Primary HT & Mum
@PrimaryHT_Mum
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💫 Mum 👭🏻 Wife 💫 Head Teacher 💫 NASENCo 💫 NPQH💫 School dogs 🐶 Special Measures to Good in 16 months 🙌🏻 🎉
Joined February 2018
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25 hour a week TA.
Teenage son works 20 hours a week in Tesco and brings home more money.
How are we valuing education
@GillianKeegan
?
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Do you know where the money would be best spent?
CAMHS
Early help like SureStart centres and family outreach for 0-5yrs
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Needs not labels
A lad came to us Sept
7th foster home in 5 months
10% school attendance with 1:1 out of class
In the 12 months he was with us, he had 100% attendance in class, attended residential, made friends and scored on all SATs papers 🥹
This. This is why we do it.
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Behaviour is all over the place at the moment!
Please tell me we aren’t alone?! 🤯
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Got the call.
Ofsted full inspection (2 days)
See you on the other side!!
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Things we do to support teacher workload and wellbeing:
Protected PPA
Half day subject lead release
No break/lunch duty
Minimal marking after lessons (no comments)
No paper plans
All behaviour centralised with SLT
Wellbeing day off (I cover the class)
What do you do and love?
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Our outdoor learning classroom is installed and I am so excited! One step closer to outdoor provision, forest school, chickens….. 🤐🤩🤩
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Unpopular opinion but having no nativity this year means our children have continued accessing uninterrupted learning in all areas and are making significant gains! Teachers also a lot happier without the stress and pressure....
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School tour
“He’s got ADHD, his meds barely touch the sides and he spent most of last year in a corridor doing dot-to-dot.”
He’s seven. Full of life. Loves sheep.
With us is exactly where he needs to be 🥰 Had a brilliant first week.
Don’t be the HT that puts SEN parents off
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Two of our trips were at risk of being cancelled as less than half had paid.
A few parents clubbed together and paid the remaining balance to ensure they could all go.
Times like this we see incredible community spirit. I’m so moved.
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Can’t register on as we are “not an eligible education setting”
Call DfE and told “yes that’s because you’re a primary school and primary schools are closed so don’t need to start testing.”
🤣🤣 Don’t know whether to laugh or cry! We have 130 kids in!
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It’s official! 🎉
Special Measures to Good in 16 months. What an amazing journey with an incredible community!
Full report on school website.
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Observing candidates teaching their own classes in their own schools next week.
Yes much bigger time commitment but a chance to see them at their best, in their comfort zone and see how “their class” runs
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The damning impact of Ofsted gradings is so clear to see. I started at my school Feb 2022.
Special measures inspection July 2022.
38 in Reception Sept 2022.
9 in Reception Sept 2023.
We aren’t the same school as a year ago but have to sit on that grading for up to 36 months.
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1. 🧵
Some key questions/takeaways from recent Section 5 inspection
90 minute phone call.
Know your subjects of strength and subjects under development. Deep dive areas were up for discussion (other than Early Reading and Maths for us).
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If you haven’t tried a standing desk for some of your children - fully recommend!!! Amazing impact!
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School dog?
Yes. The answer is definitely yes you should 😉😉
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When you wave Year 6 off for one last time and that one parent hugs you so tight and for so long.
No words needed.
Every child, every chance, every day.
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I gave myself the long Easter weekend off. Fired up the laptop and did two days of work to catch up.
139 unread emails from approx, 5 days not checking. Barely any spam as I’m good at filtering.
89 sent emails done in response.
This is what keeps us away from the classroom.
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An unfunded pay agreement will mean sacrificing TAs for teacher pay rises.
Many schools already without TAs mean it will force closure.
The pay agreement must be funded.
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Primary teachers teach 13 subjects often with no subject specialism.
Ofsted handbook feels like a secondary model pushed into Primary and adds a huge amount of pressure on Primary teachers.
Subject leaders often given the subject that their predecessor had…
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Started as Acting Head in Feb. Taken the staff right back to basics and we spent the term sweating the small stuff and raising expectations.
This is our first poster of our agreed “way” of doing things. Pedagogy next term. Then feedback/marking.
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My Ofsted Curriculum course takeaways (a THREAD)
- curriculum design must be very specific in terms of knowledge content. When is content a distraction from the core learning?
- curriculum is NOT ELG/the subject/HOW it is taught
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We’ve set up a rota. Everyone in a group. 5 groups in total.
Group 1 will work week 1.
Group 2 will work week 2.
Volunteers over Easter (all our amazing staff have offered)
Group 3 first week back. Etc.
Myself and Ht in daily and doing emergency first aid course Monday.Teamwork.
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If you don’t make time for you wellness,
You’ll be forced to make time for your illness.
Work is important.
Living life is importanter 😉🥰
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Trust. Transparency.
⏰ Arrive some time before the kids
🚗 Leave some time after the kids
💻 PPA from home or in school
✔️ Deliver great lessons and meet deadlines
🧘♀️ Do what makes you happy on your well-being day and days off in lieu
🏃🏾♀️ Have a life beyond the gates
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School trips and residentials are becoming unaffordable for our community. We don’t have the school budget to fund them ourselves.
What are others doing for cultural capital when you can’t get out?
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Taught all day today.
Full day has been a while!
Teachers - I salute you!
Leaders - we quickly forget the stamina needed 🤣 get back in the classroom as often as possible!
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Check your teacher pension online! Today!
I’ve never checked. It goes out monthly and I never think about it.
Today logged in and it says opted out and 0 YEARS PENSIONABLE SERVICE to my name!!
Phoned them up and trying to get it sorted! The chap said 1 in 5 pensions are wrong!
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Sent a pupil premium eligibility letter home. Changed it from the one we usually send.
We have had THIRTY SIX returns!! 😍😍 even if only half are actually eligible, that’ll be £20,000!
Happy to share if you DM me!
#pupilpremium
#disadvantaged
#freeschoolmeals
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Day one inspection takeaways
Pupils knowing more and remembering more is the HUGE focus through inspector pupil conferencing.
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More and more children not going on residentials each year.
Finances. Parental anxiety. Pupil anxiety. Don’t want to.
Are residentials dying out?
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I can use Southgate as my non-education leadership model for my NPQH right?
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No. Way.
They have arrived!!
DFE laptops claimed Monday, arrived today!
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Thrilled to say I got the job! Deputy Head interview format:
Lesson observation of me
Data exercise
In tray activity
Pupil forum interview
Middle leader meeting
Learning walk
Interview with Chair of Govs and external Head
#exhausted
#sltchat
#deputyhead
#interview
#mtptproject
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Leadership is basically making 100,000 decisions a day then lying in bed wondering if you made the right one or remembering the ones you forgot to make….
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It’s my birthday.
Ofsted called.
2 days Tue and Wed!! 👋🏻 🥳🥳
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Don’t forget where you started!
It’s an absolute pleasure leading a school out of special measures.
Started headship Feb 22 and so proud of what the team have achieved.
Yes, still plenty to do. But good to stand still and reflect sometimes.
And not a 7am meeting in sight 😉
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My 6th ofsted inspection in 5 years (diff schools)
The whole team felt so understood, like there was so much professional dialogue and high challenge but low threat.
The loveliest HMI. I hope this is a sign of the changing landscape.
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Any others getting Social Service referrals constantly batted back to school for support even though the concerns are home conditions or parenting?
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Keyworker requests up 1/3 for next week.
We are capping at 15 in each class to allow for 1m+ distancing.
Anyone had to turn parents down yet?
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Three more days!!!
Who is still hanging in there?
🎄 🎅 🌟 ⛄️
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The trim trail is in and I love it!
Designed by our children and huge fundraising for 2 years from our amazing PTFA 🥰
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What I find astonishing is the lack of support for DSLs and DDSLs.
No supervision meetings to offload and talk thins through.
It’s a tough gig.
Today broke my heart.
#safeguarding
#dsl
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🧵 4 months in leading from Special Measures to Good
1. Culture
Relationships, relationships, relationships. You can’t build on sand nor when relationships broken or culture is toxic. Have a full reset. Visit the “why” a rewrite the vision and values with ALL stakeholders
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I can confirm Temu is a thing.
My house is now full of £20 random stuff I didn’t know I needed in my life.
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Deputy Head interview day done!
School council: if a penguin wearing a sombrero walked into school, what would you say or do? 🤣🤣
#deputyhead
#interview
#sltchat
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We had three HMI for two days and they were incredibly open to professional discussion and reflection.
It has been an exhausting process but I have to admit they were on the money with everything and it has been an incredible CPD experience!
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Every time I get an Encompass email my heart sinks waiting for it to open
#DSL
#Safeguarding
#Encompass
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Anyone else?
Term time and half terms I’m done and asleep by 9pm and up at 6am.
With time to adjust over summer hols, I naturally sleep around 11pm and wake at 7.30am
Wonder what effect that has on our bodies over time? And not surprising Sept is more exhausting!
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If you could make 3 changes to Ofsted what would they be??
1. Scrap judgements to effective or not yet effective like SIAMs
2. Publish timetable so schools know when they are due removing the dreaded wait
3. Return within 6-12 months for those not yet effective
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13 years together.
10 years in teaching.
Hubby: We can get a cheap holiday in September
Me: I can’t, I’m at school
Hubby: Just ask the Head for leave?
He’s never going to grasp it, is he? 🙈
#primaryrocks
#educhat
#NoTermTimeHolidaysHere
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Student loan CLEARED!!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳
15 years of repayments done!
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We have a DfE form which took us 2 hours, an LA form which had changed again and takes an hour and now a SIMs report with attendance codes which takes 45 minutes.
What impact does ANY of this have on the kids.....?
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🥹 Today a pupil with Autism stood in front of the whole school and spoke about what it feels like for him and how people can help.
🌈 Celebrating differences is so important and hearing it from children is incredibly powerful. We’ve also had adhd, diabetes and cerebral palsy.
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Safeguarding and Ofsted
It seems a vast majority go into SM on the grounds of safeguarding admin/checks etc rather than safeguarding practices with chn
What are the top things to keep checking and rigorously on top of to avoid this? 🧵
Feel free to add your thoughts
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@kelvmackenzie
The local teacher training hub has ZERO applicants for September. I can pass on your details?
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Cheers and whooping as
@NEUnion
ask
@GillianKeegan
why teachers in England are worth less than those in Scotland and Wales?
#ValueEducation
#ActionsSpeakLouder
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When you’ve been away with work for three days and your Deputy has done a perfect job at keeping things running smoothly AND secretly topped up your sweet stash for your return! 🥰🥰
Thank you Clare
@BookinaBox3
🥰🥰
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Thrilled to announce that I have been appointed as Head Teacher.
Excited to work with the team to lead the school out of special measures. An incredibly tough but rewarding journey ahead!
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Thanks Gav. My daughter’s school are doing an amazing job juggling education of keyworker and vulnerable children in school alongside those at home. With 24 hours notice.
I’ll just leave this here.
Phone: 03001231231
enquiries
@ofsted
.gov.uk
@Ofstednews
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She couldn’t breathe.
She could barely move.
And I couldn’t stop giggling 😂😂
I love you Clare 😄😄😄 My amazing Deputy
@BookinaBox3
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We’ve gone from 4 to 18 this week. Lots more children not coping at home. Lots more parents securing work in supermarkets and becoming keyworkers.
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We are all exhausted. Let’s share the love.
Spare a few minutes to drop your own child’s school an email. When the media try to tear us apart, let’s build each other up.
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This week we’ve survived SATs police, DFE tour and SATs with no tears only to land at Friday lunchtime with a KS1 moderation email.
Ofsted next week then for a full house???
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First few weeks as Acting Head done!
Highlights include supervising the toilet drains being unblocked, planning for two classes with absent teachers, Governor meetings, managing a complaint, fire drill, interviews, LA audit and behaviour management.
Ready for sleep!!!
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You know it’s been a long week when a parent randomly drops you off a costa 😄🥰🥰
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I have FINISHED typing up my NPQH assignments 🥳 🤞🏻🤞🏻
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This moment. Every time.
If you know, you know 🥹🥹🥹
Educators - you change lives!!!
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School dog arrives in less than two weeks! So excited! Thanks to everyone for their advice and calls to our HT! Twitter has made this happen 💪🏻
#schooldog
#nurture
#semh
#senco
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This is about as much SATs prep as needed.
No Easter holiday boosters.
No homework.
No after school “clubs”.
Just a trolley full of goodies for extra breakfast for the children and flowers for our wonderful Y6 teachers this week.
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This term’s attendance tracker looking beautiful 🥰 Love seeing hard work continuing to pay off!
Term 2 last year
92.5% attendance
27.2% persistent absence
SEN 90%
Pupil Premium 88%
This year
95.5% attendance
15% P/A
SEN sig above national 🙌🏻 95.4%
Pupil Premium 93%
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Staff having to isolate because their phones were in the staff room lockers where a staff member (who is positive) ate lunch.
Track and Trace app doesn’t account for that. Or walls.
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New person: So, what do you do?
Me: I’m a primary school teacher
New person: Oh lovely. What subjects do you teach?
🤔🤭
#teaching
#primaryrocks
#educhat
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Survived
@Ofstednews
this week. New HT in post just six days made for a rather brutal 24 hours for me but I must say the team of four inspectors were fair, transparent and open to discussion. Nothing was a surprise. Now to catch up on some family time this weekend.
#sltchat
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My daughter will not attend any summer school or extended days.
When we can, we will be using the time to meet friends, visit the farm, go to soft play, have a birthday party, have a sleepover, visit Cadbury World and have a weekend away!
#summerschool
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What our children need right now is to get back to “normal”.
Routines, predictability, safety and relationships. Few days “bedding in” and back to “normal” timetable ASAP.
None of this 5 week “recovery” curriculum of worksheets.
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Absolutely exhausted. All I can say is every single leader must know your school inside out, back to front and upside down. I’ve never known a process like it! Thorough doesn’t come close!
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Such a simple yet brilliant idea
One of the laziest yet most useful walls in my classroom is this learners journey. It sits above the coat hooks and we update it every Friday as a class.
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How is it that one person’s negative comment about you/your work can make you feel so incompetent and disappointed immediately? 😨
#IfYouCantSayAnythingNice
#WhyDoIBother
#sltchat
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Spoilt by my team 🥳 🎂
Wish the ofsted call had been via zoom… 🤭
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Let me guess.
8.30pm Lockdown. But not lockdown. School open.
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Some days you just need a school dog. Or two. 🐶 ❤️ 🐶
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Teaching Year 6 Term 6 is the ultimate teaching initiation.
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Imagine if the cost of Ofsted and SATs was put into schools this year.....
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Do you know what? It’s been a pants week! And I’m realising that whilst it’s lonely as a Head, our LA has monthly network meetings and mentors.... it can be very lonely as a Deputy!
#sltchat
#LifeOfADeputy
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⏰ 2 hours to do full class set of reports
☑️ All attainment and attendance data pulls automatically from Insight
Class teacher comment personalised to each child and also pulls through from Insight into each child’s report
Bulk PDF print one click
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Appraisals shouldn’t be scary.
Staff should come out feeling lifted, valued and motivated.
Valuable reflection time.
⭐️ What went well?
⭐️ Barriers/frustrations?
⭐️ Self evaluation against standards
⭐️ Self selected improvement priority
⭐️ Agreed cpd & support
Done WITH not TO
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Weirdly Ofsted COVID “visit” has been an intense but positive experience!
Very supportive and understanding discussions. Will post more tomorrow when I’ve slept 🤣
Thanks for all support!
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