work of the following organisations who provide further support Diverse Educators, BAMEed and LGBTed

This week we talk to Kaley Foran, Lead Content Editor and Nicola West-Jones, Head of Market Research at The Key. We talk about the continuing challenges thrown up by COVID-19 and how schools have been tackling them, as well as thinking about what issues are on the horizon. We also consider how different governance has been during another extraordinary period for schools. 

We talk about: 

• Learnings from lockdown 

“It’s the best thing you can do for the relationship between staff and students. Do it with the students, don’t assume for them… try asking the students what they want and finding a compromise that works from both perspectives.” 

This week Key Voices has been taken over by students at Townley Grammar School. They share their thoughts about their school changing its hair policy and talk passionately about the difference it has made to them and their peers. They also interview Desmond Deehan, CEO of Odyssey Trust for Education, which Townley Grammar is part of, about the decision-making process the trust took to change their hair policy. They also ask about why he wanted to start a dialogue with other schools, and what further plans there are to examine bias and inequality across their uniform policy. 

We talk about: 

• What changing the hair policy at school has meant to the girls and their peers 

This is the book Desmond mentions  Don’t touch my hair! By Emma Dabiri

“The recognition that just challenging someone [about their hair] is a sanction. If you are picked out in your class and something public is said to you about your hair, that is a sanction. You don’t have a detention for that, and it doesn’t get recorded as such but you walk away from it as the student thinking, I feel bad now and I didn’t feel that before, and the teacher might not even feel they have told you off, but that is how it lands.”

This week we talk to Sidonie Bertrand-Shelton, Head of Education & Youth, (she/her) and Katherine Fowler, Content Editor at The Key (she/her) about being in an LGBTQ+ inclusive school. We talk about the importance of high-quality age-appropriate Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) as well as making sure that you embed gender and LGBTQ+ inclusivity throughout your curriculum. 

We talk about: 

• The changes to RSHE and how schools can respond in an age-appropriate way and deal with any opposition from the local community 

You can find best practice, toolkits and resources from Stonewall here

You can find more information on Stonewall’s  e-learning here or their School and College Champions Programme here

Members of the Key for School Leaders can access our curriculum audit here

This week we talk to Major Pat Burgess, MBE, The Armour Centre Bovington and Sara White, Principal at Bovington Academy (part of The Aspirations Academy Trust). Major Pat has been delivering mindfulness sessions to pupils at Bovington Academy to help them deal with anxiety and prepare for their transition to secondary school. We hear about how the army and the school work in partnership and the benefits of applying mindfulness techniques in a school setting. 

We talk about: 

• Bovington Academy’s context and high mobility (circa 70%)

You can learn more about the Mindfulness in Schools project Major Pat references here. 

This week we speak to Sarah Baker, CEO, Alison Bingham, Director of Development and Rachel Watson, Associate Principal and Director of Education and Achievement from TEAM Education Trust, in the final instalment of our series of podcasts covering their first year as a trust. We talk about what they feel they have learned and achieved,  their plans for further development and Sarah shares her top tips for first time CEO’s. 

We talk about: 

• The resilience and adaptability of their staff during the pandemic

This week we speak to David Chapman, Vice Principal at Aston University Engineering Academy (AUEA) about his experiences running careers information advice and guidance at the longest-running University Technical College (UTC) in the country. We talk about how he met some of the challenges of running a careers programme during COVID-19 and the importance of contextualising learning and involving parents in the careers process. 

We talk about: 

• The purpose of UTCs and the history and context of AUEA 

You can read the Careers after Covid report we mention here

You can find out more about Launch My Career here 

There are useful resources for governors and leaders from The Careers Enterprise Company here