In this episode, former Metropolitan Police hostage and crisis negotiator Nicky Perfect shares strategies to help school leaders deal with difficult everyday situations by improving communication with pupils, parents and colleagues when emotions are running high.

Using lessons learned confronting the extremes of human behaviour, Nicky talks about what to say – and what not to say, explains the importance of a ‘really good listen’ and shares powerful tools that can help you communicate better, defuse conflict and negotiate effectively. Hear her in conversation with NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen.

Nicky will be a keynote speaker at this year’s Inspiring Leadership Conference, which takes place on 12 and 13 June in Birmingham. She is one of a line-up that includes naturalist Chris Packham and Olympic gold medallist Ben Hunt-Davis, who will all be there to share their stories and strategies with school leaders. Find out more.

Plans to change the way schools in England will be inspected were unveiled by Ofsted earlier this month. These would see schools graded on a five-step scale across a wider range of individual areas – from ‘exemplary’ to ‘causing concern’, with a separate assessment of whether safeguarding standards are met.

Here, NAHT's general secretary Paul Whiteman and assistant general secretary James Bowen address some of the issues the proposals raise – from ‘monitoring’, ‘sub-judgements’ and ‘stuck schools’ to the realities of a traffic-light system and the lack of quantitative questions in Ofsted’s consultation.

NAHT believes the plans would replicate the worst aspects of the current system while doing little to reduce the pressure school leaders are under, and there’s a way to provide clearer information for parents and schools without resorting to grades.

Ofsted’s consultation is open until 28 April 2025. See NAHT’s guidance for NAHT members on completing Ofsted’s consultation.

For more education news and debate, join us on Facebook, LinkedIn, BlueSky or X.

Published in December and currently making its way through parliament, the government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill would bring about changes to laws affecting safeguarding and schools.

The bill includes new rules on branded uniforms, an end to automatic academisation for schools judged to be ‘causing concern’, free breakfast clubs in state-funded primaries and a unique identifier for all children.

Join NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen as he takes a closer look at the plans and what they would mean for school leaders.

See NAHT’s briefing on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

What does being a leader in a primary or secondary school today really involve? How does the role vary across the UK? And how can we make it more sustainable?

In this episode of NAHT’s podcast, Professor Toby Greany of the University of Nottingham and Dr Tom Perry of the University of Warwick are joined by NAHT’s assistant general secretary James Bowen in a conversation addressing these questions and more.

Researching Sustainable School Leadership is an ongoing project looking at the realities of school leadership in the UK today and how the role can be made more sustainable. Find out more about the project at

The project’s current survey exploring the experiences of all head teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders is running until the end of January 2025 – take part at sustainableschoolleadership.uk/leadership-survey.

A little more than four months on since the general election, NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman reflects on working with the new government so far, why politicians must rebuild trust among school leaders and what social partnership in policymaking means in practice.

He’s joined in conversation for this episode of NAHT’s School Leadership Podcast by NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen.

From ditching performance targets to allowing teachers time off – hear how a multi-academy trust is overhauling its policies in a bid to tackle workload and improve the well-being of its teaching staff.

Jonny Uttley, chief executive officer at The Education Alliance – a trust based in the East Riding of Yorkshire – speaks to NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen about the need for accountability reform, their workload charter and the steps they’re taking to reduce teaching tasks, boost retention and bring about improvements for staff and students.

What does a really good school staff absence insurance policy look like? How can schools support staff well-being and lower absenteeism? What does having an ethical approach to school absence provision mean?

In this coffee-break edition of the School Leadership Podcast, you’ll hear Holly Harding, chief operating officer of the non-profit Education Mutual, answer these questions and explore the benefits of NAHT Wellness and Protect for NAHT members and their schools.

Find out more at ⁠www.naht.org.uk/NAHT-Wellness-and-Protect⁠.

Whether it's synthetic phonics, the curriculum or school inspection, how are our education policies actually made? Why do they often fail the sector they are intended to serve? And how can we make sure the people actually delivering education to children in schools have a say in what's decided?

This episode examines the state of education policymaking in England and how we could improve it. NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen is joined by Nansi Ellis, an education policy consultant and former assistant general secretary at the National Education Union, and Gareth Conyard, co-CEO of the Teacher Development Trust and a former Department for Education senior civil servant. Their book Improving Education Policy Together: How it’s made, implemented, and can be done better, published by Routledge, is available now.

Where do you start to if you want to diversify the primary curriculum? Based on her experience as a primary head teacher, Sarah Wordlaw shares ideas and insight for all school leaders, along with a message for the new government, which has just announced it’ll soon be embarking on an independent review of curriculum and assessment.

Sarah Wordlaw is the author of Time to Shake Up the Primary Curriculum: A step-by-step guide to creating a global, diverse and inclusive school. She’s in conversation with NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen for this episode of the School Leadership Podcast.

With the 4 July 2024 general election approaching, the School Leadership Podcast explores NAHT’s manifesto for education For Their Future with the union’s general secretary Paul Whiteman and assistant general secretary James Bowen.

They talk through NAHT’s key education priorities of recruitment and retention, SEND and school buildings, and explain why our next government needs to fix these crises and rebuild its relationship with the sector as part of a longer-term plan for change within the school system.