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Running at the gaps
21st April 2023
Across our schools it is clear that staff give tirelessly of their time on roles that are not always directly referenced in their job description. Extra-curricular activities are the life blood of a fulfilling all-round education, indeed many of you may have been engaged in these over the Easter holidays. In my younger days, as a Geography teacher I used to also coach the Y9 Rugby team. As part of these responsibilities, we had some good (safety) training and a basic coaching certificate. While much of this passed me by, one small nugget always remained. Our coach talked about how often when coaching children in rugby, tackles and managing contact was prioritised. From a safety perspective rightly so. It is also clear that when people often think of rugby, and school rugby in particular, they always remember comical situations of very big children running over very small children. You may even have memories of this from your own schooling. However, our trainer spoke some simple words to me which stuck – remember to teach them to ‘run at the gaps’.
In education at the moment there are many ‘man-mountain’, Jonah Lomu style, objects in our way. Workload, accountability structures, curriculum content… the list is endless. I am encouraging us to ‘run at the gaps’. Let us not lose sight of the theatre productions, the personal relationships, the athletics tournament and the music concerts. I am not saying these are not significant challenges or often very exhausting; what I am suggesting is to remember to make time for the moments of light and engagement in our profession. It is not all SATs tests, GCSEs, benchmarks and qualifications – it is also learning, personal growth, relationships and friendship. Wider educational values.
This term we often find ourselves running headlong at seemingly immovable objects. How many lessons do I have left until…, when does this return have to be completed…, and when does this survey have to be completed by. All important and vital activities. However, in all our roles, sometimes we need to lift our heads up and ‘run at the gaps’. We often make better progress, raise our spirits, and reconnect with the memories we, and the children will have, in the years to come.
Across our schools it is clear that staff give tirelessly of their time on roles that are not always directly referenced in their job description. Extra-curricular activities are the life blood of a fulfilling all-round education, indeed many of you may have been engaged in these over the Easter holidays. In my younger days, as a Geography teacher I used to also coach the Y9 Rugby team. As part of these responsibilities, we had some good (safety) training and a basic coaching certificate. While much of this passed me by, one small nugget always remained. Our coach talked about how often when coaching children in rugby, tackles and managing contact was prioritised. From a safety perspective rightly so. It is also clear that when people often think of rugby, and school rugby in particular, they always remember comical situations of very big children running over very small children. You may even have memories of this from your own schooling. However, our trainer spoke some simple words to me which stuck – remember to teach them to ‘run at the gaps’.
In education at the moment there are many ‘man-mountain’, Jonah Lomu style, objects in our way. Workload, accountability structures, curriculum content… the list is endless. I am encouraging us to ‘run at the gaps’. Let us not lose sight of the theatre productions, the personal relationships, the athletics tournament and the music concerts. I am not saying these are not significant challenges or often very exhausting; what I am suggesting is to remember to make time for the moments of light and engagement in our profession. It is not all SATs tests, GCSEs, benchmarks and qualifications – it is also learning, personal growth, relationships and friendship. Wider educational values.
This term we often find ourselves running headlong at seemingly immovable objects. How many lessons do I have left until…, when does this return have to be completed…, and when does this survey have to be completed by. All important and vital activities. However, in all our roles, sometimes we need to lift our heads up and ‘run at the gaps’. We often make better progress, raise our spirits, and reconnect with the memories we, and the children will have, in the years to come.
