Leading By Laptop 20 May 2020 Leading by Laptop Is definitely not my style. I am a people person. I like to see people, talk to them face to face. Until last month, I only sent emails when absolutely necessary, held meetings whe... Let's just take the next step 20 Mar 2020 As a headteacher, there are times when you are faced with challenges. Sometimes it is about a lesson that hasn’t worked out, a set of examination results that weren’t as expected or... We have saved you a seat... 07 Feb 2020 We have started our new recruitment round at JTFS and as I have written before, I always find it an interesting and exciting part of being a Head. The privilege of talking about the school, the commu... 365 Opportunities 14 Jan 2020 My assemblies last week were based on the theme of a new year bringing 365 new opportunities to make a difference. I was hoping to inspire the students to see this new term, new year and new decade as... The end of an amazing first year at JTFS...what a whirlwind! 19 Jul 2019 I am sure that the clocks at JTFS go faster than in any other school! It really doesn’t seem 5 minutes since we were preparing the building to open and now we are preparing for the last fe... It's all change for us at JTFS 01 Jul 2019 As we plan for our final few weeks of our first year of operation at John Taylor Free School, we are conscious of the changes that lie in store for our students, their families and also our staff. W... "Curriculum - building a love of learning with strong foundations" 30 May 2019 "It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; it's the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time" David Allen Coe We are often complimented on the beauty of... The Power of the Team 11 Mar 2019 "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success." Henry Ford This is the quote I used when on interview for my job as Head of School. It is one that... Introducing a new member of the John Taylor Free School team 30 Jan 2019 This week we welcomed Pluto to the team. He is a 5 month old Labrador who is undergoing training as a school dog. We have been considering having a dog at John Taylor Free School for quite some time.... 100 Days 06 Dec 2018 Often in leadership development training, the facilitator will ask the question; “’what will you achieve in your first 100 days and how do you know you have made an impact?” Thi... 8 weeks gone in record time! 26 Oct 2018 The last 8 weeks have been the fastest 8 weeks ever. We opened our gates on 5th September to a large group of students who couldn’t wait to be the first through the gate and what an exciti... National Young Mathematician's Award 24 Oct 2018 The National Young Mathematician's Award aims to inspire the next generation of mathematicians. Teams from schools across the UK have the unique opportunity to tackle a never-before-seen mat... #ilovemyjob 07 Oct 2018 It has been an incredible week. We have hosted a Royal visit and the National WomenEd Unconference in the same week – quite a lot to pack in but I have never felt so proud of my job and pl... John Taylor Free School is Officially Open! 06 Oct 2018 Staffordshire’s first brand new high school for nearly 30 years has held its official opening. His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO was present to cut the ribbon on the new £... The Opening Week of John Taylor Free School 07 Sep 2018 “Success has always been easy to measure, it is the distance between one’s origins and one’s final achievement” The team of staff and students at John Taylor Free... 2 weeks to go! 23 Aug 2018 A year ago this week, I saw an advert for Head of School, John Taylor Free School. The role it described was my dream job. A forward thinking Multi-Academy Trust with a Teaching School, a brand new b... New Beginnings 17 Jul 2018 The last week of term is finally upon us. For myself and my 11-year-old daughter it is a week full of mixed emotions.Back in April, I wrote about transition but now that it is finally here, it seems m... Coaching for Excellence 19 Jun 2018 Coaching has been a valid tool for improving performance in sport, business and industry for many years and on Friday I attended a National Coaching Conference where 200 repr... Have you earned your Stripes? 06 Jun 2018 We have had a very exciting week with the new staff induction and a “getting to know you evening” for students and parents. Throughout these events, I have been explaining to the new commu... The Challenge and Opportunity of Recruiting Staff to a Brand New School 06 Jun 2018 John Taylor Free School is in the unusual position of being able to recruit a team from scratch. This presents some challenges, in terms of getting the right “fit” for the team from the ou...
