I’m starting my own business

As Debra Kidd wrote in her blog post ‘When you know it’s time to go‘, I’ve reached a similar point in my career too and am leaving the classroom.

It’s not because of Ofsted…

There are some considerable pressures in our education community today. In the case of Ofsted, I believe quite rightly so there are some real pressures here. Yes, there are ways that much could be done to make the process of inspection less brutal and more collegiate and developmental – let’s be frank, the results of inspections are really high stakes… that said, there must be a process which is quality assured and provides checks and balances for our schools in our country. However, I’m not leaving because of Ofsted. I think it’s correct and right that our education establishments are held to account albeit the current system is flawed.

It’s not because of the kids…

Absolutely 100%, I love teaching. As you’ll have seen me writing very recently, it’s those interactions and working with young people both in and outside the classroom that make the job so very rewarding. When it comes to interacting with students, I’m from the same camp as Chris Talbot:

@ICTEvangelist @Pekabelo I look forward to chatting with the kids every day. You get to find out so much!!!

— Chris Talbot (@toots2106) October 4, 2014

It’s one of the things that I am going to miss the most when I leave my current post.

It’s not because I’ve had a better offer…

With my blog profile and Twitter presence, along with the success of ‘Perfect ICT Every Lesson‘ I’ve been fortunate to receive lots of offers for work to support schools with INSET, workshops, training, keynotes – so forth and so on. I’m always humbled when I’m asked. It’s something that I really enjoy. It’s true that I’ve done a number of them too. I love being able to have that wider impact. So it isn’t that I’ve had a better offer, but I’m confident that I’ll still be able to make ends meet. With the support of Independent Thinking, Dragonfly and Aspire2Be I’m already being asked to be involved in a variety of exciting projects.

It’s not that I’ve fallen out with my Leadership Group

In a school which is under a fair amount of scrutiny at the moment I see my colleagues working as hard as they can, and doing so smartly too. I’m confident that in the coming months the school will be able to move itself in to a position where it can truly be recognised as the great learning establishment that I know it is. The kids and staff are amazing! With some fabulous work on Project Based Learning, 1:1 iPads and embedded use of technology, there is a lot about the school which is both inspiring and cutting edge.

It’s not that I’ve had a nervous breakdown or lost the plot

Thank goodness!

And so…

As I look around at colleagues around the country struggling under the pressure of our profession – I see the power that the sharing of great practice can have on helping people in their daily lives. I’m asked so frequently to help, that I’m going to do just that. Help.

I got in to teaching to help make a difference to the lives of young people. It’s why as I’ve matured I worked to move up the management ladder to try to broaden the impact I can have in education. It’s why I blog – to share my successes and failures so that others can learn too. It’s why I’ve organised and supported more than 30 Teachmeets in the last 4 years and why I’m so inspired by the Pedagoo movement. It’s why I wrote my book and it’s why I tweet what I do. It’s why I do what I do.

Those that know me and have worked with me previously also know that I’m an enabler. I am able to help people do things that they didn’t think they could do before – so I know I can make a real difference and so… my new stage in my career looms…

Education Evangelist is born. It’s a true development of the ICT Evangelist name, because those of you who read my blog know – I’m not all about technology at all. Yes, I 100% know that technology can help to transform education through its enhancements and augmentations but Education Evangelist will serve to support schools, students and communities in all its guises. So expect to see a Learning Evangelist, a Behaviour Evangelist, an Assessment Evangelist… I have a lot to offer and I am looking forward to sharing, supporting and working with schools, teachers, students and communities to help improve things wherever I can.

To find out more, please visit the new site and sign up: http://educationevangelist.com 

Thank you to everyone who has supported me during this time on Twitter, in my school and my friends.  Thanks too to Debra Kidd for her great post which gave me a great framework for this one. Read hers here: ‘When you know it’s time to go‘