It’s time to colour outside the lines.

For the last 21 years I have had the privilege of working in the field of education. In 2000 I started my career as a Key Stage 2 teacher learning the ropes, getting to grips with interactive whiteboards and contemplating how to incorporate this thing called the Internet into my teaching. By 2005 I had my first taste of senior leadership taking on a Vice-Principal role, where I learned about meetings and agendas, policies and paperwork. In 2007 I had the honour of a place on the primary management team at my local education authority where I learned my trade as a trainer/facilitator. In 2009 I jumped into the world of the ‘Teaching Principal’ at the grand age of 33 and for the next 12 years, in three different schools, I steered my teams through inspections, budget deficits and of course a global pandemic.

Over those 21 years, what is one of the most effective things I did? The same thing I always encouraged in my pupils and colleagues - Take risks for learning. Whilst I acknowledge that rules, guidelines, structures and systems are very important in the world of education there should always be room for taking risks for learning and at all levels, not just in the class room. However, as a Principal, for too many years I have felt the constraints of the system, the long list of don’ts and the constant reminders to ‘colour inside the lines’ and this has inspired me to take action. After a lot of thought and consideration, I have taken a significant risk for my own learning and have stood down from Headship in order to step out into the world of coaching and training. Having developed a ‘Coaching Way of Being’ I plan to turn my focus to serving others in education through leadership coaching and training. Do I have a three year development plan in place? No. Do I have a bank of risk assessments completed? No. Am I anxious? Absolutely Yes, but I’m stepping out in faith and in the words of Christopher Columbus ‘You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore’. So as I head out across this unknown ocean into my new role as a leadership coach and trainer, turning away from the shore I do so with confidence and purpose knowing that it’s time for me to take a risk and colour outside the lines.