Better Balance Education

I have worked in Education for 28 years. Most recently, I was a Headteacher in East Norfolk for 7 years. In that time, we moved from a position of Special Measures on my arrival to Good in all areas within four years. More importantly to me, we did it in an ethical and empathetic way that brought joy and laughter back to the school, raised standards both academically and in terms of behaviour, made the children feel safe and enthusiastic and focused heavily on the wellbeing and development of school staff at the same time. Prior to this, I spent the first twenty years of my career in London, working in two schools, one as a Deputy Head and one where I started as a NQT and held a variety of leadership positions, before spending a period as Acting Deputy Head. My time working in London was interesting, both in terms of  insight into the power of a vibrant, cutting edge education environment and also with spending 12 years working in an Education Action Zone.

 

I have experienced health issues over the last few years, leading to me having to shield during the Covid pandemic. During this time, as well as physical symptoms, I also developed some mental ones leading me to get the support of my GP, the Mental Health team and my consultant. I have been very lucky, I got the right support at the right time and as I went through this process, it became increasingly clear to me that I could utilise experiences both professional and personal to support school leaders and their teams in order to help them to not only avoid ‘the rabbit hole’ but to thrive and achieve a better balance to their lives. As well as everybody else, schools have a fundamental duty to look after their leaders. It can be tricky for a Headteacher to open up to people in their own organisation. Better Balance Education can bridge this gap.

 

It goes without saying that a school leader is only as good as the team around them and real school improvement only comes with a strong, focused and committed team. It is vital to prioritise the wellbeing of that team, including the Headteacher, in order to support, nurture and protect them and and as a result, the school. If you don't support and maintain the people in your team, the cost for the school can be incalculable.