SWIFT UPDATE | Issue 27 | October 2024

We are pleased to bring you this first UPDATE of academic year 2024 - 2025. 

Associate & Strategic Leader of Teaching & Research Schools (ESW) Roger Pope CBE is prompted by a meeting with a nurse to consider how good leadership and management can motivate and retain staff.

"More fundamentally, it is about how we structure timetables, meetings, duties, admin, marking so that staff know where they are and are not subjected to last-minute or inexplicable and unjustified changes. It might be about having the courage to stop doing stuff in order to release time for staff to do other stuff properly."

Doug Lemov disciples will already be familiar with his Teach Like a Champion (TLAC) motivating mantra. But you now have the opportunity for your own school teach like a champion to be trained up on this new dynamic SWIFT programme. It is perhaps a happy coincidence that TLAC is suggestive of the mnemonic TLC in tune with our Teaching School Hub values. 

The results are in from our annual Teaching School Hub (TSH) School Leader Satisfaction Survey for the last school year, 2023 – 2024 with some helpful feedback to steer our programme delivery. We thank those school leaders who took the time to feedback. Thinking about leadership, save the date for our forthcoming Autumn Term Leadership Forum on: Thursday 21 November 2024 from 1530 – 1715 (online). Ofsted Assistant Regional Director, Sarah McGinnis, will be joining us as keynote speaker with more speakers to be announced. More info to follow! 

A leader we very much enjoy working with is this issue's interviewee, Director of Kingsbridge Research School, Jon Eaton who shares his reflections on the role. And you can read Jon's blog on the Improving Writing in Secondary Schools programme and what the evidence says.

Our sponsor SchoolPro TLC keeps us informed on important guidance updates on Biometric Data for MATs and Schools from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Make sure you're all secure.

Other sponsors, Educatering have been busy working with school catering teams to provide their healthy nourishing food and expertise in the kitchen. Exeter Supply Partnership showcase some of their start of term professional development for their supply teachers with Early Years and Key Stage 1 Workshops. Whilst ONVU Learning introduce their new ONVU Learning Rewards initiative designed to recognise and celebrate the engagement and achievement of users within their platform. It looks good.

As the Autumn Term gathers pace we wish you all a rewarding and productive final few weeks and thank you for taking the time to read this issue. 

swift update | october 2024 | read here