Headlines - 17 November 2023

17th November 2023

HEADLINES

By James Saunders

THE VIRTUES OF MATHS This week I would like to highlight my favourite subject - Maths. I have always loved maths and put down my career in teaching to the inspirational maths teacher I had at school - Mr Jones. I think it has something to do with the challenge of problem solving and breaking things down into patterns - a skill that I have needed much of lately. I do however find it to be a bit of a cliche when I hear a learner ask what they will need maths for in the future. My answer: everything. Maths helps us to think logically, to break complex things down into patterns, to understand the world around us, and to face challenges head on. Maths is core for a reason: it is a fundamental part of a successful education and a balanced curriculum and it really does connect everything.

Whenever I pop into a maths lesson it highlights what learning is all about: that eureka moment. Whatever the topic that is being taught, I find it in every class.

It is that moment when a learner suddenly ‘gets it’.

When their face changes and everything clicks. When they overcome a challenge. When they suddenly understand the pattern, the method or the process.

When they know that the answer they have is the right one.

When you break down teaching and teachers to the root, that is what counts. It is one of the few visual clues that tell you that real learning is taking place.

And it feels good. As a teacher; as a learner; as an observer. We all benefit from that feeling of grappling with a challenge and coming out the other side with an increased understanding.

One thing that contributes to maths success is how parents view maths and this is largely informed by their own school experience. I have found that often good intentioned parents will comfort their children with phrases such as “don’t worry, I was not good at maths” or “You won’t need to use this later in life”. Whilst supportive in nature these well meaning comments

can often be detrimental to learners. Maths is a skill that develops our thinking and prepares us well for life. We must all collectively work together to extol the virtues of this fantastic subject.

THE BRILLIANT CLUB This week I have launched an opportunity to apply to take part in this year’s cohort of The Brilliant Club.

This opportunity will be open to C9 and C10 learners. The Brilliant Club has been running for a number of years now and is a great opportunity for learners to stretch themselves academically. It looks great on the CV too.

So what exactly is The Brilliant Club? Through an application process learners will have the opportunity to attend a launch at one of the leading Russell Group universities. Previous launches have taken place at University of East Anglia (UEA), in Norwich, and a range of Cambridge Colleges. There learners will meet their tutor, a PhD researcher, who will give them their first university style seminar based on his/her current field of research. Previous year’s have worked with a PhD from Cambridge and have studied Hispanic Voting Patterns, Children’s Literature and Bee Pollination.

The researcher will then visit the school weekly to work with learners further - training them up as academics.

The programme will culminate in the production of an essay on a specific topic related to the researcher’s field - some may even be published in an academic journal. The work will be assessed against university criteria and learners will receive grades that match that of degree classifications. Our previous cohort all passed with 2:1s and firsts The programme ends with a graduation at another leading research university.

We feel that this programme really helps to open up our learners’ eyes as to the possibilities for the future.

We will only be offering this to a handful of year

nine and ten learners through an application process.

Details have been shared with learners by email.

ensuring our learners have had a good breakfast they will be at their optimum for the day ahead.

WELLBEING AND ANXIETY Wellbeing and mental health in schools is a hot topic right now. Supporting children to cope with a rapidly evolving world and the pressures of flux and change is a key part of education. Teachers too are not immune to these pressures and changes; they need just as much care and support to enable them to come to work and perform. One area that often gets overlooked is parents. As a parent myself I often experience my most heightented anxieties through worrying about my own children - they often make being a Headteacher seem pretty straightforward.

I find that the pressures my children face, if left unchecked, can begin to cause me worry too. I am sure that I am not alone in this. It is this worry that then impacts my children more - creating more anxiety in them and a perpetual loop of worriness.

We also provide learners with a wellbeing app on their ipads and signpost a range of useful services and resources in our monthly safeguarding newsletter.

The key to anxiety and general wellbeing is to never tackle it alone. At Honywood it is ok to talk about how you are feeling. And that goes for parents, staff and learners.

Being able to maintain a healthy wellbeing is also good for our children. Children are great sensors - we must be mindful of this. It is very easy to project our own anxieties onto them which in turn can have an impact on our and their own wellbeing. Stressed children create stressed parents which in turn creates more stressed children. We are at a time in the term when many young people, their teachers and their parents begin to feel anxiety - the autumn term is our longest.

We need to all appreciate this and work together to support each other. It is really important that we are all mindful of how the little things can add to anxiety.

Not all anxiety is bad though. I don’t think there are many of us that don’t feel it the morning of a job interview or before something that has great meaning or is of high importance to us personally. I still vividly remember the anxiety of speaking at my fathers funeral. I felt so much anxiety that I did not feel I could do it. I am pleased to say that I got through it and that anxiety I felt helped me to cope with a stressful and emotionally draining situation and actually ended up getting me through it.

Our learners can often feel anxiety at Honywood.

Especially around exams, tests or assessments. A good breakfast is an often underestimated measure that can support our general wellbeing and anxieties.

At a recent Headteacher wellbeing training event I was surprised that I was the only person in the room that had breakfast that morning.

We offer, for all learners, a free breakfast service in the morning. I know that when I have skipped breakfast I don’t ever perform as well as I could. We hope that by

I wish you all a great weekend.

James Saunders

Dates for the Diary Tues 21 Nov

C12 GCSE Returners Evening - 7pm

27 Nov - 15 Dec

C11 GCSE Mock Exams

Fri 1 Dec

All cohorts - flu vaccination programme

Mon 4 Dec

Christmas concert - 6.30pm

Fri 8 Dec

Non Learner Day

Fri 22 Dec

End of term - early finish 1pm