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The No Silver Bullets Podcast cuts through the noise of school leadership and focuses on what really drives improvement. Hosted by writer and education leader Paul Ainsworth, Series 1 explores The Nine Steps to Executive Headship — a practical framework for leading across multiple schools.
Across eighteen episodes, Paul speaks with Executive Heads, CEOs and leading thinkers including Ross McGill, Sam Strickland, Emma Knights, Sam Gibbs, Kulvarn Atwal, James Pembroke and Richard Selfridge. Together, they unpack the realities of system leadership: building vision, developing people, improving teaching, strengthening behaviour, using data intelligently and getting governance right.
Whether you’re aspiring to Executive Headship, new to the role or refining your model, this series offers clarity, challenge and grounded wisdom.
New episodes released fortnightly.
No shortcuts. No gimmicks. No silver bullets — just thoughtful leadership that makes a difference.
To find out more:
Or my books:
NO SILVER BULLETS 2.0: HEART AND SOUL OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT : AINSWORTH, PAUL K.: Amazon.co.uk: Books
No silver bullets: Day in, day out school improvement : Ainsworth, Mr Paul K .: Amazon.co.uk: Books
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
|
Step 8: Delivering Continual Improvement - A School Leadership Podcast with Sam Gibbs
|
Oct 14, 2026 |
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Step 7: Developing Effective Data Usage - with James Pembroke and Richard Selfridge
|
Sep 30, 2026 |
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Step 6: Impactful Quality Assurance - A School Leadership Podcast with Lianne Lomas
|
Sep 16, 2026 |
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Step 5: Developing the Curriculum - A School Leadership Podcast with Ben Erskine
|
Sep 09, 2026 |
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Step 4: Turning Processes into Behaviour Habits - A School Leadership Podcast with Sam Strickland
|
Jul 01, 2026 |
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Reflecting on Step 4: Turning processes into habits with Ross McGill
|
Jun 24, 2026 |
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Step 4: Turning Processes into Teaching Habits — Educational Leadership Podcast with Ross McGill
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Jun 17, 2026 |
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Reflecting on Step 3: Unleashing the capacity of your team with Donna Winters
|
Jun 10, 2026 |
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Step 3: Unleashing Capacity in Rural Schools — A School Leadership Podcast with Donna Winters
|
Jun 03, 2026 |
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Reflecting on Step 2: Fostering a shared purpose with Dr Kulvarn Atwal
|
May 27, 2026 |
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Step 2: Fostering a Shared Purpose - Educational Leadership Podcast with Dr Kulvarn Atwal
|
May 20, 2026 |
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Reflecting on Step 1: Building one vision with Anthony Benedict
|
May 14, 2026 |
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Step 1: Building One Vision - A School Leadership Podcast with Anthony Benedict
|
May 06, 2026 |
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Introducing the Nine Steps to Executive Headship
|
Apr 30, 2026 |