It’s certainly been a glorious week in terms of the weather and whilst these sunny days have enabled plenty of learning to take place outside of the classroom, it has meant that some rooms get a little warmer than others. The hall, for example, as the Year 6s rehearse their play, is very toasty by mid-afternoon.
Having enjoyed the morning playground duty on Monday, chatting with parents and pupils about their weekend and also meeting Ella’s (Year 4) German ‘penfriend’, I spent the rest of the day locked in a room as a leadership team to finish off the work we started on Thursday. It was a very productive day, which also included setting the term dates for 2026/2027 in consultation with Mrs Adshead at Highbury.
There is still plenty to do on that ‘to do’ list but I have no doubt we will get it all done. I say that, but then I have teachers pop in with an opening gambit of, ‘When you have a spare afternoon…’ This particular request on Monday morning is something that I am absolutely keen to do and so do need to find that time.
Pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 have been very busy this week completing some of the end of year assessments in the core subjects. The outcomes of these will be shared with the pupils’ new teachers who they will soon find out about. September 2025 is beginning to take shape.
As I told one parent this week, most of my time for the first three days has been spent in my office ‘doing stuff’. ‘Stuff’ that at this time of the year just needs to be done. There are DfE returns to complete as well as internal updates and reports that just take time. This therefore limits the amount of time I can spend out and about visiting classes.
I had a prospective parent tour on Wednesday morning which was lovely. It gave me the opportunity to visit classes and whilst our class reps were chatting with my visitors, I could chat with pupils. Freya W (Year 4) showed me her wonderful start to the story she was writing. I was able to check in with Zoe (Year 3) to see how her day was going. I had a quick look in Freddie R’s (Year 5) tray to see how many rulers he had accumulated since the most recent amnesty. For the record it was only two, which I will take as a win for Mrs Bailey.
I have referenced on numerous occasions how impressive our school looks when I do a tour. Prior to the start of a tour, I tell parents or visitors what they should see, including the idea of ‘happy children learn(ing) and happy teachers teach(ing) well’. Once again, my visitors confirmed this was the case.
On Wednesday evening, I caught a train to Leeds to spend Thursday and Friday morning with the NAHT National Executive committee again. It was another informative and productive series of meetings and a chance to share thoughts and concerns about the national educational landscape with colleagues from England, Wales and Northen Ireland.
Another opportunity which has arisen is an invite for me to join the Primary Heads Forum of the Farmington Institute for the upcoming year. This really exciting opportunity came via a nomination from a member of the secondary forum. It involves me attending around 6 meetings across the year, in some very exciting venues, where the group will get a chance to lead discussions on topics of our choosing. Apparently, musical theatre might not be an appropriate subject, however. I must admit to having slight imposter syndrome, but my personal biography has been approved! I will let you know how these meetings go.
Despite being away from school for a couple of days, I was kept updated daily. The true reason I message the school is to see if they miss me. I prefer not to share the responses I receive in this blog (especially from Mrs Granger and Mrs Flanagan in the office).
The cricket team took on Highover after school on Thursday and it couldn’t have been closer. I think it might have been a first for me that the game ended in a tie. David Lloyd (Bumble, for the cricketing enthusiasts amongst us) would have been screaming for a super over! Well done to all who played.
Achievers’ Assembly on Friday morning was led by Mrs McConnell Smith on my behalf. The usual awards were handed out thus: Voyager won Class of the Week; Fire won the House Cup and Kahlo won the Wombles.
We also celebrated several football awards to pupils in Years 3 and 4 as well as Brielle’s Grade 9 skating award which now features a backwards teapot. I am still struggling with the forwards one we were introduced to recently. Well done to Willow (Year 6) and Cecily (Year 5) who both received their Platinum awards and a special school medal.
Our music was provided by Zehra (Year 6) who played the piano for us and Georgia (Year 5) who sang. Well done and thank you to both.
From time to time we receive news of amazing generosity or wonderful work supporting charities. We also know that some pupils don’t want to stand up and receive whole school attention. One pupil in Year 4 this week was awarded a Headteacher’s Commendation for her selfless charity work and this was shared with her in her class as opposed to during Achievers’ Assembly for just this reason. Well done, Ella!
Looking ahead to next week, the diary looks reasonable, with the exception of Friday which just looks bonkers! The teachers will be locked in their meetings with each other as we plan transition and these are really labour intensive.
We have a couple of cricket matches away at Purwell and St Andrew’s on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Also on the sporting front, on Friday, is a district athletics competition which a team will be competing at.
At the end of the week, pupils’ reports will all be coming home together with the information about classes for September. I told you they would find out soon.
As a final point, the hotel I have been in since Wednesday evening is also being used by the Indian men’s cricket team who are playing England at Headingley in the first test starting on Friday. It’s been interesting to say the least, although slightly disappointing when the autograph hunters hovering outside the entrance completely ignored me when I offered to sign their shirts! Do they not know who I am!?
That is it from me and if you are reading this, it means the Wi-Fi on Leeds station (or my phone’s hotspot) was sufficient enough to get the blog to load.
Have a great weekend.
Best wishes,
Steve Mills
Headteacher
