Writing
Writing on leadership, culture and inclusion, and the relationships that bring them to life.
By Ali Durban MBE.
Featured
Why expertise, trust and social capital matter just as much as strategy in building a genuine collective.
The View looks Different from here
Relational Culture in MATs
Exploring what helps trusts move from alignment to ownership, and why culture depends on more than strategy alone.
What your staff survey isn’t telling you
On what creates the conditions for a healthy culture in a multi-academy trust, and why organisational clarity and relational capacity cannot be treated as separate work.
The category the sector hasn’t yet built for, and why it matters for MAT leadership.
School Culture, Belonging, and the Density of Togetherness
A short essay on why the most important work schools do may not appear in any inspection framework – and the three questions that sit at the heart of every school community. Why school culture depends on more than systems and structures.
Senior Leadership and Coaching
On leadership, reflection, and what helps senior teams function as teams.
Is your leadership team a team or a group of individuals?
The distinction every senior team needs to be able to answer about itself, and what changes when the difference becomes visible.
The Space between CPD and Wellbeing
What sits between continuing professional development and wellbeing support is the work most schools and trusts have nowhere to put. This is what it is, why it matters, and what makes it different from coaching as the sector usually means it.
SEND and Inclusion
On inclusion, belonging, and what it takes to create meaningful opportunities for young people with SEND.
What one of the most deprived places in England is teaching the rest of the country about inclusive pathways for young people with SEND.
On what inclusion actually looks like for young people and the adults around them, and the relational work that holds it together.
What inclusion actually looks like in schools
A story about a young person, a camping trip, and what inclusion actually looks like. On equity, opportunity, and the relational integrity that holds it all together.
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Want to talk through any of the thinking here in the context of your own school or trust? Drop me a line →