The Educator’s Playground is a space where the serious meets the silly, the heartfelt meets the hilarious, and no one escapes without a story.
My journey began long before I officially qualified. At 14, I was “bribed” by my mum — an infant school teacher — to spend the latter part of my summer holidays helping settle a new class of tearful, clingy four-year-old children. My payment? 50 pence a day. My role? Her unofficial TA. DBS checks weren’t a thing back then, but cheap teenage labour definitely was.
Fast forward to 1992, and that same teenager walked into her first real classroom, ready to change the world. My first post was in a mining community. I was teaching history to teenagers who couldn’t care less about Stalin’s Five Year Plans. They cared even less about the Industrial Revolution. However, some enjoyed our brave trip to the canals in Rotherham to learn about the locks and waterways. Surrounded by older male colleagues, I quickly learned that questioning the male-dominated curriculum wasn’t exactly welcomed, nor where they impressed with my determination to bring History alive! I learned even quicker how to stand my ground, to pick my battles, but alas never to hold my tongue!
Since then, I’ve spent:
- 33 years as a teacher,
- 19 as a senior leader,
- 10 as a principal,
- 2 as a Director of Academies for a Multi Academy Trust
…and I have a lifetime collecting moments that are too good not to share.
This blog is a collection of those stories — from classroom chaos to ski-trip mishaps, from the staffroom to the boardroom. Expect unfiltered reflections, misbehaving pupils (some of whom are now in their forties), unforgettable staffroom antics, and a few Ofsted oddities — including that time an inspector lit up a cigarette in a classroom because he was “stressed.”
It’s about the lessons we teach. It’s about the lessons we learn. It’s about the mad, magical world of education, seen from the inside.
I loved my job. I love the students and the staff. They are determined to be there despite the challenges they face. But I am not going to lie I love the fact I have finished too.
Please be assured that all incidents, events, and characters are real. However, names will be changed to protect individuals and organizations.
The Educator's Playground 