Kath is an experienced headteacher, backed with years of classroom practice in all areas of the school. Moving to London from New Zealand in 2004, Kath has taught and led in two countries and several different boroughs, creating a strong and broad foundation from which to support others.
More recently, Kath has been the headteacher of a Newham school, which retained an outstanding judgement under the new framework. This was followed by a secondment to head a struggling school in Islington, which also has since had a successful Ofsted inspection. While Ofsted should not be the focus for schools, having a range of practical experience in this area can be helpful in assisting schools to clarify goals as well as debunking some of the myths that can occasionally pull schools off track.
Kath’s school has been regularly featured in the work of Shirley Clarke, which has led to the provision of support for a wide range of school leaders and teachers, from as far afield as Norway and Japan. The well established culture of AFL, and more latterly responsive teaching, has been used as a model of high quality and sustainable pedagogy, from in school visits to presenting at numerous international conferences . Supporting other schools in London, as well as Leeds and Bradford, have enabled Kath to see the benefits of long term partnerships with schools, building on the strengths already in place. In addition to curriculum development, Kath specialism is in assessment, presenting at a national conference as well as to several boroughs, including Barking and Dagenham. She has developed an assessment system used in numerous schools, focusing on the key principles of purposeful and simple assessment, and moving schools away from ‘proving things with numbers’. Similarly, with school improvement planning Kath has supported leaders to take risks to improve teaching and learning, doing less but doing it better in order to balance wellbeing with sustainable progress.
