Over the half-term holidays we celebrated our 7th birthday, and were delighted that it coincides with the landmark of reaching 50,000 members! I wanted to take this opportunity to say a particular thank you to those schools that have been with us since the start – we’ve really enjoyed working with you.
The SEN reforms have been the talk of the office, as we sharpened our elbows and held a heated company debate on the changes due to take effect this September. You can read all about it here. Our researcher Fern found it useful to hear ideas about how schools are adapting to the reforms at nasen Live. We’ve rounded up our popular articles on the topic and put together a booklet for school leaders called ‘SEN reforms – what they mean for your school’. Keep your eyes peeled as this should be with you shortly! Governors can also read about how to prepare for the changes to SEND provision.
Our staff specialist researchers have been getting to grips with the draft STPCD, and will be updating articles to reflect the new guidance. If you have any questions about it, please don’t hesitate to ask. Jenny – one of the staff specialists – has also been observing the School Direct approach in practice by spending a day at a SCITT provider.
I hope you’ve found some of the snapshots from our latest survey on the state of school leadership interesting. Our chief executive Fergal and Ben Page from Ipsos Mori will be presenting the headline results at The Sunday Times Festival of Education later this month, and we will also continue to share highlights on this blog.
We’ve been reflecting how school governance relates to governance in general. We read ‘Boards that Lead’ and discussed similarities and differences between school governing bodies and the boards of private companies. We believe there is much more opportunity to share good practice across public, private and voluntary sector organisations, and so we’re developing our partnerships with experts in different fields.
Finally, our events team are looking forward to the 10th June, and our conference on Leading the way to outstanding teaching. We’re planning our autumn programme of events too, so do get in touch if there is something particular you’d like us to cover.