From the start of my teaching
journey, I had clear aspirations to pursue a position in leadership. I ensured
that I remained intentional with this goal throughout my career, by engaging
with opportunities that would enhance my skills and place me in good stead to
secure such roles in the future.
My motivations for securing leadership
positions included wanting to have as much positive impact as possible within
my school setting on both students and staff, having the opportunity to witness
first-hand how ideas came to fruition, as well as how change was implemented
and sustained over time.
Within my first year of
teaching, I successfully secured my first middle leadership role as a pastoral
lead. This provided me with the whole-school experience that was necessary to
continue advancing in my leadership journey. Fast forward to six years (and
many leadership roles later!), I have recently acquired an associate assistant
headteacher position. I am grateful for the leadership experience that I was
able to attain prior to being on SLT, as it shaped me as a leader and
highlighted the importance of being authentic, leading by example, as well as
holding myself and others to account.
One of the key strategies that influenced
my line management of colleagues, involved my continuous reflection on the
qualities that I valued from those that line-managed me throughout my journey.
I have been greatly privileged to work in settings with strong leadership
values at their core, and have had a number of role models shape my leadership
practice.
Upon entering senior leadership, I quickly noticed the demand that
senior roles can have on time which further highlighted the importance of
working collaboratively and efficiently. Within one day as an SLT member, you
might find yourself wearing many hats which may include class teacher, leader,
counsellor, project manager and more. One area that has remained the same for
me throughout my teaching journey, is knowing that no two days are ever the
same in an educational setting and that adds to the excitement of it all!