Good morning,

There is a particular kind of leadership mistake that begins with the best of intentions.

You spot a problem, devise a solution and set something in motion. A few weeks later, the original problem may have disappeared, but three new ones have arrived in its place. Alternatively, the beautiful plan that looked entirely convincing on a spreadsheet meets the reality of school life and quietly collapses.

This week, Adam Smith and Shannen Doherty return for our end-of-year reflection episode. We talk about the problems leaders should resist trying to solve, the moments when they have had to hold their nerve and the decisions they eventually had to admit were wrong.

That takes us into behaviour, suspensions, communication, instructional coaching, assessment paperwork and the strange organisational ghosts that remain in schools long after anyone can explain why they exist.

It is thoughtful, candid and very funny, which feels like the right way to bring this academic year to a close before our new mini-series on behaviour begins next Saturday.

Hope you enjoy!

Steplab - Instructional Coaching

Education Endowment Foundation (2024). A School’s Guide to Implementation. Third edition.

Boxer, A. and Forrester, A. (2025). ‘Is safeguarding training enough, and how to provide instructional coaching if someone’s already a great teacher?’ They Behave For Me, 13 June 2025.

Mackle, K. (Host) (2026). ‘The Mechanics of Effective Professional Development with Scott Wells’. Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, Episode 279, 14 March 2026.

This Saturday, TDaPE begins a new four-part mini-series exploring behaviour from the classroom to the whole-school level. Across the series, we ask why behaviour can feel so difficult, how positive behaviour is taught, when teachers should call for help, and what schools can do to make good behaviour feel normal. Ko-Fi supporters and Spotify subscribers can listen to all four episodes from Saturday, before they are released more widely over the coming weeks.

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A big thank you to everyone who shared last week’s episode. It really does make a difference and helps the podcast reach more thoughtful primary teachers and leaders. If someone came to mind while you were listening, I’d be very grateful if you sent the episode their way.

That’s all from me this week. I’d love to hear what you thought, so leave a comment wherever you listen or simply reply to this email.

Until next time, thanks for listening.