Ahead of SENIA 2027, I reflect on how our Learning Support domains and competencies developed from a personal accountability tool into a shared reference for goal setting and team discussions. I share what changed through collaboration, how we use the document now, and what I hope to explore with others.

A snapshot of one Learning Support day at an international school in Sri Lanka, from early parent meetings and classroom support to lunch duty and preparation for tomorrow. This reflection makes the work between timetabled lessons visible, including the shared effort behind student support and one student’s progress through a challenging assessment.

The new SENIA Disability Inclusive Practice Standards offer more than a checklist for Learning Support. They provide a whole-school mirror for examining who owns inclusion, how access is designed, and whose voice and future shape our decisions.

The Ambition Institute and EEF offer different but complementary approaches to inclusive teaching. In this article, I compare what each guide recommends, where they overlap, how they differ, what may be missing, and how schools could use both to connect deeper understanding with practical action.

My first week back included new responsibilities, a new office, and two professional learning sessions focused on Learning Support, UDL, and GBUSME planning. This reflection looks at what went well, how my holiday reading shaped the way I presented, and what I hope to build on during the year ahead.

Over the last 10 months, I have been part of building clearer Learning Support systems, resources, and conversations at OSC. This reflection looks at what has improved, what still needs work, and why progress in Learning Support is always shared work.

I tried using a UDL bingo placemat as a way to make planning conversations more practical, visible, and engaging. This post reflects on what worked, what I would change next time, and how the idea could be adapted more closely to a school’s own UDL goals.

Over April and May, I read and listened to books that pulled my thinking across leadership, focus, communication, self-compassion, AI and wellbeing. This reflection captures what stayed with me from each book and how those ideas connect back to teaching, learning support, leadership and the kind of work I want to keep doing.

This year I tried to build a small book-based PLC around shared reading, conversation, and professional connection. It did not always keep the momentum I hoped for, but it still created useful moments of reflection and helped me think more carefully about purpose, timing, facilitation, and shared ownership.

A reflection on creating Micro PD posters this year as short, visual prompts for professional learning, teacher communication, and shared instructional language.

Updating our Secondary Learning Support domains helped me move from a document that gave me structure to one that could guide shared practice. This reflection explores how mission-driven inclusion, collaborative partnerships, systems and communication, and reflective innovation can help define what successful learning support looks like.

Over the past few weeks, I have been experimenting with a range of AI tools to see how they might support Learning Support in real school settings. In doing so, I have found that the real value has not only been in the tools themselves, but in the thinking, reflection, and questions they raise about practice, privacy, and how we best support students and teachers.

As the school year winds down, books, audiobooks and podcasts have helped me stay focused, reflect on teaching and leadership, and explore what comes next. This reading and listening list captures the ideas, questions, and inspiration that have shaped my thinking in recent months and the road ahead.

On Monday, I facilitated a 30-minute PD session using the OECD report *Unlocking High-Quality Teaching* to help teachers understand the teaching practices currently valued across 50 international schools around the world. I broke down the main ideas from the report, explained its general aims, and introduced the five core goals and 20 supportive practices. From there, teachers completed a reflection activity where they rated their confidence in each subdomain and identified next steps or support needed to improve. I then encouraged teachers to discuss their current practice, what they were trying to get better at, and how they were planning to do so. There were a lot of positives to take away from the session. I was able to simplify a long report, provide a useful summary, and give teachers actionable steps they could apply to their own practice. Teachers walked out with their plans in hand, seemed to appreciate the session, and engaged thoughtfully with the reflection process. I plan to follow up with an email in three weeks to check whether they were able to stick to their commitment to changing one practice this month. At the same time, the session also highlighted areas I want to keep improving. I am still sometimes losing my train of thought during presentations, and spending more time focusing and practising beforehand would have helped. This was also a one-off session that did not build on previous conversations or connect to future developments, which is something I want to change. I did not include turn and talks or spend much time asking questions, and I found it difficult to step into group conversations once they had started. Even so, I am starting to really enjoy presenting PD, and I want to keep putting my hand up for these opportunities. Moving forward, I want each session to connect to a bigger goal so that staff learning builds over time rather than sitting as isolated one-time events.

This article explores my attempt to define a set of common teaching practices at OSC and use them to build shared language, reflection, and professional dialogue. It outlines the thinking behind the document, how it was introduced through PD, and how I hope it can continue to be refined over time to support teaching practice and student learning.

I recently updated our learning support website to make key information easier for staff to find, highlight core initiatives, and provide deeper resources when needed. This post shares the site’s structure and the thinking behind it.

After the semester break and a one-week Grade 6 field trip to Kandy, my reading slowed down, but the past few weeks still brought a meaningful mix of new titles and re-reads. I have come to appreciate re-reading as a professional habit. The same ideas land differently depending on the stage you are at, the challenges you are facing, and the conversations you are having with teachers and students.

The learning support website started as a simple goal: create a one-stop shop where teachers can quickly find clear, practical information about common learning needs. It is not a replacement for individual student plans. Instead, it complements them by helping teachers understand the “why” behind a plan, so strategies feel more connected to the student in front of them. Building the resource also sharpened my own understanding, and my next step is to embed it more intentionally into professional learning, including our March PD day, so it becomes a tool teachers actually use during the reality of a busy school week.

In 2026, I’m taking a moment to look back on the goals I set at the start of 2025, and to set clear new priorities for the year ahead. These goals are mostly focused on career progression, but I also want to be more intentional about my learning goals in 2026. I’m sharing this publicly to stay accountable and to keep a running record of what I’m building, improving, and figuring out along the way. If it’s useful for your own practice, take what you need and adapt it. We never really stop learning, and it’s hard to reach an outcome if we don’t first decide where we’re heading.

After reading Carl Hendrick’s summary of Theory of Instruction by Siegfried Engelmann and Douglas Carnine, I wanted a way to actually remember and use the ideas. I turned his “10 Rules for Designing Effective Learning” into a simple classroom poster so the key principles are visible, memorable, and ready to apply. This article shares that poster and a few thoughts on why turning dense theory into visuals helps my own learning as a teacher.

This post shares classroom resources I designed including seven critical situations, whole-class differentiation, and assessment unpacking. You will find posters, an infographic, and discussion cards with practical, ready-to-use ideas.

Three connected pieces from a recent staff meeting: a reflection on presenting more clearly, a draft assess, plan, do, review cycle for student goals, and an assessment adjustments poster that clarifies roles. Guided by Stephen Taylor and Brené Brown’s Clear is Kind, I share what worked, what needs refining, and what I will try next.

Communicating effectively as a learning support teacher gets harder as caseloads grow. In my first month I built three simple tools to help: a student summary list, an assessment accommodations sheet, and a biweekly reflections report. The goal is to spend time to save time. These Google Sheets templates, shared as Excel, give teachers quick snapshots and links so updates stay clear, current, and easy to use.

Over one holiday I caught up on five widely discussed books, from Jonathan Haidt’s look at teen anxiety to Patrick Lencioni’s blueprint for healthy organisations. Their lessons span phone-free classrooms, data-driven optimism, cognitive coaching, and constructive conflict, and each title has already reshaped how I think about teaching, leadership, and life.

Growth often feels like standing still until you look back at how far you have come. In this reflection I trace the shift from wondering “Am I working hard enough?” If you wrestle with imposter feelings, AI’s role in your craft, or the urge to level up without burning out, these insights may be useful to you.

Real independence grows from guided practice. Borrowing insights from Kirschner and Hendrick, this piece argues that novices need clear knowledge and modeled tactics before they can learn alone. It introduces a worksheet that helps teachers coach Zimmerman’s fifteen self regulation strategies, one focused lesson at a time.

International schools are multiplying worldwide, enrolment is climbing, and fee income is rising—but growth alone does not guarantee quality. This white paper highlights five pivotal trends: rapid sector expansion, mounting pressure to give teachers real career pathways, the rise of hybrid curricula, increasing consolidation under school groups, and the push for richer STEM and co-curricular options. It poses five direct questions every leadership team should debate, urging schools to turn short-term market gains into long-term benefits for both students and staff.

Finishing the year, I set out to refresh my learning-support skills for next year. Right away I was reminded how challenging co-teaching can be, even with committed colleagues. To strengthen teacher confidence I turned to research on teacher agency in inclusive education. Studies keep highlighting three recurring barriers: teachers feel they are not doing enough, they lack the know-how, and they lack time to plan and adjust lessons (Robinson, 2017; Dayso et al., 2025; Van der Rheede & Dreyer, 2024).

Strong parent, family, and community engagement links home, school, and neighborhood so every student receives consistent support. This overview shows how six leadership styles create welcoming structures, remove barriers, and invite shared decision making, turning everyday partnership into a catalyst for better achievement, attendance, and wellbeing.

Collaboration turns individual expertise into collective strength. This overview shows how six leadership styles organise teams, invite diverse voices, and build trust so that shared goals, transparent dialogue, and joint evidence-review drive sustained gains in student learning, staff efficacy, and school climate.

High-quality teaching rests on purposeful human resource systems. This excerpt explains how six leadership styles recruit, coach, and supervise staff so that every hiring decision, mentoring cycle, and appraisal meeting strengthens collective expertise, safeguards wellbeing, and drives student learning.

Effective professional development and ethical practice align every learning opportunity with principled conduct, turning continuous growth into safer, more impactful teaching. This overview shows how six leadership styles plan, support, and evaluate professional learning while embedding ethical standards that protect students, guide staff decisions, and sustain a culture of trust.

In an era of rapid change, it is important to not lose sight of the potential of high-quality teaching and the power of refining teaching practices that have demonstrated impact. This report aims to d...

In an era of data-driven decision-making, the Research and Evaluation domain plays a critical role in shaping effective educational leadership. By grounding decisions in systematic inquiry and ongoing analysis, leaders not only enhance program effectiveness but also ensure transparency and accountability. Embedding evaluation into everyday practices empowers schools to make strategic, evidence-based choices that prioritize student success and responsible resource use.

Effective research and inquiry link classroom practice to sound evidence so that every improvement rests on trustworthy data. This overview shows how six leadership styles cultivate a culture of investigation, data sharing, and reflective adjustment, turning curiosity into a strategic driver of equitable learning.

Effective economic and resource management aligns every dollar, minute, and material with instructional priorities. This article explains how six leadership styles guide budgeting, staffing, and asset allocation so schools remain equitable, transparent, and mission-focused.

Effective program development and organisation keeps instructional programs coherent and responsive to learner needs. This overview explains how six leadership styles shape program planning, accountability, and innovation while highlighting key questions that help leaders align vision, evidence, and community voices to create flexible, inclusive learning pathways.

This post explores how six leadership approaches—transactional, instructional, transformational, distributed, collaborative, and relational—shape the Curriculum Content Knowledge domain. It shows how each style aligns curriculum goals with classroom practice, supports effective pedagogy, and uses evidence of learning to refine programs for every student.

This article builds on my earlier exploration of Dr Mary Lynn Boscardin’s leadership typology by shifting the focus from contextual settings to the domain of leadership, policy, and school reform. After briefly recalling the 11 poster series that mapped leadership styles across diverse environments, the piece defines this domain as the work of interpreting legislation, shaping policy, and guiding change initiatives that advance a school’s mission. With that definition in mind, the article offers practical reflection questions that invite leaders to identify their predominant style, examine why it emerges, and judge its impact on school improvement. Readers are encouraged to treat policy not as a checklist but as a lever for instructional growth, ensuring that every reform effort remains anchored in student learning and organisational purpose.

Effective leadership starts with the environment you build. In this piece, I unpack the Context for Leadership domain—how identifying, securing, and coordinating social, material, and cultural resources shapes the conditions for successful teaching and learning. Paired with practical reflection questions, the article invites leaders and teachers to examine their own settings, match their leadership style to specific needs, and cultivate a school climate where both educators and students can thrive.

Drawing on Transforming Educational Leadership to Support Personalised Learning (Boscardin, 2020), this project translates the text’s comparative table of six leadership styles—Transactional, Instructional, Transformational, Distributed, Collaborative, and Relational—into a suite of visually accessible posters.

Over the past six months, my journey through master’s studies and professional reading has led me to reflect more deeply on my teaching practice. I have come to see how much the vision and culture of a school influence teaching styles and methods, and how professional judgement must constantly adapt to meet student needs. As I explore different frameworks and theories, I find myself questioning what truly defines good teaching and how we, as educators, balance research, school expectations, and the realities of our classrooms.

Empower teachers with low-stakes peer observations. Try the WWW & EBI method to celebrate wins and spark improvement!

Over seven years, my teaching evolved from student-led inquiry to structured, explicit instruction, leading to improved student comprehension and retention.

The last day of Semester 1 is here, and I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on how my first semester as the Head of the Digital Technology Department went. To guide this reflection, I used Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle. These are my general musings and discussions about the experiences I’ve had. Hopefully, they can be useful to other new Heads of Department.