The Simpang S Series

A collection of tools and ideas that are helping school leaders think more clearly when complexity increases.

It’s easy to think of Simpang as just another digital library, but we're much more than that.

The S-Series is packed with strategic thinking developed over years of working in schools. But here's the thing... strategy only works when it connects to your specific reality.

A few notes...

A bit of a prototype for what Simpang would eventually become.

🔌 When Simpang Plugs In...

I've spent a lot of time in schools where everyone is working incredibly hard but somehow, the big strategy still feels like it’s just... sitting there.

Leadership & Culture

There's this feeling you get in some schools where the leaders are all brilliant, but they’re all running separate races. It’s exhausting.

It is difficult to believe how far Simpang has come in such a short time.

What started as a personal project has grown into an alliance of expertise.

Stress Test

Before I begin an embedded partnership with a school, I put the senior leadership team through a diagnostic stress test.

Shared Leadership Expectations

The hidden cost of heroic effort...

Clarify Leadership Ownership

I have sat in too many strategy meetings where every person around the table feels involved, which on paper looks like high-level collaboration.

Many to Three

The systems that served you when you had 200 students will eventually break you when you hit 600+.

Define the one thing...

I’ve never seen a school fail because they lacked ambition. I’ve seen many stall because they had too much of it.

Why clarity fades fast...

I’ve never met a leadership team who didn't have a brilliant plan on paper. The problem isn’t the strategy. It’s Tuesday morning at 8:15 AM.

Alignment over more initiatives...

I keep coming back to this when I’m working with leadership teams.

Why Simpang?

I was staring at a blank grid (digital) notepad when I finally had to admit it:

Leadership

Most leadership challenges in schools are not caused by weak leadership or lack of commitment.

Curriculum & Strategy

Guiding Question: Are subjects sequenced with intentional links across year groups?

Leadership Alignment

Guiding Question: Does every leader know how their role connects to the school’s strategic vision?

Culture & Ethos

Guiding Question: Would parents, staff, and students all describe your ethos in the same way?

Systems & Data

Guiding Question: Does your data directly inform classroom practice and strategic decisions?

Change Management

Guiding Question: Do staff feel supported and engaged when new initiatives are introduced?

This time of year always creates an interesting contrast.

On the surface, schools slow down. Calendars pause. Buildings empty.

But underneath, this is when most leaders are mentally busiest.

It's come a long way...

I just wanted to make something school leaders would find really useful.

When I started putting the Simpang S Series together, I had no idea how popular it would become…

Wellbeing

What does your culture say about wellbeing when no one is looking?

Why this video matters...

School improvement is rarely a straight line, but most leaders are still handed advice as if it is.

This video reframes that thinking.

Leadership Room

By invitation. Always full. Never generic.

A small, invite-only room for school leaders who want thinking time, not another meeting.

Part 4

Part 4: Ready when you are... If any of this has resonated, the need for focus, alignment, or a partner to help bring strategy to life, that’s where I can help.

Part 3

Part 3: What changes when you get it right. When schools find clarity, everything starts to connect.

Part 2

Part 2: How it works.

Part 1

You may have seen some of my posts about how I help school leadership teams bring clarity, alignment, and momentum to their work, turning strategic plans into strategic practice.

New Podcast Episode

Latest Podcast Episode OUT NOW!

Peak Performance

Risk isn’t brave. It’s unprepared.

What Alex Honnold’s El Capitan climb really teaches school leaders about mastery.

Wellbeing: Curriculum & Strategy

Guiding Question: How well is wellbeing embedded across our curriculum and enrichment opportunities?

Wellbeing: Leadership Alignment

Guiding Question: Do leaders consistently champion wellbeing in policy, planning, and practice?

Wellbeing: Culture & Ethos

Guiding Question: What does our culture say about wellbeing when no one is looking?

Wellbeing: Systems & Data

Guiding Question: Do our systems and data make wellbeing visible, measurable, and actionable?

Wellbeing: Change Management

Guiding Question: How do we ensure wellbeing is not a one-off initiative but a sustained commitment?

A quick share.

The most read piece on Simpang in 2025 turned out to be Fall Forward.

Vital Mental Medicine.

It's 1915.

The Endurance is crushed by ice. Shackleton gives the order to abandon ship.

Inclusion: Curriculum & Strategy

Guiding Question: How well is inclusion embedded in curriculum design and delivery?

Inclusion: Leadership Alignment

Guiding Question: Do leaders at every level actively drive inclusive practice?

Inclusion: Culture & Ethos

Guiding Question: Is inclusion a lived reality across the whole school community?

Inclusion: Systems & Data

Guiding Question: Do systems identify, monitor, and respond effectively to diverse learning needs?

Inclusion: Change Management

Guiding Question: How does the school sustain and evolve inclusive practice over time?

Data Systems

Do your systems and data make wellbeing visible, measurable, and actionable?

For Free

Everyone loves something for free, especially when it’s actually useful.

Lonely Hunt

You’re a school leader.
I know that because that’s who reads posts like this.

People who build, sustain, and lead. Not for applause, but because others depend on it.