Headship After Hours

Does your school genuinely have an attendance system — or does one highly capable person quietly hold the whole thing together?Most heads aren't short on effort when it comes to attendance.The harder truth: so much of it often rests on one or two people — and when that's the case, it never feels steady, however hard everyone works.That's the work I do. I run a funded Senior Attendance & Leadership Resilience Check for headteachers and trust leaders in complex schools.It starts with a short strategic assessment. For eligible schools, it opens into a full process:- On-site school visit- Detailed, school-specific report- Follow-up strategy session- Practical leadership tools for a clear 90-day planTypically valued at £1,000 — currently funded for eligible schools.Apply here → https://atrejwhi.formester.com/f/hwL9GCyin/In this episode of Headship After Hours, Paul Collin explores a hidden vulnerability in school attendance leadership: personality-dependent systems.Many schools have an attendance lead who knows the families, patterns, histories, anxiety triggers, sibling dynamics and which interventions are most likely to work.That expertise can make the system appear strong.But the more knowledge that lives in one person's head, the less knowledge belongs to the organisation.And that creates risk. Paul explores:Why an effective attendance lead can unintentionally become the attendance systemThe difference between individual expertise and organisational resilienceWhy knowledge needs to become shared practiceHow dependency appears in everyday school routinesClear attendance roles, thresholds and decision-makingWhy staff changes can suddenly expose weaknessesProtecting high-performing attendance staff from burnoutBuilding systems that survive absence, turnover and pressureCreating shared professional judgement across pastoral and leadership teamsPaul also gives leaders a simple stress test:Could a capable new colleague step in and understand enough of your attendance system within a week to keep it moving?If not, you may have a highly capable individual — but not yet a resilient structure. Strong attendance systems should be stronger than any one individual carrying them.🎙️ Headship After Hours — honest conversations about school leadership, attendance and the realities of leading schools.00:00 – Do You Have a System or a Person?01:30 – When Efficiency Hides Fragility02:18 – What a Resilient Attendance System Looks Like03:33 – When Knowledge Lives in One Person's Head04:29 – Building Shared Attendance Practice05:01 – The One-Week Stress Test05:54 – Turn Individual Knowledge Into a System06:11 – Protecting the People Carrying Too Much07:12 – What This Looks Like on an Ordinary Tuesday08:35 – Test Your Team's Alignment09:31 – Attendance Is a Whole-School Culture Issue10:05 – The Question Headteachers Need to Ask

What makes a school somewhere people genuinely want to belong — and stay?Most heads aren't short on effort when it comes to attendance.The harder truth: so much of it often rests on one or two people — and when that's the case, it never feels steady, however hard everyone works.That's the work I do. I run a funded Senior Attendance & Leadership Resilience Check for headteachers and trust leaders in complex schools.It starts with a short strategic assessment. For eligible schools, it opens into a full process:On-site school visitDetailed, school-specific reportFollow-up strategy sessionPractical leadership tools for a clear 90-day planTypically valued at £1,000 — currently funded for eligible schools.Apply here → https://atrejwhi.formester.com/f/hwL9GCyin/In this episode of Headship After Hours, Paul Collin sits down with Rob Connolly, Executive Headteacher of Harleston Sancroft Academy, to explore school culture, belonging, authentic leadership and what it takes to sustain yourself through the pressures of headship.Rob has spent 15 years serving the same school community. Today, he leads an all-through school spanning nursery to Key Stage 4, having led the process of bringing previously separate primary and secondary schools together. The conversation explores:Why Rob believes people must come firstBuilding school culture intentionally, every dayWhy relationships can't be reduced to a leadership strategyRecruiting the person, not simply the CVBringing primary and secondary cultures togetherCreating curriculum continuity from Early Years to Key Stage 4Belonging, trust, respect, care and love in schoolsHolding high expectations without losing humanityProtecting culture when leadership pressure increasesStaff retention and investing in peopleWhy leaders don't need to have every answerFinding an identity outside headshipWhy sustainable leaders sometimes need to slow downRob also shares a powerful lesson from more than two decades in education:'“Lead who you are. Teach who you are.” This is a conversation about creating great schools without losing sight of the people inside them — including yourself.🎙️ Headship After Hours — honest conversations about school leadership and the realities of leading schools.Chapters:00:00 – Building Community Through Relationships01:02 – Meet Rob Connolly03:10 – Rob's Journey Into Headship07:16 – Putting People Before the CV08:57 – The Challenge of Leading an All-Through School13:16 – How Do You Actually Build School Culture?18:41 – Protecting Belonging Under Leadership Pressure23:56 – High Expectations Without Losing Care26:09 – Finding an Identity Beyond Headship27:44 – Rob's Advice to New Headteachers29:46 – Lead Who You Are

The first 10 days of the school year can reveal an enormous amount about your school culture, leadership and consistency.Most heads aren't short on effort when it comes to attendance.The harder truth: so much of it often rests on one or two people — and when that's the case, it never feels steady, however hard everyone works.That's the work I do. I run a funded Senior Attendance & Leadership Resilience Check for headteachers and trust leaders in complex schools.It starts with a short strategic assessment. For eligible schools, it opens into a full process:On-site school visitDetailed, school-specific reportFollow-up strategy sessionPractical leadership tools for a clear 90-day planTypically valued at £1,000 — currently funded for eligible schools.Apply here → https://atrejwhi.formester.com/f/hwL9GCyin/In this episode of Headship After Hours, Paul Collin explores what strong headteachers do differently at the beginning of a new school year — and why trying to launch every priority at once can actually weaken your start.Behaviour. Attendance. Teaching. Safeguarding. Systems. Vision. Values. The improvement plan.They all matter.But when everything becomes a priority, staff and students can struggle to understand what matters most.Paul explores five leadership principles for the first 10 days: creating simplicity around a small number of high-leverage behaviours, purposeful leadership visibility, recognising what is working, listening without constantly changing direction, and responding calmly when the first inevitable wobble arrives. You'll hear practical questions for headteachers and senior leaders around:school culture and consistencybehaviour expectations and routinesattendanceleadership visibilitystaff alignmentrecognitioncommunication with familiesresponding when systems are testedbuilding credibility with staff and pupilsThe goal isn't to win the entire year in 10 days.It's to establish the conditions that make the rest of the year possible.Because school culture isn't built by how strongly you launch. It's built by what adults repeat once the launch is over. 🎙️ Headship After Hours — honest conversations about school leadership and the realities of leading schools.00:00 – What the First 10 Days Reveal01:21 – Why September Gets Overloaded02:08 – Strong Leaders Create Simplicity04:59 – Why Adult Consistency Matters05:55 – Visible Leadership With Purpose07:00 – Recognise What Is Working07:53 – Listen Without Losing Direction08:43 – How Leaders Handle the First Wobble09:34 – 5 Questions to Ask Before the Year Begins

What if challenging behaviour isn't simply a discipline problem — but a sign that a young person doesn't yet feel safe, connected or regulated enough to learn?Most heads aren't short on effort when it comes to attendance.The harder truth: so much of it often rests on one or two people — and when that's the case, it never feels steady, however hard everyone works.That's the work I do. I run a funded Senior Attendance & Leadership Resilience Check for headteachers and trust leaders in complex schools.It starts with a short strategic assessment. For eligible schools, it opens into a full process:On-site school visitDetailed, school-specific reportFollow-up strategy sessionPractical leadership tools for a clear 90-day planTypically valued at £1,000 — currently funded for eligible schools.Apply here → https://atrejwhi.formester.com/f/hwL9GCyin/In this episode of Headship After Hours, Paul Collin is joined by Neil Moggan, founder of Future Action and author of Time to Rise Up, to explore trauma-informed practice, behaviour, relationships, mental wellbeing and the role movement can play in helping pupils regulate.Neil shares his own journey from PE leadership into trauma-informed practice, including how changing his approach helped reduce send-outs in his PE department by 95%, while attendance and predicted grades for some of the most challenging pupils also improved. Paul and Neil explore:Why safety and connection come before learningTrauma-informed approaches to behaviourWhy relationships should sit at the heart of school improvementMovement as a tool for regulation and belongingSupporting pupils with ADHD and additional needsMaintaining high standards without re-traumatising young peopleStaff regulation and teacher wellbeingHow leadership pressure can affect relationships with pupilsPractical strategies schools can use to create calmer environmentsWhy belonging matters for behaviour, attendance and learningNeil also explains the Rise Up approach and shares practical examples of how movement, inclusive activities, stress-busting strategies and relationship-led practice are being used across mainstream, specialist and alternative provision.One example comes from a specialist school where physical holds for one cohort reduced from 50 in Year 5 to 10 in Year 7 after the development of a Rise Up Sports Sanctuary and personalised regulation strategies. The central message is simple:Help children feel safe. Help them regulate. Then create the conditions for them to learn.🎙️ Headship After Hours — honest conversations about school leadership, attendance, culture and the realities of leading schools.00:00 – Safety Before Learning00:18 – Introducing Neil Moggan05:58 – What Is Trauma-Informed Practice?08:58 – Movement, Regulation & Belonging10:53 – The Rise Up Approach17:34 – What This Looks Like in Real Schools18:28 – From 50 Physical Holds to 1021:08 – Why Relationships Matter in Implementation23:25 – Education, Belonging & Human Connection24:47 – When Leadership Pressure Changes Relationships27:32 – Did Schools Get Behaviour Wrong After Lockdown?29:06 – Staff Wellbeing & Self-Regulation33:59 – One Simple Strategy Leaders Can Use Tomorrow36:19 – Neil’s Advice for School Leaders

What happens when a young person wants to learn — but the traditional school environment simply isn't working for them?In this episode of Headship After Hours, Paul Collin is joined by Hugh Viney, founder and CEO of Minerva Virtual Academy (MVA), to explore online and hybrid education, school attendance, SEND, emotionally based school avoidance and what happens when we begin designing education around the needs of the child.Hugh shares the story behind Minerva Virtual Academy and why growing numbers of families began looking for alternatives when their children were struggling with anxiety, neurodivergence or the demands of mainstream education.The conversation explores:Why some pupils thrive outside a traditional classroomSEND, anxiety and barriers to school attendanceEmotionally based school avoidanceThe four barriers some children experience in mainstream educationMaking the school fit the child rather than forcing the child to fit the schoolOnline, asynchronous and flipped learningThe role of one-to-one mentoring and pastoral supportUsing engagement data to identify when pupils need helpMaintaining academic expectations alongside wellbeingHow schools and local authorities can use alternative provisionWhether hybrid schooling could become a mainstream optionWhy online education doesn't necessarily mean isolationHugh also challenges one of the biggest assumptions surrounding virtual education: that learning online automatically means less community, fewer friendships and weaker outcomes.For some young people, he argues, removing barriers associated with the physical environment can actually allow them to engage, build relationships and rediscover confidence in learning.About Minerva Virtual AcademyThis episode is supported by Minerva Virtual Academy (MVA), a DfE-accredited online school working with young people for whom traditional school attendance may not currently be working.MVA works with families, schools and local authorities to provide an online educational pathway, including live teaching, independent learning, mentoring and pastoral support.For school leaders considering alternative or complementary provision for a young person, further information about Minerva Virtual Academy can be found at:Minerva Virtual Academy: www.minervavirtual.comAbout Hugh VineyHugh Viney is the founder and CEO of Minerva Virtual Academy. After founding Minerva Tutors, Hugh launched MVA in 2021 as an alternative educational model for young people who may not thrive within traditional mainstream schooling.In this conversation, Hugh shares his perspective on the future of virtual and hybrid education and why he believes alternative models should increasingly be viewed as a genuine educational choice rather than simply a last resort.Connect with Hugh Viney on LinkedIn.🎧 Headship After Hours — honest conversations about the realities of school leadership, education and building better systems for young people.00:00 – Why Some Children Thrive Outside Mainstream School01:50 – About Minerva Virtual Academy02:10 – Introducing Hugh Viney08:19 – Why Minerva Virtual Academy Grew So Quickly11:38 – SEND, Attendance & School Avoidance13:09 – Why Families Look Beyond Mainstream School15:22 – What COVID Revealed About How Children Learn18:57 – Making the School Fit the Child19:52 – The Four Barriers to Mainstream School24:20 – The Power of One-to-One Mentoring27:19 – Technology, Learning & Human Connection33:18 – What School Leaders Can Learn From MVA34:44 – Can Online School Lead Pupils Back to Mainstream?37:22 – The Future of Hybrid Schooling39:12 – The Biggest Myth About Online School41:10 – Belonging, Happiness & High Expectations