15 tips for setting up a school podcast

2020 was something of a learning experience for all of us. Learning about pandemics, learning about remote learning and, for me, learning how to put together a podcast.  Early in during the first lockdown I suggested to the head that I produce a weekly podcast based on the Christian ethos of the school. It was...

Leadership in Christian schools: lessons from the Genesis creation accounts

The doctrine of creation is foundational to our understanding of the world. It’s one of the reasons why the main account of creation is found on the first couple of pages of the Bible - it’s not just a chronological statement.  And it’s foundational to our understanding of the world we live, work and lead...

Is belief in God simply wish-fulfilment?

This is the first post in a series I’m thinking of doing on ‘big questions’. The focus will probably be on objections that have been presented to the Christian faith. Having said that, I seem to have a habit of starting series and not continuing them, so who knows… Here’s the first big question: is...

Matthew chp 2 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to...

After leading music – 5 things to do and 2 things to not do

Tomorrow I’m leading music at our morning services (we’ve moved to identical 9am and 11am service to fit more people in within Covid restrictions). The email’s been sent out to the band with links to song orders, chord sheets and videos, I’ve thought through the songs (including the slightly awkward closing hymn) and I think...

Science, faith and doubt: Some takeaways from Alister McGrath’s intellectual autobiography

I can’t say that an ‘intellectual autobiography’ would be my first port of call for relaxing on a Friday night (fantasy football transfers normally take up this spot), but a couple of weeks ago I picked up Alister McGrath’s Through a Glass Darkly: Journeys Through Science, Faith and Doubt. Surprisingly for me it didn’t take...

Calvin on prayer – 13 takeaways (part 1?)

This week I’ve begun reading Calvin on Prayer: from Institutes of the Christian Religion. You can get it for free here, or on Kindle for 99p. Having spent the past few days getting stuck into it I can’t think of many other things you’d get for 99p that would be better for you.  My most...

What the Parks & Rec cast and crew can teach us about school leadership and culture

N.B. if you’ve never watched Parks & Recreation most of the context for this won’t make sense - feel free to skip! Parks and Recreation is a recent discovery for me. I only started watching it a few months ago (during lockdown) but have devoured the first few seasons. By the time it gets to...

11 takeaways from Hebrews chp 11

I've really enjoyed reading 'Living by faith in turbulent times' by Jonathan Griffiths in my quiet times over the past few days. It's a short set of reflections on Hebrews chp 11 which I'd really recommend. Here are my takeaways from chp 11 and from the book (somewhat artifically forced into 11 points!). Any quotes...

Is teacher subject knowledge king? 12 thoughts on its importance.

I started jotting down notes for this post a couple of weeks ago, and since then have read some interesting thoughts from, amongst others, Dylan Williams and @curricteamlead. In summary, I don't think subject knowledge is king in the sense of it being far more significant than anything else, or that it is the sole...