by Emma Turner @Emma_Turner75

As people and teachers, we all need encouragement. We need encouragement to rise out of comfy beds, to start our days, to take those first steps or to take on new challenges. We need encouragement to keep on going when things aren’t progressing as smoothly as we’d like or might have anticipated and we need encouragement to believe in ourselves and our decisions.

by Ginny Bootman @sencogirl (Senior Leader & SENCO)

I set off with some trepidation as I left the sunny climes of Northamptonshire to be part of my first #BrewEdHerts event. I was a lone wolf taking it on alone.

Photo: Dyaa Eldin on Unsplash

by Astrid Emma @myvisioninwords

Before I start, this is not “a feel sorry for me” plea, but more of a reflection on how I have come to believe that “everything happens for a reason” and how being #10% braver allowed me to challenge the status quo.

by Portia Taylor @MrsPTaylor

Chapter 2: Progress and Perceived Barriers

 We’re lit up. We’re radiating hope, energy and a desire to change. We know we can (ok, so we think we might be able to but we are on our way to self-assurance if we are not quite there yet…) Now what?

By Kaley Riley @MrsRileyEng

It’s the Monday in the week before #WomenEd, and already I am beginning to question whether I should really be giving up a precious Saturday with my daughter and husband (who works every other weekend). The guilt is already setting in. I’m feeling run down; I could really do with the whole weekend not doing much; it’s my Nana’s birthday and I really shouldn’t be going out and not seeing her (even though she 100% already has plans); I won’t get back until just before bedtime…

By Amy Jeetley @amyjeetley

I’ve always prided myself on my sharpness of mind, clarity and understanding. I could pick up things quickly, work things out at a fast pace and recall many things. Over the last couple of years I’ve seen a decline in all this. I was thinking something is wrong. I started losing my confidence, and felt I was incapable of doing things I could a few years back.

by Binks Neate-Evans    @BinksNeateEvans (Executive Principal, Evolution Trust)

I have recently blogged about disappointment for @headsroundtable https://headteachersroundtable.wordpress.com/2019/09/08/disappointment-by-binksneateevans-september-2019/ I refer to disappointment on a spectrum with hope.

by Alison, Jules, Keziah, Liz, Sameena and Vivienne   - @Alison Kriel, @JulesDaulby, @keziah70, @EquitableEd, @Vivienne Porritt

Thank you so much to everyone who attended our 5th unconference at Sheffield Hallam University, led workshops and #LeadMeet presentations and joined in the discussions on Twitter and Facebook. It was certainly very special! Once a year the strategic leaders of #WomenEd meet together after the unconference and discuss the strategy for the next year.