My colleague John Normington, who has been working with our friends at the Coop on the Holidays in Term Time programme which is supported by the Coop Travel Service, sent me this e-mail and photo...

"Hi Chris, Attached is a photo of the poster we are displaying at the local train stations, hope you like them. The stations they are at are East Garforth, Headingley, Horsforth, Burley Park, Manston and Pudsey. John"

John and the team are doing a brilliant job.

Chris

I went on to visit Mill Field Primary School...

Stephen Watkins, the headteacher, and his colleagues are doing a great job at the new school which was formed from the amalgamation of Miles Hill and Potternewton Primary Schools last September. The atmosphere around the school is calm, purposeful and happy and the children are the greatest advert for what Stephen and the team have done. I was deeply impressed by one fantastic Year 6 student who told Stephen that if he hadn't been a great headteacher he would have been a great comedian! Relationships are one of the keys to great schools and the relationships are one of the great strengths at this wonderful little school.
Chris

I started the day early with the Meanwood and Moortown Family of Schools headteachers for a breakfast meeting at the David Lloyd Centre...

They are an inspiring bunch of incredibly talented colleagues who are releasing a very special kind of magic in their schools. We talked about the successes we have had with Bluewave SWIFT winning the BETT Award for Leadership and Management Innovation and Carr Manor High School as the first PfI school to win a Leeds Architecture Award. We also discussed the DCSF's new Children's Plan, the outcome of the Joint Area Review, the work we are doing on the Leeds Inclusive Learning Strategy, the developing 14 - 19 Strategy, the Building Schools for the Future and the Primary Capital Programmes and the opportunities within the new world of Trusts, Federations and Academies.

I am always engaged, stimulated and inspired by these meetings with headteacher colleagues and this morning was an example of this at its best!
Chris

I know that often the hardest bit of what we do is the human bit and it's important because it affects everything we do, one way or another...

On a day where we have been meeting with secondary headteachers, each of us needs to look carefully at the way we work with our colleagues - conversation by conversation, project by project, meeting by meeting - and work even harder to:

• cultivate relationships and cultures to create openness, honesty, trust and understanding;
• build an open-minded culture where change, innovation and ideas and 'our shared agenda' isn't overshadowed and undermined by personal agendas.
• create intense debate about ideas to ensure we continue to make real progress and minimise the draining effect of conflict, preciousness and compartmentalisation;
• maximise individual talent and organisational strength through networking, sharing ideas and pooling information;
• effectively deal with individual egos which can limit performance and prevent innovation and change.

Chris

SOME OF OUR STARS!

I went to the West park Centre to celebrate the achievements of some of our talented colleagues who had been on our management programme...

I had been asked by Sarah Forrest to pop in to West Park to present Institute of Leadership and Management Certificates to colleagues who had successfully completed the Modular Management Programme. The Artforms colleagues were Jane Kaye, Diane Paterson and Helen Taylor... the Attendance colleagues were Eddie Colquhoun and Jan Andrew. Sally Jameson and John Normington also achieved the award but were unable to be there.

It is inspiring to see how these amazing colleagues are juggling work, home and their professional development. The photos were taken by Paul Kaiserman of the Artforms colleagues.

Chris

I started the day early at Holy Rosary and St Anne's Catholic Primary School...

Kathryn Carter, the school's headteacher, and Elizabeth McDonagh-Smith, the new deputy headteacher, welcomed me and talked to me about the journey the school had been on and the real successes the team were seeing; including being in the top 100 primary schools nationally for sustained improvement over the last three years!

The school has seen a lot of change with Kathryn being in post for just over a year, a new deputy and four newly qualified teachers. There is a real energy and commitment about the school and some brilliant young people.

I also visited classrooms to meet the learning team and the children and to be interviewed by a group of Year 6 students who were producing a school newspaper. The atmosphere around the school was calm and purposeful and relationships were good. I have attached the photographs of my meeting with a fantastic group of Year 6 students.

Kathryn and Elizabeth and their colleagues are clearly doing a great job, setting ambitious targets and achieving great things.

Chris

TRUST

TRUST is the key...

Remember:

• Do what you say;
• Trust others;
• Keep colleages informed;
• Give constructive feedbackon behaviour;
• Act with integrity and sincerity;
• Treat others as you want to be treated yourself;
• Be dutiful, diligent and consistent;
• Recognise every success however small;
• Reward performance.

Chris

VALUE-ADDED

We must focus on VALUE-ADDED...

We must all:

• improve everything we do;
• challenge assumptions;
• question everything;
• be even more ambitious;
• focus on the bigger picture;
• look beyond the current reality; and
• think laterally.

Chris

Remember that it is all about the 3P's...

• passion;
• performance;
• people.

Chris

CONGRATULATIONS TO CARR MANOR HIGH SCHOOL

I attended the 'Leeds Architecture Awards 2007: Excellence in Places and Spaces' last night...

Carr Manor High School won an award in the Outside City Centre category. The school was designed by Seymour Harris Architecture for Investors in the Community and this is more recognition for another of our great schools. We want all our schools to be brilliant learning places and this fabulous and now award-winning building has been brought alive by Simon Flowers and his talented team, who are releasing a very special magic at Carr Manor High School.
Chris