Being a leader in the education sector is no easy feat. As a Head of Department (HOD), you bear the responsibility of guiding your team (if you're lucky enough to have one), delivering a high quality curriculum, and ensuring your students' success.

However, it's common to feel isolated and overwhelmed, especially when your passion for your subject isn't fully understood or appreciated. If you are seeking support, camaraderie, and a platform to share your experiences and challenges, look no further. Our new virtual community for Heads of Department (KS3-5) is here to provide you with the encouragement and resources you need to thrive.

Building a Supportive Network: When you're juggling a demanding 50-60 hour work week and leading a department on your own, it's crucial to take some time to connect with others who understand your unique challenges. Our new online community is a gathering of such folk who share a common goal - providing the best education for their students. By joining, you gain access to a supportive network where you can share your successes and struggles, exchange ideas, and learn from others who are walking in your shoes.

Emphasizing the Power of Collaboration: We hear: "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." (J C Maxwell) Within our community, we value the importance of collaborative learning. Together, we can discover innovative approaches, navigate complex issues, and collectively enhance our skills as leaders. The power of collaboration not only enriches our teaching methods but also revitalizes our passion for what we do.#

Learning in Context: The Power of Situated Learning: We believe in the concept of situated learning, as articulated by Etienne Wenger. Learning is most effective when it happens within real-life situations and authentic experiences, rather than in isolation or through abstract theoretical instruction. As Heads of Department, we know that the best lessons are often learned on the job, through hands-on experiences, and by learning from our mistakes. Our community is the perfect platform to engage in situated learning, where you can gain insights from others facing similar challenges and find practical solutions that will work in our classrooms.

Support for Professional Growth: Continuous professional development, or Continuous Professional Learning, is essential for any teacher. Our new virtual community will offer opportunities to participate in webinars, workshops and discussions facilitated by experienced professionals - that's us! Additionally, engaging in discussions and knowledge-sharing within the community ensures that you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and innovations in education.

We want to succeed for our pupils as well as for ourselves, we want to know we are going in the right direction and we want to be appreciated for those hours spent planning, delivering and assessing what we do in our classrooms.

Being a Head of Department in a secondary school or sixth form college can be a demanding and sometimes lonely role. This new virtual community for Heads of Department (KS3-5) (KS3-5) will provide that opportunity for us to meet, share our challenges and hear from others how they have been overcome.  Above all it is to get encouragement that we are going in the right direction.

If you are a current head of Department in a secondary school or sixth form college, do join the community to keep connected to others HODs and see when the meetings are taking place to share your own war stories and experience.

JOIN HERE