Redesigning Accountability: What Happens When You Stop Monitoring Teachers?

When did we decide that more monitoring automatically meant better leadership? In this episode of Being the Head, Jane and Jacqui are joined by Ben Levinson OBE headteacher of Kensington Primary School and author of The Well Teacher.

Together, they challenge education’s deepest assumptions around lesson observations, learning walks, and performance management. Ben shares how moving away from high-stakes surveillance toward trust, professional curiosity, and teacher agency transformed his school into a place where both staff and children truly love to be.

Key Discussion Points

• Accountability vs. Surveillance: Why watching teachers more doesn't make teaching better.

• Moving Beyond the Checklist: Replacing rigid 8-page observation forms with collaborative coaching and honest dialogue.

• Creating a School Everyone Loves to Be In: How staff wellbeing directly drives pupil outcomes and shapes school culture.

• The Well Teacher: Practical ways individual teachers can reclaim agency and passion in their day-to-day work.

• Rethinking Systems: Asking "what do we do, and why?" to redesign physical/emotional health curriculums, CPD, and traditional school routines.

Connect & Follow

• Guest: Connect with Ben Levinson on LinkedIn.

• Hosts: Jane McNally & Jacqui Le Maître.

• Podcast: Follow Being the Head on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for new episodes exploring the human side of school leadership.