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Seize the moment
29th January 2024
As this is the first Learning Partners bulletin of 2024, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.
While we have only completed three full weeks of term, it is amazing how long ago the Christmas holiday feels, and how quickly half-term is looming on the horizon. In just two weeks’ time, we will again be away from school – this half-term will be gone before we know it. Despite the wintery weather, I spotted snowdrops flowing in the garden this morning, another reminder that spring will be upon us very soon.
This realisation highlighted to me the importance of seizing the moment. It is so easy to let time slip past us, especially during this dark, cold time of year, when it is harder than usual to be enthusiastic. In the central team, we have had a busy few weeks, with several new team members joining us. There has been lots to do – queries from schools, educational reviews, school visits, maintenance planning and work to setup new systems. However, it is easy to get lost in the daily list of tasks to complete, and we have been trying to find time to re-visit the ‘Development Plans’ that we set at the start of the academic year, to remind ourselves what we identified as the real priorities, and to check that we are making time to ensure that these things get done properly. The important things can easily get lost among the urgent items that crop up in our inbox every day.
I’m reminded that the children in our schools only get one opportunity to benefit from this academic year – for them, it won’t be repeated. Whether work directly with children in the classroom, or support their education indirectly from the school office, caretakers workshop or the central team, this should encourage us to create an environment that encourages the children to make the most of every opportunity that they have.
Looking slightly further ahead, we are looking forward to welcoming all Learning Partners staff to our trust conference on 19th February. Like last year, we will split into three separate groups (classroom based staff in primary settings, classroom based staff in secondary settings, and non-classroom based staff). We have planned a series of talks and workshops to suit each of the three groups, based on the theme of ‘Resilience’ – we are looking forward to welcoming you all to these conferences after half-term.
As this is the first Learning Partners bulletin of 2024, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.
While we have only completed three full weeks of term, it is amazing how long ago the Christmas holiday feels, and how quickly half-term is looming on the horizon. In just two weeks’ time, we will again be away from school – this half-term will be gone before we know it. Despite the wintery weather, I spotted snowdrops flowing in the garden this morning, another reminder that spring will be upon us very soon.
This realisation highlighted to me the importance of seizing the moment. It is so easy to let time slip past us, especially during this dark, cold time of year, when it is harder than usual to be enthusiastic. In the central team, we have had a busy few weeks, with several new team members joining us. There has been lots to do – queries from schools, educational reviews, school visits, maintenance planning and work to setup new systems. However, it is easy to get lost in the daily list of tasks to complete, and we have been trying to find time to re-visit the ‘Development Plans’ that we set at the start of the academic year, to remind ourselves what we identified as the real priorities, and to check that we are making time to ensure that these things get done properly. The important things can easily get lost among the urgent items that crop up in our inbox every day.
I’m reminded that the children in our schools only get one opportunity to benefit from this academic year – for them, it won’t be repeated. Whether work directly with children in the classroom, or support their education indirectly from the school office, caretakers workshop or the central team, this should encourage us to create an environment that encourages the children to make the most of every opportunity that they have.
Looking slightly further ahead, we are looking forward to welcoming all Learning Partners staff to our trust conference on 19th February. Like last year, we will split into three separate groups (classroom based staff in primary settings, classroom based staff in secondary settings, and non-classroom based staff). We have planned a series of talks and workshops to suit each of the three groups, based on the theme of ‘Resilience’ – we are looking forward to welcoming you all to these conferences after half-term.
