Headteacher blog 7/2/2025

We have had lots of trips this week, with Y4 at Murton Park near York experiencing life as an Anglo-Saxon and Year 1 visiting Leeds City Art Gallery. Visits like these are an important part of a rich curriculum, but they do take some organisation and incur costs. We do whatever we can to minimise the costs of these things and we are grateful for parental support with this. We currently absorb the costs of transport but this may have to be reviewed as school finances are beyond ‘stretched’. Half of 1B actually did the journey to Leeds by no. 72 bus: an educational experience in itself for some of the children.

I have met with individual governors a few times this week: a new governor and others that are more established and long-serving. The Chair of Governors, in particular, puts a lot of time into the school despite being a busy professional herself. Governors are all volunteers and I am always grateful for their time freely given, their input and their commitment to the school.

Ofsted published a consultation proposal around a report card system for schools from September. This hasn’t gone down well. The problems with Ofsted remain: high stakes inspection where schools and headteachers run the risk of very public humiliation; sweeping judgements made about a school based on very little evidence; and the risk of some schools ‘gaming’ the system. Ofsted isn’t supportive: they just come for a couple of days, deliver judgements, identify what they see as weaknesses and provide no guidance on how those may be best addressed. The OFSTED cycle distorts the routine of school improvement. I personally felt a bit deflated and uninspired following our last OFSTED even though the outcome was a very clear ‘Good’ and the report was almost entirely positive. The new proposals look unlikely to help with the recruitment and retention of headteachers.