“What I enjoyed best at my Any Questions? evening was chatting to the Sixth Formers at Wyedean School. Thoughtful, open to ideas, undogmatic…just at present, I wish our country was in their hands”.  Journalist and broadcaster, Matthew Parris, writing in his Times column after his visit to Wyedean School on the 12th Jan 2018 for … Continue reading What will educational success look like going into the 2020s? →

“I’m advocating for a new vision for education and childhood. If we truly want to improve the educational experience of our children, our focus should not be hinged on competition with other nations; it must begin with conscious parenting and education practices that address the development of the whole child – their intellectual, emotional and … Continue reading An effective school’s ethos and values are in true alignment with its every day positive culture and practices. →

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” Helen Keller “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?” Martin Luther King “Tomorrow the morning will be clear and happy. This life is beautiful. Heart be wise” Anna Akhmatova The “nine men of Madeley” story is rarely … Continue reading A school is not a school without its community →

From: Lynes, Rob (British Council) Sent: 21 November 2017 08:23 To: Robert Ford Dear Rob, thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you and thank you for your excellent contribution to the discussion.  I would love to visit Wyedean at some point. Colleagues speak very highly of the fantastic work you do there. Best … Continue reading Trying not to sweat the small stuff in leadership and knowing when a hill is worth taking a stand on as a leader. →

The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites.   Not ordinarily do men achieve this balance of opposites.  The idealists are not usually realistic, and the realists are not usually idealistic.  The militant are not generally known to be passive, nor the passive to be militant.  Seldom are the humble self-assertive, or the … Continue reading Turning strategy and leadership into a positive culture and climate. →

Back in Devon after three brilliant days @WyedeanSchool meeting passionate staff and great students. Fantastic leadership. Jamie Wordsworth‏ @jamiew23 Oct 18 Lovely and inspiring couple of days reviewing @WyedeanSchool with @ChallengePartnr What a fab place, and such great kids. Jane Werry‏ @JaneWerry Oct 18 Tweets from two of the reviewers from Challenge Partners who reviewed Wyedean School … Continue reading School Improvement through Challenge Partners, the enormous impact of peer review. →

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” Martin Luther King, Jr. “Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.” Ralph Waldo Emerson. An old Spanish friend from university (or should that read Catalan … Continue reading How do you improve a system that works? →

As I look out of my cabin window where I sit writing this first blog of the new academic year it seems summer and autumn are battling to see who will prevail as the day feels like any traditional summer’s hot day in July but the dead leaves from my Siberian birch are all over … Continue reading “If we cannot change the World ourselves, we might by creating leaders who can through education” Kurt Hahn. →

But then, once in a lifetime The longed for tidal wave Of justice can rise up And hope and history rhyme Seamus Heaney Every day children, young men and women who live and breathe multiculturalism, who demonstrate in all that they do and say that for them it is the person that matters not the … Continue reading “It’s the curriculum stupid” History says, don’t hope… →