Tag: Professional Learning

With constant pressure to get the most out of your staff, school leadership can often embody the adage “It’s lonely at the top.” Adam Kohlbeck, one of the speakers at the 2026 International Leaders Conference, believes that the education sector needs to reevaluate how it approaches school leadership and evaluation. In this Q&A, he discusses how accountability culture can be negated from effective leadership, and how the sector can change its leadership approach.

Tell us about your background.

My leadership journey has been quite broad and varied. I’m currently Director of Teacher Quality at Chiltern Learning Trust, which is a large trust serving primary and secondary schools across the East of England. Prior to that, I’ve been a Deputy Headteacher at a primary school and at an all-through school.

I’m particularly interested in vulnerability and accountability, and how we can manage those at scale in leadership roles. I think vulnerability and accountability are something we’ve got wrong as a sector, in that our high-stakes accountability system can make it hard for people to accept vulnerabilities in themselves and others.

We have this idea of accountability as proving to the person one rank above you that you can get the person one rank below you to take action, but that is an unhealthy way of seeing things. I’d like people to see accountability less like a hierarchy and more as a circle, where you have a shared aim in the middle, and everybody is accountable for achieving that objective.

What is the biggest challenge school leaders face right now when trying to implement change?

I think it’s probably the high-stakes accountability system we’re living in. It creates a real temptation to lead with performativity rather than genuinely good teaching. I see and hear from a lot of school leaders who are quite concerned with the idea of consistent practice in the classroom. I understand why the instinct is there, because when you have a system that judges you on one and a half days when a few strangers come into your school, it’s natural to work towards the things they’ll see quickly and can make a judgement from.

But I think it’s a mistake to view consistency in a school as being about what people actually do in classrooms. Really, it is about having a consistent way of thinking and talking about teaching but not a consistent way of doing the teaching, and that’s not necessarily something that would get picked up in a one and a half day inspection.

Why do so many promising initiatives fail in schools?

The first reason is that often they just weren’t that promising to begin with. When adopting a new approach, schools must consider how it will fit with their particular school and culture, not just whether it worked somewhere else. For example, a directive model of instructional coaching may work well with early career teachers who need hands-on support, but it’s unlikely to land in a school where experienced teachers have autonomy. That doesn’t mean the coaching is bad – it just means the culture’s not right for that initiative.

The second reason is implementation. I think a lot of bad implementation in the UK comes down to school improvement plans. School improvement plans often have four or five different targets, each assigned to a senior leader. If you’ve got four or five senior leaders with different targets, what you’re ultimately doing is splitting everybody’s attention. All those senior leaders will be sending out conflicting signals about what’s important.

What does effective leadership look like in practice today, not just in theory?

Leaders need to make sure they have teaching and learning at the forefront of everything they do. As a sector, we’re pushing leaders further away from the core work of teaching and learning all the time. But really, learning is key. So as a leader, you’ve got to be asking yourself all the time if what you’re doing is having a tangible, direct impact on learning.

The other important thing is just to be a good person. Sufian Sadiq, my boss at the trust, talks about being a “good egg”, and I don’t think it needs to be more complicated than that. If everyone trusts that you’re a decent person who wants the best for everybody, that goes a long way towards securing effective leadership.

Why is it important for school leaders to come together at events like our ICA conferences?

It’s about having time to think. Leadership is like a treadmill where you get sucked into the detail day in and day out, but you must have time when you step away from it. If you don’t make that time to think, you’ll get to a point where you plateau or even regress. You need to allow yourself to look at things from a different perspective.

What advice would you give to school leaders who are feeling stretched too thin?

Again – ironically, I think it’s about creating time to think, but its also important to reframe how you’re feeling in terms of good stress and bad stress. Sometimes we’re stressed because things are going wrong, but often it’s because we can achieve something brilliant and are worried about making the most of it. Taking a step back and understanding the source of our stress can help us work out whether it’s bad stress or a motivator we should embrace.

What’s one idea you hope to challenge in leaders’ thinking?

We can fall into the trap of thinking there’s a certain way we have to lead – whether that’s because of pressure from social media or peers, or just because of a lot of regulation that dictates how things should be done. My number one idea I’d like leaders to think about is that we can push back on those things a bit. Leaders need to think about the individuals who are working in their schools, and sometimes that means doing things slightly differently. If you put people at the heart of it all, and you make sure that everybody gets what they need, then you won’t go far wrong.

In education, change is often driven by new initiatives, but what if the real work lies beneath the surface? Lori Cohen invites leaders to look more deeply at the health of their school ecosystems, focusing not just on strategy, but on the human conditions that make change possible.

With a background as a school leader, consultant, and coach, Lori brings a powerful perspective on wellbeing, capacity, and sustainable improvement. In this Q&A, she shares why so many initiatives stall, and what leaders can do differently to create meaningful, lasting change.

Tell us about your background.

I am an educational consultant, coach, author, longtime educator, and former school leader. I help teachers to assess the health of their school’s ecosystem, using diagnostic tools to identify which areas are thriving and which are under strain. From there, the goal is to identify one high-leverage area for change that can make a meaningful difference within a realistic timeframe.

What is the biggest challenge that school leaders face right now when trying to implement change?

There are three main challenges. First, schools are simply taking on too much. There’s a constant pull – from external pressures, internal expectations, and new trends – to do more, rather than prioritising what matters most.

Second is time, but often as a perception issue. When everything feels like a priority, there’s never enough time. The real challenge is protecting time for what’s essential.

And third is capacity. Leadership roles have expanded to the point where it’s difficult to create space for meaningful change. Without role clarity and manageable expectations, leaders struggle to focus on implementation as well as everything else they’re responsible for.

Why do so many promising initiatives fail in schools?

Often, it comes down to how we approach implementation. We start strong, with enthusiasm and energy, but we don’t sustain the work.

We don’t build in time to assess, adjust, and refine. And when things get difficult (as they always do) we tend to lose momentum. Real change is messy. It’s uncomfortable. It requires persistence through the challenging phases, not just the exciting beginnings. If we’re not prepared for that, initiatives tend to stall before they have a chance to succeed.

What does effective leadership look like in practice today, not just in theory?

For me, it comes down to presence. Leaders need to be visible, engaged, and connected to the daily reality of their school community, not just working behind the scenes.

That means being in classrooms, having conversations, and truly understanding the experiences of both staff and students.

Alongside that, emotional intelligence is critical. Leaders need the ability to hold complexity – to navigate different perspectives, emotions, and challenges – while remaining grounded and human. That combination of presence and emotional awareness is essential.

What’s one trend in education that leaders shouldn’t ignore right now?

There’s a growing focus on evidence-based practice, which is important, but sometimes it becomes polarised between “the science” and “the human side” of education.

The real question isn’t choosing one over the other. It’s asking: How do we know what’s working in our context?

Every school is different. What matters most is using evidence (both data and lived experience) to understand whether what we’re doing is actually making an impact.

Why is it important for school leaders to come together at events like our ICA conferences?

Leadership can be incredibly isolating. The more responsibility you carry, the more that sense of isolation can grow.

Conferences provide a chance to step outside that silo, to connect with others facing similar challenges, to gain new perspectives, and to feel part of a wider community.

They also offer something leaders don’t always get: the opportunity to pause, reflect, and draw from a different “well” of ideas and support.

What advice would you give to leaders who are feeling stretched too thin?

First, recognise that the feeling is normal; leadership in schools is both complex and deeply human.

One helpful approach is to focus on what you can control in the moment. Even small, manageable actions can help create clarity and calm when things feel overwhelming.

It’s also important to separate yourself from the role at times. Not every challenge or reaction is personal, it often comes with the position you hold.

What’s one idea you hope to challenge in leaders’ thinking?

The idea that “this is how we’ve always done it”. Education is changing rapidly, and we can’t rely on past models to navigate new challenges. Leaders need to move beyond maintaining the status quo and start thinking more creatively about what’s possible.

It might feel less certain, but it opens the door to more meaningful and relevant change.

Clare Garey, founder of Sustainability at School, helps schools solve the problem of how to strengthen their climate action in a way that is realistic and sustainable into the future. We spoke with Clare about her work with school leaders and what she’ll be talking about at the conference.

Tell us about your work as a leader in sustainable education

Sustainability at School is a purpose-driven social enterprise with a twofold purpose: helping schools to reduce their environmental footprint and helping to develop sustainability leadership among students and staff. We do this by helping move organisations from intention to action.

Schools can come from different regions or contexts, but the challenges tend to be incredibly familiar. A school in Bangkok is clearly operating in a very different local context from one in Barcelona, but the core question always comes back to: how do you bring people along on a journey and create a shared sense of ownership and meaning? We help leaders to enable others and ensure there’s the capacity, clarity and confidence to make change happen.

What is the biggest challenge school leaders face right now when trying to implement change?

It’s making change sustainable – pun intended! In my experience, schools are really complex organisations. There are multiple competing priorities – limited time, lots of different stakeholders and opinions. So even when there are really strong intentions, maintaining that alignment and momentum over time can be tricky.

The key to making change sustainable is making sure it’s not too to-down or too bottom-up. It needs to be a combination of both so that everyone can help drive the change and make it stick.

Why do so many promising initiatives fail in schools?

I think there’s a tendency – and it’s very well-intentioned, fuelled by passion and urgency – to move straight from intention to implementation. Regardless of the context, it’s important to spend enough time understanding what your school is doing well first and then setting up the practical structures to support consistent action and clear ownership. This means you can understand how the changes you’re making align with the school’s wider strategy so that it’s not just something happening separately, it’s genuinely integrated with how the school works on a day-to-day basis. It’s like the difference between having one passionate member of staff running a garden club, versus having a whole-school sustainability action team with representation from students, academic divisions, operations and leadership all focused on increasing the school’s biodiversity.

What does ‘effective leadership’ look like in practice today, not just in theory?

Based on what I’m observing in schools, effective leadership is where there’s a clear overarching direction, but at the same time there’s a culture where others can take ownership. In practice, it comes down to consistency around how decisions are made, how priorities are communicated and how leaders show up on a day-to-day basis. Those are the things that shape culture more than any one initiative.

The other aspect is the recognition that effective change takes time. It’s about balancing ambition with realism. For example, we work with a large school in Asia, helping them to define their sustainability objectives over a three-year period, because it takes that time to align all of the different divisions and ensure that the change is meaningful.

What’s one trend in education leaders shouldn’t ignore right now?

I don’t really see it as a trend, but I do think that there’s now a clear expectation that schools should be preparing students not just academically, but for real world challenges. Education needs to go beyond knowledge and help young people develop the skills that are required in the workplace and life in general – critical thinking, taking action, leadership. The work we’re doing is very relevant to this, because young people are already living with climate change, and sustainability can be a vehicle for teaching them how to lead and act on the things that matter.

What advice would you give to leaders feeling stretched too thin?

First, I think it’s so important to recognise that that is a very real and common feeling, because school leaders are managing an enormous range of complex responsibilities.

In any leadership role – including in my own case, as a founder and running a small business – it’s about stopping and making sure that we have clarity and focus in our strategic vision. Every school will have a strategic vision that they will have spent time, effort and energy developing as a team. Going repeatedly back to that vision – asking where you really want to take the school to and how to make your way there – is what helps overcome the feeling of ‘we need to do everything, everywhere, all at once.’ The most meaningful change and strategic developments come not from adding more, but from stepping back and prioritising.

What’s one idea you hope to challenge in leaders’ thinking?

School leaders generally want to make their schools more sustainable in terms of climate action. But they sometimes feel that it’s a separate addition to their existing priorities, and they’re often unsure of where to start.

I’m hoping that we can challenge that thinking and help leaders to see sustainability as something that actually enables the delivery of their existing strategic priorities. That might be deepening student leadership and agency, creating opportunities for real world learning, or allowing students to explore and share their own ideas. These are all priorities that a whole-school sustainability strategy can contribute to, rather than being separate from.

As school leaders navigate competing priorities and growing pressure on staff retention, the need for clear, sustainable leadership has never been greater. In this exclusive Q&A, teacher mentoring expert Professor Hughes shares her insights on leadership challenges, why initiatives fail, and how leaders can build schools where both staff and students thrive.

Can you tell us a bit about your background?

My name’s Professor Haili Hughes. I started my career as a national newspaper journalist before moving into teaching English. Now I work as an international expert in teacher mentoring, professional development and teacher retention, talking about how we can intertwine belonging and professional development to create a culture where people genuinely want to stay.

What do you think is the biggest challenge school leaders face right now when trying to implement change?

The biggest challenge is overload. Leaders aren’t trying to do things badly, but they are often trying to do too many things at once in very complex environments. Even strong ideas can fail when added into systems that are already crowded or fatigued.

So, the real challenge isn’t just choosing the right initiative, but deciding what to stop, what to sequence, and how to prevent change from becoming just more noise.

Why do so many promising initiatives fail in schools?

Partly it’s that same overload and initiative fatigue. But it’s also because education sometimes chases the next “silver bullet”. We want impact immediately, so we go for the shiny solution instead of addressing the real problem.

Often, schools already have the right ideas in place, the challenge is giving them enough time and support to fully embed and make an impact. And crucially, if staff don’t understand the why or feel supported in the how, even great ideas will fail. It’s not always the initiative; it’s the mismatch between ambition and capacity.

What does effective leadership look like in practice today?

Effective leadership must be calm, clear, and consistent. It’s about making good decisions under pressure without passing that pressure onto others.

It also means communicating purpose, prioritising sharply, and building a strong culture – not just in theory – but in the daily lived experience of staff. The best leaders combine moral purpose with practical wisdom.

What’s one trend in education that leaders shouldn’t ignore right now?

Using professional development as a retention strategy. We talk a lot about recruitment and workload- and those matter – but people stay when they feel they are growing, contributing, and trusted.

Development opportunities, mentoring, coaching, and leadership pathways aren’t “nice to have”, they’re essential. Schools need to become places where people can build a career, not just do a job.

Why is it important for school leaders to come together at events like our ICA conferences?

Leadership can be incredibly lonely. One of the most powerful things is realising that others are facing the same challenges. Events like conferences offer perspective, community, and space to reflect. They’re not just about content but act as “sense-making” opportunities. They help leaders step back from the urgency of school life and think more clearly about their own context.

What advice would you give to leaders who feel stretched too thin?

Be ruthlessly honest about what’s essential. Not everything urgent is important, and not everything worthwhile has to happen now.

Protect your thinking time. Focus on what only you can do, and delegate or delay the rest. Leadership isn’t about carrying everything; it’s about building systems and people, so the organisation doesn’t rely on your exhaustion.

What’s one idea you hope to challenge in leaders’ thinking?

That leadership is about heroic individual effort. Schools don’t improve because one person works harder, they improve when leadership is distributed effectively.

When staff feel trusted and involved, change happens with people, not to them. If I can shift leaders away from performative busyness towards sustainable, purposeful leadership, I’ll be very happy.

In a fast-moving education landscape filled with new ideas, products and pressures, it can be difficult for leaders to know where to focus their time and energy. With over 30 years’ experience in leadership roles in a large school system, including a decade specialising in learning science implementation, Meg Lee brings a powerful perspective on how organisations – not just individuals – learn. In this exclusive Q&A, she shares practical insights on leadership, implementation, and why doing fewer things better might be the key to real impact.

Can you tell us about your background?
My name is Meg Lee, and I specialise in evidence-informed implementation at the school and district level. I spent 30 years working in a large district in the United States, supporting the implementation of learning science across around 45,000 students.

What is the biggest challenge school leaders face right now when trying to implement change?
I believe the biggest challenge is staying focused. There’s so much for leaders to think about, it’s easy to spread efforts too thinly.

The key is deciding where to invest efforts – identifying the few priorities that really matter and committing to them long enough to make a difference, without creating initiative fatigue for staff. It’s about balancing strategic clarity with a deep awareness of the human impact on the people doing the work.

Why do so many promising initiatives fail in schools?
One major reason is overload; too many initiatives placed on already full plates. But another key issue is a lack of alignment. Too often, schools don’t take the time to ask: How does this fit with what we’re already doing? Without that, initiatives feel fragmented rather than coherent.

There’s also a crucial question leaders need to ask: not just what are we adding? but what are we taking away? Sustainable change depends on making space for new priorities, not just stacking them on top of everything else.

What does effective leadership look like in practice today?
Effective leadership combines strategic thinking with a strong focus on people. It’s about understanding the strengths within your team and using them to build collective capacity. Great leaders don’t try to be the expert in everything, they recognise the expertise around them and create the conditions for others to lead. That sense of collective efficacy is what really drives progress.

What’s one trend in education that leaders shouldn’t ignore right now?
The rise of “quick fixes” and ready-made solutions being marketed to schools. Leaders are constantly being sold new programmes, tools and approaches. The important thing is to stay grounded in evidence. Leaders should always ask:

• Is this aligned with how we know people learn?
• Does it fit our specific context?
• Do we have the capacity to implement it well?

It’s not just about financial resources but time too. So, being thoughtful about how both are used is critical.

How should leaders be thinking about AI in education right now?
AI is an emerging area, and we should approach it with cautious optimism. There are opportunities – particularly in improving efficiency for teachers and leaders – but we need to be careful.

The most important thing is to anchor decisions in what we already know about how learning works. Rather than rushing in, leaders should take a deliberate approach, ensuring that any use of AI supports, rather than undermines, effective learning.

Why is it important for school leaders to come together at events like our ICA conferences?
As leaders, we spend so much time developing others that we often neglect our own learning.

I think of it like the instruction you hear on an aeroplane – put your own oxygen mask on before helping others. Leaders need to create space to build their own knowledge and capacity so they can better support their teams. Conferences provide that opportunity, allowing leaders to step back, learn, and refuel.

What advice would you give to leaders who are feeling stretched too thin?
First, recognise that feeling stretched is part of leadership, especially in education, where the work is deeply human and emotionally demanding. One helpful strategy is to separate yourself as a person from the role you’re in. Sometimes difficult decisions come with the position, not the individual.

It’s also important to find small ways to regain control and clarity. Even something simple – for example organising a space or completing a manageable task – can create the headspace needed to move forward with calm and focus.

What’s one idea you hope to challenge in leaders’ thinking?
I want leaders to start applying what we know about how individuals learn to how organisations change.

Schools and systems are made up of people, so the same principles apply. Just as students experience cognitive load, so do organisations. Just as prior knowledge matters for learning, it matters for change.

If we understand how learning works at an individual level, we can use those same principles to design more effective, sustainable change across entire systems.

Play is not a break from learning; it’s where some of the most profound learning happens. Yet, in today’s pressurised educational landscape, play-based approaches are often sidelined in favour of more structured, rote teaching methods.

On 12 February, we are hosting a free webinar in partnership with Teach Middle East focused on play-based learning. The webinar will be a practical deep dive into how play-based learning can transform engagement, deepen understanding, and develop the critical thinking and problem-solving skills your students need to thrive.

Attendees will learn how to deliver intentionally designed play-based experiences that align with curriculum goals and nurture creativity, collaboration, and joy in learning.
The panel will be made up of expert ICA educators, including:
• Donna Bonham-Russell (International Educator, Panaga School, Brunei)
• Jolinda Groothedde (IEYC/IPC Curriculum Leader, Holland International School, Singapore)
• Katy Freeman (IEYC International Educator, Seoul Foreign British School, South Korea)
• Laura James (Head of Inclusion and Play-Based Learning, ICA)
• Nivine AbouAichy (IEYC Curriculum Lead, PDO School, Oman).

During the webinar they will share real classroom examples, address common implementation challenges, and offer strategies for implementing play-based approaches to learning within a school community.

The session is designed for teachers, curriculum leaders and school administrators from any school, and will take place at 1PM GMT/5PM GST on 12 February 2026.

Register to reclaim the pedagogical power of play.