The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

Mel Greenwood

10 top tips for early career teachers

The first years of teaching can be a challenging and overwhelming time. Mel Greenwood offers her top 10 tips to help ensure you thrive. I am currently at the point in my career where I am ready for a fresh challenge and something new. Having worked in schools for 16 years, six as a deputy...
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Amy Marsh

Cultural humility in schools

One of the most important roles of leaders and teachers is to set the culture of the school. Amy Marsh discusses cultural humility and the consequences of your school not having it. Culture is the way people do things. Shared beliefs, values and norms mean that people have ways of thinking and...
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Gareth D Morewood

SEND Provision - an interview with Gareth Morewood

Gareth Morewood discusses the health and wellbeing of SEND pupils and his thoughts on the upcoming SEND Provision conference. What are you looking forward to on the day of the SEND Provision conference? Gareth: Firstly, it is an absolute delight to be asked to chair a live event again, there are...
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John Dabell

Is your school safe and happy?

Schools need to be a safe space for staff and students to thrive. John Dabell discusses the positive outcomes of good collaboration, safety and trust . Leaders must safeguard their school population, but discussions are typically geared towards students and their wellbeing. But what about the...
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Luke Ramsden

Teaching creativity: how design thinking can help

Are you teaching your students creativity? Luke Ramsden suggests how to do so and discusses removing the fear of failure. One way that schools can encourage creativity is by introducing design thinking as a structure for problem-solving. Design thinking is a process that involves: empathy...
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Sara Alston

Don't use your TA friendships for the wrong things

Do you depend on personal friendships with TAs to get things done? Sara Alston discusses how to utilise working relationships with TAs effectively. In any school, there are close friendships between some teachers and the teaching assistants (TAs) they work with. The realities of school mean that...
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Mel Greenwood

Equity is not equality — we must stop mixing the two

Does your school know the difference between equity and equality? Mel Greenwood discusses the benefits and importance of the two in the classroom. If there are two virtues I see muddled often, they are equality and equity. To pinch a phrase made popular by WomenEd , equality ensures that we all...
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John Dabell

Swiss cheese leadership

What does it mean to think like Swiss cheese? John Dabell discusses how the Swiss cheese model can be used within schools to help eliminate error and risk. Leaders must be brutally honest with themselves and acknowledge what they know, what they don't know and what they partly know. This involves...
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Elizabeth Holmes

Climate change and sustainability — what role for schools?

Is your school wasting energy unnecessarily? Elizabeth Holmes suggests actions to take to better manage energy consumption. In a recent tweet , the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, stated that the last eight years are on track to be the warmest. The tweet continued, 'Sea...
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Amy Marsh

The importance of identity and self-awareness

How well do you know yourself? Amy Marsh examines how to better understand ourselves, our relationship with others, and why it matters. Think back to a time when you got some feedback that triggered you. What was it that made your reaction so extreme? In the book Difficult Conversations , the...
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