In the wake of the tragic death of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died in 2016 from an allergic reaction to sesame seeds in the dough of a baguette, her parents founded the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. It campaigned for changes to food labelling laws and works to raise awareness about food allergies. In October 2021, Natasha’s Law was implemented in the UK, requiring full labelling of ingredients on all prepacked food.

In this episode, Natasha’s mother, Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, joins NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen to discuss the free training and resources available for schools through the foundation's Allergy School programme. She also highlights simple steps that school leaders can take to support students with allergies.

To learn more visit allergyschool.org.uk.

For more insightful and engaging discussions on key issues in education and school leadership, explore NAHT’s online magazine, Leadership Focus.

How can you effectively manage conflict? What qualities define great leadership? In what ways should schools implement artificial intelligence? In this episode, you'll hear insights from Chris Packham CBE, Jaz Ampaw-Farr, Darren Coxon, Liz Robinson and Jill Berry as they explore these questions and discuss issues central to education and leadership.

This is the second of our special episodes bringing you conversations from this year’s Inspiring Leadership Conference. Find out more about the Inspiring Leadership Conference in 2026.

For more insightful and engaging discussions on key issues in education and school leadership, explore NAHT’s online magazine Leadership Focus.

If you’d like updates on school news and education policy sent straight to your phone, join NAHT on WhatsApp. Make sure you click the bell icon in the top right corner so you’re notified when we send a message.

In this episode, we explore the art of decision-making, the importance of ‘botheredness’, the dynamics of people-pleasing, and much more. Join us to hear unique insight for school leaders from Olympic gold medal-winning rower Ben Hunt-Davis, NAHT president Rachel Younger, Hywel Roberts, Astrid Korin and Maggie Farrar, and others.

They spoke to the School Leadership Podcast at the Inspiring Leadership Conference 2025. Held in June at the ICC Birmingham, this annual conference offers school leaders professional development, leadership insights and practical strategies to inspire school improvement.

Find out more about the Inspiring Leadership Conference in 2026.

The removal of performance-related pay in 2024 marked a turning point in how schools approach teacher appraisal. But why was performance-related pay a problem in schools? What does the research actually tell us? And what do teachers really need for meaningful professional growth?

Gareth Conyard, director of education at the Teacher Development Trust (TDT), and Andrea Bean, its research and evaluation manager, answer these questions and more in this conversation with NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen.

The TDT’s new research report offers school leaders clear, evidence-based recommendations for designing developmental appraisal systems in schools, with a one-page guide created specifically for school leaders. Find out more.

School leaders who are interested in taking part in a forum to discuss the challenges and opportunities around teacher appraisal are invited to join a TDT-led session taking place from 9.30am to 11am on Thursday 19 June 2025. Register here.

How do you keep your school’s IT systems and data safe? From ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ backups and the cloud to patching, passwords and multi-factor authentication, this episode looks at some of the most common cybersecurity concerns – and some of their solutions.

With the UK’s schools and trusts increasingly reliant on digital technology for a range of functions, robust procedures are vital to protect against damage and cyberattacks. Here, Matthew Setchell, chief technology officer at Concero, shares his expertise, tips and ‘non-negotiables’ with NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen.

NAHT members can find out more about Concero’s work at naht.org.uk/concero-education-technology.

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.

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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.