mikes web log

I am a governor of one of the biggest primary schools in Birmingham. We have 750 pupils, 100 odd staff and a budget of about 2.5 million pounds. This morning I (as a governor) and the head and assistant heads interviewed  three members of staff for promotion posts. We have a policy, which you can have in a big school, of providing promotion opportunities for all significant staff when there is an opportunity. This morning we interviewed three superb staff for a Religious Education, Year Group and English at Foundation at Year 1 responsibility. They were all brilliant, but yet again the question that arose was where do we realise their real expertise within the school and curriculum structure. One of them was fluent in Russian, another was a pyschologist who had worked at some time with severly handicapped children and the last had for a year been part of a counselling service for women who were physically threated by their partners.

I come home to my wife who admits that she has just broken the curriculum structure – unofficially of course. So the children are now looking at myths and legends which resulted in  a PE lesson on Nemo and corals and a lesson on ‘Bridge over Trouble Waters’ where the children talked about their troubles because Pandora’s box released so many . What were the troubles?

They were about separated parents, about death of relatives and pets and now and  again about not liking school .. troubles but eventually what about the bridge across….