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* Phones will be banned in schools. As the government said they would not do this, this headline was a surprise. The reason was that they were forced by other political parties to include it in the schools bill. Pepe Di’Iasio, of the leaders union ASCL, said it “doesn’t really change much”. What the legislation is likely to do is support schools in banning phones. Rather than making it illegal for students to have phones in school what it will probably do is make it the duty of schools to control their use. That is what 98% of schools are doing already, mostly by telling students phones should be switched off during the school day. Di’Iasio says that funding schools to buy lockers or pouches would make much more difference but that is unlikely to happen in the current financial situation. Therefore this is one headline that is probably not worth getting too excited about.

* Every teacher who burns out is one fewer person who might have “unlocked” a student. This, on the other hand, is a headline I was very excited about. Ben Gomes, Google’s Head of Learning, argues that the key issue in education is not technology but motivation. A motivated student can learn pretty much anything they want where information is easily available, the question is, do they want to ? The Difference identified 176,000 children missing at least half the year at school whilst Teacher Tapp found 68% of secondary schools running exam booster classes (mostly paying staff) and Teacher Support shared the Story of one teacher called Sean under the heading, ‘I sometimes feel guilty that I can’t fix everything.’ The truth is that even where the resources are available the motivation to access them is not evenly distributed. Gomes argues that technology has a part to play in this with a huge impact on the mechanics of learning but the desire to learn, ‘…remains stubbornly, beautifully human.’ Technology can do nothing to help a student who does not want to learn, for that the student needs a dedicated and available teacher. In spite of that Gomes does still work for Google and sees hope in technology, not to motivate students but to free up teachers to ‘unlock students’. He cites a Google study of AI implementation in Northern Ireland which saw savings of 10 hours per week per teacher. In turn this means teachers are able to focus on what they came into education for, helping students, and prevents burnout.

* Schools should be communities which inspire connection, commitment and excellence. Arthur Brookes also argues that the growth of AI, taking away many white collar jobs could be an opportunity to refocus on people centred jobs like teaching. With 56,300 fewer students in primary schools in 2027 some argue that this is an opportunity to do just that, reinvesting the £288m saved into reduced class sizes. Yet Teacher Tapp reports that the number of job adverts for teachers is at its lowest level in 10 years as schools save money by not replacing leavers. At the same time only 32% of secondary and 25% of primary teachers would recommend teaching whilst 37% of senior leaders aspire to be headteachers, down from 55% in 2017. Amongst all this bleak news, in a more uplifting post Kris Watson reminds us of what we could achieve if schools are able to take advantage of these changes. After a visit to Sunderland Football Club he observes that like great community football clubs, schools operate best when they are communities which inspire connection, commitment and excellence. Cathie Paine was similarly inspired by her the coherence and stability she found in schools during her visit to Singapore. This, she observes, enables leaders and teachers to act as professionals focused on the needs of young people. Whilst that may feel far off right now perhaps, Cathy suggests, this may be more attainable than we think.

Thanks for reading. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or subscribe to our newsletter on LinkedIn

* Fruit juice will be banned in schools. The DfE has announced new standards for school meals designed to increase nutrition and reduce salt and fat content. The standards include; limits on cakes, cheese and fried goods like chips, an increase in high fibre foods, vegetables and pulses, as well as a ban on juice and nuts. For the first time all standards will also apply to school breakfasts and menus and prices will have to be published online. These standards will be especially challenging in the ‘grab and go’ format in which food is generally served in secondary schools and consequently there will be a phased roll-out. Meanwhile, a review of the free school meals programme in London found no impact on attainment but very positive impacts on family income and stress as well as more students eating healthily and together. The report identifies positive peer pressure encouraging students to make healthier choices about what and how they eat. This is encouraging but the new standards will challenge schools to provide food that students will eat in spite of the gap between what is served and what is familiar.

* What if we banned setting? Writing in the TES last term, David Hatchett, CEO of Anthem Schools Trust argues that, based on his research with students, setting has a very negative effect on the self esteem and the progress of students in lower sets. James Marsh concurred that the positive impacts of a no setting policy in schools in the south west of England was very significant. Hatchett concedes that setting helps teacher workload, an important consideration in any decision, but argues that this is not a good enough reason to set when weighed against the negatives. But this is an issue which presents very differently according to where you are. Ben Christophers identifies the compounding of disadvantage for some students, e.g. economic disadvantage, low social capital and low expectations influenced by family or geography. Meanwhile, Charlotte O’Regan of the Sutton Trust shares, ‘Best performing schools have the fewest disadvantaged pupils’ meaning that schools experience a wide variation in the range of students they educate and therefore a wider variation in the complexity of issues to address.

* Teachers do not get time off for running trips. When Teacher Tapp asked teachers whether they got the time back from taking trips outside schools hours, over 90% of secondary and 70% of primary teachers said no. This is probably not news to most people but perhaps the real concern is the compounding of expectations and impacts this is having on different parts of the system. A survey into Initial Teacher Training says providers are struggling to find mentors because teachers cannot cope with the additional work. As we have discussed previously, AI may help in this but Kornferry suggests that there are issues here too, the adoption of AI has not reduced workload where companies are not hiring and learning to use AI is creating additional work. Based on his own experience, Paul Collin suggests that one solution is to share simply the fact that you are facing challenges without passing on the details, may be enough to relieve stress simply because you have shared your burden. This chimes with Louis Valentino’s suggestion that in a time when teachers are very aware of trauma informed practice for students, healing leadership of staff may be necessary to take account of their trauma too.

Thanks for reading. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or subscribe to our newsletter on LinkedIn

* School exclusion numbers are falling. FFT has got ahead of the DfE in looking at exclusion data from the autumn term 2025. The headline is that exclusions are declining. However, there continue to be differences between primary and secondary schools with primaries reporting an increase in exclusions in years 1 -4 and little change in 5 and 6. Secondary schools excluded less students with decreases of about 1% from 10 to 9% of students in year 9 for example.

What should really concern schools though is who is being excluded. For example, about 5% of all 9 year students were excluded during that term, that is 1 student in 20. That figure rose to over 9% for disadvantaged students (almost 1 in 10) and over 10% if they had SEND needs. Conversely non disadvantaged students were at around 2 - 2.5% compared with SEND or disadvantage (closer to a 1 in 50 chance of being excluded). In that respect little has changed.

Attendance is showing similar trends. Overall it is improving but the gap between disadvantaged students and non-disadvantaged students is actually widening. According to Schools Week, students eligible for free school meals are now absent 5.19% more than non FSM students. The gap is also growing for SEND students and, if you are a secondary pastoral leader it may also be worth noting that the biggest jump in absence is between years 7 and 8. So, if you are responsible for behaviour or attendance it is worth considering what is happening with your disadvantaged, SEND and year 8 students

* The DfE has published its inclusion expectations. That issue is becoming more prominent as the government publishes its expectations for inclusion. Each school will have to publish an annual inclusion plan by December 31st this year. They will then be eligible for a share in £400 million of funding to support implementation. The expectations look very similar to the expectations around pupil premium funding, they include references to leadership, evidence based practice and high quality teaching. The more significant elements relate principally to expectations around enrichment, culture and home school relationships as well as the physical environment. What this means for leaders is that you will need to consider the needs of individual students and groups of students, ensure that the curriculum and culture of the school meets their needs in terms of content, delivery, opportunities and the engagement of families in the process. All this represents sound ambition but the challenges will arise in implementation, how will schools meet growing needs at a time of declining resources?

* AI can reduce stress. Perhaps the other theme we keep returning to is AI which does offer some helpful solutions. Betty Johnson shared that the main cause of stress is workload but less the number of hours taught and more the supporting activities; planning, reports, emails, resources, adaptation and documentation. She argues that AI can help here but that the real value is in learning how to prompt it to get the best impact possible. She offers her top 10 AI prompts covering everything from adapting lesson resources to summarising school policies (see below). Finally, she reminds us that AI should reduce workload but that teachers must still apply professional judgement. I recently asked an AI to give me a model answer for an exam question, it got it wrong. AI is helpful but not infallible, remember that you are the professional and what you share from AI will reflect on you, whether it is good or bad!

* Lesson planning: “Create 5 retrieval practice questions for a Year 8 history lesson on the Industrial Revolution. Include one stretch question.”

* Adaptation: “Create three versions of these maths questions: • support level • core level • stretch challenge.”

* Parent communication: “Write a supportive email to a parent explaining that their child needs additional support in reading comprehension.”

* Knowledge checks: “Create a 5-question multiple choice quiz for a Year 9 biology lesson on photosynthesis.”

* Report comments: “Write a report comment for a student who works hard but needs to improve organisation and written explanations.”

* Policy summaries: “Summarise this safeguarding policy into the 5 key responsibilities for classroom teachers.”

* Model answers: “Write a model GCSE English paragraph analysing Macbeth’s ambition.”

* Adapted reading texts: “Rewrite this text for a lower reading level suitable for Year 6.”

* Lesson activity ideas: “Suggest three engaging classroom activities for teaching fractions to Year 5.”

* Meeting summaries: “Summarise these meeting notes into key decisions and action points.”

Thanks for reading. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or subscribe to our newsletter on LinkedIn

* The head of Ofsted has upset headteachers. Sir Martin Oliver thought that the best place to tell headteachers what he thought was, at a conference of headteachers. Needless to say, when he seemed to imply that they had low expectations, they were not best pleased. The issue is context. Ofsted appear to be grading schools with higher levels of deprivation more harshly by judging their outcomes against national average (see below). Oliver says that is all about having high expectations, the headteachers say it is unfair on the schools with the biggest challenges. Of course not everyone will agree but it may explain why your senior team is concerned. It also poses some interesting and complex questions around the central idea of inclusion. Does Ofsted comparing school outcomes support or hinder schools in difficult circumstances serving students with the greatest challenges coming to school and taking advantage of the opportunities school presents them with? That is a question which impacts on every teacher in every classroom and every leader in every school and again asks how much leadership is about accountability and how much it is about the needs of the communities we serve.

* AI can now do school for you. A new AI package launched last week is able to review course materials, write essays and make contributions to discussions on your behalf. It means that, in theory, a student could complete a degree without ever showing up. That in turn would beg the question, what is the point of doing a degree in the first place? The obvious answer is that it would get you a qualification but surely at some point people will get found out if they did not learn anything. That leads us back to the role of AI and people in education which Dan Fitzpatrick resolves with a focus on process rather than product. Perhaps, he suggests, we need to identify ways to test individual learners; spoken exams, Socratic questioning or peer review tasks. AI can then, says Betty Johnson, move from threat to support, supporting student learning and enabling teachers to complete tasks like planning lessons and creating resources, saving time whilst enhancing learning and wellbeing.

* Your greatest weaknesses can also be your greatest strengths, according to Justin Bariso, emotional intelligence coach. If you are someone who is so deeply empathetic that you feel everyone’s pain you have the potential to build strong connections and loyal relationships. If you are someone who finds you often disagree with people you may be good at saying what everyone else is afraid to say. The trick is to move from being overwhelmed by your traits and learn to focus on goals. Benjamin Parnell applies this to giving up alcohol based on his desire to compete in triathlons rather than just giving up. If your goal is to become a better leader, friend or parent it might be worth asking yourself how traits which at times seem to let you down might become some of your greatest strengths.

Thanks for reading. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or subscribe to our newsletter on LinkedIn

* Schools will stock allergy pens and train staff to use them. Following the death in school of a 5 year old boy from an anaphylactic shock in 2021, schools will be required to stock two spare allergy pens and train staff to use them. This is a good thing but it will have an impact in terms of time and money. Neither is significant in itself but it does reflect the increasing complexity of schools as the range and number of responsibilities grows. Teacher Tapp asked teachers about a number of tasks like bulk photocopying or putting up classroom displays which were ‘outlawed’ by the DfE’s workload guidance in 2024. Yet since these rules were introduced there has been virtually no change in the percentage of staff saying that they are doing them most likely because schools do not have the resources to pay for someone else to do them. Teachers do them either because of commitment e.g. putting up attractive displays, or because not doing them would make their jobs harder e.g. photocopying. As with the allergy pens, this relates to the insight from Professor Francis Green at UCL who identified intensity caused by the range of tasks and responsibilities as one of the drivers of stress in teaching.

* A packed professional development schedule is not the same as a learning culture. Luis Valentino suggests that leaders who want to develop in their roles should consider their own objectives and plan their own learning cycle by; identifying what they need to grow, setting goals, seeking partners to work with, reflecting and adjusting for the future. His first steps are:

* Building a learning network by connecting to other educators

* Attempting a solution to one problem in your own practice

* Reflecting in writing

* Setting one learning goal per term

All of this can be done in a Resilience Community with The Growth Network. Click here to find out how you can join.

* The most significant influence on any employee is their line manager. Alex Atherton describes different generational expectations of line management. For example older colleagues are more likely to be compliant and prefer communication by email whilst younger ones are more likely to prefer to speak face to face and ask questions. The point is to understand how each member of your team (including yourself) seeks support and build relationships accordingly. Allied to this, Sahil Bloom reminds us of the power of expectation. He talks about the Pygmalion Effect which came from from a study which found teachers displayed unconscious micro-behaviours like increased eye contact and offering more detailed feedback, towards students, who they had been told, had greater potential. The study leader wrote: “When we expect certain behaviours of others, we are likely to act in ways that make the expected behaviour more likely to occur.” What it means for leaders is that we need to seek out those who have high expectations of us and be the people who have high expectations of those we lead whether they be students or staff.

Thanks for reading. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or subscribe to our newsletter on LinkedIn

* To be happy at home is the end of all human endeavour For those of you who wonder why you are doing what you are doing, James Clear says, it is all about creating the circumstances for ordinary life. He quotes C.S. Lewis who said: “To be happy at home is the end of all human endeavour. The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal, or two friends talking over a pint of beer, or a person alone reading a book that interests them; and all economics, politics, laws, armies, and institutions, are only valuable in so far as they prolong and multiply such scenes.” If you think about that in terms of what you do at school it means that helping a student learn something which will enable them to earn a wage, enjoy reading, make a contribution to society or enjoy healthy relationships are hugely valuable. You probably knew that already but it never hurts to be reminded!

* Ask what instead of why. Don Martlett suggests that the reason some schools (and therefore, departments, teams etc.) do not move on when something goes wrong is that they ask why instead of what. Imagine the students in your subject just got poor results in their test. Asking why they did badly might reveal insufficient knowledge of the topic and whilst that is an important thing to know, stopping there will only allow us to apportion blame. Going on to ask what we can do about it means seeking ways to ensure that it does not happen again. What we do next may not make things perfect but it might begin to move in the right direction. Maybe next time the students will only get one more mark but that will be a sign that things are improving, one step at a time.

* The weather might be the cause of poor behaviour. Laura McInerney notes that the first half of the spring term had the worst behaviour since Teacher Tapp starting asking about it in 2019. 54% of primary teachers and 43% of secondary said their lessons were disrupted by poor behaviour. This half term also had some of the worst weather we have seen in recent years, as did the same period in 2019 and 2024, the second and third worst years recorded. The theory certainly makes sense, if students are unable to get outside the building all day it removes one of the key ways to release pent up energy. However, covid means that there is not enough data to show that this is anything more than a hunch. After a few more years we should be able to get a better idea of the relationship but with that why question answered we then we have to ask what we are going to do about it!

Thanks for reading. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or subscribe to our newsletter on LinkedIn

* Inclusion is at the centre of the DfE’s plans for education published this week. Schools will be expected to publish an annual inclusion strategy as well as being measured against a new inclusion accountability measure. A very significant part of this is about special needs but also attendance (still not improving), enrichment, parental engagement and a particular focus on the needs of white working class students as one of the lowest attaining groups in English schools. At the same time the government is considering offering extra money for headteachers to work in areas of high deprivation in the North East of England and coastal areas with two initiatives modelled on the London Challenge which revolutionised outcomes for students in the capital 20 years ago. The challenge in all this will be, as usual, whether the greater demands are also matched by greater funding. Resources are promised but there is not much information about how much or which schools will receive it.

* £3.4bn extra will be spent on special needs. Special needs however will be receiving a very significant increase in funding along with changes to the system. Again, the emphasis is on inclusion with the system focused on students, wherever possible, remaining in mainstream schools. Support will be will be divided into three tiers;

* Targeted - students will receive support in mainstream classrooms

* Targeted Plus - students will be educated in mainstream schools with an Individual Support Plan and receive additional external support

* Specialist - students will have an EHCP supported by mainstream and / or specialist schools according to need.

Schools will receive an average of £26,000 per school to support inclusion as well as access to an average of 160 days per year of local expertise in areas like speech and language. A significant emphasis will also be placed on staff training.

* One third of graduates are now working in non graduate jobs. According to Alex Atherton, graduates are increasingly likely to go into trades like plumbing whilst school leavers are increasingly likely to look for apprenticeships rather than going to university. Reasons include;

* the cost of studying

* student debt

* a lack of graduate jobs

* AI taking entry level jobs

* the greater security of jobs, like plumbing, which can only be done by a human being

So if you are talking to students about their futures it might be worth mentioning these options. Alternatively, they might consider teaching as another profession offering greater security from the threat of AI.

Thanks for reading. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or follow us on LinkedIn

This newsletter is brought to you by The Growth Network UK. For more information about how we can help you grow resilient leaders, improve wellbeing and prevent burn out for yourself and your school go to thegrowthnetworkuk.org.

* The DfE expects all secondary schools to have ‘inclusion bases’ in a statement which has ignited much debate, the DfE has announced that all secondary schools should have an inclusion base. This is an aspiration rather than a policy but the idea is that there will be a “dedicated safe space away from busy classrooms where pupils can access targeted support that bridges the gap between mainstream and specialist provision”.

We have talked several times about inclusion and this is another example of what the DfE are talking about. Instead of students with special educational or behavioural needs being moved to alternative schools, the vision is that provision is available in the school they are in. There are many advantages to this, not least that it is far easier to move a student between provisions internally than from school to school and that it maintains consistency for the student. However, there are concerns about the resources required not only to create such spaces but to populate them with trained staff who can ensure that the provision makes the intended difference to those students.

* February’s behaviour was the most disruptive since 2019. Whatever you may think of this particular solution, if Teacher Tapp is right then behaviour is something that needs our attention. They reported this week that their behaviour survey returned the worst results since they began in 2019. Teacher Tapp regularly ask the question, '‘In the last lesson you taught, was there any time when you felt teaching and learning largely stopped because of poor behaviour?’ The result this time was 54% in primary and 43% in secondary, compared to a low of 34% in 2019.

This reflects an upward trend since 2021 and is disappointing as things seemed to be improving in 2024/5. The worrying part is that the growth is greater in primary schools suggesting that this problem may be growing as younger children move through the school system. However, it is also worth considering that primary schools are currently educating students who were born and began their education during the pandemic. Perhaps this is the new normal or maybe just part of a post pandemic phase.

* AI has moved from being a toy to a tool. One thing often blamed for the increase in poor behaviour is technology. Dan Fitzgerald, educational AI guru, continues the debate about the opportunities and threats of AI in education.

He reports that over Christmas there was a transformation in the way that people were using AI. Prior to that it was conversational now it has become agentic. In case that makes no sense to you, he explains, we have become used to asking AI questions to work through problems but now we are learning that AI can just do things for us. His examples include the ability to write programmes in 10 minutes which would track student progress across several data sets and email a member of staff to flag up concerns. Imagine a programme which could review your MIS, Seneca, Maths Watch etc. and tell you when a student is falling behind. Another example is AI identifying and differentiating teaching resources. As an AI enthusiast Dan can see AI, ‘handling all the logistics that currently chew through a teacher’s evening’ meaning that, ‘The teacher gets to do the thing they actually got into teaching for. The conversations. The relationships. Those weird, messy, beautiful moments of connection that are what actually move the needle on learning.’ Ivana Brnovic Ogbu sounds a note of caution around AI reminding us that ‘innovation…grows out of tension, not knowing, and the willingness to stay present’ all things that technology can work against if used in the wrong way. If our concern though, is to find ways to make education sustainable for staff and students this might represent a powerful opportunity open to anyone with access to a computer.

Thanks for reading this newsletter. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or follow us on LinkedIn

This week presented two interesting challenges. The first was a question from a leader, ‘What do you do to maintain your focus on Wednesday morning when all the pressure is on?’ The second was a quote from Georgia O’Keefe, ‘Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.’ They each offer different challenges. The first asks if all this thinking really works once reality kicks in, the second questions the value of success criteria. Both remind me that failure is baked in one way or another. What we do may not work at all, work partially or only work until we leave, retire, get bored or something gets in the way. Therefore, we are left asking ourselves whether what we are doing has any value. When things are not perfect, i.e. almost always, the temptation is to doubt ourselves and fold. But a resilient response would be to return to the mission, values and objectives we set and know that we do not need perfection to be successful. Who we are matters at least as much as what we do.

Which brings us to this week’s teacher tip which is to review your progress or, compare what is happening with what you intended. Begin with what is working. Suppose your mission is to teach great lessons and your values include kindness and contentment. Think of your best lesson, an occasion when you were kind and another when you were content. By recalling each of these you will be reminded that you do all these things. More accurately, you are kind, content and teach great lessons. The question is how to be like that more frequently and consistently. Remember your dignity and integrity. Your dignity says that you are valuable, your integrity says that you bring something valuable to other people. Allow that to shape what you do. Try to balance the desire to teach a great lesson every time (integrity) and the desire to be content (dignity). You will never make every lesson great and you will not always be content. But you can be more content when you accept that not every lesson can be the best and enjoy those that are as well as those that are not. This is being kind to yourself and the consequence of doing that is that you will be kinder to other people. The same applies no matter what your mission, values and objectives are, start with the positives and focus on your character. Ultimately, this will make the greatest difference to you and to the people you work with.

In this episode, the headteacher reviews his progress quite publicly. It is high stakes but we need others to hold us accountable, support us, challenge us and let us know when to make a change. To deny your mission, values and objectives is a surefire route to failure. In his case via burn out or being replaced by the governors. Reflecting and refocusing, alone is good but even better is to reflect with a supportive community who remind you that you are not trying to be perfect, you are trying to grow, one step at a time in a particular direction. The fundamental question is, did I take one step forward and how do I do it again?

Thanks for reading Teacher Tips. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or follow us on LinkedIn

Three things worth knowing this week:

* Teaching and curriculum remains an Ofsted focus. After the first 33 volunteer schools were inspected the results show some early patterns. These include slightly more positive outcomes for inclusion, which is the core of the new framework but slightly less positive outcomes for curriculum and teaching which might be surprising given the input this area in recent years. On the other hand, Paul Ainsworth wonders if perhaps inspectors have not yet fully got to grips with this element of the new framework. However, middle leaders looking for something to focus on might consider that, in spite of all the talk about inclusion, we should not forget curriculum and teaching.

* The NEU is balloting teachers about further strike action at the end of February. Daniel Kebede, the general secretary says that this is because of their perception that education continues to be underfunded. The government has granted a 6.5% pay rise over three years but this has to be funded from existing budgets. What this means is that if schools are to increase salaries they will have to save money elsewhere. In light of previous cuts this will be a challenge for school leaders which will inevitably impact on things like class sizes and access to resources even more than has already happened. At the same time an NAHT survey reported that 65% of headteachers said they were either unlikely or very unlikely to recommend school leadership. This reminds us of the pressures at all levels of the school system and that middle leaders must be very aware of the need to secure their own wellbeing. The image below is one helpful reminder from one school leader.

* 24% of ECTs are making use of AI to plan lessons, compared to 13% of non ECTs (Teacher Tapp). This does not necessarily represent a problem but an evolution and possibly an opportunity. Why do people use AI? Because it is more efficient and represents one way to reduce the burden of planning. Perhaps this is an opportunity for new teachers to help their more experienced colleagues to find new ways of planning. There are risks though, as someone said, ‘the one who does the thinking gets the benefit’. AI can increase efficiency but we need to use it in a way that most benefits learning both for staff and students.

Thanks for reading. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or follow us on LinkedIn.

* Suspended students should remain in school according to new Department for Education guidance. The valid concern is that students suspended for things like mobile phone use are being left at home both vulnerable to the risks of mobile phones and experiencing no deterrent. The challenge for schools will be to ensure that suspended students are supervised with meaningful work outside the mainstream. This continues the focus on inclusion (think of the new Ofsted framework) as the centre of educational reform, with students with all types of needs increasingly catered for in mainstream settings. The government is investing £200m in SEND training for teachers whilst The Difference is looking for 10 schools to pilot inclusive ways of working.

* 6 in 10 students may have speech and language needs. A study by the DfE suggests that the level of need for students entering the school system may be far higher than previously expected. Whether the cause is related to COVID or other factors such as poverty is unclear but the conclusion has significant implications for schools and classrooms. Bearing inclusion in mind again we will need to consider that some things which previously were interventions for particular students might become mainstream activities for whole classes and cohorts. The fact that the gaps between those with and without literacy needs can be almost impossible to completely close during a school career, secondary leaders might also be considering the implications for future cohorts.

* Embrace the fact that life is continual. Kornferry emphasises the importance of attitude arguing that times when things are up in the air politically, economically or socially present us with opportunities for innovation, entrepreneurship, energy, influencing and pivoting. Put another way, times like these are great opportunities for those who see things a little differently. Which is why James Clear’s advice to embrace the fact that life is continual is so timely. Things like work, exercise and family are effectively endless. Therefore, a key to enjoying life is to look for ways to progress each day rather than focusing on getting to the end. If you have a great idea to simplify a process where resources are tight, to deliver something effectively where staffing has been reduced or to meet a growing need in an innovative way, now might just be the time to try it out and or share your ideas with someone (at work or at home). Maybe your idea will be the way forward in uncertain times. James Clear says, “Do not approach an endless game with a finite mindset. The objective is not to be done, but to settle into a daily lifestyle you can sustain and that allows you to make daily progress on the areas that matter. Embrace the fact that life is continual and look for ways to enjoy the daily practice.”

Thanks for reading. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or follow us on LinkedIn

The three things worth knowing this week all come from my notes* of an insightful talk by Sinead McBrearty the head of the teacher support charity, Education Support entitled, ‘The Human Side of High Performance.’ The three things worth knowing are

* According to research by Oxford University, wellbeing is constructed of:

* Stress

* Experience of happiness

* Job satisfaction

* Sense of meaning and purpose in work

Perhaps it is no surprise to find that stress is a major contributor to wellbeing but the remaining three factors all relate to enjoyment, meaning and purpose in our work. Teaching staff are much more engaged and committed to their work than staff than most professions, indeed the phrase apparently often used for work in other sectors is a ‘b******t job’ and still most teachers enter the profession with a conviction because; ‘What you do (teaching) literally changes the world’

* Overwork in education is the norm

Again, maybe there are no surprises here. The main drivers of overwork in education are:

* Policy - what comes down to teachers from government via leadership teams

* Issues of underfunding in wider public services - this increases hours worked and intensity of hours worked by staff in schools

* Accountability - a high stakes inspection system creates stress

The World Health Organisation says that working over 55 hours per week has serious negative effects on long term health. On average, school leaders work over 55 hours per week and teachers work almost 55 hours per week.

* Solutions come from team and personal decisions:

Teams, whether they be whole school or middle leaders, need to adopt ‘ruthless prioritisation’. We can reduce intensity by regularly asking questions like:

* What can we stop / slow down?

* What can we pause?

* Where are the pinch points in the system at present?

Taking small steps to adjust the way we work has the effect of decongesting and reducing the intensity of work as the number and pace of tasks is slowed down.

Personally, teachers have to make the decision to slow down which is a tough thing to do when overwork is the norm. Change comes first in our beliefs and then our practice. That takes time because just wanting to do something does not mean we automatically do it. If you find it a challenge to let go, possibly through a sense of duty, consider that, it is better to be there less than exhausted and burned out.

One specific tip is to find something outside work which totally absorbs you; playing a musical instrument, exercising, reading, cooking and make a habit of doing that so that you can switch off. Changing the way a whole profession works takes time but it starts with each individual and each team making small changes.

Thanks for reading. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us at thegrowthnetworkuk.org or follow us on LinkedIn

*These comments are based on my notes, none of them a redirect quotes

Happy New Year and welcome to the first three things worth knowing for middle leaders this year:

* Develop your thick desires. This article is a brilliant one to begin the year with. It contrasts thin desires with thick desire. A thick desire is one that changes you in the process of acquiring it, a thin desire is one that does not. A thick desire could be something like learning calculus whilst a thin desire is something like checking notifications. The article concludes, ‘The person who checks their notifications is, afterward, exactly the same person... But the person who spends a year learning calculus becomes someone different…’ This is a perfect example for a new year’s resolution of learning something new or letting go of an old bad habit. Both are things more easily done in community so think not just about which habits you want to cultivate this year but also about who is going to help you do it.

* New Ofsted reports focus more on inclusion and less on curriculum. As the reports from the first schools inspected under the new framework are published we conclude our overview with a look at leadership and governance. As this newsletter is particularly aimed at middle leaders, it is important to note that leadership includes all leaders in the school not just SLT. The framework asks if schools:

* enable every student to thrive

* are raising standards to improve the lives of all students

Notice that the words every and all focus again on what Matt Bromley calls ‘the golden thread’ of inclusion and disadvantage throughout this framework. How is this to be achieved? Matt suggests 8 key considerations:

* Have a strategic plan based on the needs of your community

* Manage your area to enable your team to work effectively

* Make decisions in the best interests of all students

* Use self assessment to understand the strengths and areas for development in your area of responsibility

* Provide appropriate professional development for your team

* With your line manager ensure you understand the contribution you and your team make to the effectiveness of the whole school

* Engage with parents by contributing to communication and engagement when opportunities arise

* Support staff wellbeing through strategies to reduce workload and improve effectiveness

* Focus on the process not the result The energy-output curve. Last term I posted one of my favourite questions on LinkedIn, ‘What would you do if you knew you would fail?’ The answer is to focus on the process and enjoy it. Sahil Bloom makes a similar point about focusing on the process and not the result in order to do our best work. He tracks what he calls the energy-output curve (below) which says that our enthusiasm for a project is greatest at the beginning and the end (think of a school year or a student you are working with pastorally). We begin enthusiastic about the new project and end with excitement at seeing the result. The energy dips in the middle when we face the slog (let’s call that January). The temptation at this point is to give up, perhaps not on your lessons or career but maybe on putting in as much effort as you were previously, because the result seems too far off and therefore unattainable. However Bloom argues (with evidence behind him) that focusing on the quality of what you are doing today will, in the end deliver the results more effectively than focusing on the results you hope to achieve. What is the point? Focus on doing a great job today and let the results look after themselves.

Thanks for reading this newsletter. For more information about how to put these ideas into practice for yourself and your school visit us a thegrowthnetworkuk.org or follow us on LinkedIn.

The question Katniss asks is fundamental, ‘What difference does this make to our daily work in school or our personal lives?’ Perhaps surprisingly, it can make a lot of difference, for two main reasons; one it tells you what you are good at and may wish to accentuate and second, it gives you permission to accept the areas where you are less strong. There is a surprising degree of freedom in each although this is not about permission to let go of the areas in which you are not naturally strong, it is about permission to ask for help.

Having a clear idea of each person’s strengths enables a team to organise itself to make best use of those strengths. Eustace is great at data but not at motivating students. Billy is perhaps the opposite. We can see this in the roles they have chosen to pursue. But there is some resentment between the two with the perception from Billy that Eustace is getting away with doing less and a sense of guilt on Eustace’s part that he could be doing more. Perhaps both are right, but the answer does not necessarily lie in Eustace spending more time supporting students. The answer is to find ways to use both Billy and Eustace’s strengths in a complementary way. Eustace is in a great position to supply data to Billy which might help to focus the support given. He will be able to tell Billy where certain students are facing challenges. Are they missing certain lessons or days of the week; are problems arising more often with certain teachers? Billy in turn can guide support to where it is needed.

The issue Billy is facing is that he is being led by the problems. That means he is always busy and rarely has a sense of being on top of his work. Eustace could make a huge difference to that, helping Billy to develop the discipline to begin with the evidence and get support in place before problems happen. It could also help Billy to delegate and be on time to meetings.

Eustace on the other hand can certainly be helped in his relationships with students. Billy might be able to return the favour here with some coaching on how to deal with specific issues. It might also be useful for both of them to reflect on the relationship between their motivations and their characters. Eustace, for example, is ambitious but his tendency is to focus on the plan rather than the person hence the blow ups. I can relate to Eustace and completing this test helped because it helped me accept both where I needed help and what I had to offer. Perhaps the greatest relief came from knowing that I did not have to be good at everything.

All this can be just as useful in our personal lives. Have you ever wondered why you are always late or why you are always the one organising everyone else, why certain issues with friends or family tend to please or annoy you? A personality test can shed some light on these questions and give a little freedom from the guilt of just not being very good at some things. More importantly, it can help you find your place and see the value you are bringing. Knowing and valuing your contribution might help prevent burnout because it reminds you of your value and connects you to a wider vision. Being clear about this is a reminder that, without you playing your part, the people you live and work with would be worse off. Remember, ‘You make all the difference.’

* Remember what went well this term. No question has received a response anything like as great as, ‘What would you do if you knew you would fail?’ The correct answer has a lot to do with focusing on the process rather than the outcome and seeing what is happening right now rather than fretting over the final goal, especially if it looks unachievable. How is this term feeling to you at this moment in time? Have you achieved what you hoped? The chances are it has not been perfect. But that is OK because you have achieved a lot this term, you just need to remind yourself of what those things are. Maybe start simple, count how many days you made it into work, how many deadlines you met and how many lessons you taught. Or think about a particular person you helped, an positive event which occurred or just a moment when you felt satisfied with what happened. I can assure you that this term was not perfect for you but there is plenty to be satisfied with so celebrate that.

* The way to make yourself happy is to do something nice for someone else. All around you the world may be falling apart but that does not mean you have no control over anything. In fact you always have control over one thing which is yourself. The something nice in question might involve time or money but the truth is that it need involve nothing more than a smile or asking about someone’s plans for the holidays. As Ryan Holiday says, ‘[generosity] helps the person who receives it but it also changes you into the kind of person who does stuff like that. Apparently Seneca said that every person we meet is an opportunity for kindness. Keep that in mind in these final days of term and as the holiday begins, you will feel much better for it.

* You feel much better if you manage your phone better. This is a great article about what Tech CEOs actually do with technology and the answer is that they do not use it much. Did you know that Sam Altman of Open AI takes notes on paper, that Mark Zuckerberg manages how much time his kids spend on social media and Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, does not own a smartphone. You have probably heard it all before but you will be better off with no notifications on your phone, only answering emails and messages from a laptop or PC and keeping your phone out of your bedroom.

* The gap between what we offer and student satisfaction remains high. Absence is still high nationally with only 93% of secondary students attending school so far this term. Why does this concern the average middle leader though? Two reasons, one is that you are probably seeing attendance dip as we approach Christmas and wondering if this is only you, it is not. The second reason is that this continues to highlight the disconnect between school and student attitudes to school. There have been some slight improvements (Edurio) in student attitudes towards school but with no year group between 8 and 11 showing more than 42% positivity towards school, we need to keep on considering student responses to Ofsted’s question, ‘Do you enjoy coming to school?’

* The courage to disappoint others is really the courage to prioritise yourself. Personal development in the new Ofsted framework is all about consistency and context. Again, things have not changed much and what you do needs to suit the students you serve, especially remember inclusion and disadvantage here. Very simply, consider what good personal development looks like for students in your area of responsibility and make a plan which enables them to take the next logical steps forward. If you can summarise what you are doing on a sheet of A4 and make sure everyone knows the plan and is equipped to deliver it then you are well prepared. The hard bit, of course, is putting it into practice. For that you need to give yourself time. Map out what you want to achieve and build gradually; it is perfectly fine to say, this is what we have done and this is what we plan to do next. You may feel the urgency to go faster but do not overdo it, as Jo Howard shared this week; ‘The courage to disappoint others is really the courage to prioritise yourself.’

* 90% of our happiness is within our control. A lot of dissatisfaction comes from comparison either to other people or our expectations. Kate Sotsenko suggests that the first question to ask ourselves is always: ‘How much of “all” is enough today?’ whilst the wrong question is ‘How can I balance it ALL?’ More immediately, Kate Smith suggests these questions to help school leaders get through December:

* What genuinely needs my attention now and what can wait until January?

* Which decisions could I simplify or delegate this week?

* What is my one most important task that will make everything feel lighter once it’s done?

* When have I felt myself slipping into overwhelm recently, and what small action helped me reset?

* What brief wellbeing practice can I protect each day to help me stay steady in the busyness?

* Ask your students, ‘Do you like coming to school?’ Culture is at the core of the Ofsted framework section on attendance and behaviour. There is not much change here from the previous framework but it emphasises that leaders should understand their cohort and have policies which are appropriate to them. The best way to test this is to ask the question, ‘Do you like coming to school?’ The responses and your data on behaviour and attendance will indicate whether the things you are doing are creating a community students want to be part of or not. A couple of other things worth noting are; 1. preparing case studies to illustrate impact and 2. be clear about your mobile phone policy, what is it supposed to achieve and does it work?

* December and January are the worst months of the year in school. According to Teacher Tapp, if you ask staff the same question as the student, ‘Do you like coming to school’ the responses will be significantly more negative in December and January. This is worth knowing if you are feeling the strain as is the fact that all the months after January are the best of the whole year. A few useful suggestions which might make the lowest point of the year a little easier to bear; asking people only to complete small tasks, setting deadlines for January (where possible), sharing resources which will reduce workload and of course, handing out chocolate always helps too.

* How we say something often matters more than what we say. These are the words Pooky Knightsmith talking about my new favourite educational term, ‘demand avoidant learners’, I think I have met a few of these. As we enter the hardest few weeks of the year it is tempting to allow irritation to get the better of us so Pooky shares 4 ideas that enable calm communication:

* Speak softly, slowly and low so your voice makes students feel safe

* Ask don’t tell, invite rather than instruct to reduce pressure and offer control

* Use indirect language e.g. let me know when you are ready rather than ‘do it’

* Hold your ground with calm compassion, your job is not to win but stay steady

Her simple advice to begin with is to notice your tone and remember:

* six evaluation areas; leadership & governance; curriculum & teaching; behaviour & attendance; achievement; personal development & wellbeing and inclusion

* a five-point scale to grade each and

* no overall judgement

The biggest headline for middle leaders is that deep dives are no longer part of the inspection and that leaders are not expected to produce documents just for the inspection. Instead Ofsted are interested in your school’s vision to meet the needs of students in your context. Therefore as a middle leader make sure that your plans; relate to the evaluation areas and your school’s vision and that you are monitoring your impact on this through your daily practice. Mark concludes that this is an opportunity to make your area of responsibility is; ‘…a key contributor to the wider school improvement narrative.’

* 26% of students find what they learn at school interesting (Edurio). Maybe a good response to this statistic would be to ask yourself as a middle leader whether your area of responsibility contributes to making school a place students want to attend. According to SecEd, absence has improved slightly (by 0.2% overall compared with pre-pandemic levels) although the FFT suggests no improvements yet this year. The DfE’s new attendance targets will put the pressure on leaders with responsibility for attendance but it is also important for all leaders to consider how this relates to vision and making your school a place students want to attend. According to School’s Week the attendance toolkit case study schools are addressing this through activities like crochet, gardening and sign language in one school and family cooking classes in another. The NAHT is complaining that there are too many new expectations right now but perhaps establishing and working towards a clear vision will be the best way to address them as a whole.

* ECT’s are most concerned about behaviour but their actual source of stress is planning and marking. Teacher Tapp asked ECTs first what they were worried about going into their second and third years of teaching and then, once the year had begun, what was really causing them headaches. 42% were worried about behaviour before the term started but only 20% had that down as a cause of stress in the past two weeks. That is some good news, however the opposite was true for lesson preparation which went from 5% to 10% and marking which went from 4% to 11%, overall it was administrative, planning, marking and assessment related tasks which added up to the great cause of stress. Relationships also ranked more highly than the ECTs expected, especially relationships in school. So, if you are a mentor, line manager or colleague to an ECT it might be worth asking them the same questions, the chances are that it is the paperwork more than the students that is getting them down.

One final thought, at this increasingly gloomy time of year try to step outside for 2 minutes at some time each day to ensure you actually see some daylight! Have a great weekend and see you again in 2 weeks.

Don’t forget the latest episodes of the Five Dysfunctions of an SLT and Teacher Tips.

* what they need for their future

* in line with national trends in progress and attainment

* appropriately for their starting points

Perhaps the most important point here is not a new one, we should not confuse achievement and progress - a grade is only ‘high’ if the student has made the expected progress from where they started. Sometimes the worst rates of progress can be from coasting high prior attaining students.

* The curriculum review (Francis review) has been published and the government has responded. The review recommended small changes to all subjects e.g. a greater emphasis on climate change in geography and some bigger ones in others, e.g. English language. The time students spend taking exams will be reduced by 10%. The consequence for you as a leader is that you will have a new national curriculum and new specifications from 2027 but they will not be significantly different from the ones you have now (in most cases). There will be more tests though, in year 8 students will be checked for progress in English and maths although this does not mean SATs are back in key stage 3, instead schools will have to choose how to assess this progress.

In addition, the government has made some changes to Progress 8. The EBacc is gone and the buckets are changing. What this means in practice is that students will need to do 4 subjects from at least two of; humanities, languages and creative subjects. What this probably means is, slightly fewer students studying geography and history and slightly more studying creative subjects.

Finally, there is a move towards greater accountability based on similar schools meaning that your outcomes will be compared less to national averages and more to schools with students like the ones in your school. So, if you are a comprehensive in a deprived area or a selective school serving an affluent area your impact will be considered in comparison to schools like yours not schools in general.

* Abandonment. Finally, a tip for managing overwhelming workload. Abandonment is the habit of letting go of tasks when there are just too many to do. We talked a couple of weeks ago about success lists rather than to do lists. This could be seen as the next step, once you have identified the ‘one thing’ that matters most you may want to trim things from your to do list that actually do not need doing. This is not failing to take responsibility but asking for each thing, ‘what purpose does this serve?’ if you cannot easily answer that question you have three options:

* Let it go - maybe it does not need doing anyway

* Do it differently - based on what the purpose is

* Reimagine it - maybe it matters but you need to do it differently

For example, if you need to review your school improvement plan, do not see it as a task that has to be done because someone told you to. See it as an opportunity to check your progress to achieving your objectives. When you do this you get greater clarity about what you are trying to do, your strengths and what you need to do next. As a consequence you will begin to see things differently, they will become more achievable and you will find you have greater energy.

* We have less children. This NFER briefing puts numbers, consequences and strategies on the issue of the falling number of student entering schools. Primary schools have already felt the consequences of the decline and it is beginning to impact secondary schools too. What middle leaders need to know is that for every student who does not come through your doors there will be at least £6000 less income for your school. That can mean less resources, less staff and even, in some places, less schools. So if you are wondering why your senior team are putting a big emphasis on recruiting students, increasing class sizes, reducing the number of subjects offered or sharing resources with other schools this is probably, at least part of the reason why. What can you do as a leader? Think about the consequences for your teams e.g. can you set more self marking tasks so larger class sizes do not lead to increased workload?

* Ofsted Framework part 2: Maybe the most important point about Matt Bromley’s second Ofsted summary, curriculum and teaching, is that there is relatively little change here. If you are used to the idea of a curriculum which is; designed to meet the needs of different groups of students, based on research, effectively delivered and setting students up for success in the subject and life, then you need to keep on doing what you have been doing. What you might want to consider is the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ cycle as a way of enabling continuous improvement. Leaders and teachers alike should be able to talk about how the curriculum works to ensure that each student is making progress from their starting points. This is a great way to constantly review the quality of your planning and delivery as well as the progress of each student in order to create a genuinely inclusive curriculum.

* Attendance is marginally improving - according to DfE data but the rate of persistent absence has risen from 10% to 18% since before the pandemic. According to EEF, telling parents the number of days their children missed is more effective than telling them the percentage attended. Sending text messages at key moments like starts or ends of terms saying, ‘Sandra missed 5 days’ rather than ‘Sandra attended 90% of the time’ led to a small improvement in attendance. This is an interesting finding because it brings together the two key issues of attendance and inclusion. A warmer, more personal and relatable message might be a significant factor in improving home school relationships and the attitude of parents and students to school. An idea worth considering if you have responsibility for attendance or even if you are just making phone calls for your form group.

* Make a success list instead of a to do list - This was a simple piece of advice from the book The One Thing. A to do list is a way of getting things done with the satisfaction of ticking them off, whether or not they were important or useful. A success list, on the other hand is a way of identifying what matters in relation to your objectives and doing the things which achieve those objectives. If you have a number of small ‘urgent’ tasks to get done or you need to spend some quality planning or thinking time to execute a policy which really matters to you and which will make a big difference. Which do you choose? The urgent or the impactful? Choosing the urgent gets jobs done, choosing the impactful changes things and achieves your goals. Of course, the first thing you need to do is identify those goals or as we say in the Resilience Communities, identify your mission and objectives.

* The EEF Toolkit has been updated with the accompanying comment that leaders find it hard to understand how to put evidence into action. That is possibly because, although these toolkits are brilliant there is just so much information and it is hard to know what works in your context. Their research indicates that, possibly, as a consequence many leaders rely at least as much on their networks as they do on the evidence. One thing to share from this update is the most common uses of pupil premium funding. Schools are most likely to focus on issues relating to English and literacy, attendance and social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing. The funding is most commonly allocated to targeted academic support and high-quality teaching rather than interventions. In case you were wondering if what you are doing is normal, now you know. To find out whether or not it is effective look at the evidence brief, as ever high quality teaching is number 1 on the list.

* Homework is good - This overview of impactful homework policies argues that homework has an overall positive impact on students and staff, when it is set; consistently within and between subjects, enables revision and consolidation, through 1 platform (e.g. Google Classroom) so students can find it, in a way that teachers are responsible for checking not marking and makes appropriate use of AI. With reference to this final issue Peps McCrae cuts through the debate saying; ‘whoever does the thinking gets the learning’. If you have not already begun using AI you are now in the minority (Teacher Tapp). At the end of the day both homework and AI are only useful if they enable students to think more deeply about what they are learning and do their best.

3 things worth knowing this week

* The Disadvantaged White children you teach really are harder to engage

John Jerrim (UCL) reviews the data to show significant gaps between the engagement and outcomes of this group of students and those in other groups. If you have felt like students from this group are not interested in learning and do not want to be at school, the data suggests that may be because that is true. This is not an article to excuse giving up but one that identifies the problem so we can find strategies to solve it.

* Ofsted want you to focus on inclusion

Matt Bromley reviews the 6 evaluation areas of the new framework beginning with inclusion - how a school meets the needs of all students especially those who are disadvantaged. Each school needs to define disadvantage according to the groups who they serve and justify the way in which it addresses their needs. This will include: SEND, disadvantaged and students supported by social services but inevitably others too. Matt suggests 6 things to focus on, which is most significant will depend on your role:

* Focus on high expectations

* Assess students’ needs early

* Maintain a continuous review cycle for each student

* Involve specialists when necessary

* Publish an evidence based Pupil Premium strategy

* Work closely with pupils, parents, professionals and staff

Perhaps the most useful comment in this article is; ‘We don’t do it for Ofsted. As educators, we do what we do for the children and communities we serve.’

* About half of teachers are content

Teacher Tapp asked teachers how content they were, the response was broadly positive but just over 20% of staff are at the discontent end of the scale. That is still potentially 1 in 5 of your colleagues with another 1 in 4 choosing the middle option. That could be down to the day the question was asked or the stage of life or career they are at but overall it means that only about half of teachers are content and that is worth taking into account in your interactions with colleagues and with yourself. For your own wellbeing it is worth considering the other conclusion, that the most content people were the ones who took part in exercise or social activities at the weekend!

Over the next 3 weeks there will be another 3 sessions focusing on:

* Values

* Objectives

* Habits and Community

The workbook to go with the videos is available by clicking the link and you can create your own Rule of Life. After you have completed all four videos and created your Rule of Life we encourage you to form or join a Resilience Community to support you to achieve what you set out to (personally and professionally) during the year ahead. There are ideas about creating your own community in the workbook or you can email thegrowthnetworkuk@gmail.com for more information about groups we will be running in the coming year.

Something to watch

In the spirit of summer binge watching this series is the story of an unbalanced but world famous chef who decides to open his own restaurant. It is as much about the psychology of all involved as it is about food. There are also some interesting reflections on leadership and motivation.

Something to read

What would you do if you knew you would fail? In this case what someone does when everything has already failed.