Written by

Ben Hobbis

Founder and Chair of Step Up and Primary Teacher, Middle Leader & DSL

Thank you for visiting the brand new website of this brand new network. I founded this network as partly a solution for a problem.

I realise that I am a solutions focussed person. I don’t like it when people just spout off a list of problems rather than finding solutions. I am that person that only brings something up if either I don’t have the capacity to or I am not the right person to deal with it, or if I have a solution to offer.

As a primary school teacher, I am used to wearing multiple hats. When becoming a middle leader in a primary school, being able to use transferrable leadership skills from my previous career and to see impact beyond my own classroom, I gained a huge amount of fulfilment, pride and joy from seeing such impact. However, I was struggling at balancing being the best teacher I could be, whilst being the best leader I could be.

It is also often the case that people often get opportunities when they’re least expecting them, sometimes outside of their skill set, and in cases without additional pay or training. Furthermore, it can also be the case that people experience barriers in relation to wellbeing, diversity and equity in terms of pay and development.

When I reached out to others sharing my story, many people have resonated with this story. I searched for a network for likeminded people, and I couldn’t find one. So, Step Up was born.

At our launch event in just over a week, we will explain a little more about how Step Up will empower new and aspiring leaders in education. We look forward to you joining us.