Headlines

By James Saunders

ACCELERATE ACTION

Happy Friday everyone. I am going to kick things off this week with a riddle:

“A father and his son are in a car accident. Sadly, the father dies. The son is rushed to the A&E. The attending surgeon looks at the boy and says, ‘I can’t operate on this boy. He’s my son!’ How is this possible?”

I will come back to the riddle in a moment.

Now imagine an equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated.

Tomorrow is International Women’s day (IWD) and I am sure the media will be filled with inspirational stories of talented women from across the globe. As a young boy I can only remember a few inspirational male role models. Ok, there was my father. And screen icons Rambo and The Terminator. However, it was female musicians that had the greatest influence on me and helped me develop my love for music: Tracy Chapman; Nina Simone, Lauren Hill, Annie Lennox, Nenah Cherry and Kate Bush to name a few. These women managed to express themselves and the art form without the misogyny and violence that plagues so much of today’s male dominated world of rap. Does this make me a feminist? Surely the very nature of our jobs as teachers must make us all feminists. We should surely never favour one learner over another. We should treat them all equally. And that is what being a feminist is. For me it is simply about equality. All our learners deserve an equal opportunity to receive the same high quality teaching and support that enables them to achieve great outcomes and a happy life. International Women’s day reminds us that equality still very much needs to be on our radar

and as a society we must still strive to achieve parity for all every single day.

Whilst the theme of international women’s day is the backdrop to this week’s headlines, equity is something that permeates all parts of society as well as being one of our core values. We can sometimes forget the difference between equity and equality when making decisions around school. Usually the root of this misunderstanding is our perception of fairness. We often think that fairness is consistently treating everyone the same; in some contexts this is the case. However, if we are to embrace our core value of equity we must appreciate the nuances that often exist for individuals and their circumstances. So for International Women’s Day and beyond, let’s clear a path for our girls to lead.

The following video stimulates thinking and illustrates my point pretty well. It is about the misconceptions and stereotypes that exist regarding women in leadership - or rather lack thereof. International Women’s Day- Can You Solve the Riddle? (Mindspace) It is very similar to the riddle I posed at the start of this piece and contains the same message. Did you crack it? The surgeon was the boy’s mother.

IWD reminds us that we can all positively impact how girls see themselves and their possibilities. One thing is clear - even our wonderful school culture is not impervious to the effects of stereotypes and societal pressure on girls. Misogyny and a lack of respect for the talents of girls is still a societal issue as we continue to battle the influence of social media. For too long leadership has been seen as the domain of men and globally continues to be dominated by men. I say this with full acknowledgement that I am a man. Girls need to see themselves as leaders and recognise their skills, qualities and attributes as something positive. We must collectively get real with girls.

The world is still stacked against girls, but this is rarely discussed. On top of this, the “girl power” narrative leads many girls to believe that gender inequality is a thing of the past. This leads girls to blame themselves when they face bias and barriers—and to internalise harmful stereotypes about what girls can and can’t do. That’s why it’s so important we address these issues head on: it can be an antidote to girls blaming themselves and can help promote their self-esteem.

When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.

Collectively, it is essential that we forge a more inclusive world for women. The campaign theme emphasises the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society. The theme underscores the crucial role of inclusion in achieving gender equality. It calls for action to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected and there are no barriers or ceilings to their progress.

There is an excellent series of children’s books (little dreams, big people) that highlight the great accomplishments of women. Figures such as Rosa Parks, Emmeline Pankhurst, Ada Lovelace, Frida Kahlo, Maria Montessori and Ella Fitzgerald are all represented. Days like International Women’s Day help us to spotlight the great accomplishments of role models such as these and open up an equality of aspiration for all our learners. Which neatly segues me into World Book Day….

WORLD BOOK DAY

“Words can be like x-rays if you use them properly - they’ll go through anything.” - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World.

It was so great to see everyone embrace World Book Day yesterday. Those that came to school as a character from their favourite book really looked the part. We also extended this to staff and I am pleased that so many embraced this too; we had a smorgasbord of books and characters represented! The aim of the day, of course, is to raise the profile of books and of reading. The evidence is quite clear on this; regular reading makes a real difference to academic performance. Well done to those learners who successfully guessed that my book in our quiz was ‘Brave New World’.

Thursday is my teaching day which allowed me to take part in our whole school read of The Secret Garden, an old-school murder mystery whodunit. In each lesson

across the school learners spent part of their lesson collectively reading a section of the short story. Top marks to those that followed the clues and were able to spot the killer before the end of the story!

I wish you all a lovely weekend

James Saunders

CELEBRATE AMAZING EDUCATORS THROUGH THE ESSEX TEACHING AWARDS!

The 2025 Essex Teaching Awards is a fantastic opportunity to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contributions of our dedicated educators and staff. These awards honour those who go above and beyond to make a positive impact on their learners and school community.

If you know a teacher, teaching assistant, headteacher, or any other staff member who has made a difference in your child’s education, please consider nominating them for an award so that they receive the recognition they deserve.

Your nominations help to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and passion of those who work in schools. To submit a nomination, please visit

https://www.essex.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/ essex-teaching-awards.

Thank you for your support in recognising the incredible efforts of school communities. Together, we can celebrate the excellence in our school!

C8 PARENTS EVENING

Our C8 parents evening will be taking place on Tuesday 18th March. Learners should be bringing booking sheets home on Monday. Please let your child know when you will be available for appointments so that they may book you in with their teachers. Families will be allocated slots for core subjects: English, Maths and Science in advance. Parents evening is a great opportunity to meet the teachers and find out about the progress learners are making. However, as always families are welcome to contact their class teacher any time if they have questions or concerns with their child’s learning. Mr Munro has explained the process to learners in their assembly this week. He will be writing to families about the arrangements. We look forward to welcoming you into school on Tuesday 18th March.