In this episode, I speak with Catrina Lowri the founder of Neuroteachers. Catrina is a neurodivergent teacher with dyslexia and bipolar condition. She has over 20 years experience as a SENCO and special needs teacher. Catrina is passionate about improving outcomes for children, young people, and adults with Autism and neurodiversity. She works with schools, colleges, nurseries, parents and businesses to improve inclusion for neurodivergent people by providing a bespoke mix of online resources, training, mentoring and action research projects to enable educational settings, families and employers to provide equity of opportunity for unique, neurodivergent, minds.

Schoolsuk.com - Having served schools and academies for the past 23 years, Schools UK is now one of the longest-serving and leading providers of staff absence insurance within the education sector.

Their philosophy is simple: to provide coverage to accommodate every eventuality, which is why their Schools UK insurance includes a 5-in-1 policy to ensure they are adequately supporting your staff through all incidents of both physical and mental health challenges.

For a 10% discount on your premium, use the code WELEADWELLPODCAST

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With over 12 years of experience in educational leadership positions in the UK and overseas, Stephanie is committed to fostering a whole-school approach to the development of process over performance, in order for students and staff to thrive. Through her work on mindset and metacognition in her early career she has embedded this into her classroom practice and leadership approach to ensure that all stakeholders are committed to preparing students beyond the curriculum and providing them with opportunities to develop skills in order to flourish in an ever changing future.   

In her current role as Deputy Headteacher at the British International School, Hanoi, Stephanie is firmly committed to growing others and is always seeking new opportunities for staff in the school. She reflects this in her own practice and is always looking to be up to date with the latest developments in educational and leadership practice. Most recently she has been exploring how to apply her commitment to a focus on process with coaching, as a vehicle to develop her own leadership practice and that of others. She is a keen listener of We Lead Well and is extremely excited to have been involved in this episode!

The We Lead Well Podcast is sponsored by School UK: providing staff absence insurance.  Get a quote at https://www.schoolsuk.com/get-a-quote/staff-absence-quote/ and use the discount code WELEADWELLPODCAST for a 10% discount on purchase. 

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After four years in Retail Management, Ben graduated from Birmingham City University with a first-class honours degree in Primary Education. With a background in retail management and a deep passion for education, Ben has since held various roles, including learning mentor, unqualified teacher, class teacher, and middle leader. Ben is passionate about delivering an engaging and well-rounded curriculum, prioritising student well-being and building strong relationships to create a nurturing learning environment. 

In addition to his primary role, Ben is committed to making a broader impact in the education sector. He has established networks for aspiring and early career educators, as well as aspiring and new leaders in education, which you can hear all about in this episode. He has also founded his own organizations, providing media, events, and administrative support to networks, coaching and training for early career professionals. 

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Catherine Hulme is an accomplished educator, leadership coach, and the CEO of Leadership Edge, an organisation dedicated to transforming education through coaching. With over two decades of experience in the field, Catherine is passionate about empowering students and educators to reach their full potential.

Catherine works tirelessly to promote the power of pure coaching in schools. She firmly believes that coaching can revolutionise education by fostering student-centered learning, self-discovery, and goal-setting. Catherine's expertise lies in guiding schools and educational leaders in implementing coaching practices that enhance student outcomes and promote holistic development.

Catherine's career in education began as a classroom teacher, where she witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of personalized coaching on student success. Her passion for coaching led her to pursue advanced certifications in leadership and coaching methodologies, equipping her with a deep understanding of the unique needs of students and educators.

Through her work with Leadership Edge, Catherine has collaborated with numerous schools providing professional development workshops, coaching programmes, and consultancy services.

Catherine's mission is to inspire educators, leaders and students to embrace coaching as a catalyst for personal and academic growth. With her unwavering dedication and commitment to excellence, she continues to make a significant impact on the education landscape, helping schools to create environments that nurture the potential of every student and member of staff.

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Patrick Ottley-O’Connor is a coach and education guru. He was a teacher for more than 34 years, including 27 years as a senior leader, and 17 years as a headteacher.

Patrick coaches many aspiring, new and experienced headteachers and CEOs, particularly those facing significant challenge both in the UK and internationally.

He leads and facilitates a variety of leadership programmes, ranging from middle leadership to executive leadership courses.  Patrick is also a Trustee of the Wardle Trust and founding Director of Collaborative Leadership Ltd.

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In this episode of the podcast, I chatted to Alan Taylor, the headteacher at Newton College, part of the International Schools Partnership in Alicante.  If you're wondering what it might be like to lead in an international school, or you're just interested to learn more about the experience of international leadership, this is the episode for you!  Born and raised in Manchester in the UK, Alan first completed an aerospace engineering apprenticeship with British Airways before going on to attain a first-class honours degree in Secondary Science Education at The Manchester Metropolitan University. He went on to teaching and leadership positions across the North of England including North Tyneside and Trafford. Alan’s passion for creative learning experiences led to published work in the UK School Science Review Journal. He was later selected as one of five UK school leaders to research and re-design future science learning spaces as part of the National Project, ‘Project Faraday’ (part of the UK Building Schools for the future initiative). As part of his leadership development he successfully completed his National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). He moved to Laude British School of Vila-real as Headteacher in 2016 and in 2019 he began Headship at Laude Newton College where is currently enjoys leading the school of more than 1300 students and over 200 staff. He is also a registered Lead Inspector for The National Association of British Schools in Spain (NABSS) and has led training events at their National Conference.

www.weleadwell.co.uk

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For this episode, I chatted to Neil Jurd all about leadership. Neil is a former army officer and RMA Sandhurst instructor. He served in several operational theatres, including the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Yemen. Since leaving the army he has worked in leadership development and coaching for more than a decade, a passion which has now developed into a small but busy training company delivering residential and online training courses to a number of clients.

Neil has an MA from Cranfield University, is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management and an Entrepreneur in Residence at Lancaster University. He was awarded the British Citizen Award in 2020, and appointed OBE in 2021.  In his spare time Neil is Director Initial Officer Training for the Army Cadets UK, and is the Founder and Trustee of the Michelle Jurd Trust, a charity funding character education for young people.

https://neiljurd.com/

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On this week's episode, I chatted to John Magee AKA The Kindness Coach and Founder of Kindness Matters.  John has been teaching kindness and wellbeing to school children and teachers since 2010.

His motivation and passion for education began after the credit crunch of 2008, when he lost my family business, his marriage broke down and he battled bankruptcy and consequently deep depression.

John was given the opportunity by Community Business Partner CIC CEO, Amanda Meachin, and Darwen Community Academy Headteacher, Brendan Loughran, to speak at an event called Inspiring Communities.

Looking back, he never could have imagined the impact this talk would have across the UK in raising awareness around mental health.

The talk gave John the visibility and opportunity to create an AQA accredited PSHE course, to quickly become a best-selling author of Kindness Matters, be recognised as an inspirational speaker and develop online courses that would go on to transform staff and pupils’ wellbeing with kindness at the heart of staff professional development and pupil interventions.

In 2012, John formed Kindness Matters to share that knowledge with others, to lead healthier and happier lives inside and outside of school.

www.kindnessmatters.co.uk

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This week on the show, I chatted to Atyia and Rebecca who were participants on the very first cohort of the Women Lead Well group coaching programme.  We talked about some of the challenges facing women in leadership and how the group coaching programme has helped both of them to develop both personally and professionally.  If you're wondering whether the group coaching programme is for you, or if you have female school leaders in your school who you think might benefit from being part of the programme, this definitely the episode to listen to.  It's also for you if you want to hear about the experiences of other women in school leadership, the challenges they have faced and how they have, through coaching, overcome them.

www.weleadwell.co.uk

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Cleo de Jong is a deputy head at a high school in North London and mum of 2.  I first heard Cleo on the Diverse Educators podcast talking about her experience of being a senior leader and mum and the challenges she had faced.  This resonated with me and made me feel quite angry that things haven't moved forward that much since I was first pregnant 20 years ago.  The good news is that Cleo now works in a school with a forward thinking head who has allowed Cleo the flexibility that supports her to be a mum and a deputy head.  We talk about the challenges of being a mum and a school leader but also the ways in which it can work to the benefit of everyone involved - including the school.

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@cleodejong