First
This is my first blog on my website, and I wanted it to be an introduction to who I am and how I have got to this point in my career. Over the past year I have been inundated with Direct Messages, emails and met so many wonderful people who have connected with me at various conferences at which I have spoken at. This is an insight to what I hope to achieve on my space on the internet.
My teaching journey began as a secondary teacher of English in 2015 on the Teach First programme. The whole mission aligned with my own, I had never intended on being a teacher and being the first in my family to graduate I did not have a clear pathway with my career either. What resonated with me in teaching was that it directly impacted students who grew up in a very similar working-class background to myself. Most significantly it wasn’t until I started teaching that I realised how important it was to be a young woman of colour teaching. In fact The Department of Education did a report in 2021 on the School Teacher Work Force and just 0.9% of British Pakistani’s are Assistant Headteachers in England. It is ever rarer in Headship. Although not a surprising figure it is one that shows the lack of diversity at Senior Leadership level although there is an array of factors that impact this number. I do hope to delve into in this topic in future writing publications and blogs particularly with regards to identity and diversity in education. I also hope to discuss what it means to be a light skinned women of colour in education too, my experience of others and their perceptions alongside navigating my place in the working world. There has been so much discussion and articles recently of BAME individuals or lack thereof in education and I want to share my experience and feedback in this area.
I loved being in the classroom and my first year of teaching was honestly my favourite. It is only now when I look back, I recognise how fortunate I was to have such an experience. A controversial statement I know but it shows how much a school’s culture and crucially how much CPD matters to enable teachers to flourish. Following my trainee year I became a Head of Year, a role which I adored. It built all the foundations and structures for every role I have since then: how to lead teams, facilitate whole school initiatives but most of all it created the mental models of pastoral systems. It was also during this time that I went on to become Chair of Governors at a primary school. I see both experiences as topics for future blogs my reflections from Governance but also Pastoral processes too. No doubt there have been areas for me to learn from and I would like to write about the lessons learned.
I then moved schools promoted to being a Lead Practitioner and then Assistant Headteacher completing both my NPQML and NPQSL qualifications. I was overseeing Teaching and Learning and then Assessment. I experienced very different leaders in this period as a young woman it was my first time experiencing toxic leadership something which I hope to write about in the future. This then led me to where I currently am now, an Assistant Principal overseeing Quality of Education at a large academy chain. One of the best organisations I have ever worked for.
In 2023, I began to speak at conferences and write for different organisations. I will admit is extraordinarily hard whilst teaching, marking, planning and being an Assistant Principal. I do it because I know how important it is for my voice to be heard. I see this all the time with the people that get in touch particularly women asking for support. There are a number of exciting projects and writing opportunities ahead and I hope to write about my experiences within leadership, navigating education as a woman of colour, share my expertise on a range of areas that I have led and I am leading on but most of all encourage and support others to do the same. I am so passionate about Teaching and Learning and would love nothing more than to support others to become better teachers and practitioners. My success is a result of countless 3 am starts and working well into the night and I want this process to be transparent and document the journey ahead. I hope to uplift others on the way. I look forward to you joining me on this journey.
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