nikki able

At #TLAB15 Mark Steed (@independenthead) spoke about his performance appraisal system which is founded on an emphasis on the 'why' prior to developing the how and the what.  He urged us, if we had not already done so, to watch the TEDtalk by Simon Sinek on 'Starting with why - how great leaders inspire action' and so I did (the talk can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VdO7LuoBzM) and it got me thinking about my current role and my next steps. For those of you who don't know, I moved schools in January and have moved from a very challenging context to an incredibly successful school where I found myself at times wondering what it is that I could do that could possibly make something so good any better.  Having watched the talk, I feel as though I have had a little bit of an epiphany - I have been thinking far too much about the what - what should I be doing? What action should I be taking? I have lost sight of the why I do what I do,  It therefore...

I had wanted to attend TLAB15 ever since I read the twitter feed from those lucky enough to attend TLAB14.  And I have to say I was not disappointed.  The day was incredibly well organised with a range of different workshop talks to ensure universal appeal to the audience.  I always think the measure of a good day of learning is characterised by two things - the energy and engagement that you feel whilst you are there and the impact it will have on your practice once you get home.  So that's how I will structure this reflection - the thing or things that really engaged me and what that will mean in my current projects that I am working on.  I will include my usual disclaimer - apologies to any of the speakers in my interpretations are inaccurate/do not reflect the points you made - this is just my take on it. Keynote 1: Sarah-Jayne Blakemore @sjblakemore This was an incredibly interesting and engagement talk by Blakemore which reminded me of my days of study...

So I am feeling pretty happy with my commitment to #well-being even if I haven't been as committed to writing about it as I should have. Here is a short blog about my story so far... #Connect I am really happy with this one. I have been in regular contact with lots of the people I love since up and leaving my old life. I am also pleased that I have spent much of this month in my new role having a sit down chat with every teacher at my new school in terms of their PD requirements. This has been invaluable in getting to know people. I also make time to lunch with staff and students in the dinner hall every day. #Notice This is an important one. I try to reflect on each day and find the best bit in it. I enjoy the short drive to work, taking in the beauty of my new surroundings. I notice when my boyfriend is home and try to avoid working so we can eat together. I am also noticing the little details at my new school and trying to learn the tricks of the trade in the little detail...

I have been thinking about writing a post on this for a while but find it a harder post to write than most and there are two reasons for this.  The first is that last year I watched one of the most promising teachers I had seen in a long time experience burnout and decide to leave the profession (a decision that not everyone understood and that some people were disappointingly unsympathetic about).  The second is that I got myself into a bit of a workload pickle last year where I very genuinely could not get my head straight.  Stress is not something that is always tolerated in schools and I felt pretty weak at the thought of having to say out loud that I wasn't coping, but I really wasn't coping.  And it wasn't particularly about the job or the workload or the management or any of it, I was just exhausted and a bit poorly and I was just working and working and working and I lost sight of the other stuff. I have always been a bit of a workaholic since I started te...

Dear Me When you first started teaching 11 years ago, you were truly awful at it!   You were scared of everything – scared of the students, scared of LT, scared of failing, scared of not being good enough and, as a result, you really weren’t good enough.   Luckily you started teaching when education was different.   Competency must have existed but it wasn’t on your radar.   You were given lots of support – mentored by some of the best teachers in school, regular observations to help you to improve, heads of year who would sit in your classroom to support you with behaviour and other heads of year who just shouted at children who left you in tears.   Cleaners who cleaned up the mess and mopped up the tears, a reprographics department who always got your resources to you in time and a department who kept you going when you didn’t think you could.   People were kind and they were supportive and they fixed you.   Members of LT would check on you to s...

I have been toying with how best to write this.  I want the goals to be specific enough that they are achievable but I also want to limit the number I set.  Last year I set a list of 14 and some fell by the wayside.  I don’t want that to happen to this year.  So I have chosen 6, each one based around a theme.  As long I meet the theme I will feel pretty happy.  2015 is a brave new world for me.  I am living in a new house, in a new town where I know no one and I am starting new job at a new school for only the second time in my career.  My default setting is to be a bit scared of life and fear the worst so the overall theme of my nurture this year is to be brave and embrace opportunity. “Teaching is an act of hope for a better future…the reward of teaching is knowing that your life has made a difference.” (William Ayres) As I move further up the leadership ladder, I move further away from the classroom, something which makes me feel quite...

I have been thinking about writing a nurture post for a couple of days now. Part of me thinks it is a strange way to finish Christmas Day but another part of me thinks it is quite fitting.  I always feel quite reflective at Christmas and this will be reflective. This post is important to me. Last year was the first time I had written a nurture post and I found it really helpful to keep me grateful and appreciative but also to keep me focused. I am going to bend the rules by reviewing last year’s 14 and then setting 5 for 2015. I will do it in two posts – one to review and one to look ahead.  Here goes… Firstly I pledged to carry on learning abut photography and trying to master some different types of shots and ideas.  Whilst in DC I attended a workshop on landscapes with Navin Sarma which was awesome. Still journeying… But that's okay. Secondly I pledged to read and I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I have dipped into books and blogs and tweets but I let myself down on t...