100th HEADTEACHER BREAKFAST

I started the day early having breakfast with headteacher colleagues at St Bartholomew's CE Primary School with headteachers from the Inner West and Inner South Families of Schools...



This was a special breakfast because it is the 100th Headteacher Breakfast since we started having them in January 2007. It was also special because Pauline Gavin and her team don't do things by halves at St Barts! Breakfast was brilliant; the food, the venue and the company were all outstanding. The Inner West  and Inner South headteachers talked about the many challenges we all face and how schools must maintain their focus on standards and safeguarding despite the challenges we are currently facing with change, cuts and uncertainty.

These schools are creative and inspiring places working at the heart of their communities 365-24-7. We need to continue to develop brilliant early years practice and to ensure that Every Child is a Reader and Every Child Counts by the time they are seven or eight... and we need to ensure that as far as possible all our children became brilliant little learners by the time they leave primary school and are on a pathway to success by the time they are sixteen.  Our greatest challenge at the heart of the city is to make sure that we 'Think Team' as we release the magic, the potential and the WOW factor for all our children, young people and their parents and carers.


These are great colleagues leading great schools where front line provision is wrapped in a stimulating, creative and imaginative curriculum offer that aims to turn out happy, healthy, safe and successful little learners, whatever it takes. Whenever I visit these schools and meet colleagues like these I know that I am in the presence of the real heroes of education in Leeds who fight the good fight day-in day-out because of their passion, commitment, determination, belief and because they care deeply about their children, their families and the communities they serve.
Chris