“Life can only be understood backwards;

but it must be lived forwards.”

Soren Kirkgaard

It's been another extra-ordinary week where I have been constantly reminded what a fantastic place Leeds is and that whatever happens there can be no regrets...

On Monday , I visited Parklands Primary School and in the evening I went to Woodkirk High School to see their production of Hairspray. On Tuesday, I had the usual day of meetings. On Wednesday, I visited Aberford Church of England Primary School and White Laith Primary School before attending the Long Service Awards in the evening. On Thursday, I had breakfast with the Elmete partnership of schools family of schools headteachers and then attended the support staff conference at Weetwood Hall. I also visited another induction event at the Derek Fatchett City Learning Centre before in the evening I attended the West SILC governing body meeting in the evening. On Friday, I attended the leadership forum at the Carriageworks before I went on with Eleanor Brazil to the official opening of Rodillian School by Ed Balls MP, secretary of state for children, schools and families. And finally, I went on to meet with the Leeds College principals.

You can hate change or love change, embrace change or reject change. It doesn't matter, it's happening and we must simply get on with it. We must all adjust our attitudes, see the changes that are coming as positive, and look for opportunities to grow and develop. We must focus on the things that are important: on outcomes; on solutions; and on action. We must pay particular attention to where we are going in a new children's services directorate and ensure that we take the best of what we have achieved together into that new world. We must 'Think Family' and help build powerful communities around our brilliant learning places. We need to understand that when things don't go the way we hoped it isn’t a problem, it’s an opportunity to learn. We must continue to be brave, to do the right things: the things that will secure better outcomes for young people; their families; and communities. If we are going to achieve what our critics constantly tell us is ‘the impossible’, we must continue to transform, re-invent and re-imagine.

As always, it is important that we don't get stuck in the past. We must be flexible, have several options and be comfortable with taking risks. We must learn constantly, keep sharp and stay ahead. And above everything we must all remember...

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it’d be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."

Let’s all determine that when we get to the end of this journey we might look back and regret some of the things we have done but we will never regret that we did nothing!
Keep the faith.
Chris