Dirk Gilleard, David Dickinson and I started the day early having breakfast with headteachers from the Morley Family of Schools...

We talked about the brilliant work going on in the Morley schools, the successes we have had over the last nine years, the progress we are making as we move towards the new Children's Services arrangements. We agreed that, over the next few months, we must continue to ensure that all our children are happy, healthy, safe and successful and to maintain our focus on teaching and learning. We must continue to build brilliant provision consistently across Leeds and share and network the extra-ordinary practice in our schools, our children's centres and our clusters.

We talked about the challenges we are facing and the opportunities that lie ahead as we focus on the basics and strip out the inefficiencies and the waste. We all agreed that we must use the opportunities that we have to build a brilliant children's services landscape where brilliant schools are supported by the 'Think Family' approach and engaged within a powerful and supportive community. We discussed the importance of confident, self-critical and reflective practitioners who understand the learning process and are working creatively, imaginatively and positively with colleagues from Social Care, Health and the voluntary sector to create the team around the child, the team around the family and the team around the school.

It was a wonderful start to the day with some great colleagues and we need to do more of this; to talk more, to share more, to network more, to celebrate more and to learn more as we build the future together.
Chris