Tell us about your role
I’m Headteacher at Galleywall Primary School in Central London, part of the City of London Academies Trust (COLAT). Galleywall serves an area with a wide range of cultures and relatively high level of deprivation, providing great stimulation and also some challenges. I’ve been here just over a year – my second headship – and I have led both primary and secondary schools. Over the last year, I have felt the community really get on board with the aims and direction of the school, something that had not always been the case, and our recent Ofsted inspection was very positive. My favourite parts of the job are my maths masterclass, assemblies and school trips.
Why did you decide to become an ASCL Council member?
I’m a member of ASCL Council’s Leadership and Governance Committee.
The ability to work with such talented colleagues is, in itself, a privilege, but I also feel that, as we craft policy position statements and responses, we are genuinely influencing the shape of tomorrow’s education.
I’m impressed with the way that leaders of the education system really listen to ASCL. I have particularly enjoyed discussions on Council about the future of accountability and inspection, the chance to meet two HMCIs, and being able to put across the views of our sector.
I stood for Council because I was attracted by its policy work. Council enables me to take back to my school a clear direction of travel for the national education system and ideas on how to navigate it.
Why did you decide to get into teaching/leadership?
I originally got into teaching when a chance encounter with a street child in Mexico led to a maths and Spanish lesson while I waited for a bus. From an early stage, I wanted to be a headteacher with the ability to shape children's lives and open opportunities.
Over the years, I’ve developed my own view on what high-quality education looks like and that the task of the headteacher is to navigate the school in that direction, bringing along stakeholders, while working within the accountability frameworks. To me, success means not losing sight of this fundamental purpose – even if the day-to-day grind sometimes gets in the way.
How do you like to unwind?
I do enjoy sport. An antidote to a stressful week is to hack through the countryside on a mountain bike; when possible, we ski as a family, and I have studied several martial arts at a moderately high level. I also really enjoy travel but I’m just as happy cooking a meal or getting absorbed in music. I’m a passionate environmentalist.
Tell us an interesting fact about you
I volunteered with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in Eritrea in the 1990s, living and working in a small school in the Nakfa mountains. I persuaded some of my students to become the first ever from their village to go to university, and I set up a small charity back in the UK to support them. All these years later, we are still in touch.
Additionally, when teaching further maths (mechanics), I invented a shortcut, which became known in my school as ‘Blain’s Law of Bouncing Balls’, though I never did manage to get around to publishing it.
What’s your favourite book and your favourite film of all time?
Book: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. While this could have been violent and gory (it is about mass murder, after all), it is a highly detailed description of a child's mind and a clever structure to reveal the plot.
Film: Dead Poets Society. I have only once had a class say, "Oh Captain! My Captain!" to me, but it is truly magical how a teacher can build genuine excitement in students to learn… even (or should I say especially) in maths.
What advice would you give to someone new to leadership?
If you want to be a leader, decide what sector you want to lead in and do not jump around too much. While broad experience is highly valuable, you need to build a clear sense of direction into your CV. Impatience is both a virtue and a curse.
ASCL Council
For more details on how you can become a Council member, please email ASCL Senior Director Julie McCulloch at
julie.mcculloch@ascl.org.uk
For further information, see
www.ascl.org.uk/council