A quieter day today.

This morning I popped into Year 6 and found them solving challenges in maths.  The pupils were collaborating, challenging each other and fully engaged.  They may have SATs on the horizon but they are still getting a full education.

I managed to join some of the Reception pupils as they waited for their lunch.  You can have an amazing conversation in such situations.  I heard about uncles coming to visit, which games had been played today and even who had fallen out with who.  I did not hear anything about their 'lessons'.

Our dining hall can be a noisy place but when you look to see the cause, it is children engaged in conversation in an honest and confident way.  When anyone comments on the noise I ask them what the noise would be like if 100 adults were sat down together eating?  If the staffroom is anything to go by....noisy.

At lunchtime I had quite a long conversation with some of the staff on the subject of "Why vote?" and I was then asked the question "Which of the British political parties was most sympathetic to Israel?" Whilst it was not appropriate to give the full detail of the conversation, we did get into many of the thorny issues linked to this whilst not giving a definitive opinion for that member of staff.  There are some discussions you cannot complete over chicken and spaghetti.

This afternoon Mrs Bhogal shared with me some of the progress of Year 2 pupils who missed the threshold in the Phonics Screening test last year. These pupils have been working very hard all year and have made brilliant progress.  However the real measure of their progress is in the full range of skills and knowledge they have acquired this year. A single test can not judge this, and we know the pupils are much more than the sum of their collective scores.

The day ended with Year 7 Form period. As with Reception pupils, conversation can go in unusual directions. We had a detailed discussion of the health and social issues linked to smoking. We also discussed the challenges for those who are trying to give up, and the support they need.  I am please to say that it was clear that all the Year 7 students saw smoking as something they would avoid in their adult life.

One of the greatest joys for me in my current position is that I can have a conversation with Reception and Year 7 pupils in the same day, every day. Today was one of those days.  I did also manage to:

                                       a) Discuss catering and recruitment
                                       b) Look at Brodetsky budget planning.
                                       c) Update`elements of the LJFS planner and website
                                       d) Review our plans for Early Years Provision