Leadership through lockdown… and the need to recharge

Suzanne Culshaw, Independent Researcher, UK Andy Samways, Director of Research School, Unity Schools Partnership, UK This article shares early findings of a small-scale project rooted in practitioner-focused reflective enquiry and funded by The British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS). It is a qualitative study into the experience of leadership; the overarching aim is to explore the extent to which using a creative approach is of professional and/or personal benefit to participants in terms of their wellbeing and leadership practice. The focus is on the emotions of leadership through lockdown, and the project seeks to provide leaders with an evidence-informed and structured way of thinking about their professional practice or issues with which they are grappling (Lofthouse, 2021). The project involves an independent researcher, a research school and three leaders within a school from a multi-academy trust. The research is ongoing and the early