Key Voices #107- Headteachers at the heart of their communities with Derek Peaple

“Schools are about communities of humans coming together in real-time to talk to each other and to build relationships. We might have learned a bit more about how we can learn efficiently and effectively, but ultimately it is still about those relationships and being available to those people - learning with them, learning for them and learning from them.”   This week we talk to Derek Peaple, Former Headteacher at Park House School,  Head of Education at SafeToNet and Director of Operations at Aspire 2Be about his career in teaching and headship. He shares his thoughts on how although school leadership itself has evolved, the role of the headteacher at the centre of the community has remained constant. We also hear more about how he developed computing and sport specialisms in his school.    We talk about:  Derek’s route into headship and his passion for leadership  How he has seen the role of headteacher change throughout his career  and how he’s built a team of specialists around him over the years What the shift to a more ‘academised system’ means for school leadership  Why he decided to retire from headship  How Park House School developed a Computer Science specialism and became an NCCE Computing hub  The importance of PE in the curriculum, Park House’s work as a specialist sports college and other projects Derek has been involved in