WomenEd Blogs

By Lucie Ager   @lucie_ager A thought from #WomenEd sparks my need to write. Was I the woman I wanted to be? This question came to me on the back of a comment on a post on LinkedIn with the artwork of a female profile and the words 'I love the person I've become because I fought to become her', which is catchy and massively thought-provok...

By Clare Erasmus  @cerasmusteach Welcome to the final blog in our series of seven tech blogs from the inaugural meeting of our new private space for #WomenEdTech. Here, Clare takes a look at her path to becoming a digital strategic lead. A few years ago I was Head of the Digital Tech subjects and the Senior Mental Health Lead at my school. In ...

by Vivienne Porritt @ViviennePorritt

We started WomenEd because women's voices on twitter were often silenced, harrassed or our views were not valued. It's one of the reasons we included a mic in our logo. So we encouraged women to tweet and to write blogs to tell our stories and share our lived experience. 

One of the reasons we wrote 10%braver: Inspiring Women to Lead Education was to ensure the voices of our community reached women who are not on twitter. And over 30 voices are included in Being 10% Braver which, joyously, is published this December - you can pre-order and it's a great Christmas present! And we are delighted to share more opportunities for our community to write and to be heard.

By Vivienne Porritt   @ViviennePorritt Our team of Global Strategic Leaders were thrilled we gained Registered Charity status before Christmas. It was even more special as these are the charitable objects we want to achieve: to promote equality and diversity for the public benefit by eliminating discrimination on the grounds of gender by raisi...

By Hannah Duncan   @heduncan Combining work and motherhood is possible. It is also possible to thrive and progress in your career. But often, as mother teachers, we feel these things are not possible for us. Too many teachers leave the classroom after becoming mothers (see the MTPTProject's excellent Light Research project where they delve int...

By Lucie Ager   @lucie_ager On 30th January, 2023, #WomenEdSE hosted an amazing and inspiring event for #WomenEd at my workplace. I planned the style of the event to a tee, from creatives and catering to the finer detail of purple and grey balloons; the colours of #WomenEd's logo. The room, filled with 70 or so women leaders and two of my male...

by Sian Williams   @principalsian Are you a female leader in England contemplating the Department of Education's white paper, where by 2030, 'remaining maintained schools would change status, to become academies'? Are you leading a standalone school wondering whether a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) is really the way forward? Do you have a sense th...

by Kate Claydon     @KateClaydon The role of a headteacher is the most privileged within our profession.  You have the opportunity to shape the culture and ethos of your school, determining not only the academic outcomes of your students but also developing their characters, confidence and understanding of values; sowing seeds that w...

by Kerry Jordan Daus @KerryJordanDaus The 3rd Annual Unconference of #WomenEd is set to excite, challenge and enthuse us all. I am taking a moment, a space, to reflect on Shirley Chisholm's words and the provocation for our weekend: "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair". What does that mean to me? This is timely, as I ...

by Kerry Jordan-Daus @kerryjordandaus I considered myself a rank outsider. But I had nothing to lose. Well maybe, my pride. But still I gave it a go. I believed I could. So, I would. No, I should. When we reflect on #BreakTheBias, we are facing personal, cultural, and structural barriers to equality. Today, I am thinking about my own bias, the unco...

by Christalla Jamil @ChristallaJ

This year’s International Women's Day 2021 was marked by a campaign focused on 'challenge'. When we support each other, women accomplish amazing things. For me, once again, this was illustrated on Saturday 6th March when the three regional networks that I am honoured to work with, gave a platform to a community of new voices to share how they #ChoosetoChallenge. I would like to extend my thanks to all three #WomenEd regions: @WomenEdSE, @WomenEdEastern and @WomenEdLondon.

by Bretta Townend-Jowitt @Headspiration

Madness part 1 – the need to clarify my reason for blogging. Earlier in my career I suffered from a lack of knowledge and understanding my employers had around fertility treatment, 14 years later I expected significant improvement, however, now at menopause age I’m discovering the same lack of knowledge and understanding of this topic too.

by Amy Carson @TitchyDitch #PledgeForChange20

I have the pleasure of working with @cerasmusteach, in fact she's my line manager. A few weeks ago she came into my classroom and invited me to write a blog for her #WomenEd #DGmeet to #PledgeForChange2020.   My initial thoughts were 'What would I write about?' then 'Who would be interested in reading what I have to say?'

by Clare Erasmus @cerasmusteach #PledgeForChange20

My son has been on the mental health disability register since he was 9 years old ; we only managed to get C.A.M.H.S intervention when he reached secondary school. He is now in his teens and despite a situation which is becoming more challenging we can only secure a monthly appointment with a C.A.M.H.S therapist. It feels like a drop in the ocean in terms of the clinical support my son really needs.

by Naomi Ward @naomi7444

I need to look back to look forward. The last two years have been about clarifying values and purpose, then exploring what those mean in my life after teaching. This year is about habits, consistency and discipline. Doesn’t sound that inspiring right, and yet, this is what’s needed to build on hard-won foundations.

The word ‘discipline,’ derives from ‘disciple,’ – ‘to follow or adhere to doctrine.’ To me this means that I am a follower of my values and purpose, and will learn as I walk where they guide me.

I was struck by this image on Twitter recently; I have a purpose and am also aware of the distractions that are in my way; imposed by roles as well as the obstacles I like to put in my way: distraction, fear, resentment, poor prioritisation, other people’s requests, ‘urgency.’ How important is my mission? Is it important enough to use my time wisely? Yes. Is it something I’m willing to drop? Hell no.

So I #pledge to say no and be clearer on my boundaries. Truth be told, I’m slightly bedazzled by people who say no with conviction and grace – it takes strength. Do it, because it means you create time and if done well, it earns respect and is contagious. I also #pledge not to resent other roles I have and perceive to be getting in the way. After twelve years of parenting, it can be easy to resent the constant demands and bickering (hello Christmas holidays!). That’s why, when choosing discipline in alignment to my purpose and values, it’s worth looking through the lens of each role I inhabit for the opportunity to deepen my learning. I’ve stolen this exercise from Covey’s ‘Seven Habits.’