We Are In Beta Newsletter
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The Jigsaw Puzzle. Sue Plant-Head of School, John Taylor Free School & Lucy Rose-Flexible Teacher Talent
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The Jigsaw Puzzle. Sue Plant-Head of School, John Taylor Free School & Lucy Rose-Flexible Teacher Talent

This is the free We Are In Beta Podcast Newsletter - written by me, Niall Alcock. We - the education community - Are In Beta - always learning. Sign up to learn how school leaders are tackling big issues in schools.

Last week we heard how Lisa Farmer, co-headteacher of Thomas Russell Infants School, found her co-head before co-headship was even a thing.

This week…

Having felt the pressure between parenthood and being a senior leader, when Sue Plant had the opportunity to become the Head of a brand new school, she was going to make sure her staff didn’t face the same challenges she did.

At John Taylor Free School, Sue tells us how she set out to make her school flexible working-friendly and recruited her whole staff in the first year without spending any money on advertising. All part of her plan to get the culture right and attract the best people.

We also hear from Lucy Rose, co-founder of Flexible Teacher Talent, about the barriers to making your school working patterns more flexible and how to overcome them.

👂 Listen on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Libsyn | TuneIn 🔉

💬 Join the conversation. Follow Sue Plant, colleagues Liz Mitchell & Laura Ceney, and Lucy Rose & Lindsay Patience from @FlexTeachTalent and @NiallAlcock. We’d love to know what you think.

If you’re a new subscriber, thanks for joining us. Catch up on previous We Are In Beta interviews here.


The best ‘In Beta’ bits

Every episode, I curate the practical strategies and solutions to the challenges they’ve faced so you don’t miss out on them.

In next week’s newsletter, Sue and Lucy share:

  1. The research and books that have influenced their careers.

  2. The technology they couldn’t do without.

  3. The recruitment pack and application form Sue used to recruit their team.

  4. The advice Flexible Teacher Talent give to all teachers and school leaders about flexible working.

  5. The statutory guidance and legal rights you should know.

If you’d like to access these resources via your inbox next week hit the button below to subscribe

Thanks for reading.

Thanks for playing your part in making education the place we all know it can be.

Speak soon,

@NiallAlcock

(From left to right: Lucy Rose (Flexible Teacher Talent), Holly Power (Return To Teach), Lindsay Patience (Flexible Teacher Talent) and Emma Sheppard (Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher Project). I’ll see if I can find out the little ones’ names for next week :)


What you are up to—positivity from the We Are In Beta community

I’m playing around with when to run this section and how often. Maybe Sunday with the podcast release - like this? Or as part of the midweek follow up with the resources from the latest episode - like this? As a separate post on a Saturday perhaps?

Let me know what works for you by replying to this email.

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