Gary King

The last two years have taken me on a personally challenging leadership journey, where, at times, I have questioned my own values and beliefs. Regularly reflecting deeply, I kept revisiting one critical aspect; my moral purpose. I sincerely believe the best leaders frequently consider the impact they have, their core beliefs, their moral purpose and … Continue reading →

Research has suggested that nonverbal teacher behaviors such as smiling, how we express ourselves vocally, our movement around the learning environment and the actual position of our body are extremely important, low‐inference variables of a process which leads to increased cognitive and emotive learning. There has been extensive research, hundreds of blogs written and endless … Continue reading →

As we are all too aware, turbulence and frequent changes in accountability measures are creating a culture of uncertainty in education in recent times, and here lies the inherent problem. This academic year will see yet another significant change in how the Government’s new “fairer” progress 8 accountability measure is calculated, meaning more shifting goalposts. Yes, … Continue reading →

As I begin life as a Deputy Headteacher in my new school, it is understandably a learning curve and one that I am thoroughly enjoying. Of the many facets of my new role, one significant aspect that absolutely goes hand in hand with teaching and learning is teacher wellbeing. This makes total sense, as I … Continue reading →

I consider myself to be in a very fortunate position, why? because I get to visit lessons every single day. In fact, I feel somewhat selfish and the reason is because every day I learn from my colleagues, I discover something to take away and experiment with that helps me to improve my own teaching. Obviously, leading teaching … Continue reading →

I consider myself very fortunate and extremely proud to lead teaching and learning in my role as Deputy Headteacher, however, that’s not to say that leading teaching and learning isn’t everybody’s responsibility, because it is. And herein lies many potential pitfalls and of course golden opportunities for leaders like myself to either grow a culture … Continue reading →

  As I enter my final week as an Assistant Headteacher, I’ve begun to reflect upon my leadership journey, which, over the last six years has been somewhat of a ‘roller-coaster’. Inspired by a colleague who recently wrote a blog titled ‘How to be a Head of Faculty’ who interestingly, from September, will be stepping … Continue reading →

  I Believe it’s time to reclaim marking and make it our own again. It’s time to establish the hard facts, analyse what the research tells us and debunk the myths.  Ask any teacher across various educational contexts what is top 3 in terms of their workload burden and I predict this will always include … Continue reading →

  Recently I reached out via twitter and asked the following question in the form of a poll: How effective is appraisal/PM in developing your practice in your school? Are the targets set: a) A prerequisite – imposed b) Mutually agreed c) Combination of both  The purpose of this question was to try to establish a broader picture … Continue reading →

  It’s been a while since I’ve blogged  about leading teaching and learning on a holistic level, and a great deal has changed since my initial post Reshaping Teaching and Learning some 18 months ago. Developing an effective teaching and learning model is comparable to that of honing a finely tuned race car (I’m a Formula 1 … Continue reading →

I’ve been wanting to write this blog for quite some time, and I realise it could be controversial, but I feel now is the time to do it. Last week I presented at the BETT show in London where I discussed and shared innovative approaches to teaching and learning. The following day I had the … Continue reading →

Teaching assistants are in my opinion, without a doubt, the unsung heroes of the teaching profession. It really annoys me if I hear teaching assistants referred to simply as ‘support staff’, they are much, much more than this. Although some may not have a degree nor QTS, they are still highly effective and thoroughly trained (making … Continue reading →

It’s that time of the academic year where the hype of Christmas has been and gone, a new year is upon us and we’re all starting to feel refreshed and raring to get back in the classroom! But what mustn’t we lose sight of in order to evolve and deliver quality first teaching and learning in … Continue reading →

We are all absent from our classes from time to time, some of these instances are planned and some unfortunately, are out of our control. Either way this will inevitably have an impact on our students and ultimately the progress they make over the duration of an academic year and beyond. But have you ever stopped … Continue reading →

There appears to have been a resurgence in anxieties and pressures around teacher workload, and the marking burden seems to be at the forefront of discussions for a vast majority of teachers. Without any doubt, marking and feedback is a non-negotiable, an essential element of teaching and learning and one that if done effectively can have … Continue reading →

  ‘A thirst for knowledge’ is a phrase that has become very much on-trend in education during recent years and if you throw in ‘students display a love of learning’ the OFSTED rhetoric is complete. Personally I’m very fond of this statement, I cannot disagree at all. However,  I’ve always found myself thinking what does it … Continue reading →

“School improvement is a process that should involve all stakeholders working together on a shared vision”   In my opinion school improvement is a process that should involve all stakeholders, working together on a shared vision and be driven by diverse strands threading throughout the school, all feeding into this process.  I would argue that … Continue reading →

  “If we stand still, we are already going backwards”   A new academic year brings with it a new approach to professional learning. As leader of Teaching, Learning and CPD I always feel slight pressure and a big responsibility at this time of the year, pressure in the sense that, am I offering a model … Continue reading →

“The difficulty is maintaining equity, equality and solidarity without over-prescribing what a lesson should look like, and therefore regressing into a culture of tick boxes, checkups and closed doors to every classroom – all that was wrong with teaching and learning in the first place!”   I’m not a fan of the phrase ‘non-negotiables’, to … Continue reading →

re·flec·tive (rĭ-flĕk′tĭv) adj. Characterised by or given to serious thinking or contemplation; thoughtful.   Currently I’m in the process of building our new CPD/Professional Learning model for the new academic year (I’ll be blogging more about that as it nears completion). However, there’s one crucial element that I’ve been pondering for a while, and that’s … Continue reading →

With the recent escalation surrounding teachers’ workload here in the UK (again) fuelled this week by Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan: “teachers shouldn’t have to answer emails or mark homework after that cut off point to ensure that teachers were able to spend their time focusing on what they are passionate about”. And for the record, during … Continue reading →

Questioning is a fundamental element of pedagogy, one you could read endlessly around, but the reality is using questioning to challenge and engage all learners is demanding and potentially problematic to get right. Recently I’ve been working with a team of teachers, shaping our CPD model in preparation for the new academic year. Engaging in … Continue reading →

13 years ago I was a fresh-faced 22 year old having just qualified from my PGCE study and the reality had just hit home, I was about to go into my first full-time teaching post. No doubt this anticipation and excitement, tinged with a little anxiety will be shared by hundreds of NQT’s this year too. Something … Continue reading →

It’s been highly publicised in the media over many years and more so recently, fueling an ongoing hot topic of discussion in education surrounding homework. Reading articles such as Long homework hours , Homework ‘damages’ primary age pupils and particularly Most homework is ‘pointless‘ all seem to suggest on the face of it, homework is an unnecessary component of … Continue reading →