I moved on to visit Wortley High School...

This is another real success story for us and Gill Knutsson and her team have achieved fantastic things at Wortley High School over the last three years. Gill wasn't at school but I was met by the rest of the leadership team; Bryan Pearce, Helen Kilkenny and Donna Mitchell. These brilliant colleagues are all moving to the new team at Swallow Hill Community College in September which is taking on both current specialisms; performing arts and technology.

It has been a fantastic period for the school which was recognised and celebrated in their recent OFSTED inspection which identified the school as good with outstanding features. The staff team are young and delivering a personalised learning approach which is very clearly delivering some brilliant outcomes for some great young people. I am looking forward to celebrating another great year with the team this Summer as Wortley High School becomes a vibrant and exciting part of the new Swallow Hill Community College.
Chris

I moved on to the Opening of the Anti-bullying Consultation Day at the Ghandi Hall at Leeds Metropolitan University...

Hilary Farmery and colleagues had planned the day to help us shape and inform the "Power of Me' strategy for 2009 - 2014. The consultation day gave a group of our young people the opportunity to tell us what we should be doing to prevent and tackle bullying in Leeds. The event featured a performance by the Odd Theatre Company who had been commissioned by the anti-bullying alliance.
Chris

I started the day today at Boston Spa School having breakfast with a small group of headteacher colleagues from EPOS...

It was great to be able to discuss some of the opportunities we face as well as some of the challenges. 21st Century Schools provides us with powerful framework against which we can measure the progress we are making with extended services, confederations, partnerships and Trusts. We need to remember to always start the debate with brilliant local schools and build up from that the structures, systems and processes that add value and help us deliver better outcomes for young people, their families and the communities we all serve.
Chris

I also attended the Headteacher Forum at West Park yesterday...

It was great to be with the Headteacher Forum which I usually miss because it often clashes with Executive Board. The group looked at our developing approach to managing severe weather including snowy days. We also looked at the progress we are making with Extended Services, Children's Services, Social Care and the new Children and Young People's Plan. Great stuff!
Chris

I started the day yesterday with the North East Secondary Headteachers...

I was at Roundhay School with these colleagues looking at the challenges and opportunities we face in Central and East Leeds as we continue to build brilliant provision.
Chris

I visited the Elmete Centre yesterday and saw some fantastic photographs of the recent Higher Level Teaching Assistant Celebration...

These are the latest HLTAs taking our overall total above 500! It was a fantastic evening and Sue Roe and her team had done an incredible job. Louise and Rebecca had worked really hard to create a very special evening to celebrate these great colleagues achievements.

And this is me with Sue, Louise and Rebecca, the fabulous team who arranged and delivered the event.

Chris

I attended a 'Festival of Ideas' at the Carriageworks this morning...



The 'Festival of Ideas' was a unique collaboration between the Innovation Exchange and Education Leeds focused on creative ideas for dealing with challenging behaviour. It brought together colleagues from the public sector from Bradford, Leeds, Kirklees, North Yorkshire and Wakefield and colleagues from the third sector from across Yorkshire and the Humber. My colleagues Brian Hogg, Wendy Winterburn and Danielle Brearley worked with Raj Cheema and John Craig from the Innovation Exchange to deliver this brilliant event where everyone who attended learned about some great ways of working with young people with challenging behaviour.


This model of looking at creative and innovative approaches to key issues provides us with a way of addressing the really difficult issues we face here in Leeds and I hope we can continue to work with the Innovation Exchange to develop more Festivals of Ideas.

Chris

Last week, I met Peanut the Clown (Pete Turner) at the opening of the Hovingham Cabin...

Pete sent me some information about the Taster Sessions in Circus Skills he is running for us as part of our ‘Be Healthy/Be Safe’ programme this year. These sessions are intended to give a taste of what circus skills can do for our young people and our schools. Apparently, he covers a range of circus skills and how to teach them effectively across a range of ages and abilities. Juggling is the start of all the skills so there will be a special emphasis in learning how to juggle three balls and how to teach juggling across the age range in these sessions. Pete is also working with ‘ECLIPSE - Surpass Yourself’ (a not-for-profit company based in Harehills) to establish a series of children’s circus clubs across Leeds, with a central project supporting teachers, learning mentors and parents in running circus clubs as part of our after-school provision.

The Healthy Schools team have already told me that this year I need to learn to juggle so I'll have to try to get to one of Peanut's sessions. If you want to find out more you can visit Peanut the Clown’s website at www.peanut-the-clown.com.
Chris

While I was at Cockburn College of Arts I was given a brilliant folder of information...

Anne-Marie Holdsworth gave me a copy of the 'Middleton Cluster Extended Schools and Services' Cluster Profile. The folder contained details of the cluster management and steering group, the schools, Children's Centre services and partners working in the community. It also contained maps, data, plans and an evaluation of the current effectiveness of provision. It was a really helpful guide to the area, what's on offer and the challenges and opportunities facing this piece of Leeds.
Chris

I visited Cockburn College of Arts this morning...

This is a brilliant learning place where Dave Gurney, headteacher, and his young, energetic and totally committed team are releasing real magic. My friend John Ellis, previous Chair of Governors, had asked me to visit the school to talk to the senior team and to see what has been achieved. I walked around the school with Dave and it was incredible to see talented colleagues working with young people who were enagaged, involved and really focused on learning in drama, art, technology, English and mathematics. The whole school was calm, the atmosphere positive and the relationships exceptional. The building work at the school has been handled fantastically and the new building certainly has the WOW factor.

This is a school very clearly on a flight path to brilliant and everyone I spoke to was determined to give all their young people the passport to the next stage of learning. The school is oversubscribed, results have been improving year on year and the school's contextual value-added from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4 is simply brilliant.

It was wonderful, as I approach eight great years here in Leeds, to visit Cockburn College of Arts and see what has been achieved over those eight years through strong and highly effective leadership and governance, great teaching, a focused and personalised curriculum, highly structured behaviour management and rigorous attendance management.

This makes you realise what we can achieve and what is possible with persistence, determination and sheer hard work and a brilliant team!
Chris