Headteacher’s blog 8th November 2019
It has been a miserable week weather-wise with heroic actions by the site staff preventing flooding of sections of the infant building (not classrooms). We really try hard not to allow weather conditions to spoil things that we like to do in school but we are certainly being stretched. Parts of the fields and farm are quagmires and next week’s U10 football match must be in some doubt. On Wednesday we had over 40 children running in the West Leeds Cross Country competition against lots of other schools. We await confirmation of results and news of whether we have qualified any teams for the city finals. It was a demanding course, in cold and wet conditions, but the children ran well and showed resilience. It is character-building! Lillie won the Y5 girls race (by quite a distance) and Erin and Isabel were second and third in the Y4 girls race. Well done to them and to all the children – we are proud of you all!
On Thursday I delivered a workshop at the Learning Outside the Classroom annual conference in the iconic Blackpool Tower. I was sharing our approach to grounds development and outdoor learning with other teachers and advisors. Whilst putting together the presentation – spanning 15 years – I was struck by how much our school has benefited over the years from voluntary help (staff, parents and corporate partners) and from enduring and mutually-beneficial partnerships. The PTA has played a major fund-raising role, and we have other long-standing, supportive relationships with groups such as East Bradford Cycle Club, British Cycling, West Leeds Sports Partnership, Barclays, Rethink Food, Gibbs and Dandy, parent volunteers, our ‘bee ladies’, Meanwood Valley Farm, the lottery and many others. I am grateful for all their support.
