The Kimberley School Newsletter July 2016

News@Kimberley Founded 1925 A record of the life of the school, its duties and pleasure, its work and play; a chronicle of endeavour and achievement July 2016 Issue 48# Head’s Lines No complacency here, Sir Michael Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofsted, has publicly branded schools across the Midlands as “distinctly second division” and points to “a culture of complacency.” In the uneasy relationship between schools and our inspectorate, Ofsted, it is difficult to be candid without sounding defensive. However, unlike Sir Michael, I am immersed in this world daily. I spend hours around our school, in classrooms, talking to students and staff ,and I visit other schools in the area. I see highly committed, well trained and compassionate colleagues working extremely hard (and sadly, sometimes to breaking point) to deliver the very best they can for our children. At The Kimberley School we run additional lessons after school, revision sessions at lunchtimes, open the school in the holidays, have developed a highly effective reading scheme, deliver additional literacy sessions, are developing projects across EMET schools to bring further opportunities, are using new technology to track homework and are even running detentions for people who persistently refuse to tuck their shirts in! The list, of course, goes on. Does this sound complacent? I don’t believe so. My point is that in schools across the region, professionals are working extremely hard for our young people and, unlike Sir Michael, I hope parents recognise that. The pace of change in the educational world is rapid and today we find ourselves seeking solutions to issues which Ofsted and the Government hadn’t thought of yesterday. At The Kimberley School we have always been pro-active and responsive. As a result, I firmly believe the school remains fully prepared and capable of delivering the opportunities our students deserve. We constantly refine our systems and evaluate our performance. Our predictions suggest that Ofsted, with their data driven obsession with exam results, will not be disappointed with the summer outcomes. We deliver students with the skills for apprenticeships, the workplace, university courses, Oxbridge, Medical Schools and Law Courses. No students looking for progression to their next step after school are left stranded. Does this sound like the second division? Our school goes into the next academic year with a full team having recruited a number of new faces, all of whom are highly qualified and show great enthusiasm for the school. Sir Michael Wilshaw should note that teacher recruitment is currently very challenging. Sadly, the pressures of maintaining the standards we all strive for have a detrimental effect on the image of this amazing job and fewer people seem keen to join the profession. Our success in maintaining a full complement of staff is a reflection of a school in which good people want to work. Crucially, our new recruits include an excellent Headteacher who just can’t wait to get started. Andrew George is an experienced Head with a keen interest in this school and a strong desire to take it forward for the benefit of our community. For me, it has been a pleasure to work as the Headteacher of this fantastic school. I have seen it evolve over the past nine years and it has been a real team effort. I thank parents, students, Governors and colleagues for your unstinting support in bringing this about. Although we have not always been judged as we believe we should, we have never been complacent. The school qualities which really matter are not all easy to measure. They include kindness, care, safety, happiness, manners, place in the community, commitment to our students and their preparedness for the world beyond school. When taken as a whole, I believe it would be hard to find a school in the county to match us. Once again, I thank you for your support and also for the many kind words of encouragement over the years. I wish the school and all associated with it every success and happiness in the future. Chris Teal - Headteacher Newdigate Street • Kimberley • Nottingham • NG16 2NJ • 0115 938 7000 [email protected] • www.kimberleyschool.co.uk East Midlands Education Trust