Persistence and Resiliance

  
It has been a while since I last posted and thought it only fitting that I provide an update following my huge low moment back in November. 

For the first time in my career I hit an almighty low, searching through the job ads looking for a way out, a new chapter. The response on here was tremendous. So many supportive comments and emails that I cannot begin to tell you how touched I was. What hit home was the shocking number of people going through similar experiences. So many who entered the profession wanting to make a difference only to find themselves struggling to survive.

Being a headteacher of a school that “requires improvement” for a second time is a huge challenge and one which nearly saw me give up. I am pleased to say that with the support found on here and a few close colleagues I am still here and fighting! My battles with the LA continued quite ferociously. My determination to keep the children at the centre of the journey proved to be my saviour. 

At times I have been told “narrow the curriculum”, “forget doing all the ‘nice’ things”, “until your results show massive improvement just focus on Literacy and Numeracy”. What a load of rubbish! If we want children to learn we must engage them, excite them, stimulate their minds, not switch them off and bore them. Yes the data is important but it shouldn’t be instead of real expernience and awe and wonder.

If anything, this last year has taught me to stick to what I believe. Keep the important things in sight at all times. Reducing schools to numbers on a page does not change lives or open doors. It narrows opportunity and creates narrow mindedness. 

I believe I have a fabulous year ahead with a new strong team and a focus on making the ordinary exciting and wonderful. Inspiring minds and promoting real learning. It may be a long tough journey but one which is worth the blood sweat and tears. Resilience, persistence and a reminder to keep with what you believe in – we will get there! 

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