A set of 8 mantras to support leaders to create a respectful and cooperative environment. Taken from the perspective of a classroom teacher who has seen the good, the bad and the down right ugly. They are the lessons I have learnt where leaders, heads and managers can make easy changes to win the trust and respect of their staff. Once that respect is achieved, it becomes a sted-fast loyalty and you have a school that shares the load and works together. Through my experience, this open, honest and cooperative environment can be the difference between a Requires Improvement inspection and a Good one.

A PowerPoint for History Subject Leads to train staff in primary schools. The PowerPoint is around the effective use of artefacts in the classroom. It focuses on asking questions and using observation skills. It contains games that can be used in the primary classroom from the Foundation Stage to Year 6. Download and edit to personalise to your school.

This PowerPoint investigates how ruins can offer an insight into the history of a buiilding, a village, national history and can be used as the incentive for a larger project including art and design and technology. It provides ideas for using the ruins themselves as a learning tool for the building’s history and then ideas for a wider project. If you are thinking of using local ruins, then this is a presentation to use before you plan your unit of work.

This PowerPoint outlines how primary teachers and home-schoolers can use the local area for a unit of work in History. It takes the teacher through the resources that they can use to support a rich and multi-sourced investigation. It is intended to be used by the History Subject Lead as CPD or for a teacher / parent who needs help to plan a unit of work. There are embedded links to useful sites within the slides themselves, where sources have been suggested.

A Powerpoint explaining some of the main tasks of a Maths Subject Lead. The presentation is split into - Curriculum, Action Plan, Monitoring, Policies, OFSTED, miscellaneous and a final slide directing you to other useful sites to further your subject leadership knowledge and understanding. The slides contain tried and tested ideas and suggestions and a review of some useful school based apps for maths at school and home. A great introduction for those who need some guidance as they begin an important core subject lead.

A document outlining the different styles of questions around problem solving in maths. There are many, including more than one answer, missing numbers, odd one out, 1 or 2 step problems, logical thinking, patterns, generalisation and non-examples. The document includes the skills that children will need to solve these problems and examples of what they look like. This is intended to support teachers within the primary phase to effectively teach maths problem solving in class. As maths lead, I have distributed this to staff and asked them to ensure they expose the children to each one each year.

A powerpoint containing a range of useful ideas for monitoring and feedback, aimed at maths subjects leads but can be applied to any subject. It is for subject leads who want to motivate and empower staff to reflect on their practice and find their own way forward. It provides some good practice in collaborative planning and some ideas for feedback without value judgements. There are also slides offering advice on where to find support for staff who need development. I have offered suggestions as to websites and orgaisations that might be useful for maths leads and there are some quotes and posters from experts in the field of education and business that can be used as mantras to develop your role around. A great starting point for subject leads who want to create a positive and inspiring atmosphere for colleagues.