That is a question I’ve asked myself a lot since the 12th of December when I sent off my application.  I’m 44, I qualified in 1998, I’ve been an ICT/Computing lead/coordinator forever, and I was quite happy with that.  But then I got to the stage where my son was leaving school (we’re on GCSE countdown), my stepson had already left, so neither of them needed me as much, my partner in crime next door announced her retirement, and I went up to UPS, and I thought “Hang on, in September, I’ll be the responsible one!”

Then in October, my MAT ran a 4-day course as part of our INSET about Leadership, and where we saw ourselves going.  I signed up for it with my friend, because why not, and actually, it was really interesting.  I wanted to know more about what was happening, how leadership worked and what it actually meant to be a good leader.

Now, bearing in mind that teaching-wise I am older than mud, it became clear that there were courses and things that one had to do before one could apply for leadership roles.  It wasn’t like the Good Old Days when one just worked ones way up by asking, or seniority.  I did a bit of digging and discovered I had 4 days until the funding window was up for our area, so looked into who the providers were, asked a few questions, and went with Best Practice Network, on the grounds that a couple of other people who had used them had said how good they were.

At the time, I hadn’t realised what a time commitment it would be, and how, because of unforeseen circumstances that happened in my personal life, I would have much less time available.  However, I have always played the cards I was dealt, and so this is where I am now.

In terms of timescales, my first unit went live today, but I’ll be going back in time in later blogs in order to fill in any gaps and give a reasonable timeline.

For now, I have folders, new stationery, and I’ve just done a staff meeting on something that isn’t my best subject, and I need a brew, so I’ll be back later to get into the T.A.R.D.I.S…