Brendan Pavey | Decision Making with Partial Information and Uncertainty

Brendan Pavey is the Executive Head Teacher at North Bridge House Schools. Brendan has twenty-five years experience as a teacher and in the last decade, as a headteacher, working across a range of age groups in both single-sex and co-educational environments. 

 

Since joining North Bridge House Senior School as headteacher in 2017, Brendan has seen the school achieve record results year-on-year and secure a prominent ranking in the Sunday Times Results tables, whilst instilling a forward-thinking approach to teaching and learning… some of which we talk about in this episode.

 

Before we get into the episode I have an ad for you from our very first sponsor – a brand that I’m incredibly excited to talk about. Partly because they’re based in my hometown and partly because I love what they do and create.

 

Let me introduce you to estarli, an alternative transport solutions company making electric bikes.

 

They say their eBikes are for everywhere and in my view, they’re also for everyone.

 

If I’m totally honest, when electric bikes first hit the market, I was pretty skeptical and dismissive of them as an avid road biker… but that says more about my thinking at the time than the bikes.

 

Having spent the last week using one to commute to and from my office, I’m now a huge fan. The addition of the motor means that I can quickly and easily get to and from work without being sweaty, and a little disheveled when I get there!

 

And let’s face it, the two-mile trip each way pedaling on a standard bike isn’t really going to touch the sides in terms of building fitness for my next 100mile race! 

 

The e20 model is light yet sturdy and foldable yet stylish, and I love it because it comes in orange, amongst other colours.

 

It’s got a 50km range, Shimano 7 speed gear set, 5 power modes and a removable battery for easy charging.

 

It also comes with 20-inch wheels, chunky tyres, disc brakes as well as being road legal and available on cycle schemes. And the best thing? It doesn’t even look like an eBike!

 

Our friends over at estarli are giving you a free helmet with your order when you use the discount code, ‘benmorton’ – all lower case – and we’ve included the web link in the show notes below.

 

But for now, let’s get back to this episode. Whilst we’re talking about leadership within the school setting, everything that Brendan shares can be applied to leadership in any setting. We cover decision-making with partial information and huge levels of uncertainty, we look at creating a culture where people feel safe to share ideas, and the leadership lessons he learned steering schools through the COVID 19 pandemic.