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* The head of Ofsted has upset headteachers. Sir Martin Oliver thought that the best place to tell headteachers what he thought was, at a conference of headteachers. Needless to say, when he seemed to imply that they had low expectations, they were not best pleased. The issue is context. Ofsted appear to be grading schools with higher levels of deprivation more harshly by judging their outcomes against national average (see below). Oliver says that is all about having high expectations, the headteachers say it is unfair on the schools with the biggest challenges. Of course not everyone will agree but it may explain why your senior team is concerned. It also poses some interesting and complex questions around the central idea of inclusion. Does Ofsted comparing school outcomes support or hinder schools in difficult circumstances serving students with the greatest challenges coming to school and taking advantage of the opportunities school presents them with? That is a question which impacts on every teacher in every classroom and every leader in every school and again asks how much leadership is about accountability and how much it is about the needs of the communities we serve.

* AI can now do school for you. A new AI package launched last week is able to review course materials, write essays and make contributions to discussions on your behalf. It means that, in theory, a student could complete a degree without ever showing up. That in turn would beg the question, what is the point of doing a degree in the first place? The obvious answer is that it would get you a qualification but surely at some point people will get found out if they did not learn anything. That leads us back to the role of AI and people in education which Dan Fitzpatrick resolves with a focus on process rather than product. Perhaps, he suggests, we need to identify ways to test individual learners; spoken exams, Socratic questioning or peer review tasks. AI can then, says Betty Johnson, move from threat to support, supporting student learning and enabling teachers to complete tasks like planning lessons and creating resources, saving time whilst enhancing learning and wellbeing.

* Your greatest weaknesses can also be your greatest strengths, according to Justin Bariso, emotional intelligence coach. If you are someone who is so deeply empathetic that you feel everyone’s pain you have the potential to build strong connections and loyal relationships. If you are someone who finds you often disagree with people you may be good at saying what everyone else is afraid to say. The trick is to move from being overwhelmed by your traits and learn to focus on goals. Benjamin Parnell applies this to giving up alcohol based on his desire to compete in triathlons rather than just giving up. If your goal is to become a better leader, friend or parent it might be worth asking yourself how traits which at times seem to let you down might become some of your greatest strengths.

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