Author Archives: gwenelope

I went to RC schools as a child and, after a period in my 20s and early 30s of being a “lapsed catholic”, I am now a practising catholic.  I was told around the time I was beginning to apply … Continue reading →

Many years ago someone who was on the periphery of my circle of friends was in distress, behaved badly and ended up in gaol for a short period. He wasn’t a close friend and along with many others I made … Continue reading →

The problems and pressures of recruiting teachers have been well rehearsed. If anyone was in doubt about the scale or reality of the challenge the recent report by the National Audit Office should torpedo any complacency[1]. The government has missed … Continue reading →

I have welcomed this weekend with huge relief and have had a shamelessly lazy day today. Monday feels as if it were about three months ago. I know it’s a particularly intensive time for everyone, with Year 11 on their … Continue reading →

I couple of weeks ago, someone asked me one of those general, ‘how’s life?’ questions and I reflected that I couldn’t remember being happier in a job or having a more healthy, satisfying work-life balance. That, despite the challenges, I … Continue reading →

I was raised within both a home and education where right and wrong existed. There was very little room in either setting for a grey area; what was, simply was and what wasn’t- well, you follow. My secondary school was … Continue reading →

Today’s publication of the Future Leaders’ report, Heads Up[i], on the problems of recruiting headteachers is very timely. The report just does not describe the scale of the problem but also identifies what factors that are contributing to a lack … Continue reading →

Image: @jasonramasami Recently, I asked a class of top-set year 11s to identify the verbs in a piece of writing. It was a seemingly simple activity that I had given them a few minutes to complete, yet it quickly became clear from … Continue reading →

In a widely reported speech to  the think-tank Centre Forum,  Ofsted chief Michael Wilshaw has slammed the  ‘One-size-fits-all’ emphasis on traditional academic subjects by secondary schools, declaring that this ‘will never deliver the range of success that their youngsters need’ … Continue reading →

When I first started my Doctorate – on balancing teaching and parenthood, I was very conscious of living and breathing the topic. Life was pretty much: MUM! MUMMY! MUM, MISS, MIIISS! MISS? EMMA? EMMA! MUM? MUM! MUUUM!! EMMA? In some … Continue reading →