Will Ryan has some advice for you. If your horse drops dead dismount. The way he sees it, we too often end up either on a journey that is rapidly going nowhere or on a course set by the 'powers that be' with a government-issue horse that just isn't up to the job.
This is one of the messages coming through from Will's inspiring, thought-provoking and controversial approach to school management - something he calls 'Inside Out Leadership'.
(He also suggests that once you have dismounted, take a critical look around you and then choose the means and direction of travel most appropriate for you.)
Will is as passionate about education now as he was when he first entered the profession. He has worked in schools in South Yorkshire for over thirty years as a teacher, head teacher and Local Authority Adviser. As a head teacher he led a school that prized itself on genuine pupil creativity and was described by OFSTED as 'outstanding'.
And he is now joining Independent Thinking as one of our newest - and most Yorkshire - Associates.
Through his work on 'Inside Out Leadership' he urges school leaders to examine the 'moral purpose' that took them into the profession in the first place and then take that out from the inside and wear it on the outside for all to see. He will then provide a school with clear strategies to help create an exciting environment that serves the real needs of the community as well as raising standards of literacy and numeracy. (He even has a track record of helping schools get into HMCI's list of most effective schools.)
His work with schools in teaching and learning, often just prior to an OFSTED visit, carries with it the message that is loud and clear - Don't teach safe lessons in sterile environments! This is then followed with the powerful question, 'When did you last teach an inspirational lesson that led to inspirational learners?' Will then works with a school to provide frameworks and activities to help them deliver the goods, modelling the process of 'Excellence and Enjoyment' as he goes.
Will has expertise in school leadership, developing vision, pupil creativity and curriculum design, developing the professional learning community and promoting the social and emotional aspects of learning. He doesn’t want to tell you how to do it. That’s too easy. He wants to inspire you to do it and do it for yourself.
Recent comments from happy clients include;
- Truly inspirational
- We were with him for three hours on a Saturday morniong and the time flew
- The session was about vision, It worked - the cloud lifted and I could see clearly
- A marvellous blend of inspiration and practical tips
- A very inspiring, amusing speaker - loved the jokes!
One of the critical questions in education today is how do you put an elephant into a refrigerator. Many are searching for a solution. The answer is to open the door and put the elephant in. To do anything else is over-complicating the issue. The challenge for school leaders is to keep it simple.
'Inside out leadership' shows you how.
For more information or to book Will for an Event you are organising please call us on 0709 239 9617 or e-mail us on admin@independentthinking.co.uk
Articles written by Will Ryan: