Hello. Nice to meet you!
My name is Simon Botten and I’m the Executive Headteacher of Blackhorse Primary & Emersons Green Primary Schools in South Gloucestershire on the Northern fringe of Bristol. I have been a headteacher for 18 years, leading two schools out of difficulty and I’ve supported many schools on their improvement journey both through commissioned support and through short-term Executive Headteacher roles during times of crisis. I am also one of the founding members of The Leaf Trust, where I’m part of the Executive Team and Head of Inclusion.
Before headship, whilst a Deputy Headteacher, I wrote and presented for Teachers TV (including writing the most downloaded series of all time). I also wrote educational software, with Brunel’s Britain (hilariously) being nominated for a BAFTA in 2006.
I have talked at Headteacher events around the UK, including the Education Show and BETT, on themes linked to school improvement, digital learning and inclusion.
I write blogs and have had a number of articles published in the TES, Schools Week and Teacher Tapp (where I had the third most read blog of 2023). On the back of the blogs the nice people at Bloomsbury got in touch and asked me to write ‘Headteachering‘ – which is out on 9th October 2025.
I used to really love running Ultramarathons until 2022 when an injury forced me onto a bike, so I now tolerate long-distance cycling instead.
I can be found on X as: @southgloshead