I started the day with the secondary headteachers...

They are a great group of talented colleagues and I am increasingly certain that the strength, health and well-being of our learning community here in Leeds critically depends on the participation and engagement of everyone who shares our passion, our belief and our faith in our children and young people... that is after all one of the reasons why I started this blog!

We were discussing 14 - 19 provision here in Leeds but increasingly sessions like this reinforce my belief that everyone has a contribution to make and that every contribution will help us shape and develop our provision, our practice and improve our outcomes. We already know that achieving sustainable and deep change requires a distinctive blend of reflection and implementation... more so than ever we need dreamers with deadlines!

What can we learn from colleagues in Leeds to drive and develop our practice? What can we learn from colleagues in Stockholm to drive and develop our secondary practice? What can we learn from colleagues in Reggio Emilia to drive and develop our early years practice? Together, we need to deepen our understanding of the concepts, principles and values that underpin our provision and provide the foundations on which we can build briliant learning places... be that 14 - 19 provision, early years provision, parenting, coaching... whatever! We need to carefully engage all our colleagues, individually and in groups in sharing, developing and understanding these ideas and then establishing them in their schools, their colleges and their workplaces. We must apply these ideas consistently and powerfully to develop brilliant learning places that nurture, sustain and transform our practice and our outcomes.

So how do we develop somewhere where we can nurture and develop ideas... from the small steps to the giant leaps of faith we need here in Leeds and across the country. If we are serious about transformational outcomes for our children and young people we must be brave and shine a light on all aspects of our provision and ask questions about everything we do and how we can do it better.

Please contribute your ideas, your stories and your activities because everyone has something important to add to the mix. Your ideas will help us think differeently, your stories will encourage others to share theirs and your activities will spark ideas in other colleagues.

So SHARE things, have your say and make a DIFFERENCE!
Chris