Head's Blog
The Importance of Acknowledging Doubt and Insecurity
13th April 2023
As adults, we often assume that successful people or high-performers are always self-confident, never doubting themselves or feeling inadequate. However, this is rarely, if ever, the case. Doubt is a...
The Importance of Taking a Break: Why Allowing Students Time Off Over Easter is Essential
13th April 2023
As the Head of All Hallows School, I cannot stress enough the importance of pupils taking some time off during the Easter holidays. It’s easy for both parents and pupils...
What does great Teacher feedback look like?
27th February 2023
What does great feedback look like? Feedback is described by some as a “double-edged sword” due to its ability to either help or hinder a pupil’s progress. Whether this is true...
How can we all encourage a sense of purpose in schools?
27th February 2023
We have been talking as a staff about we can further encourage pupils across the curriculum to care about what they are doing. If they care about their curriculum and...
‘Just Try Harder!’ – Exploring self-sabotaging behaviour in prep school children
27th February 2023
There is arguably nothing more frustrating for parents and pupils than seeing a young person not reach their potential due to them choosing actively to not put much effort in....
Holocaust Memorial Day- A reflection of my time in Poland
27th February 2023
As it is Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) on 27th January, we explored the topic in a very child-friendly way as part of our Whole School Assembly this morning. Rather than focus...
You can’t ‘Just Google it!’ – Thoughts on our children accessing information in a ever-more digital world
24th January 2023
There is no doubt that access to information has changed over the past few decades. While not too long ago it seemed difficult to solve a problem without consulting someone...
Helpful and Affirmative Self-talk
24th January 2023
On our first whole school gathering of the term, we not only welcomed on board new staff and pupils to the school, but also considered together the potential impact of our...
Managing ‘Big’ Behaviour as Parents and Teachers – Putting out the fires
24th January 2023
A question I am often asked by both our parents and teachers is how best to respond to children’s ‘big’ behaviour, such as anxiety, anger, aggression, acting up or confrontation. ...
Thoughts on Martin Luther King Day
24th January 2023
Last week marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the USA. Building on our broader school PSHEE theme of Dreams and Goals, Friday’s Whole School Assembly focused on the work...
Pondering some of the thorniest questions that have occupied philosophers for thousands of years…
19th January 2022
This term, we are going to be pondering some of the thorniest questions that have occupied philosophers for thousands of years in a very child–friendly way. What are the unique...
Metacognition…. thinking about thinking
11th October 2021
As a school this week we have been focusing on our metacognition, which one of our Year 2 children described crisply as, “Thinking about thinking”. Although many writers struggle to...
Social Media and Young People’s Wellbeing
11th October 2021
I am no supporter of the stance that social media is inherently harmful. Indeed, I use it daily, but the testimony of Facebook whistle-blower Frances Haugen before the US Senate...
Locking down children’s play?
27th April 2021
Given the evidence of the importance of unstructured (not necessarily completely unsupervised) play for children’s development and well being, which is reinforced from my office window each day, I was...
Wellbeing vs. Learning, an either/or issue?
19th March 2021
As the children return to school, the matter of ‘catching up’ on learning and nourishing their mental health cannot be an either/or. In fact, doing all we can to support...
Protecting and boosting our children’s well-being on their return from lockdown
3rd March 2021
I am very excited about the children’s return to campus on 8th March with all the opportunities and enjoyment this is sure to bring. Once again, despite many uncertainties, with...
Adaptability and struggling with change
18th January 2021
One takeaway message from the past 12 months is that life is unpredictable and change is constant. For so many of us, what we may have considered to be our...
Employing the right mind-set to turn a crisis into an opportunity for learning…
11th January 2021
Finding ourselves in new circumstances, good or bad, or facing fresh challenges, can feel overwhelming. It certainly did at 9pm on the Monday evening the Prime Minister announced school closure with immediate effect! ...
Discombobulation
18th November 2020
We have had a range of discussions in school recently around the potential creeping impact of the broader context of Covid-19 upon us all. These reflections have not just taken...
The power of staying positive
6th November 2020
Haven’t the last few days been beautiful! I suspect we all have mixed feelings as we move into Lockdown 2.0, especially with older pupils wearing masks in corridors in school,...
Balancing urgency and importance
11th September 2020
As we have so much of our time reacting to the ever-evolving situation of late, as well as planning our responses to the possible scenarios ahead, I have become ever...
Pupil Happiness and wellbeing on return to school
4th September 2020
We are certainly not planning to start in early September by simply launching into the new timetable, reminding our pupils of the processes in place and expecting them to just...
Reflections on learning in unprecedented times…
3rd July 2020
A mixture of the profound and the ordinary – reflections on lessons we have learnt from these unprecedented times....
Kindness matters most
22nd May 2020
When pondering the meaning of “being kind” we tend to think about a friend or family member who we know we can rely on for comfort and support, maybe we...