Sarah Mackenzie: Rules of the game

Learning the rules of the game, of your environment, and navigating when those rules need to be followed and when they might need to be challenged is a core part of our life experiences. At nursery, at school, at work, in our communities. We learn the rules, and we know the consequences of breaking them. The news is full of politicians who have broken the rules. Not, it has to be said, in a Dalai Lama-inspired ‘know the rules so well you can break them effectively’ kind of way.

When it comes to early years, we’re the ones introducing children to what is often the first set of rules outside their home. For some children, that might be the first set of rules they’ve ever encountered. Our best educators will really engage the children in crafting the rules, in working out what they should be, and most importantly in understanding the why. Why each rule exists. I'm always struck by how many similar principles effective leadership and effective pedagogy have in common. In both leadership of our teams and in our pedagogical approach with the children, we’re at our best when we start with the why.