Schools and school leaders face ethical dilemmas regularly, and there has been a growing movement to define what ethical behaviour looks like in schools and then commit to this as our way of working.  The Ethical Leadership Commission has produced the Framework for Ethical Leadership in Education, setting out the key commitments that define ethical educational leadership.

The introduction of the new Ofsted framework promises to have a far reaching impact on schools. At the moment, opinion is divided on whether it will be beneficial or not - on the whole I'm glass half full.

The way that the development of the Multi Academy Trust has transformed the educational landscape has been rapid and unpredictable. It has provided innovation and energy and led to notable successes, but it has also brought controversy as a result of actions that have thrown all MATs into disrepute. This article argues that MAT leaders have a duty to uphold the highest ethical standards if the sector is to thrive.

The recent workload advisory report highlighted the problem of teacher workload and identified some practical steps to address it. This article argues that the link between wellbeing and workload is not simple and the strategy of simply identifying unnecessary tasks and responsibilities is doomed to failure. 

We are living in an era of unprecedented accountability in public services, and nowhere is this more evident than in the field of education. Ofsted judgements, performance tables, parent view, social media - all place the performance of schools and school leaders under the microscope, and the consequences of perceived failure are increasingly high. We are seeing the impact of this clearly in raised stress levels, recruitment difficulties and very high rates of attrition for those in the most challenging roles. In this article, I examine the problem and suggestions ways that a system of high accountability does not have to take this toll on those who work in it.