I went to another of our small primary schools today...

Sarah Millard, the headteacher at Ingram Road Primary School, had invited me to come and meet her School Council and see the school... and it was great. Sarah and Eileen Pattison, Chair of the Governing Body, met me outside the school and showed me the outside wall of the school... every child and every member of staff, with help from some of the talented children, had produced a tile with a self portrait and all the tiles had been mounted around the school name to create a wonderful mosaic... a snapshot in time to become a little piece of the schools' history... brilliant.

Inside, I was greeted by members of the School Council and I was shown out into the playground to see all the school doing 'Wake Up and Shake Up' led by a group of children and the fantastic PE Co-ordinator... the energy, enthusiasm, commitment and sheer joy on show was wonderful.

I then spent time with Aeron, Asad, Frederick, Sophie. Amel, Sarah and Kiari, the School Council, who talked confidently and passionately about their school... the healthy tuck shop, the Active Club, the sports activities, the breakfast club sponsored by Greggs, the phonics work in reception and their SATs next week. This was a wonderful group of young people who are, very obviously, being nurtured, encouraged and supported as brilliant little learners by Sarah, her Deputy and their team.

Sarah and her team are clearly making real progress in a school where mobility is very high and in a building which is limited in terms of the space you need for everything schools now have to do in a Children's Services world. This is a wonderfully multi-cultural school in every sense with a world map in the entrance surrounded by the flags of all the 37 nations the children come from and the school is now involved in an exciting 'linking classrooms' project connecting it with schools in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

The visit brightened my day thanks to Sarah and her children.
Chris