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Welcome back to "holding hope"
6th September 2021
Welcome to the new academic year. I hope everybody has had a restful break and that you are looking forward to a more ‘usual’ academic year. I believe I speak for us all when our key hope for the year ahead is a return to school trips, assemblies, clubs, school fixtures, house competitions, visiting speakers, in-person INSET and maybe less time in front of screens and more time with people. Our profession is a people-based industry. Relationships are key and these develop over time. It is possible to forge purposeful relationships in a short period of time, but these can be intense and exhausting. The ability to build connections with our colleagues, children and their parents is one that gets richer over time. One that celebrates the academic years completed together, the ups and downs, and all in between.
As we return to school this academic year, let us continue to invest in these relationships. Ones that sustain us. In truth, the start of term (new uniforms, pencil cases, work suits, new box of glues sticks) has a new sense of hope to it. All the pictures of children standing proudly outside the front door, smiling in box-fresh uniforms and overly large backpacks do make us all smile. We are smiling at hope and promise. This is our focus this academic year – maintaining this hope and promise of what education, positive relationships and discovery might bring.
Let us keep a keen eye over how we can support each other and our communities to foster this sense of hope and opportunity. For many in our communities they may not have too many who hold hope for them. Each of us know how as individuals we may doubt ourselves, how our mind may play tricks on us to question what we do and how we do it. As a trust we seek to support each other to believe in ourselves, through support of others. In this way we are more adept at holding hope for the children we serve. Providing belief, consistency and understanding. The powerful thing about this positivity and belief in each other is it has a miraculous effect at reflecting back on ourselves. By demonstrating support and hope for others to succeed we feel better in ourselves.
Enjoy the coming academic year. Hold hope for others.
Never doubt our collective purpose in leading schools where children thrive. It will help us thrive also.
Jack Mayhew, CEO Athena-GEP
Welcome to the new academic year. I hope everybody has had a restful break and that you are looking forward to a more ‘usual’ academic year. I believe I speak for us all when our key hope for the year ahead is a return to school trips, assemblies, clubs, school fixtures, house competitions, visiting speakers, in-person INSET and maybe less time in front of screens and more time with people. Our profession is a people-based industry. Relationships are key and these develop over time. It is possible to forge purposeful relationships in a short period of time, but these can be intense and exhausting. The ability to build connections with our colleagues, children and their parents is one that gets richer over time. One that celebrates the academic years completed together, the ups and downs, and all in between.
As we return to school this academic year, let us continue to invest in these relationships. Ones that sustain us. In truth, the start of term (new uniforms, pencil cases, work suits, new box of glues sticks) has a new sense of hope to it. All the pictures of children standing proudly outside the front door, smiling in box-fresh uniforms and overly large backpacks do make us all smile. We are smiling at hope and promise. This is our focus this academic year – maintaining this hope and promise of what education, positive relationships and discovery might bring.
Let us keep a keen eye over how we can support each other and our communities to foster this sense of hope and opportunity. For many in our communities they may not have too many who hold hope for them. Each of us know how as individuals we may doubt ourselves, how our mind may play tricks on us to question what we do and how we do it. As a trust we seek to support each other to believe in ourselves, through support of others. In this way we are more adept at holding hope for the children we serve. Providing belief, consistency and understanding. The powerful thing about this positivity and belief in each other is it has a miraculous effect at reflecting back on ourselves. By demonstrating support and hope for others to succeed we feel better in ourselves.
Enjoy the coming academic year. Hold hope for others.
Never doubt our collective purpose in leading schools where children thrive. It will help us thrive also.
Jack Mayhew, CEO Athena-GEP
