Moving on, moving forward

4th July 2022

I must thank you for all of your efforts this past week or so. As we rattle towards the summer break I know that the challenges we all face do not diminish, the pace of work remains and there are many deadlines to meet, with and for our children and young people.

As always, your support is very much evident and appreciated.

I know that the movements are not simultaneous and perfectly aligned but we do have a moment or two, today and in the coming week, of farewells.

Even though the staff will continue to work at Thomas Rotherham College we have moved into a period where we cannot work on site at the college, due to those IT developments that must take place – necessary to bring the system into the 21st-century. We’ve said goodbye to the year 13s and those year 12s who have finished their level two qualifications,

It’s a moment of reflection.

Oakwood High School has said goodbye this week, to the year 11s. After five years at the school the children are moving on and there have been a whole host of formal experiences for the young people to enjoy; including a wonderful prom, on Thursday evening, and a very emotional Leavers Day on Friday.

It’s a moment of celebration.

At Sitwell we will be seeing a whole host of events in the coming days as our year 6 pupils prepare for the next stage of their education.

It’s a moment of anticipation.

There’s the old phrase: the more things change, the more they stay the same. I know that could be viewed as a pejorative statement. In the wrong hands it can be used as a stick, to imply that things are not moving forward, things are staid and stuck. For us, I think it means something very different. I think that there is a feeling of natural movement, evolution and, within all of this, a sense of consistency.

Many of our children and young people will be leaving us knowing that they have had an amazing educational experience, which will provide them with some significant academic success, however, more than that, they’ve had a purposeful, positive and inspired time of growth.

Every single one of our children and young people, when they move on, will be better for the experience that they’ve had with us. That holistic educational experience, which we hold so dear and is at the heart of the trust’s ethos, is as important to remember when we are in periods of transition as when we deliver those bits of paper which formally confirm academic performance.

We have a moral and societal responsibility to ensure that our children and young people can contribute positively to their communities, are well rounded and mature young people and can give something back to the communities and the country within which they live. That’s not all dewy-eyed nonsense, it’s a hard reality which we face each and every day; although I’m not sure that many educational institutions do have these discussions and debates.

We know what we have to do. We know our roles and responsibilities. We are acutely aware of the importance of our work. The breadth of our input will allow for greater personal depth, within and for our charges.

‘Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.’ Seneca