Message from the headteacher

Highfields Eco-committee is a student led group which focuses on activism around climate change and the environment. This week their initiative to improve our recycling arrangements was piloted in Y7 and Y8. Images below show students (and staff) working to ensure that recycling is clearly separated from food waste and that all litter is correctly recycled.

I receive a lot of parental feedback which, more often than not, is constructive and useful. This occurred recently when a parent whose family had experienced a traumatic event felt that the school’s response disappointed her. We corresponded via email and then I invited the parent in with a friend to support them and we talked the matter over. I then consulted others and drew up some guidance to try and ensure that we responded well should a similar event occur in the future either to the same family or another. I was really grateful to the parent for being calm and constructive and the parent appeared grateful to us for listening and for avoiding defensiveness.

On the other hand, we also receive an amount of feedback when we get things right and below is an example of praise for a head of year: “As we near the final few months of our last child at Highfields, my husband and l would like to extend our sincere gratitude to you and your team for all your hard work to keep our children safe and happy. Our daughter was speaking so highly of you tonight, especially, so thank you so much. You are a very caring and valued member of staff and you obviously look out for students. Many, many thanks.”

Thanks to any family who works with us to improve things when we don’t quite get it right and also those who give us some encouragement when we do.

In lessons this week I really enjoyed a DT lesson which was notable by the amount the teacher circulated to ensure that students were completing the work he required them to complete to exactly the standard he required them to complete it to.

Finally, we are really looking forward to hosting Any Questions? this evening (Friday 6 May 8pm Radio 4) in our Wheeldon Hall. Mr Cole deserves the credit for organising this event and I am so looking forward to it. I will most definitely be putting forward a question in the hope that it is selected… I wonder if you can guess what I will be asking about: answers in next week’s thrilling instalment of my newsletter bit.

Have a marvellous weekend! We are Highfields.

A Marsh, Headteacher