This afternoon I visited Shadwell Primary School...
It was wonderful to visit the school again and talk to Sue Pyatt, the headteacher, and Ruth Drew, the chair of governors, about the opportunities and challenges the school is facing with the proposal to federate with Bramham Primary School. It was also great to have the opportunity to look around the school and see the quality of provision in this wonderful little primary school where excellence and inclusion go hand in hand. Sue is an outstanding headteacher whose leadership has created brilliant provision which they hope will be further developed through the federation.
Chris
Thursday, 22 April 2010
This morning I visited Kerr Mackie Primary School...
It was great to meet Angela Ronicle, the headteacher, and Gillian Hayward, the chair of governors, and talk about the opportunities and challenges we are facing. We also looked around the school to see the real progress the school is making under Angela's skilful leadership. The quality of the work in the Foundation Stage, the quality of teaching and learning and the culture and ethos around the school is really impressive. Angela and her team are building brilliant provision by establishing the systems and procedures needed to secure consistency.
It's true, for every school in Leeds, that consistency is our biggest challenge and securing it will ensure that outcomes continue to improve, that teaching and learning further develops and that every classroom releases the WOW factor and the magic and potential in our wonderful children.
Chris
It was great to meet Angela Ronicle, the headteacher, and Gillian Hayward, the chair of governors, and talk about the opportunities and challenges we are facing. We also looked around the school to see the real progress the school is making under Angela's skilful leadership. The quality of the work in the Foundation Stage, the quality of teaching and learning and the culture and ethos around the school is really impressive. Angela and her team are building brilliant provision by establishing the systems and procedures needed to secure consistency.
It's true, for every school in Leeds, that consistency is our biggest challenge and securing it will ensure that outcomes continue to improve, that teaching and learning further develops and that every classroom releases the WOW factor and the magic and potential in our wonderful children.
Chris
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Eleanor Brazil, David Dickinson and I started the day early having breakfast with some of the North East Leeds Learning Partnership Family of Schools headteachers...
At the heart of our work here in Leeds lies a 21st Century School supported by the 'Think Family' approach and engaged within a powerful community. We talked about the brilliant work going on in these schools, the successes we have had over the last nine years, the outcome of the Children's Services Review and the opportunities within the new world of Trusts, Federations and Academies. Colleagues talked passionately about the changing nature of headship and the things that distract us all from our relentless and uncompromising focus on teaching and learning. We agreed that, over the next few months, we must continue to ensure that all our children are happy, healthy, safe and successful and to maintain our focus on teaching and learning. We must continue to build brilliant provision consistently across Leeds and share and network the extra-ordinary practice in our schools, our children's centres and our clusters.
We talked about the challenges we are facing and the opportunities that lie ahead. We must continue to focus on quality, standards and outcomes while we use the opportunities that we have with the new curriculum and the new children's services directorate to build a brilliant children's services landscape. We discussed the importance of confident, self-critical and reflective practitioners who understand the learning process and are working creatively, imaginatively and positively with colleagues from Social Care, Health and the voluntary sector to create the team around the child, the team around the family and the team around the school. to nurture passion, enthusiasm, determination, persistence and patience across the children's services workforce. We also talked about the importance of leaders of learning who had a clear view of what was needed to drive change and achieve that step change in outcomes we all want to see so that eevry child is a reader, every child can count and every child is a brilliant little learner by the time they leave primary school and on a pathway to success by the time they leave secondary school.
It was a wonderful start to the day with some great colleagues and we need to do more of this; to talk more, to share more, to network more, to celebrate more and to learn more as we build the future together.
Chris
At the heart of our work here in Leeds lies a 21st Century School supported by the 'Think Family' approach and engaged within a powerful community. We talked about the brilliant work going on in these schools, the successes we have had over the last nine years, the outcome of the Children's Services Review and the opportunities within the new world of Trusts, Federations and Academies. Colleagues talked passionately about the changing nature of headship and the things that distract us all from our relentless and uncompromising focus on teaching and learning. We agreed that, over the next few months, we must continue to ensure that all our children are happy, healthy, safe and successful and to maintain our focus on teaching and learning. We must continue to build brilliant provision consistently across Leeds and share and network the extra-ordinary practice in our schools, our children's centres and our clusters.
We talked about the challenges we are facing and the opportunities that lie ahead. We must continue to focus on quality, standards and outcomes while we use the opportunities that we have with the new curriculum and the new children's services directorate to build a brilliant children's services landscape. We discussed the importance of confident, self-critical and reflective practitioners who understand the learning process and are working creatively, imaginatively and positively with colleagues from Social Care, Health and the voluntary sector to create the team around the child, the team around the family and the team around the school. to nurture passion, enthusiasm, determination, persistence and patience across the children's services workforce. We also talked about the importance of leaders of learning who had a clear view of what was needed to drive change and achieve that step change in outcomes we all want to see so that eevry child is a reader, every child can count and every child is a brilliant little learner by the time they leave primary school and on a pathway to success by the time they leave secondary school.
It was a wonderful start to the day with some great colleagues and we need to do more of this; to talk more, to share more, to network more, to celebrate more and to learn more as we build the future together.
Chris
Monday, 19 April 2010
I hope colleagues have had a great break, that you are all hopefully fighting fit and ready for anything that comes our way...
I have spent the Easter break reading, learning and watching some more great ballet and just for a brief moment I managed to forget about attendance, admissions, behaviour, Building Schools for the Future, the National Challenge, safeguarding, SATs, special educational needs, standards, targets and World Class Primary Schools. What my Easter break and my reading has reminded me is that it is discipline, focus and action that will help us continue to deliver outstanding schools, great outcomes and brilliant results for our children, our young people, their families and communities. With elections, public spending cuts and change looming we need to be brave enough to challenge every aspect of our work so that we can focus our energy and efforts on the things that really, really matter. We must continue to carefully evaluate everything we do and ask whether it is really adding value and making a difference.
I don't think it's rocket science. We need early years programmes where we release the magic; support every childs' personal and social development and ensure that every child reads and counts. We need to nurture great primary schools as they develop a rich, stimulating and rewarding curriculum where children read and write and count and study and sing and dance and create. We need all our wonderful primary schools to deliver the WOW factor and work even harder to create brilliant little learners. We also need extraordinary secondary schools where small is beautiful in terms of organisation, where coaching is supporting teaching and learning, where every young person is on a pathway to success and where more and more of our young people achieve good qualifications as the passport to adult life and work. We need every school to become a healthy school, a green school, a Stephen Lawrence school and an inclusive school where we develop and nurture the values and behaviours that will help us ensure that every child and young person is happy, healthy, safe and increasingly successful... whatever it takes!
We also need to develop self-reliance, self-esteem and self-discipline through behavioural change programmes that understand and build on the critical importance of mothers, families and communities and to make a real difference we need to start earlier and stay longer with those children and those communities that need us most. We need to be uncompromising and relentless in rooting out the inefficient, the ineffective and the obsolete wherever it is and focus on developing real excellence in every aspect of everything we do!
Colleagues in Education Leeds and children's services needs to understand the need to be totally focused, totally committed and totally disciplined over the next year as we build the new children's services world here in Leeds. A world built around and supporting 'Twenty First Century Schools', 'Think Family' and powerful communities... whatever it takes!
And when the going gets tough always remember...
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena... who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings... and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly."
Theodore Roosevelt
And as we face volcanoes, ash and flight restrictions I am incredibly impressed by colleagues responses to these latest challenges. Whilst some of our colleagues are stuck abroad unable to return home, as ever it is business as usual in Leeds. I would like to thank everyone for their passion, detetrmination, persistence, dedication and commitment to ensuring our children continue to be happy, healthy, safe and increasingly successful... whatever it takes!
Keep the faith!
Chris
I have spent the Easter break reading, learning and watching some more great ballet and just for a brief moment I managed to forget about attendance, admissions, behaviour, Building Schools for the Future, the National Challenge, safeguarding, SATs, special educational needs, standards, targets and World Class Primary Schools. What my Easter break and my reading has reminded me is that it is discipline, focus and action that will help us continue to deliver outstanding schools, great outcomes and brilliant results for our children, our young people, their families and communities. With elections, public spending cuts and change looming we need to be brave enough to challenge every aspect of our work so that we can focus our energy and efforts on the things that really, really matter. We must continue to carefully evaluate everything we do and ask whether it is really adding value and making a difference.
I don't think it's rocket science. We need early years programmes where we release the magic; support every childs' personal and social development and ensure that every child reads and counts. We need to nurture great primary schools as they develop a rich, stimulating and rewarding curriculum where children read and write and count and study and sing and dance and create. We need all our wonderful primary schools to deliver the WOW factor and work even harder to create brilliant little learners. We also need extraordinary secondary schools where small is beautiful in terms of organisation, where coaching is supporting teaching and learning, where every young person is on a pathway to success and where more and more of our young people achieve good qualifications as the passport to adult life and work. We need every school to become a healthy school, a green school, a Stephen Lawrence school and an inclusive school where we develop and nurture the values and behaviours that will help us ensure that every child and young person is happy, healthy, safe and increasingly successful... whatever it takes!
We also need to develop self-reliance, self-esteem and self-discipline through behavioural change programmes that understand and build on the critical importance of mothers, families and communities and to make a real difference we need to start earlier and stay longer with those children and those communities that need us most. We need to be uncompromising and relentless in rooting out the inefficient, the ineffective and the obsolete wherever it is and focus on developing real excellence in every aspect of everything we do!
Colleagues in Education Leeds and children's services needs to understand the need to be totally focused, totally committed and totally disciplined over the next year as we build the new children's services world here in Leeds. A world built around and supporting 'Twenty First Century Schools', 'Think Family' and powerful communities... whatever it takes!
And when the going gets tough always remember...
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena... who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings... and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly."
Theodore Roosevelt
And as we face volcanoes, ash and flight restrictions I am incredibly impressed by colleagues responses to these latest challenges. Whilst some of our colleagues are stuck abroad unable to return home, as ever it is business as usual in Leeds. I would like to thank everyone for their passion, detetrmination, persistence, dedication and commitment to ensuring our children continue to be happy, healthy, safe and increasingly successful... whatever it takes!
Keep the faith!
Chris
Monday, 5 April 2010
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Thursday, 1 April 2010
"If I were absolutely certain about all things, I would spend my life in anxious misery, fearful of losing my way. But since everything and anything are aways possible, the miraculous is always nearby and wonders shall never, ever cease."
Robert Fulghum
It has been another wonderful, exciting yet challenging term. Whatever happens to us, I still believe that the only possible response is that we should be constantly and relentlessly positive about what we are doing. We have so much to be proud of here in Leeds and our approach to the challenges we are facing must be intelligent, direct and honest. If anyone out there believes they can do it better they should come on down, roll up their sleeves and get stuck in.
Like you, and after a long hard term, I need a break but before I go here’s how to survive the year ahead...
- Remember that absolute feedback does not exist
- Remember that it's their opinion, it's not fact!
- Remember to keep talking about our successes.
- Remember to keep learning how to do it better.
- Remember to constantly support your colleagues.
- Remember to phone a friend when you need help and support.
- Remember to focus on the outcomes you are achieving.
- Remember to stay positive!
The blog is going to go quiet for a few days so that I can unwind and get rid of the knots, recharge the batteries and gear myself up for another year in Leeds... Education Leeds last year in Leeds. Take care and look after yourself while I am gone and after a term like this it is important to know that miracles can happen and will happen.
Keep the faith.
Chris
MORE GREAT NEWS!
My colleague Jane Kaye, Senior Support Assistant at ArtForms sent me some brilliant news...
"Dear Chris, As you are no doubt aware, ArtForms Music has recently been judged to be an 'outstanding music service'. Following a detailed review of ArtForms Music's self-evaluation, the moderators decided that the department was 'outstanding' in 10 out of 12 areas and 'good' in the other two. 82% of our music lessons were judged to be good or above (national average is 75%) They concluded that 'the range and breadth of provision is truly impressive with activities provided for three-year-olds to those beyond pensionable age'. The evaluators observed several of our City of Leeds Youth Music Groups and were very impressed by the musical standard on show . In particular they noted that 'the skills and musicianship demonstrated by the Youth Percussion Ensemble were not only outstanding but breathtaking'. All the best and have a lovely holiday. Jane"
I am a passionate advocate of the arts in all its forms and it is wonderful to hear that the music service here in Leeds is outstanding with aspects that are simply breathtaking.
Chris
"Dear Chris, As you are no doubt aware, ArtForms Music has recently been judged to be an 'outstanding music service'. Following a detailed review of ArtForms Music's self-evaluation, the moderators decided that the department was 'outstanding' in 10 out of 12 areas and 'good' in the other two. 82% of our music lessons were judged to be good or above (national average is 75%) They concluded that 'the range and breadth of provision is truly impressive with activities provided for three-year-olds to those beyond pensionable age'. The evaluators observed several of our City of Leeds Youth Music Groups and were very impressed by the musical standard on show . In particular they noted that 'the skills and musicianship demonstrated by the Youth Percussion Ensemble were not only outstanding but breathtaking'. All the best and have a lovely holiday. Jane"
I am a passionate advocate of the arts in all its forms and it is wonderful to hear that the music service here in Leeds is outstanding with aspects that are simply breathtaking.
Chris
NOW WE ARE NINE!
I have been in Leeds for nearly nine wonderful years and today, 1st April 2010, Education Leeds is nine years old...
At it’s best our schools, our educational provision and our support services are fantastic, making an incredible difference and releasing real magic in so many ways. We have transformed the learning landscape here in Leeds and achieved great things with standards, outcomes, school improvement, inclusion, special educational needs, healthy schools, music and the arts, sport and activity, sensory support, the Stephen Lawrence Education Standard, Parent Partnership and so much more. Our brilliant support services have focused and strengthened the way we use our human, financial and technical resources to create golden threads that connect everything we do with our passionate commitment to ensure that every child and every young person is happy, healthy, safe and successful... whatever it takes!
They say time flies when you are having fun and it has been great fun thanks to you; the brilliant, talented, gorgeous and wonderful colleagues who have made me laugh, made me smile, made me cry and enriched, energised and brightened my life over these nine great years... THANK YOU ALL.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
They say time flies when you are having fun and it has been great fun thanks to you; the brilliant, talented, gorgeous and wonderful colleagues who have made me laugh, made me smile, made me cry and enriched, energised and brightened my life over these nine great years... THANK YOU ALL.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Chris
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
And finally, I attended another Higher Level Teaching Assistant Award Ceremony at the Village Hotel...
The Higher Level Teaching Assistant Celebration Evening brought together another group of our talented, brilliant, gorgeous and wonderful colleagues from primary schools, secondary schools, a SILC and a PRU. We have the largest group of HLTAs anywhere in the country and these colleagues are helping us transform outcomes for our young people and make a real difference in our communities. It was a fantastic evening. Sue Roe and her team had done an incredible job and the room looked wonderful. We had music once again from a young jazz band from Garforth Community College who were fantastic.
Sue, Louise, Rebecca and Peter had worked really hard to create a very special evening to celebrate these great colleagues achievements. Photographs to follow.
Chris
THINK TEAM!
I moved on to our fourth staff briefing session at the Blenheim Centre...
I wanted to discuss with interested colleagues the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead as we all work to build better children's services here in Leeds. I wanted colleagues to understand why the review was necessary, the big challenges we still face, the opportunities to work in a more joined up and integrated way and most importantly to recognise and celebrate what we have achieved together over the last nine years; the outstanding initiatives, the extraordinary buildings and the outcomes we have achieved... all of which have been recognised by awards, feedback and celebrations locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
It was great to meet with colleagues from the Education Psychology Team, the Sensory Services Team, the Deaf and Hearing Impaired Team, the Early Years Support Team, the Parent Partnership Service, the Safeguarding, Looked After and Vulnerable Children's Service, the SEN Statutory Assessment and Provision Service as well as some colleagues who had managed to pop in to the session. We have achieved something quite remarkable because of these talented, brilliant, gorgeous and wonderful colleagues, the culture we have created and because of the leadership we all provide which makes Education Leeds such a special organisation to work in.
Whatever we do we must all constantly celebrate our achievements, challenge the critics, the moaners and the negative and destructive voices and most importantly we must look after each other through this period of opportunity, uncertainty and change and THINK TEAM!
Chris
I wanted to discuss with interested colleagues the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead as we all work to build better children's services here in Leeds. I wanted colleagues to understand why the review was necessary, the big challenges we still face, the opportunities to work in a more joined up and integrated way and most importantly to recognise and celebrate what we have achieved together over the last nine years; the outstanding initiatives, the extraordinary buildings and the outcomes we have achieved... all of which have been recognised by awards, feedback and celebrations locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
It was great to meet with colleagues from the Education Psychology Team, the Sensory Services Team, the Deaf and Hearing Impaired Team, the Early Years Support Team, the Parent Partnership Service, the Safeguarding, Looked After and Vulnerable Children's Service, the SEN Statutory Assessment and Provision Service as well as some colleagues who had managed to pop in to the session. We have achieved something quite remarkable because of these talented, brilliant, gorgeous and wonderful colleagues, the culture we have created and because of the leadership we all provide which makes Education Leeds such a special organisation to work in.
Whatever we do we must all constantly celebrate our achievements, challenge the critics, the moaners and the negative and destructive voices and most importantly we must look after each other through this period of opportunity, uncertainty and change and THINK TEAM!
Chris
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