Pathways in boarding: planning a successful career
🏷️ Free of charge for TIOB members
📍 Online
🎥 Watch live or on catch up
Course Outline:
Boarding staff truly do it all – combining care, leadership, and adaptability on a daily basis. With many TIOB members on the cusp of senior roles, this webinar offers an opportunity to reflect on two key pathways: academic and pastoral leadership.
We’ll explore the distinct demands and rewards of each route, the skills and attributes required, and how your experience in boarding can translate into broader leadership success. This session will support delegates in making confident, informed decisions about their next career step.
Training topics:
- Line management in academic vs. pastoral roles
- Shared and differing priorities in both leadership pathways
- Core skills and personal attributes for success
- Leveraging transferable skills from boarding roles
Learning outcomes:
- Gain insight into the opportunities and challenges of academic and pastoral leadership
- Understand what defines effective leadership in each domain
- Learn how to articulate and apply boarding-related skills in leadership applications.
Speakers:
David Walker FTIOB, Executive Director, Boarding and Director, BSA/TIOB
David Walker has over 20 years’ experience in boarding education, having worked in a variety of schools across the UK and Africa. His career includes leadership roles in both senior and prep school settings, complemented by service as a prep school governor and trustee of a multi-academy trust. Before joining the BSA, David was Deputy Head Pastoral at a large co-educational independent school in the South-East, where he oversaw student welfare and pastoral care. His extensive background in safeguarding, boarding leadership, and governance gives him a broad perspective on the sector, enabling him to support schools in delivering outstanding pastoral provision.
Matthew Oakman, Headteacher, Saint Felix School
Having attended the Perse School in Cambridge, Matt studied History at Oxford University (St Edmund Hall) where he then stayed on to complete his PGCE (Keble College) before embarking on a career in teaching and education. Having spent three years at Bryanston School in Dorset as an Assistant Housemaster and teacher of History and Politics, Matt moved on to Wellington College. He then spent the next twenty-five years there at a time of great change and transformation for the College where he was able to play a significant role in this process; having been Head of Hockey, Matt became the first Director of Sport at Wellington before taking on the role of Head of 6th Form. This in turn led to a number of Senior Leadership roles at the College including Deputy Head (Pupil Performance), Deputy Head (Academic) and finally Senior Master. In 2023, it was time for a change and Matt moved on to become Head of Saint Felix School in Southwold. Here, he has undergone a programme of updating the facilities, introducing a new curriculum, implementing a mentoring programme and creating a bespoke Saint Felix Diploma. Matt is married to Rossana and they divide their time between Suffolk and Brighton; they have two gorgeous cats (Mia and Dillon) and enjoy life by the sea and in the countryside.
