Nicole McCartney is a rare species: someone with lived experience of being permanently excluded from school who has gone on to reach senior heights in the education world. As director of education at (CET), she tells her heads to see the challenges some pupils face at home as giving them 鈥渟uperpowers鈥, and to always have 鈥渧ery high expectations鈥 of them. 鈥淣obody had high expectations of me,鈥 she says. Nicole McCartney as a little girl The one you didn鈥檛 mess with Growing up in Michigan, USA, McCartney was every teacher鈥檚 worst nightmare. But at home she was a devoted carer to her alcoholic parents. Her mum was bipolar and her dad was away a lot in his job installing cable TV. She recalls a childhood home filled with 鈥渕usic, drinking and people鈥. There were happy moments 鈥 like her dad braiding her hair in the mornings before leaving for work. But also 鈥渞eally scary鈥 ones. Her mum had 鈥渢errible depressions鈥 and was 鈥渋nstitutionalised from time to time鈥. Her dad鈥檚 irregular income spelt 鈥渇east or famine鈥. She started school assuming that she would be a 鈥渂ig hit鈥 because she could already read. Her mum had passed on her love of books, contrary to the 鈥渃ommon misconception鈥 that alcoholics are 鈥渏ust lying on the ground drunk all the time鈥. But her parents did not teach her oral hygiene. McCartney鈥檚 baby teeth had all rotted, so she wore an 鈥渙riginal grill鈥, capped in silver. Her silver-lined lisp meant she was immediately placed in 鈥渞emedial鈥 class, along with 鈥渢wo kids that all the other kids made fun of鈥 I immediately came to understand what stigma was.鈥 But she did not give the other kids a chance to treat her that way and became 鈥渢he one that you didn鈥檛 mess with 鈥 ever鈥. Aged five, she began smoking because 鈥渉aving parents who sleep well through substance abuse means their cigarettes are laying around鈥. By eight she was addicted, and drinking too. Nicole McCartney as a child Fierce tribes But McCartney does not want sympathy. Far from it. She believes educators 鈥渢oo often [refer] to children, even if we don鈥檛 say it directly 鈥 the sympathetic side head-tilt 鈥 鈥榶ou poor thing, coming from this family鈥. 鈥淧eople are very quick to make judgments that, if a parent lets their kid鈥檚 teeth rot, it must be that that person has no redeeming qualities. But kids like me come from fierce tribes.鈥 McCartney鈥檚 parents 鈥渁lways shared food with others, no matter how little we had. No matter what a small space we had, people were living with us.鈥 While she has put her wild ways behind her (she enjoys dog walking and canoeing near her home on the Norfolk Broads), McCartney still lives with the 鈥渦gly little tattoos鈥 she had done as a teen. They include one on her ankle of a caterpillar on a mushroom with a pipe, reflecting her intentions to form a rock band called Alice in One Land. McCartney grimaces. Thankfully her first education job, as an English teacher, meant she could blame it on her appreciation of Lewis Carroll. She has also told pupils that the reason for her tattoos is that 鈥渘obody had high expectations of me. But I won’t let you do that鈥 because I do have high expectations of you.鈥 When she was 17, McCartney鈥檚 mother died from self-inflicted injuries. It was in those final moments with her that McCartney, who by this time had friends 鈥渋n prison鈥 and others 鈥渕urdered鈥, decided to turn her life around. She quit drinking, went to junior college and, at 19, married a 鈥渘ormal guy鈥, with 鈥渄inner at six and a clean home鈥. She then applied to study secondary education, English literature and communications at university. She took to it 鈥渓ike a fish to water鈥 and was crowned national debating champion. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have the stigma of being the disadvantaged kid. Nobody knew me. I was able to be smart.鈥 Although her marriage didn鈥檛 last, her love of education did. Nicole McCartney Faking it After teaching at secondary level in the US, McCartney 鈥渇ell in love鈥 with Ireland on a creative writing holiday. But the requirement to speak Gaelic in schools meant she turned her attentions to England instead, teaching English and drama at Sir Frank Markham Community School (now Milton Keynes Academy) in 2002. But she 鈥渨as finding it hard to watch [the kids acting], because my cringe threshold is very low鈥, so she ditched the drama and was made head of English. Her 鈥減roudest achievement鈥 came in her first headship role at , in Great Yarmouth, in 2010. The 鈥榮atisfactory鈥 school, taken over by Ormiston Academy Trust (OAT), had the highest pregnancy rates in Norfolk and the lowest attendance (around 86 per cent). McCartney was its 12th head in 10 years. Pupils had been banned from local shops and sporting fixtures. Half the staff were unqualified instructors. The school had become the butt of local jokes. A year before, in a 鈥渃ruel鈥 April Fool, the local newspaper pretended that the Beckhams were sending their children there. McCartney promised her pupils upon arrival that it would be 鈥榦utstanding鈥 within two and a half years. But she drove home that day with 鈥淗ome Alone hands鈥, reproaching herself for making such a far-fetched pledge and feeling 鈥渢errified鈥 because 鈥渋n my head, I was faking it鈥. Her childhood means she is 鈥渘ot comfortable or confident鈥 in herself, and 鈥減robably never will be鈥. But McCartney believes she knows how to make sure that, unlike her, pupils feel they 鈥渉ave agency when they arrive鈥 at their own life successes. She was also determined to turn the school around with the same staff who had been 鈥渨orking their tails off鈥 under previous heads, but whose expectations of pupils were 鈥渓ower than they should have been鈥. She banned 鈥渕obiles and purple hair鈥, put in place 鈥渧ery clear behavioural expectations and a sanctions ladder, and made it clear I鈥檇 be sticking to it鈥. She held assemblies about the derisory newspaper articles, the shopkeepers鈥 views and the litter, which had been 鈥渟houlder-high up against the fences鈥 when she arrived. She told them: 鈥淚鈥檓 not having it. So, let鈥檚 join together and prove to all these people that they鈥檙e wrong.鈥 She fed stories to the press about her students wearing the 鈥渟martest uniform in Norfolk鈥. Bad behaviour was dealt with away from view, and praise given 鈥渙ut front鈥. Within a year, the proportion of students attaining at least five A* to C grades went up to 94 per cent, having been in the 40s, making it the best performing non-selective school in Norfolk and Suffolk. In 2013, when the school got 鈥榦utstanding鈥, it was celebrated by everyone with tears, hugs and ice cream vans on site. 鈥淎ll the kids snuck two extra ice creams. Everybody was green around the gills and it was fantastic.鈥 Nicole and team at Ormiston Venture Academy Diary rooms A unique feature to the turnaround was the 鈥淏ig Brother-style diary rooms鈥 she introduced, kitted out with similar d茅cor and screens to the TV shows. They enabled pupils to feed back on school life. All CET schools now have one. McCartney was permanently excluded aged 16. While it was 鈥渁bsolutely deserved鈥 for her 鈥渕any crimes鈥, there were 鈥渨ays I could have been saved鈥. In third grade, a test showed her 鈥渋nordinately high鈥 IQ, demonstrating that she had 鈥渁ll this potential鈥. But nobody helped her to use it. She recalls having a strong interest in 鈥渁uto shop鈥 [mechanics]. But, as a girl, she was not allowed in those classes. McCartney wrote a 鈥渞eally well thought out鈥 note to her vice-principal aged 13 expressing a desire to do public speaking and auto shop (and calling him a 鈥渂unch of names鈥). She was 鈥渟anctioned鈥. But he 鈥渄idn鈥檛 pick up鈥 that there were things about school she liked. That experience is behind her belief that educators 鈥渘eed to find the thing that kids are passionate about 鈥 not the things that we have to teach them. What is the activity that will give them entry into believing they can learn the rest?鈥 The diary rooms allow her to 鈥済et qualitative as well as the quantitative鈥 feedback, which is 鈥渞eally important鈥. For a year 9 with a 鈥渉orrific鈥 home situation who was 鈥渁pproaching permanent exclusion鈥, the diary room allowed him to express an interest in teaching a particular outdoor activity. He thrived in this leadership role, which led on to student council and later university. She says children from challenging homes have 鈥渟uperpowers鈥 which need to be recognised. While McCartney was a 鈥渢errible kid at school鈥, at home she was 鈥渄oing everything to keep my mother OK鈥. That included checking she had 鈥渇allen asleep [safely] on her side鈥 and that cigarettes were put out. 鈥淲hen you live in a house of chaos, you have highly honed empathy, and very strong survival and usually leadership skills. We don鈥檛 as a culture recognise that.鈥 She does not like the word 鈥渄isadvantaged鈥, because it is a 鈥渕istake鈥 to speak about such children 鈥渁s if they come to us with nothing鈥. And she thinks there is not enough discussion of pupils鈥 lived experiences 鈥 finding it 鈥渁ppalling鈥 how the education world is positioned into 鈥渃amps鈥. 鈥淚f you are taking a position, you are thinking about yourself rather than the children,鈥 she says, pointing to the 鈥渉ellscape of edu-Twitter鈥. She tells the loudest voices in education to 鈥済et over themselves鈥, and focus on what 鈥減ost-pandemic children are dealing with鈥 It鈥檚 not the same ballgame. Let鈥檚 make schools a comfortable tribe to be a part of, so they don’t go find another one detrimental to them. 鈥淚 would dance with my sworn enemy if I thought they had a better idea how to improve the lives of children.鈥 Nicole McCartney Utterly arrogant After her Ormiston Venture turnaround 鈥 it become the first coastal teaching school in the country and McCartney was made a national leader of education 鈥 she was promoted to become OAT鈥檚 Eastern region director, but started to 鈥渂elieve my own hype鈥. She would walk into schools with notes on her achievements 鈥渃onvinced I had the silver bullet 鈥 utterly arrogant鈥. She soon discovered that she could not just transplant the same recipe for success and learned to 鈥渟tep back and harness the critical power of a MAT and its school leaders. I cleared the path so everybody else could do what they needed to in their roles.鈥 She joined CET as its director of education in 2020, overseeing the co-constructing of its curriculum. She brought together heads and curriculum leaders, presenting ideas around the 鈥減owerful knowledge鈥 the curriculums should include, and seeking their 鈥渞ed lines鈥. CET also now uses standardised assessments and is implementing a Teaching and Learning Framework and working on behaviour and SEND frameworks. McCartney believes doing this collectively means 鈥渨e鈥檙e producing leaders at all levels. As far as I鈥檓 concerned, if you have a remit, you are an expert.鈥 There are moments when McCartney still 鈥渇eels like I鈥檓 in a costume, afraid my mask is going to slip鈥. But, if she could speak to her younger rebellious self now, she would tell her that 鈥渆ven though it鈥檚 going to be horrible, everything鈥檚 going to end up all right 鈥 and you will use your superpowers.鈥