Iain Gilmour
When deputy head Iain Gilmour decided to apply for a primary school headship he was prepared for the process to be extended, for his professional skills to be scrutinised intensively and for some setbacks along the way.
His preparation coincided with an impending Ofsted inspection and planning for an annual budget round at a time when neighbouring schools were making redundancies. But Iain forged ahead – it was only when he found himself discussing the finer nuances of his PowerPoint presentation with the snails in his garden at 6.30 on the morning of the interview, that he began to wonder if things were getting out of hand.
You can read all about the highs and lows of Iain’s day-to-day school life – and whether he was ultimately successful in his quest for promotion – in Iain´s blog in talk2learn, NCSL‘s online learning community.
Learn about what happens when the special needs team calls in sick, the worrying phenomenon of online bullying and how a dropped pen triggers a crisis that could only be solved on the toilet, as Iain documents his experiences in a lively and frequently funny diary.
Besides which, as a teacher I am, essentially, a show-off.
He lightens the load with tales of how the boxing club and book fair organisers worked out a compromise over a double-booked school hall without coming to blows, why he introduces children to the delights of Flanders and Swann and croquet and how lupins, fruit pastilles and juggling penguins all play an important role in his approach to school leadership.
"Writing is my hobby so the blog is a very fulfilling way of describing my experiences in a way that might be useful to others", says Iain whose postings also reflect his very singular approaches to golf and life in an amateur rock band. "I enjoy the creative element of it all and I still get a thrill seeing my name in print. Besides which, as a teacher I am, essentially, a show-off."
As well as kitchen table discussions about the weighty education matters of the day with his wife, a former English teacher, Iain also enjoys interactive dialogue with fellow school leaders on all aspects of the job, including what to do when the deputy head’s printer is the only one with a full ink cartridge and how to react when a challenging child decides to leave the premises.
The talk2learn blogging page, which can be found in the NCSL in Dialogue area of talk2learn, has been running since February 2006. It now has a number of regular bloggers including:
"Iain’s blog – and those of his fellow diarists – make a great contribution to the school leadership debate", said the College’s e-learning manager, Aidan Melling. "They enable participants to air their views, let off steam, exchange ideas and support each other."
Blogs… enable participants to air their views… exchange ideas and support each other.
The blogging page is a part of NCSL‘s online learning community, talk2learn and is open to all talk2learn members.
talk2learn is open to all school leaders including headteachers, deputy heads and middle leaders. It is also open to all teachers, teaching assistants and bursars. talk2learn provides access to a confidential and extensive network of colleagues, experts and policy-makers with whom you can debate, discuss and share ideas. talk2learn is a component of NCSL‘s Learning Gateway.
If you are not yet a member of talk2learn and would like to join, more information is available on our online communities pages.