My colleague Kathryn Atkins, Primary School Improvement Adviser sent me this...

"Hello Chris - thought you may want to hear some good news stories.
We held the Welcome event for our newly qualified teachers on Sept 26th - I'm sorry you couldn't be there but Dorothy did the business well on your behalf. I have recently taken over responsibility for NQTs and decided to make it a full day event with guest speakers etc. We promoted it very heavily in schools and had a fantastic response - only around 16 teachers did not attend out of 143 - I was delighted!

In the morning I had booked a speaker recommended to me - an ex teacher called Jason Bangbala - who was fantastic. We could not have wished for a better message for our young teachers - essentially- if we treat children with respect, build self esteem, handle behaviour appropriately, stay positive - it does work- and children will respond. He gave them lots of practical strategies in a very entertaining way. In the afternoon one of the activities gave them chance to meet and discuss issues with colleagues from local schools which they found helpful. The evaluations were very positive and so was the atmosphere .

On a personal note, there were 2 young teachers there who I had taught- one when I was deputy at Grange Farm and the other when I was head at Westwood. It was brilliant for me to see how well they had both done. I really appreciated the support I received from HR, in particular Faaem Lal and Pauline Hildreth who did a great job. And on another positve note - I was on a course last week with Advisers from lots of different LA advisers - it made me realise what a good job Chris Halsall and Dorothy have done putting together such a strong school improvement team and co-ordinating the SIP role with advisers and associate SIPs - we seem to be well ahead in Leeds.

If you ever have a spare 10 minutes I would appreciate the opportunity to share a few thoughts as someone who has recently " crossed over" from school to Education Leeds. Have a good week. Regards, Kathryn"

We do have a great team here in Leeds and interestingly we have so many colleagues from schools sharing their best practice, engaged as partners and involved in our teams helping other schools drive up their standards. It's brilliant here!
Chris