I finished the day in London to receive yet another award...

I was with another 224 companies who were receiving their 'Best Companies to work for':'One to Watch' award. Education Leeds took part last year for the first time in the 'Best Companies to work for' annual survey and although we didn't receive a star rating we were awarded 'One to Watch' status. After a brilliant year it is deeply encouraging to know that Education Leeds has received even more recognition and is now officially recognised as 'One to Watch'!
Chris

I moved on to Gildersome Primary School...

This is another little primary school making a difference at the heart of its community especially now that the new Children's Centre has been opened. It is encouraging to see the work that Stephan Kurth and his team are doing to develop a more creative curriculum and to develop the children's personal development and well-being.
Chris

I went to Birchfield Primary School this morning...

It was great to visit this wonderful little school and to see some of the outstanding things Philip Turner and his team are doing to release the magic and make a real difference to their children, their families and the community. I particularly enjoyed the Skills Challenge Games and the Wake Up and Shake Up session which the children organised and managed and very clearly demonstrated the school's commitment to ensuring that the children are healthy and active. I think that we must convince every child that they can be a reader, a storyteller, a poet, a mathematician, an artist and I believe that every child and young person should engage in an hour of rigorous activity every day to contribute to their health and well-being.

It is great to visit a school doing such fantastic work in this area and achieving brilliant standards at the same time.
Chris

My colleague Liz Taylor, Headteacher at St. Philip’s Catholic Primary and Nursery School in Middleton sent me this e-mail which cheered me up...

"Good afternoon Chris, I’ve just read your blog and was moved by your comment about so much negativity being around. I suppose I just wanted to say that it’s not everywhere! Our school is a very positive place where the challenges are seen as opportunities and where we never lose sight of the fact that we’re in this for the children and feel privileged to be so. I wish you could have been at our cluster planning meeting yesterday afternoon, where the four primary schools in the Middleton Cluster and Cockburn (along with our brilliant cluster co-ordinator) were represented by people who are excited, stimulated and thankful to be doing what we’re doing, for the good of our children and the benefit of their families! As you said as you signed off – keep the faith! Liz."

Liz is right there is so much great stuff going on in schools across Leeds; colleagues who are passionate, committed, engaged and working incredibly hard to release the magic.
Chris

I started the day being interviewed for Look North...

Look North wanted to know why we had two secondary schools in Leeds in the worst ten in the country for absence. I explained that we needed to put this in context. Overall attendance in secondary schools in Leeds increased last year by 0.71% to 91.64%; the highest it has ever been and the biggest increase we have ever seen. Unauthorised absence was 2.32% and we have seen a 10% improvement in the attendance of our persistently absent young people!

Clearly at Primrose High School and City of Leeds School we have two schools in the worst ten for attendance in the country and we must do better... whatever it takes!
Chris

I received this e-mail today after my colleague Rehana Minhas, Director for Equality and Entitlement, attended a special event in London yesterday...

"Dear Chris, The performance of 'And then they came for me' yesterday at the DCSF went well. Leeds schools were mentioned in the written information provided by Blue Sky productions, we received further acknowledgement from Nic Careem in his introduction. I had an opportunity to share with all the work we are doing in Leeds. The officer from the US Democratic office in London took a copy of Harmony, which featured Eva Schloss and Peace Jam as well as my contact details. The event was well attended, the opening address was given by Jim Knight. Rehana."

We are doing some great work in this area which features in the special edition of Harmony and it is brilliant to have this work acknowledged in this way.
Chris

The North of England launch of PX2, 'The Pacific Institute''s new 14 - 19 programme, will take place on 28th April here in Leeds with Lou Tice as the guest speaker...

The materials look great and we hope that those of you who are interested in 14 -19 provision will be there with colleagues from across the North of England .
Chris

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day...

A day when we remember where racism, intolerance and a lack of respect and understanding leads and the need for us all to be constantly vigilant. We must continue to build respect, tolerance and understanding and to celebrate difference. We must help our young people learn from the past and that we can stand up to hatred and create a safer, better future for us all.

Why not visit the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website and light a candle to support those who are standing up to hatred across the world. The website is at www.hmd.org.uk.
Chris

Cllr Steve Smith, Executive Member for Environmental Services sent me this e-mail about the Leeds Climate Pledge...

"Dear Chris, Each year Leeds generates over 6 million tonnes of CO2 and in the last few years the people who work and live in Leeds are now starting to experience the effects of climate change. The Leeds Climate Pledge is a great opportunity to do something positive about climate change in our city. The Leeds Climate Pledge will help you calculate your carbon footprint, then all you have to do is to decide what steps you want to take (large or small) to reduce your carbon emissions. You may want to focus on reducing your energy bills and save money at the same time, start recycling or simply make up your own. It’s up to you. By emailing a pledge postcard you can show friends and family what you are doing to help the environment and encourage them at the same time. The more people you tell, the greater the impact for Leeds! Regards, Steve."

We all need to do something to reduce our carbon footprint and if you want to find out more about the Leeds Climate Pledge visit http://www.leedsinitiative.org/environment/pledge_1.aspx.

Chris

“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide on, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage. Peace has its victories but it takes brave men and women to win them.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Another week of early starts and long days...

I met Chris Halsall's team to talk about the outstanding primary schools, our successes and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead with our primary provision. I met the Leeds High School headteachers to talk about this years fantastic GCSE results and the challenges and opportunities we face with our secondary provision. I met with colleagues in the North East to talk about trust, trust schools, and the opportunities and challenges we face in developing coherent, inclusive and joined up secondary provision in this bit of Leeds. I had lunch with colleagues from the information management team who talked passionately about the work they are doing and the challenges we all face with communication, connections and retaining great staff. I met with colleagues from Teach First, an initiative that has been hugely successful in London and the North West putting graduates into challenging schools, and who are now looking to come to Leeds. I visited Guiseley School to support the exciting work they are doing to develop their provision and their community programmes using the Stephen Lawrence Education Standard. And finally, I had lunch with Paul Napier and Nicola Megson from the Yorkshire Evening Post where we talked about the opportunities and challenges facing us all and how we could develop more of a shared agenda.

There is so much negativity around; in people who only see the glass as half empty… who see problems not opportunities… who want to criticise rather than congratulate. We know that expectations and the challenges we face have increased, working hours are long, demands are relentless, and technology means there is nowhere to hide. But these challenges also provide opportunities for us to step up to the plate, to strive for excellence, and to prove that we are more capable than ever.

If we are going to continue to do what we do so well as a team, we must…

• Prepare, review, coach and train.
• Remember successes, and focus on what has gone well.
• Learn from everything we do and review, analyse, and evaluate.
• Don’t get bogged down by setbacks, but use them to learn and do better.
• Control things, be prepared, and be organised.
• Manage our attitudes to be optimistic and positive.
• Seek challenges and get feedback to improve our performance.
• Create a brilliant working environment and play to our strengths.
• Look after ourselves and each other… eat well, exercise, relax, and sleep.

And remember that: "Winning is about individuals performing when the going gets tough, not when it’s easy."
Keep the faith
Chris