Lucy Coy
Lucy Coy is co-founder of HeadteacherChat®, a former acting headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher and inclusion lead. She creates school leader planners and supports education consultancy, resources and marketing for education organisations. Lucy is a Member of the Chartered College of Teaching.
Most recently on .
Published work by Lucy Coy
Articles
Should Schools Be Googling Staff?
KCSIE suggests schools consider online searches for shortlisted candidates, but leaders must ensure practice is proportionate and documented.
Beyond Frameworks - Reconnecting with Your 'Why' in Authentic School Leadership
School leaders explore codified leadership and the importance of values, with Kate Owbridge discussing how to reconnect with personal purpose.
Webinar to Propel Leadership Growth - The Latest webinars from HeadteacherChat
Access webinars on the DfE writing framework, Ofsted inclusion updates, leadership routines with Caroline Sherwood and Andrew Finney, and SEND support.
The BBC 500 Words Competition: A Guide for School Leaders 2025
The BBC 500 Words competition encourages pupil creativity and literacy. Schools with 50% or more free school meals may receive a £75 National Book Token.
Why the Tes SEND Show Leadership Summit is the Place to Be this October
The Tes SEND Show Leadership Summit in London features speakers such as Tom Rees and Dame Christine Lenehan DBE to discuss SEND strategy and reform.
What Should Headteachers Wear? A Practical Style Guide for School Leaders
Headteachers discuss wardrobe choices in the HeadteacherChat Facebook group, prioritising comfort, practicality and authenticity over formal dress codes.
The BBC 500 Words Competition — A Guide for Headteachers and School Leaders 2025
The BBC 500 Words competition for children closed on 7 November 2025. It encourages creativity and literacy without judging on spelling or grammar.
Beyond Busy: Finding Calm Amidst the Chaos with Intentional Planning
School leaders can manage reactive days by using time blocking, setting three weekly priorities, and building buffer time into calendars for flexibility.
Summer Reading for School Leaders: 10 Must-Reads for Reflection, Strategy & Renewal
Ten books from SchoolLeaderBooks.com for school leaders, covering school improvement, leadership wellbeing, staff culture and moral purpose.
Navigating the New PE and Sport Premium Tool – We’re in This Together
School leaders share workarounds for the new PE and sport premium digital reporting tool, including tips on categorisation and governor sign-off.
A Day of Connection, Challenge and Change at Belgrave St Bartholomew’s Academy Trust
Educators at Belgrave St Bartholomew’s Academy Trust demonstrate how the SAMR model and purposeful technology support inclusive learning for all pupils.
How to Equip Young People with the Knowledge, Skills, and Mindsets Necessary to Navigate a Rapidly Evolving World
Advertisement feature with E.ON UK on the skills and employment readiness gap facing young people and how schools can help prepare them.
No Room for Racism: Empowering Schools Through Football
Premier League and Chelsea FC representatives discuss using football to tackle racism and provide curriculum-linked resources for school inclusion.
A School Leader’s Guide to Early and Accurate Identification of SEND
Senior leaders must ensure early SEND identification follows the graduated response and is reflected in the annual SEN information report.
Quality First Teaching Across the School: A Guide for School Leaders
Inclusive teaching is a whole-school expectation under the Teachers' Standards and SEND Code of Practice, requiring adaptive classroom instruction.
What Every School Leader Needs to Know About SEND and Inclusive Practice
School leaders must meet statutory SEND duties through inclusive practice, early identification, and the Assess–Plan–Do–Review cycle.
The Power of Systems - Achieving Goals Through Small, Consistent Steps
Focus on daily systems rather than end goals to reduce anxiety. Breaking tasks into manageable actions helps school leaders achieve sustainable progress.
Day 2 - Celebrating EdTech Excellence: Bett Global Award Winners, HeadteacherChat Partners and catching up with friends.
Olex.AI, NetSupport, PAGS Assessment & Provision and 2Simple won Bett Global Awards for achievements in AI, digital resources, assessment and leadership.
The Power of Self-Evaluation - Why Your SEF Matters
Ofsted does not require a formal written self-evaluation, but the process can help schools identify strengths and inform strategic improvement plans.
Safeguarding in Schools: Understanding the Role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) in 2024
The DSL role in KCSIE 2024 involves strategic leadership, staff training, multi-agency collaboration, and overseeing online safety and early help.
Why We Love Teaching: A Celebration of the Profession
Teaching offers fulfilment through pupil growth, lifelong learning, and building relationships, despite a growing shortage of educators.
A summary of Ofsted’s ‘Strong Foundations in the First Years of School’
Ofsted's report on early years and Reception examines curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment, noting a need for decisive action following the pandemic.
The Perfect Storm: Challenges Facing School Leaders in England
School leaders face rising SEND demand, funding shortfalls, deficit budgets, ageing buildings and significant staff recruitment and wellbeing issues.
The Role of Adaptive Teaching in Meeting the Needs of Every Pupil
Adaptive teaching involves real-time adjustments to lessons to meet pupil needs. Ofsted inspectors look at how schools adapt teaching for all learners.
Struggling to Keep Your Notes Organised? You're Not Alone!
School leaders share methods for managing notes, from e-ink tablets and apps like OneNote to planners. Safeguarding concerns must go into approved systems.
Navigating the Transition from Teacher to Senior Leader
Moving from teaching to senior leadership requires managing shifting staff relationships and increased responsibility for team success.
The Importance of Vision and Values in Schools
Vision provides long-term direction while values guide daily actions, helping school communities unify and make consistent decisions.
Perseverance Pays Off
An anonymous member secured a headship after seven applications and six interview processes over 18 months, highlighting the value of persistence.
Rethinking Behaviour Management - A Fresh Start for Lasting Change
Lucy suggests managing challenging behaviour by understanding the child's experience, reviewing their learning environment and providing support.
Celebrating School Leaders - A Week of Recognition and Reflection
Reflect on your purpose, recognise quiet classroom victories, connect with peers, and prioritise wellbeing to sustain your leadership role.
The Power of Positive Goal Setting - Building on Success for the Next Term
Use the Easter break for positive goal setting. Focus on building on existing strengths rather than just fixing problems to provide clarity and direction.
How to finally get things done with time blocking?
Divide your day into dedicated blocks for specific tasks to improve focus, manage procrastination, and gain better awareness of your workload.
From Stress to Success: How Journaling and Planning Can Transform Your School Leadership
School leaders can manage workload and stress through structured planning, centralising information, and using journaling for reflection.
Headship Interview Advice: Wisdom from the HeadteacherChat Community
Prepare for headship interviews by being authentic, researching the school, reflecting on achievements, and asking questions to ensure the fit is right.
A Guide to Headteacher Performance Management
Governing bodies must appoint an external adviser for maintained school headteacher appraisals, while academy processes depend on trust policy.
The Roadmap to Success: The School Development and Improvement Planning (SDIP)
Effective school development plans set priorities, assign responsibility, and direct resources. Review termly to adjust for pupil needs and data.
A guide for primary school teachers about the BBC micro:bit
Lucy Coy explains how primary teachers can use BBC micro:bit resources, including training and classroom activities, to support digital literacy.
Prioritising Well-being as a School Leader: A Message to Those Who Lead
School leaders can protect their mental health by establishing daily routines, prioritising sleep, and delegating responsibilities to their teams.
Ofsted Inspections - Our collective experiences and what we feel needs to change.
HeadteacherChat has sent survey responses to Ofsted, requesting urgent changes to the inspection system to better support staff mental health.
BBC 500 Words - A Guide for Headteachers and School Leaders
The BBC 500 Words competition encourages children aged 5-11 to write original stories. Schools can use entries to assess writing across year groups.
Maximising Leadership Efficiency with a Well-Structured Planner
Effective planners help leaders prioritise tasks, model organisation, and manage workload by breaking down large projects into manageable steps.
Our Thoughts on Threads: A New Social Media Platform
Meta's Threads offers a streamlined alternative to Twitter, allowing Instagram users to migrate easily for ad-free, genuine community interaction.
Understanding Ofsted's Changes to School Inspections
Ofsted changes include faster re-inspection for safeguarding inadequacy, revised complaints processes, and shift to school-focused report language.
End of Year Reports to Parents/Carers: What You Need to Know, and What to Include
Maintained schools in England must provide written end-of-year reports to parents, including progress, attendance, and curriculum achievement.
The Surprising Therapeutic Power of Using a Planner!
Using a planner can improve productivity and wellbeing by helping school leaders organise notes, track tasks, and reduce stress through reflection.
Advice for someone who has just become a Headteacher
Experienced leaders share advice for new headteachers, covering values, delegation, building support networks, and balancing toughness with kindness.
How to Lead Assessment Effectively
James Pembroke suggests prioritising school ethos, simplicity, and monitoring to ensure assessment systems directly impact pupil learning.
School Leadership Interview Questions
Interview questions to help prepare for school leadership roles, covering management, teaching and learning, and community engagement.
The Power of a "Don't-Do List": Focus on What Truly Matters
Create a "Don't-Do List" by identifying tasks to eliminate, delegate, or automate to prioritise strategic leadership and high-impact school work.
Webinars
EmpowerED - In-Depth Guide to Sonar Tracker
Lee from Sonar Tracker demonstrates how to manage assessment data, set bespoke groups, and generate pupil analysis reports in this system walkthrough.
EmpowerED Product Demonstration with Oracy Champions
Claire from Oracy Champions demonstrates a platform using games and AI to develop children's communication skills, track progress and engage parents.
Instilling A Love of Writing Through The BBC's 500 Words Competition
Lucy Cordell and BBC Teach discuss the 500 Words competition, offering practical tips, story prompts and resources to inspire young writers.
The BBC's 500 Words Competition, why it's important for schools to take part.
Speakers from the National Literacy Trust and others discuss how the BBC 500 Words competition can encourage creative writing and pupil voice.
EmpowerED with Jigsaw Education
Lewis Still tours Jigsaw Education Group's PSHE and RE platform for pupils aged 3-16: lesson structure, assessment tools and optional lessons on current issues.
EmpowerED with Language Angels
Language Angels demonstrates its primary languages platform: dashboard, curriculum guidance, a sample lesson and progress reporting.
Naace - Empowering Your School's Digital Future Insights from the Naace's ERF
Practitioners explain how the Naace EdTech Review Framework helps schools develop digital visions through infrastructure, CPD and digital safeguarding.
EmpowerED with LessonUp
Thomas Courtley demonstrates how LessonUp supports interactive teaching, classroom engagement, and pupil progress tracking for school leaders.
EmpowerED with The National College
Chris from The National College discusses CPD subscriptions, webinars, and the SchoolBus service for school management and compliance tools.
EmpowerED with 1decision
Hayley Sherwood discusses how the 1decision platform supports primary PSHE and RSHE through animations, video resources and personal development data.
EmpowerEd with BBC micro:bit
Lucy discusses the BBC micro:bit with Jo Classens and Jo Inglis, covering digital skill development and the NextGen campaign for UK primary schools.
Podcasts
E.ON UK: Educating for net zero. How E.ON's New Energy Academy is shaping sustainability in schools.
Lucy and Jonathan talk to E.ON UK about its New Energy Academy, which offers free curriculum-linked net zero resources for ages 11 to 14.
No Room for Racism: Empowering Schools Through Football
Nick from the Premier League and Victor from Chelsea FC Foundation discuss using football to tackle racism and provide diversity resources for schools.
Introducing our new Senior Leader Planners
Jonathan and Lucy Coy discuss the 2023 to 2024 Senior Leader Planners, which are based on Lucy's original handmade leadership diaries.
Ofsted: What needs to change?
Jonathan and Lucy Coy discuss leader wellbeing, the simplicity of single-word grades, and the need for annual safeguarding inspections.
How to set up routines and habits that actually work for school leaders.
Jonathan and Lucy Coy discuss habit formation and routines to support wellbeing, noting that 32% of school leaders report poor mental health.
HeadteacherChat Podcast - National Read Aloud Challenge
Kim Antoniou discusses the National Read Aloud Challenge and Fonetti app, which aims to encourage summer reading and support struggling readers.
A Podcast with The Happy Confident Company & Park Academies Trust
David Williams and Nadim discuss early intervention through the School of Solutions and resources for children's self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
HeadteacherChat Podcast - Where does ADHD end and naughtiness begin? with Victoria Bagnall from Connections in Mind
Victoria Bagnall discusses how ADHD presents in behaviour and the importance of understanding brain development when supporting pupils with unmet needs.
HeadteacherChat Insight Podcast - Moderating English with Pobble
Laura from Pobble discusses how strong moderation improves English assessment reliability, informs curriculum planning and supports teacher development.
Find more school leadership writing
Browse every contributor, or every book.