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Preparing to succeed
6th September 2024
Shiny shoes. Roomy blazer. New folders and dividers with nothing in yet. Colour coded timetable. We are all set for the new academic year at Learning Partners. As staff, governors, trustees and children alike prepare for the new academic year there is a crackle of excitement and belief in the year ahead. Part of that excitement is the opportunity to transform lives. Our own, and others’. Whether a keen Y7, a teacher of 15 years, a receptionist dealing with new parents, or a sparkly new deputy headteacher new to a leadership team, we are preparing for the new year ahead. Learning is a journey, and the opportunity to support others and learn awaits us all. It is part of the human spirit to look to 'better ourselves', improve our lot, understand our world and support each other. Education provides this opportunity, and it is never more keenly felt than at the start of the new academic year.
As part of this excitement and preparation I am sure that during the last few days of the holidays, or the first INSET days of term we have all been preparing. I myself am currently breaking in new 'school shoes'. Black, of course, polished to a high shine, and killing my feet. Beach sandals or flip flops of summer feel a long time ago. Whether in things, (new folders and highlighters), in establishing routines (timetables, class lists and setting the alarm clock again) or mentally preparing, we have all been getting ourselves ready. We do this because we want to be successful. Nobody wants to come to work or school and do badly. We do not set out to fail - we travel with hope and renewed optimism.
At Learning Partners it is our job to foster this hope, support everybody across our 18 schools and maintain our belief in each other and our achievements. Fostering hope is one of my personal preferences in defining what education means to people. With a vibrant, holistic inclusive education, everyone is hopeful of their future; feels accepted, worthwhile and known; accepts that they have the tools within their own grasp to improve themselves and their lot. Hope is a powerful thing. Education sustains hope.
Nowhere else is the excitement of a new term more keenly felt than at our Surrey Maths School. New faces, new buildings and a new school. We are delighted to open our Maths School, a regional centre in a series of national schools promoting Maths teaching excellence. I pay tribute to the huge amount of work colleagues, trustees, leaders, governors and staff have played to get us to this point. Seeing children walk through our doors and begin this journey with us, gives me the same hope I see in children entering reception, twitching in their new uniform at secondary school or enjoying wearing their own clothes for the first time at school as their sixth form study begins. The hope I see in the new ECT, the retrained LSA and the site staff colleague starting a new role.
We spend our time preparing to succeed, to offer to our communities support and encouragement. But most of all, to offer hope.
Shiny shoes. Roomy blazer. New folders and dividers with nothing in yet. Colour coded timetable. We are all set for the new academic year at Learning Partners. As staff, governors, trustees and children alike prepare for the new academic year there is a crackle of excitement and belief in the year ahead. Part of that excitement is the opportunity to transform lives. Our own, and others’. Whether a keen Y7, a teacher of 15 years, a receptionist dealing with new parents, or a sparkly new deputy headteacher new to a leadership team, we are preparing for the new year ahead. Learning is a journey, and the opportunity to support others and learn awaits us all. It is part of the human spirit to look to 'better ourselves', improve our lot, understand our world and support each other. Education provides this opportunity, and it is never more keenly felt than at the start of the new academic year.
As part of this excitement and preparation I am sure that during the last few days of the holidays, or the first INSET days of term we have all been preparing. I myself am currently breaking in new 'school shoes'. Black, of course, polished to a high shine, and killing my feet. Beach sandals or flip flops of summer feel a long time ago. Whether in things, (new folders and highlighters), in establishing routines (timetables, class lists and setting the alarm clock again) or mentally preparing, we have all been getting ourselves ready. We do this because we want to be successful. Nobody wants to come to work or school and do badly. We do not set out to fail - we travel with hope and renewed optimism.
At Learning Partners it is our job to foster this hope, support everybody across our 18 schools and maintain our belief in each other and our achievements. Fostering hope is one of my personal preferences in defining what education means to people. With a vibrant, holistic inclusive education, everyone is hopeful of their future; feels accepted, worthwhile and known; accepts that they have the tools within their own grasp to improve themselves and their lot. Hope is a powerful thing. Education sustains hope.
Nowhere else is the excitement of a new term more keenly felt than at our Surrey Maths School. New faces, new buildings and a new school. We are delighted to open our Maths School, a regional centre in a series of national schools promoting Maths teaching excellence. I pay tribute to the huge amount of work colleagues, trustees, leaders, governors and staff have played to get us to this point. Seeing children walk through our doors and begin this journey with us, gives me the same hope I see in children entering reception, twitching in their new uniform at secondary school or enjoying wearing their own clothes for the first time at school as their sixth form study begins. The hope I see in the new ECT, the retrained LSA and the site staff colleague starting a new role.
We spend our time preparing to succeed, to offer to our communities support and encouragement. But most of all, to offer hope.
