On target?

Today was activities day in school. Kids out on a variety of trips, and in school, a number of activities, including archery were available for them to opt into. We are very fortunate in our school that we have so many staff who are willing to share their expertise in hobbies and interests that they have outside of the classroom. One member of staff has been taking a group of kids fishing once a week all this term - culminating today in a fishing competition. Another member of staff is a superb archer, and so he led this session for the students - and they loved it.

On target is a question that is on my mind, and will be now for the next 6 weeks. Every summer for the past 6 years it has been my job to go in, collate GCSE results and break the news to staff as to whether we have achieved our targets. For the first three years this was depressing to say the least, as our school back then was a very different place from what it is now.

In the last two years we have made massive progress - the trouble with schools is that changes that you make to policy and practice actually take a few years to filter through and impact.

But we are impacting - as a team and our students are making progress, not just in their studies, but in the types of people they are growing up to be and in the range of experiences that are being made available to them through the staff and wider community of adults who contribute to our school.

I was asked by a colleague last night to write an opening paragraph to sum up the ethos and values of our school. This is what I wrote

"Our is a rapidly improving, multicultural school which is at the heart of its community. A significant proportion of the children and families that we serve come from areas of high social and economic deprivation. As a school community we are working hard to raise the educational, economic and social aspirations of our students, and their families, by providing quality education in the classroom and beyond. For our school, education is about opening doors for our students that might otherwise be closed and broadening their horizons to enable them to see the range of opportunities available to them. At the core of what we do, there is clear and strong belief in the right of our students to a broad and balanced education, incorporating wider aspects of learning such as personal and social skills. In everything that we do, we aim to ensure that our students are best prepared to progress and access the opportunities that wait for them outside of the boundaries of our school environment."

And I didn't have to think about it either - because its what I believe completely. More importantly, I can guarantee that if any other members of the senior team, or any of the staff, teaching or non teaching, were asked to write a summative paragraph about our school, they would write something that is fundamentally based upon the paragraph I wrote.

So to me, if I am asked - are we on target - I have to say yes. We are expecting to come in 'on target' in terms of GCSE results this summer and that will be fantastic. But being on target isn't just about that - its about what sort of young people we send out into the world.

And I am proud, exceptionally proud, of our kids.

Break up tomorrow....collect James and bring him back home for good as well. THAT I cannot wait for - I'm so excited and happy, and relieved, because I know that he has suffered emotionally this last 10 months. But its all going to be fine now.

Sunsets from Seaforth...last nights shots

I will post the shots I have taken today of the school's new garden area in full bloom sometime tomorrow.

Have a good evening.