"Middle leadership in schools should be much more than just bridging the gap between the top and the bottom". Professor Andy HargreavesJoin me in conversation with Professor Andy Hargreaves in my latest Head Room podcast episode where we take a deep dive into what exactly it means to lead FROM the middle.Andy has just released his latest book 'Leadership from the Middle' which offers educators a wealth of insights into how impactful this role should be on transforming education.In this episode we discuss:Defining middle leadership in schoolsHow do middle leaders foster resilience within schools?The Leadership ParadoxThe importance of collaboration in middle leadershipOvercoming resistance and building supportThe future of middle leadership in schoolsYou can check out Andy's latest books as well as keep up to date with his speaking engagements and much much more at his website: www.andyhargreaves.comAndy's Latest Books:The Age of Identity: https://amzn.eu/d/9EmQMbMLeadership from the Middle: https://amzn.eu/d/etQLd6cPlease note these are not affiliate links.

It has been 18 months since I published an episode of HeadRoom and I want to thank you for your patience. During that period the downloads have continued and we have seen over 2000 episodes downloaded across 41 countries since our very first release in November 2020.In this episode I'm in conversation with Shane Leaning who was the very inspiration for my re-launch and to whom I am very grateful. Shane is an organisational coach with many years of experience working with International schools. He is originally from the UK but now works and lives in Shanghai in China. Shane started his own podcast earlier in 2023 called Global Ed Leaders and it has been an instant hit with educators around the world. Join me in conversation as I hear about Shane's journey in education, his experiences of working in International schools and his reflections on the success of his podcast so far. You're in for a treat in this episode.For more information on Shane check out his website: shaneleaning.com

Does your school have 'The Buzz'?Join me in conversation with Tracey Ezard as we discuss how you can develop a collaborative staff learning culture in your school. See Tracey's message below for more details and a special offer for Head Room listeners to access the 'Buzz Diagnostic'.Please note this episode is not sponsored.A message from Tracey:Getting a good sense of how strong our buzz is (Is it a buzz? A hum? Or are those just crickets chirping?) can be a challenge when we’re sitting in the middle of it. To gauge what is going on we need to sit back and reflect on ourselves and our school.‘The Buzz’ Diagnostic will guide your reflection. It has been undertaken by over 9500 educators and support staff over the last three years, giving great insights into school culture, as well as giving benchmarks for each school. It is suggested that schools undertake the diagnostic annually to monitor the growth in their professional learning culture.The Buzz Diagnostic, when undertaken by the members of your staff, will give you insight into how they see The Buzz at your school. Individual staff members assess their individual contribution to the three pillars of The Buzz, as well as how they perceive the school as a whole. It asks about three core areas of learning intelligence: mindset, environment and belief.·       Mindset. The way people in the learning community think.·       Environment. The actions a learning community takes to stimulate professional learning.·       Dialogue. The quality of the conversations learning communities have.In each of these areas, there are some questions about how you feel as an individual educator, and how you feel as an educator within your school community.When you’ve finished the Buzz Diagnostic, you will receive an individual report with feedback on important actions for your professional reflection practices. If your school is participating in a whole school diagnostic, they will receive an aggregate summary report, however individual responses will still be kept confidential as your responses will be collated with feedback from other staff.The diagnostic takes about 10 minutes to complete and is often done at a meeting time to ensure high levels of participation. To access the whole school Buzz Diagnostic, request an access code via this link or complete an individual assessment here.So, what’s The Buzz at your school like?eBooksGlue e-book PDFBuzz e-book PDFBuzz Academy - www.thebuzz.academyTracey’s website - www.traceyezard.com

'At Thinking Matters we believe metacognition is more than just reflecting on your learning. Metacognition is being able to adapt to the unknown. It is having strategies to make progress at whatever you set your mind to. Metacognition is future proofing.'In this episode we are 'Thinking about Thinking'. Join me in conversation with Lorna Gardiner, a consultant with 'Thinking Matters' as we discuss the importance of a whole school approach to developing thinking skills. Thinking Matters is an organisation which supports schools who are interested in whole school approaches to developing pupil metacognition - or in becoming 'Thinking Schools'. If you have an interest in metacognition and are keen to introduce an initiative in your school that will help 'future proof' your students then this episode is for you.To find out more check out:    www.thinkingmatters.com or contact Lorna directly at:    [email protected]

In this episode I'm really excited to be joined by Tracey Ezard. Tracey is an educator, speaker and author. Her education career has included primary teacher, performing arts specialist and assistant principal in the Victorian State system in Australia.  For the last 15 years Tracey has worked with schools and school systems in Australia and New Zealand in the areas of leadership and the building of professional learning cultures. She has recently begun working with a federation of schools in the UK, helping them build their leadership and professional learning culture capacity.Her books The Buzz and Glue unpack the elements of strong collaborative staff cultures - including trust, psychological safety and authentic dialogue.Her latest book Ferocious Warmth, School Leaders Who Inspire and Transform is the culmination of 3 decades of leading, and working with leaders. She is passionate about helping leaders be the very best they can be, drawing from both the head and the heart.  Ferocious Warmth leaders focus on both results and relationships, culture and strategy, high challenge and high support. Not one at the expense of the other.Join me in conversation with Tracey as we take a deep dive into the concept of a 'Ferocious Warmth Leader'. Whether you're new to leadership or you're a seasoned pro there is something here for everyone.For more information on Tracey's books and other resources visit her website www.traceyezard.comTo get 15% off the cost of  a copy of 'Ferocious Warmth' via the website shop use the code HeadRoom (this is not an affiliate link)

For our tenth episode I'm delighted to be joined by Jasmine Miller.  A former Principal and Head Teacher and currently a coach, consultant, researcher and soon to be author, Jasmine has a rich variety of experiences in the world of education. Jasmine qualified as a teacher in her native New Zealand, then moved to teach in London and now lives in Scotland where she runs Jasmine Miller Coaching. Join us for an insightful conversation to learn of Jasmine's fascinating journey over the last 20 years.For more information go to www.jasminemillercoaching.com

In this episode I am privileged to be joined by the founding director of Growth Coaching International John Campbell. John started his teaching career in 1974 and shares with us his experiences of coaching and the role it can play in the world of education. John has written extensively on the subject and discusses the concept of a 'coaching approach' to leadership as well as the benefits of peer coaching within our schools.

In this episode I have the privilege of chatting to Shane Martin. Shane has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences on a range of topics around wellbeing, positive mental health, recovery and happiness. A leader within the area of education, he has visited hundreds of educational institutions nationwide working with management teams, teachers/lecturers, students and parents. Today he talks through why he made the move from the classroom to the world of pyschology,  his thoughts on the importance of staff wellbeing, the role of humour in the school community and how he sees the future for Moodwatchers. To find out more about Shane's work with schools check out his website: www.moodwatchers.com

In this episode I am delighted to be joined by Chris Munro. Chris shares with us some of his  journey starting out as a teacher of technological education in Aberdeen nearly 30 years ago right through to his current position as Managing Director of Growth Coaching International in Australia and New Zealand. Chris talks about his passion for teacher development and how coaching has been an integral part in improving conversations in education right across the world.

It's the first episode of 2021 and I'm really excited to be joined by Brittany Rehal to talk about her research on teacher flourishing, what it looks like and how do we get there. Brittany shares her international teaching journey from China to Quatar, her passion for teacher wellbeing and more recently her research into the concept of teacher flourishing. Whether you're a teacher or leader in education Brittany's story is well worth a listen.