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‘Step Up’ to Leadership: Be a Male Ally

by Ben Hobbis @MrBHobbis


Are you a new leader who likes the idea of leadership but struggles to find the balance between teaching and leading? 

Are you someone who wants to be a leader, but not knowing how to get there, feeling a bit stagnant? 

You might be a developing leader but in the wrong organisation? 

You might not see leaders like you? 

This is why Step Up was set up.

Step Up is a new network for new and aspiring leaders in education, particularly at middle and senior leadership levels in schools. Upon starting the social media account, and subsequent network, we surveyed people to find out who our community are and what they want/need. This has been incredibly useful. It's been great getting to know our community.

From this research and insight, we have constructed five 'leadership themes' that we base our content and output around. 

The five themes are: 

  • Leadership Journeys
  • Leadership Barriers & Challenges
  • Leadership Development
  • Leadership Wellbeing 
  • Leadership Diversity

As the founder of Step Up, I wanted to ensure that whatever we do, we are inclusive and that we are diverse in order to create a community where our network members belong. As a heterosexual, white, able-bodied, cisgender man who doesn't have children and is fairly financially stable, I know I've had it easier than others. 

However, I have always committed to being a #HeForShe ally. 

I have been a keen supporter and champion of #WomenEd since signing up to social media. One thing I have realised is that I've continued to learn as an ally.

One of the biggest learning curves was Step Up's Launch Event. 

As I co-hosted alongside one of my fellow network leaders, #WomenEd West Midlands England's Elaine Hayes, I listened attentively to our speakers.

 I listened to the vulnerability; to their negative and positive experiences; to their struggles; to their hopes and wishes; to their experience and tips. 

I felt quite emotional in parts listening to in some cases, abhorrent behaviour that they (or colleagues, friends or family) had been subjected to as part of their journey.

I've summarised some of the key takeaways from some of the presentations:


Parm Plummer, WomenEd's Global Strategic Leaderand a Secondary Assistant Headteacher based in Jersey presented on Women in Leadership. 

Her talk initially started with sharing the fantastic work of #WomenEd: their campaigns, partnerships, networks (including their global reach) and the development opportunities they provide for female leaders. 

Parm then went on to help navigate the process of stepping up as a female leader, initially sharing the only image of a woman that came up during a Google search, before going on to provide tips to write a job application through to negotiating your terms. Parm also gave tips on finding allies and joining networks.


Helen Witty, a neurodivergent Lead SENDCo based in the East of England who gave a pre-recorded video on Neurodivergent Leadership. 

Helen shared an insight into her job and life as a SENDCo with ADHD. She shared about being open about her ADHD at her job interview and how it positively impacts her life and those who she works with. 

Helen also gave a fantastic insight into the role of a SENDCo, for all those who aspire to this role.


Stephanie Shaldas, a secondary deputy headteacher leading on diversity and inclusion based in London.

Stephanie's talk, Leadership in Colour: Senior Leadership as a Black American Woman, started with a story from March 2021 whilst she was working as an Acting Co-Headteacher. This story was based around Prince William visiting her school. 

What was a forty-five minute visit led to a weekend of trending on Twitter, including one Tweet:

'Who dressed up the secretary in African cloth and trotted her out?'

Stephanie went on to talk about her journey and how she felt like school leaders didn't look like her when she was in her early career. She shared her inspiring path to leadership including her own education as well as teaching and leadership roles at middle and senior level spanning both curriculum and pastoral. 

As Stephanie said, "If I can, then you can!" – find your why and explore your passions!


Mubina Husain, Head of Science Faculty, based in London gave a presentation titled: 'Using my minority lens to lead.'

Mubina talked about how she used her minority ethnic background as her strength in her leadership journey. 

She posed the key question: 'Do we have equity in teaching?' 

Mubina used research and evidence to back up every piece of advice and information that she gave; talking about building allies to help you bring your chair to the table.


Jaycee Ward, a phase leader in a Yorkshire primary school, spoke about imposter syndrome, based around her journey as a young senior leader. 

Jaycee narrated her journey to date and how she has completely changed her narrative and inner critic. 

She shared her five top tips for combating imposter syndrome: 

Seek Support, Embrace Vulnerability, Celebrate Achievements, Self-Compassion, Self-Reflection. 

Something everyone at the event resonated with.


Nicola Mooney, a secondary deputy headteacher based in the South West of England, who also volunteers for #WomenEd South West England and MTPT Project, gave an interesting presentation on 'non-linear career paths'.

Nicola shared her journey through her career to date including multiple maternity leaves and periods of IVF. Nicola shared how through not going through the 'traditional' upward trajectory has enabled her to be successful both as a teacher and as a mother. 

It was a talk many welcomed, knowing it's not as simple and always useful to be continually promoted.


So, why should you become a male ally? 

It's your duty and championing equality and equity benefits us all. 

For example, #WomenEd's campaign on flexible working will improve the workplace for all genders. 

Being an ally is a journey, just like the journey we are still working on to achieve equity and equality for all.

Educate yourself on the #WomenEd four campaigns and all the issues women leaders in education face so that you can support the journey to removing barriers for all.

I feel very privileged to have spent time in the virtual room with these fantastic female leaders. 

Step Up (and I) will continue championing for diversity, equity, and inclusion within the education leadership sector and we will ensure everyone has the chance to share their stories. 

If you want to get involved and find out more, then follow us on @StepUpNet_Ed and check out our website.

#WomenEd, Karen and me.

by Rachel Stone @SBMCoventry   #BirthdayCelebration

Well, here I am writing a blog for the first time.

Why now? Well, probably because I have always been encouraged behind the scenes by Hilary Goldsmith, aka @SBL365, since I joined #SBLtwitter but politely ignored the challenge, until now. It has always been on my tah-dah list to write a blog post, but I have just never really had the confidence to do so. My fears? Would others find me interesting? What could I say to make a difference to someone else? Am I gifted enough to be a writer? I have read so many great things that have made me punch the air in delight for the genuine achievements of some School Business Managers. How could I possibly compete and make a difference?

2021: How have I been 10%Braver?

By Dr Jill Berry@jillberry102

After I contributed a chapter to the first #WomenEd book in 2019, we were asked to film a short video of ourselves holding the book, wearing the 10% Braver tee-shirt and explaining how we had been brave and what we might do if we were braver still. I said I'd been brave when I completed my doctorate and wrote a book about it: Making the Leap – Moving from Deputy to Head. If I were even braver I would write a novel. This was a pledge I repeated at the end of the fifth #WomenEd conference when we met face to face in Sheffield in October 2019.

I started my first novel, 'The Dresser', in the final months of 2019, and finished it early in the pandemic. I enjoyed the process of writing so much, that later in 2020 I started a second novel, '#OneWord'. And in the summer of 2021 I finished my third, 'The Button Box'. I've loved the process of writing fiction, a very different challenge from the educational writing I've done. But the bravery came in my decision this year to try to find a publisher so that what I've written might reach a wider audience.

In April 2021 I met a local publisher, who read the two books I'd finished, and was very encouraging and complementary about them. But she suggested I needed a bigger publisher. When I investigated this I found such publishers are currently inundated, and not accepting unsolicited submissions. I needed to find an agent. Between May and November I sent out, in batches, 50 emails to potential agents – and have had no success at all! I've received either rejections, or stony silence. It's been hard. Although I counsel educators all the time about coping with rejection, I've never been on the receiving end of so much - and it can feel quite personal.When writing fiction you put a good deal of yourself into it, I think, and putting yourself out there makes you feel vulnerable.

However, I won't be defeated! In 2022 I am going to be 10%braver again and self-publish these three short novels on one e-volume. I have a designer and a copy-editor, and will use my networks to promote my writing.I just want more people to read (I hope!), enjoy (ideally...) and share the books.

It will take courage! Wish me luck.

Jill Berry

December 2021

A little more kindness and no more lemons

By Sue Plant @PlantPlant4Sue

I have been reading a lot recently about ethical leadership. It coincided with preparing to speak at the 5th UK #WomenEd Unconference. I haven't been reading just for that purpose though, it is something that interests me and therefore I want to know more. The more I read, the more questions I have.

Being 10% Braver: #IAmWriting.

by Vivienne Porritt @ViviennePorritt

We started WomenEd because women's voices on twitter were often silenced, harrassed or our views were not valued. It's one of the reasons we included a mic in our logo. So we encouraged women to tweet and to write blogs to tell our stories and share our lived experience. 

One of the reasons we wrote 10%braver: Inspiring Women to Lead Education was to ensure the voices of our community reached women who are not on twitter. And over 30 voices are included in Being 10% Braver which, joyously, is published this December - you can pre-order and it's a great Christmas present! And we are delighted to share more opportunities for our community to write and to be heard.

Being an ally and not realising: the journey to allyship.

 by Ben Hobbis @MrBHobbis

I think I’ve always been an ally. But I don’t think I realised this until this academic year. 

So, what is an ally? An ally is any person that actively promotes and aspires to advance the culture of inclusion through intentional, positive and conscious efforts that benefit people as a whole (Atcheson, 2018). It is important to remember gender equality is a matter that affects us all and reducing gender inequality is something that we all need to work on. Men can do this by being an ally.

Hormonal or forgetful?

By Amy Jeetley @amyjeetley


I’ve always prided myself on my sharpness of mind, clarity and understanding. I could pick up things quickly, work things out at a fast pace and recall many things. Over the last couple of years I’ve seen a decline in all this. I was thinking something is wrong. I started losing my confidence, and felt I was incapable of doing things I could a few years back.

How are you? How are you really?

by Keziah Featherstone @keziah70

One of the fundamental responsibilities of any leader is to look after their staff team. Even in relatively normal circumstances that’s difficult; recently it has been a momentous challenge.

I’m the Head of a large secondary school in the Midlands. I have 130 staff – and because we are under a BSF contract I don’t employ the cleaners, caterers or site team. Like most schools the vast majority of the team are female; in addition a significant number are part of the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. The staff team span all ages, some have underlying health conditions and many are parents or carers.

Leadership Lessons from Lockdown

by Tracy Goodyear @Miss_Goodyear

It’s 5pm on Friday 5th June and I’ve decided to stop and to just do some thinking. It’s all too easy at a time like this to just carry on, to take action, to plough on through until the bitter end. It’s far too easy to forget to take stock of where we’ve been, what we’ve achieved in these extraordinary times and to plan some next steps, knowing that the future seems so uncertain.

Our Knowledge-Rich Curriculum: a woman’s touch!

by Tara Bryan @Bryan_Amethyst

I’ve got no shame in saying it: I love Calamity Jane. Doris Day was my first heroine before I even knew what a heroine was, and even then I instinctively recognised in Ol’ Calam’ herself something that would often be a hallmark of the characters that Doris Day played in all of her films.

She would always seem to play a woman often confined by the expectations of her time, her place, her job, her society, but through sheer charm, force of personality and feminine wiles she would always manage to outfox and outwit the men around her, who would continually underestimate her.

Sure, she would always end up married, or with the guy in the end, but not before the audience knew that she would spend the rest of their lives together running rings around him and getting exactly what she wanted. A woman after my own heart! Even that song… ‘A Woman’s Touch’. On the surface a silly ditty about two women who decorate a log cabin with trinkets, knick-knacks and chintzy sprinkles, a song that seems so patronising and twee about what a woman can be… but I saw it differently. It was a song about self-sufficiency and how to live a life without needing a man to make all her decisions.

Yes, she ended up with the man who didn’t deserve her, but we knew after hearing that song that she was only doing it because she wanted to.

Not every woman is Doris Day, and most women don’t have her scriptwriters writing their life story.

We know the horrific statistics about the inequality in girls’ education around the world, and it is in this spirit of ensuring female self-sufficiency that we at the Amethyst Trust do everything that we can to support girls writing their own life stories by having a fantastic education.

When we decided two years ago to move to a Knowledge-Rich curriculum, we did it with the intention that it would be a tide that lifted all boats, for both boys and for girls. But, though girls achieve better than boys on average in most subjects in national statistics, there is often the sense in schools that boys can end up knowing more than girls about the world around them, and that girls are just better at putting their ideas into practice in examinations, with their superior maturity breeding study habits that ensure success at 16 and 18 years old.

The world into which young women eventually enter is often set up to disadvantage them in ways too many and various to list here, but by the time they reach adulthood these advantages have been erased and do not translate into parity of success in employment, in economic self-sufficiency, in political representation or in company ownership. Too often women are at the mercy of legislation and social change, the first victims when circumstances take a turn for the worse.

At the Amethyst Trust we wanted to use our curriculum to future-proof our girls for anything that the world outside might throw at them. With so many strong women working at all levels of our Trust – including the Heads of both of our schools – it is no surprise that a passion for learning about strong women can be seen throughout our curriculum, and it is something that we have prided ourselves on during our journey towards a Knowledge-Rich curriculum over the last two years.

In History, we teach young girls about the Suffragettes, but we ask our students whether they were terrorists or freedom fighters, breaking the simplistic paradigm of women as either victims or angels. Our Design and Technology, Maths and Computing departments have come together to do a project on promoting gender equity in STEM subjects, culminating in assemblies and events to promote STEM careers to girls. In English, we ensure a strong representation of the greatest female writers are represented across our curriculum, and introduce students to concepts such as misogyny and systemic patriarchal biases throughout history and in the modern world. At all turns we seek to challenge stereotypes, present girls with powerful female role models, and ask them to step out of their traditional comfort zones and try something new and different.

But it’s more than just cherry-picking specific curricular examples which demonstrates what we believe is so important in educating our young women. Our curriculum teaches a deep and wide swathe of important and powerful knowledge, and we pride ourselves on making every effort to bridge the cultural capital gaps that working class girls so often bring into the classroom from home. We know that to be a confident citizen and capable of taking control of your own destiny that you need to be an informed citizen who has a knowledge of the world which means that they can sit comfortably at any table – including any boardroom table.

By teaching an ambitious curriculum with knowledge at the centre, we seek to empower girls to be at their very best, ready to face the challenges of the world around them. And we are seeing great dividends; our best ever results in the recent summer examinations included some astounding outcomes for girls, but we are just as pleased to see the outstanding young women with excellent personal qualities and resilient personalities that we are readying for success in the world.

In the Amethyst Trust, we don’t believe that our girls need to go out and live in a log cabin to toughen them up for the rest of their lives. We simply believe in making them Knowledge-Rich, and therefore confidence-rich, and that they will be able to make the success that we know they can achieve.

Sending them out into the world as anything less than the best… that would be the real Calamity.

Overcoming Failure through Quiet Kindness

by  Angela Schofield @DeputySchofield 



Kindness – the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Never more needed than when things are going wrong. 

So today, I want to talk about the F word. Failure.

There are a lot of supportive conversations around failure, and I absolutely agree that failure is a learning moment. There's also a lot of talk about resilience, and yes you need resilience to work in education. I think you need resilience to get through life at the minute. But sometimes you need more than just your resilience, and sometimes the reality is you did fail.

As a second career teacher, I was quite nervous starting teaching over the age of 40. I knew I had a lot to learn, and I worked harder and longer than I ever had before, but in my first term as an NQT, I felt overwhelmed and struggled to meet the expectations of my school. I put in my notice at the October half term, which I think shocked everybody. Still, my mum had just had a hip replacement, my son was going through an autism diagnosis, I had another child at home going through typical teenage years, and I could not do any more than I was already doing for my class.

At the end of the term, the comment on my NQT term report said, "Despite failing this term, Angela still wants to try and pursue a teaching career.". The surprise on my mentor's face when I told her I intended to continue teaching destroyed my last bit of confidence. 

There's no nice way of putting it. I failed, and I failed completely.

I knew that I could teach for up to five years without completing my NQT and so I registered with the supply agency. I did a few days in a school and was asked to commit to five days a week for the rest of the academic year. Many teachers there told me I should try again to complete my NQT. I started to believe it was possible. Unfortunately, this was quite a troubled time for the school. In the summer term, the Trojan Horse scandal erupted; Ofsted visited and put the school into special measures.

There were two consequences of this. Firstly, many outstanding teachers decided to leave. The school was in special measures for safeguarding and governance, not for teaching or outcomes, which were still outstanding. Outstanding teachers are in high demand; they do not need to put themselves through the pressure of termly Ofsted visits and rapid school improvement. Secondly, the school was told not to appoint any NQTs. They explained that it wouldn't be possible for me to do my NQT there, but said they were very happy to give me an excellent reference to another school. If I'm honest, I was scared. I'd had such a terrible experience, and part of me thought that maybe I could only be successful in that school with those children and that staff team. However, a Trojan Horse special measures school wasn't that appealing to many people, and they had very few applications. The week before transition day, I was asked to complete my NQT year through the school but on supply. While I was thrilled to be able to stay there, I knew I was only there because other people hadn't applied. I still felt I wasn't good enough.

So now to the most important bit of my story, which is about the women who picked me up and put me back on track.

Without these two women, I would not be here today talking about what I'm talking about, I wouldn't have the role I have, and I wouldn't have had the chance to do the things I've done.

A new Principal was appointed to the school when an Academy chain took it over. Wendy Baxter was simply the most inspiring and empowering woman I'd ever worked for. At the start of the spring term, the Head of Year left, and I was asked to take over for the remainder of the academic year. Wendy assured me, despite my protestations, that I was more than capable of doing this and that she would support me. Remember, this was a Trojan Horse special measures school, five form entries, and in my year group I was an NQT and three long-term supply teachers who changed on a regular basis.

This was a steep learning curve. But I thrived. 

I learned a lot, and I made a lot of mistakes, but Wendy had a new approach. She had a mantra of fearlessly failing faster. 

When you fail, you learn; the more you fail, the more you learn, the quicker you fail, the quicker you learn. 

Failures were literally celebrated across the school. I don't think anyone failed faster than me in those two terms, but I've realised that failing when you are supported and encouraged is very different from failing when you feel completely worthless.

I did ask her permission to mention her, and she said I'd made her day. But I'm really glad I have this chance to publicly thank her for what she did because there is no question, I would not still be in teaching if I hadn't met her.

The second person I want to thank is the force of nature that is Hazel Pulley, CEO of Excelsior MAT. I first met her when I moved to a new school as English Lead and Year Six teacher. She came in as Executive Head, and change was rapid. I was worried that the new plans I'd put into place would be thrown out of the window and something would be brought in from one of her trust schools. I couldn't have been more wrong. I did my 10% braver, I knocked on her door and said," Could I have a word, Hazel? I know you're making many changes, but can I please have 5 minutes to discuss the reading? It's taken me three years of research to put this together, and I just want the chance to tell you what it is before you change it." She said absolutely. I rattled through all the research, why we were doing it, how it worked in the context, why the sequence is so important, and why I didn't want to lose any element because all of them were active ingredients. After I'd spoken for 5 minutes (I can talk fast when I need to), there was probably a two-minute silence while Hazel looked at the notes she'd made. She said, "I love it!" and asked me to talk to the English lead from one of her other schools because they were struggling with reading, and she thought this could really help. I can't tell you what it felt like to have this woman, who had a decades-long track record of improving schools, genuinely listening to my ideas but valuing them – that was huge. She was only with us as Executive Head for two terms, but her support powered me through the entire year. She is an inclusive leader; she treats everyone with respect. Your ideas are worth listening to; while she may not end up agreeing with you, she will listen to you, and she will ask the questions, so she understands very clearly what it is you're proposing before she says yes or no.

In the autumn term of 2018, the Deputy Headship was advertised at Parkfield. Parkfield was the outstanding school, the flagship for her trust. I was in my fifth year of teaching, and I was genuinely scared to apply, but I felt the opportunity for learning that I would have there was too good not to try. Usually, I have to have everything on the person spec before applying, and I didn't for this. I had all the essentials but very few desirables beyond an absolute passion for closing the disadvantage gap and research-informed school improvement. 

To my astonishment, I got the job. Now the impostor syndrome was in full force. 

I was a Deputy Head just 5 years after completing my NQT. I was terrified that I would be found out daily. I used to think what am I supposed to be doing here? Some of the staff had been teaching for 20 years, and this person is an expert, so why am I coaching them on anything? I found it really hard to get my head around that. But I sucked up every bit of learning that was available. The staff team there are wonderful, and I started to feel I belonged. 

I made mistakes. 

I make lots of mistakes, but Hazel had a very similar attitude to Wendy:

'I'm here to support you I don't expect you to be perfect; I expect your intentions to be good and your commitment to be high, but you don't have to be perfect.'

I'm very fortunate that I'm line managed by Hazel, someone who gets me as a person, values my work and offers real support and challenge. Again, I am so pleased to have the chance to give her a shout-out because she is a shining example of compassionate leadership.

Now I'm an ECT mentor, I'm very conscious that I need to give them honest feedback because I would be doing them a disservice if they didn't realise they needed to improve something. But I try to do the hard conversations in a very kind human way. 

What Wendy and Hazel have in common is that they would, and do, tell me very honestly when something wasn't right, when it wasn't good enough, but they wouldn't broadcast that to everybody else. I didn't feel everybody else knew, whereas in my first school, people did know; they'd come and talk to me about it, and that was just horrendous. 

So, I'm ending with a bit of a cliché. 

If you are line managing anybody, if you are mentoring or coaching an ECT, if you are supporting a teacher who is struggling, aim for - and we don't always get it right - aim to be the person who fixes someone else's crown without telling anyone else that it was crooked.

And that, to me, is kindness.

Reflections on Leadership especially when new in role

by Miriam Hussain @MiriamHussain_

I became a leader in my teacher training year and those first few years of leadership are what I reflect on the most. Initiatives that I did well but more importantly what I could have done better. 

Here are my top thoughts. 

Mostly, I reflect on how I could have worked smarter and not harder.

Communication

I have not met a leader who doesn't think they've communicated their expectations or deadlines well. You've had a conversation and therefore that means 'You've communicated' or 'You've mentioned it a meeting'. Never overlook how much communication matters and more importantly how to communicate effectively. You can never communicate enough when it comes to leading a team. This does not mean a briefing every day but instead how to use the resources you have to hand more effectively. 

You need to think strategically about what you'd like to communicate and most importantly when. 

For example when there's a data deadline, it is not a good time to communicate you are changing the marking policy. When I was a Head of Year, we'd have a weekly huddle where I'd communicate the goals for the week or the key priorities over a term or half term, followed by a one page bulletin filled with key information and links for ease of access (also avoids sending multiple emails) and then weekly drop ins where I'd pop into forms to see the implementation in action. Everything felt really cyclical, being really clear on what was important and the follow through. Most importantly the communication was clear, consistent and thorough without wasting precious teacher time.

What do you want to achieve?

In any role you need to be clear regarding your responsibilities and priorities. What do you want your team to do and how are the conditions going to be created for them to be successful? In my current role as a Director, I met with all individuals within my team on a one to one basis and asked them what has been going well, what could be done better and where do they see themselves in their career? This was invaluable in building relationships but also gives a solid foundation and understanding of how to best to lead and support every individual and the team. Having one to ones allows for a candid and more relaxed environment to build a sense of trust and a clear pathway for your next steps.

CPD

CPD is one of the most powerful ways to upskill yourself no matter what stage of leadership you are in. I have done a range of NPQs personally which really supported me in developing my skill set. I'd strongly recommend engaging in one if you have the capacity to do so. Another branch of CPD that has been extremely useful is engaging in talks/conferences that interest me. There is nothing quite like engaging in a world of support alongside people with the same common interest as you. If you feel you don't have time to attend after school training why not arrange a meeting with a more experienced individual in school who does a role well? Be inquisitive and ask questions. There's bite sized information on YouTube you can have on in the background, Research Ed has a plethora of useful videos and, of course, the #WomenEd videos. I frequently listen to educational talks whilst marking or on my morning commute into work.

Take it slow!

In any role, you'll have a number of asks from SLT, people you line manage, things you notice that you want to improve, follows up from the meetings you've had, pupil progress meetings, emails and then, if you are in a Middle Leadership position, a high teaching allocation. So it's really important to maximise your time by focusing on the highest leverage action point. 

By doing everything, you spread yourself so thinly nothing is done as effectively or efficiently as it can be. 

It's that age old phrase of too many priorities means you have no priorities. Rather than overwhelming yourself with an inordinate amount of work, focus on what you can achieve within a course of a day and week. For example, plan what you hope to achieve within your PPA time, when you will have lunch (because that's just as important) and what days you'll be in before or after school. Think of your time in a strategic manner. 

Try to have three key focuses that must be achieved and then anything else that needs to be achieved is a bonus.

Team work makes the dream work

You can't do it on your own. You need a team that supports you. No matter how well thought out your initiative or conversation, sometimes it just lands badly. Listen to your team. Listen and act on their feedback. No one gets everything right even upon experience but it is about learning what works and what doesn't and more importantly what you'll never do again!

Be present

Yes, it will be overwhelming at times particularly when you think about all the key elements to be actioned in a term or half term. But when you are teaching, focus on the teaching and not your emails, and when you are interacting with colleagues focus on the conversation you are having rather than feeling guilty that you need to be doing work: like wise with student interactions. Those mini interactions throughout the day are so meaningful. 

Not everything needs to be done at once.

Be organised and precious with your time

I have always had a diary of what my day looks like including lessons, meetings, break duties, learning walks, reminders of deadlines and how I will be spending PPA. By being granular with your diary it supports you in how you will spend your time. Plan your meetings. Time in education is extremely dear. Some meetings are an email and not every meeting involves your whole team. Plan the follow up and who needs to be in emails and who doesn't so you're also thinking about peoples' inboxes and time. Any meetings that you do lead, share the agenda in advance with really clear time stamps and make it clear what the follow up is. If you say the meeting is going to finish at a certain time ensure that it does. Any follow up can be done after. Equally if a question only applies to one person rather than the whole team.

Data

There are so many anecdotes in teaching, 'oh I taught like this' or the dreaded line of 'they behave for me' or 'this has just always been the case'. It's really important to be led by the data whether that is mastery quizzes, formative data or summative data or literally the live data you see within the classroom. Be led by it to allow you to see the bigger picture rather than anecdotes. It will support you in making the right decisions. If you are not comfortable with data, find someone in school that is or ask your line manager to arrange CPD to help you develop in this area.


Finally, leadership is the most wonderful opportunity to grow. 

Yes, you are balancing work and your personal life but the impact you are making to the life chances of the children you serve is instrumental. 

Enjoy the challenge and ask for support if and when you need it!

The Power of AND: What Being a Mixed-Race Woman Has Taught Me About Leadership

For much of my life, people wanted me to choose. Black or White. Academic or practitioner. Leader or learner. Yet the greatest lesson of my journey has been that leadership is not found in choosing one part of yourself over another. It is found in embracing the power of AND.

As a Mixed-Race woman, I have spent much of my life navigating spaces between worlds. Like many women of mixed heritage, I have often found myself living in the "in-between"; visible, yet not always seen, included, yet not always understood.

Today, I see it as one of my greatest leadership strengths.

That does not mean the barriers have not been real.

Despite progress in diversity, equity and inclusion across higher education, Mixed-Race women and women of colour, remain underrepresented within academia, particularly within senior leadership. There is a contrast between the diversity of the students we serve and the relative lack of diversity within those making strategic decisions.

Throughout my career, I have often been the only person, or one of very few people, who looked like me in leadership spaces. If students are to believe leadership is a place where they can belong and thrive, they need to see themselves reflected not only in our classrooms, but also in our leadership.

As a Mixed-Race woman, I have also experienced the challenge of existing between conversations. Discussions about gender can focus predominantly on the experiences of White women, whilst discussions about race can overlook the distinct experiences of Mixed-Race women. Sometimes it can feel as though you are visible enough to be counted, but not visible enough to be fully understood.

At times, that was isolating.

At times, it fuelled imposter syndrome.

At times, it made me question whether I truly belonged.

Yet it was through these experiences that I began to recognise something important. What I had spent years viewing as a challenge was also becoming one of my greatest strengths.

Today, I genuinely believe being a Mixed-Race woman is one of my leadership superpowers.

Not because the barriers disappeared, but because navigating the intersection of race, gender and class taught me skills that leadership demands every day.

It taught me to navigate complexity, build bridges across difference, listen deeply, challenge assumptions and create spaces where people feel they belong.

I grew up in a working-class community where opportunity was not always visible. Education became my route to possibility. I learned to look for opportunities where others saw limitations and to turn setbacks into growth. Looking back, many of the qualities that shape my leadership today were formed long before I held a leadership title.

My career began in healthcare as an Operating Department Practitioner. Along the way, I was fortunate to work with leaders who invested in me, challenged me and encouraged me to aim higher. They taught me that leadership is not about hierarchy or status. It is about service, integrity and helping others realise their potential.

Yet as I progressed through healthcare and into higher education, I became increasingly aware of who was missing from leadership.

There were very few women.

Even fewer women of colour.

And almost no Mixed-Race women whose experiences reflected the complexity of my own journey.

For many years, I searched for role models who looked like me.

Eventually, I realised that leadership is not always about finding representation.

Sometimes it is about becoming it.

As I progressed from Lecturer to Senior lecturer, Head of Department and later Associate Professor, I felt immense pride but also a sense of responsibility. My visibility mattered, not because of personal achievement, but because representation creates possibility. When people see someone who reflects aspects of their own identity succeed, it expands their understanding of what they can achieve.

Perhaps the greatest lesson being a Mixed-Race woman has taught me is the importance of belonging.

Knowing what it feels like not to belong has made me intentional about creating environments where others do.

Knowing what it feels like to be overlooked has made me more conscious about amplifying voices that might otherwise go unheard.

Knowing what it feels like to question whether you belong has made me committed to ensuring others know that they do.

The leaders who influenced me most were not those with the loudest voices or the most senior titles. They were the people who made others feel seen. They opened doors, created opportunities and believed in people before they fully believed in themselves.

We need mentors.

We need sponsors.

We need allies.

We need communities.

Today, my research explores the educational and leadership experiences of Mixed-Race women because I believe our stories matter. As a newly appointed #WomenEd West Midlands Network Lead, I am equally passionate about creating spaces where women can connect, learn and thrive. Leadership can feel lonely, particularly for women navigating multiple identities. #

Networks such as #WomenEd remind us that we do not have to navigate leadership alone.

The challenges faced by Mixed-Race women are real. The underrepresentation is real. But so too are the strengths these experiences cultivate: resilience, empathy, adaptability, courage and connection.

My multiplicity is not something I need to overcome.

It is my superpower.

That is the power of AND.

 

So, what might become possible if we stopped asking people to fit into boxes and instead recognised the leadership potential that exists within the fullness of who they are?

 

Dezita Taylor

#WomenED Network Lead West Midlands

Dezita Taylor | LinkedIn

Instagram- @dezitataylor

The Promise of Sisterhood #EmbraceEquity #IWD2023

By Kiran Satti  @KSunray3

'Intersectional feminism centres the voices of those experiencing overlapping, concurrent forms of oppression in order to understand the depths of the inequalities and the relationships among them in any given context.'

UN Women, 2020

Intersectional Feminism at its core invites connectedness. However, there is an historical context that frames why Intersectional Feminism is not only important now, more than ever, but intrinsically is linked to the core purpose of true feminism - true equity for all women.

Many writers on Intersectional Feminism state that systems of capitalism, colonialism, racism, and patriarchy (heteropatriarchy) interlock and are constructive of each other. This demonstrates the idea that just as power and privilege intersect, so do inequalities, such as race, class, and gender; these points of convergence determine how deep systemic inequities will have an impact on an individual, as well as the collective.

The impact of intersecting inequalities has extended across generations and so it indicates that the dominant hierarchical powers, such as white supremacy, capitalism, racism are still dominant and have evolved to maintain their place – subtly yet systematically.

Enter the term White Feminism.

From Bell Hooks to Koa Beck, there is a growing body of literature which ascertains that feminism hasn't been as enabling and equitable as we had hoped:

Sister Outsider - Audre Lorde

'By and large within the women's movement today, white women focus upon their oppression as women and ignore differences of race, sexual preference, class, and age. There is a pretence to a homogeneity of experience covered by the word sisterhood that does not in fact exist'

Hood Feminism – Mikki Kendal

'The reality is that white, mainstream feminism has to confront the idea that power to do harm rests in women too'

'Challenging the patriarchy too often stops at challenging the ways it is used against other women and their communities. Racism has permeated feminism …'

'Feminism that comes from a place of fear, that prioritizes not being afraid or not being uncomfortable over being effective, is dangerous'

'White supremacy isn't just about normalizing racism, but when white women help to maintain the status quo in a society that is dripping with white supremacy, they give themselves more power'


Why do you think the first wave of feminism started? It was because of race, not gender.

The roots of the first wave reinforced the damsel in distress archetype.


Ruby Hamad - White Tears, Brown Scars

'The damsel in distress reveals that from the beginnings of settler-colonial societies, race was gendered, and gender was raced. Only white men were Man and only white women were Woman'

'When white women invoke the damsel, they resurrect this bloody history. This is what makes white women's tears so damaging and… violent when they are turned against people of colour…increasingly against women of colour'

Koa Beck – White Feminism

'White feminism is an ideology that can be traced throughout the history of the feminist movement … starting with the suffragettes and leading up to "girl bosses"

This ideology (girl bosses) preaches the importance of individual success and conceives of equality as something women can achieve primarily through careerist endeavours…the goal of white feminism is not to alter the systems that oppress women… - but to succeed within them.'

Enter the fourth wave of feminism, embodied by Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In, 'a manifesto for white feminism… offering strategies to succeed within the patriarchal work culture rather than eradicating it.'

Bell Hooks – Feminism is for Everybody

'Feminist reform aimed to gain social equality for women within the existing structure. Privileged women wanted equality with men of their class.'


The themes and cycles of power, fear and privilege all reinforce the assertion that many of the authors above make, the sisterhood that feminism promised was a myth, it never existed; but there is hope it could.


The Concrete Ceiling

'As intersectional feminists, it's not just about breaking glass ceilings, but also breaking the concrete ones for marginalised women'(Aisha Gani – Can We All Be Feminists?)

In10% Braver, Sameena Choudry describes the Concrete Ceiling as an 'an apt metaphor to describe the experience female BME leaders can face in education… a lump of composite material that hardens over time as it sets.'


Anyone who calls themselves a feminist or, more specifically, any privileged white woman who claims to be a feminist, I ask you this.

Are you fighting for equity for allwomen or are you fighting to protect your privilege, a privilege that is symbiotic with systems which undermine the power of social justice and equity?

Notice from #WomenEd:

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Thank you!

Voices for the Future

By Claire Price   @claireprice1

These last few days have felt insurmountable.

Last Monday, on the 25th May 2020, the world witnessed the death of a black man at the hands of the police. Videos of the death of George Floyd circulated and we felt diminished and we felt angry.

On Tuesday, the government finally published their report into the impact of Covid-19 on health outcomes on BAME people in the UK. The report described the problem but failed to address why this may be the case. Given the huge disparity in deaths of health care professionals from a BAME background compared with their white colleagues, this seemed to be a staggering oversight.

What does it mean to be 10% Braver?

By Kiran Satti  @miss_k_sunray3

Overcoming a fear.

To care.

Following your heart.

To speak up.

Paving your own path.

Stepping in to the unknown.

Being brave isn't always doing that one amazing thing. It's the culmination of all those brave steps you take to get to the amazing thing or overcome the next challenge. Being 10% braver – taking those incremental steps has been a powerful tonic for many women aligned with the WomenEd values.

When I joined the WomenEd community, I was a class teacher with a TLR in Science. 7 years later, I have embarked on my next amazing thing – becoming a Deputy Principal! Along the way, I have excelled leading Reading and English – my absolute passions in Primary Education and developed my confidence beyond my belief.

It has not been plain sailing – from far it – but the one thing that has helped me steady my ship are the connections in the WomenEd community. They've reminded me of what I have overcome, my worth, my skillset, how brave I am, how confident I can be, how inspiring I am…

WomenEd is the place where you can find your Barbie crew, where you can channel your inner Elle Woods and follow your heart; channel your inner WonderWoman and step into the unknown; channel your inner Malala and speak up… it is a true community where you can belong. You do not have to dull your shine, know your place or silence your voice to feel you belong – it is an empowering community that will help you find your sparkle when you're lost at sea and reclaim your path; it will elevate and amplify your voice through the many opportunities it facilitates.

In WomenEd's 9th birthday month, I invite you to be 10% braver – however small you believe your achievement to be, please share it. Make sure you acknowledge your small wins on your journey to the next amazing thing.

And if you lose your way to empowerment, you can trust WomenEd is here encouraging you to continue to be 10% braver.

I am excited about my next chapter as Deputy Principal within Oasis Community Learning.

Thank you for continuing to believe in me, support and truly empower me, WomenEd.

Happy Birthday x

White Privilege

by Charlotte Belmore @charliebelmore

The area of ‘white privilege’ is the uncomfortable elephant in the room that is not going away anytime soon. The idea of racism for many conjures up images of angry white men shouting offensive slurs with many seeing it as something visible and easy to spot. However, this is not the case as modern racism is more subtle and presents itself in ways that you might not expect.