“Human capital and education are the cornerstones upon which
hinge the social, economic and cultural well-being of our society”

At the start of the academic year it is becoming increasingly obvious that things are going to get a lot more interesting around here...

We need to work harder to build brilliant and maintain our legacy here in Leeds. We need to:

1. share and focus on the big picture and put aside other agendas;
2. share the reality and always be honest with each other;
3. share everything and constantly listen to feedback from our customers and partners;
4. share the workload and support others who are feeling the strain;
5. share every success and every failure.

This is more than just a series of goals or the Education Leeds vision - it's about our values and our culture and helping colleagues to understand where they fit into the bigger picture of the new Children's Services arrangements. As always we must be prepared to confront the harsh realities when things go wrong and give and receive honest feedback but we need open, clear, two-way communication and active listening to continue to build teamwork across the company and across Children's Services. If we get this right I believe that things will happen spontaneously; colleagues will understand where the pressures are, what the challenges are and how to manage the workload. They will then collaborate to get jobs done by building new creative and powerful teams, dynamic partnerships and strong and meaningful relationships focused on providing great services and great support to young people, their families and schools.

If we can do this properly and create a genuine 'one team' culture, everyone winsand learns and most importantly everyone improves and develops together.
Chris