Week 2

Dear Parent/ Carer,

I began my week at Fairlawn this week, where I led the Monday Whole School Assembly – The History of the Olympics in 15 minutes.  ‘Heroes’, by David Bowie, played as the children came into the Hall... We can be heroes!  I was glad for support from Remarnae, my impromptu Assembly sidekick.  The History of the Olympics in 15 minutes, Part 2 is ready for this coming Monday.  I have enjoyed meeting many children at Fairlawn this week and to meeting parents in the playground before school.  My thanks to those children, parents (and indeed staff) who have taken the time to introduce themselves.  That really helps me to quickly get to know people and to gain a deeper insight into the school.  I led the staff meeting at Fairlawn this week, too, and met with the school senior leadership.  Together, we are beginning to take those small next steps that will lead to larger strides in the weeks and months to come.

Things are going well for us at Haseltine.  Ms Brumby and I spent some more time this week preparing for the visit from ofsted that we expect this year.  The improvement that the school has made in recent years under Ms Brumby is truly impressive and is a testament to the hard work, commitment and impact of the whole Haseltine team.  Ms Brumby and I talked about some exciting developments that we would like to see at Haseltine.  We will be working on these in coming weeks.  I had a learning walk around the classes and was struck by the calm and purposeful atmosphere everywhere.  I also spent time on the playground before and after school meeting parents and talking to children.  There is a real community spirit at Haseltine.  It is a truly caring school, one in which parents recognise the value that the school gives to their children.  

After a delayed start, Kilmorie finally opened to children on Monday.  This was a huge relief to Liz Stone and I.  After spending most of the summer at the school, Liz was there until after 10.00pm on each of the weekend nights and was back early the following mornings.  Liz and I did a final site risk assessment at 7.00am on Monday and were pleased to be able to declare the school ready for occupation.  Though there is work on the building still to do, we have been delivered of a beautiful environment for learning.  Lakehouse have done a wonderful job at the school, achieving a truly impressive quality of finish and attention to detail.  It was a delight to speak to parents and children on Monday morning, all of whom were amazed at the building.  Children at Kilmorie have been saying all week how wonderful the building is - which is lovely to hear.  The building refurbishment is another step on our journey to outstanding in every aspect at Kilmorie.  

The ofsted report from the July inspection was published this week.  This is further concrete evidence of the continuing improvements at the school, improvements that we are determined to build upon.

Teaching School

I met with a National College Associate this week to discuss the Teaching School, based at Fairlawn, given the change of leadership.  I was able to satisfy the College that there remains a strong vision for the future development of the Teaching School.  The Teaching School is a very important part of our drive for continuous improvement, development and innovation at all three schools.  All three benefit from the trainee, teacher and leadership development that the Teaching School gives access to and all three will benefit even more as the Teaching School grows into an important School Improvement driver for Lewisham and South East London.