School Traditions

Friday's assembly was a special one: naming the first set of Student Responsibilities for Sandymoor:

One of the nice things about being part of a community is the chance to celebrate events and significant dates. In families, birthdays and anniversaries can be important times in the year, where the family gets together to celebrate these milestones. And at the big events, such as weddings, etc, it is a chance for the wider family to get together for a celebration, with members of the community meeting for the first time in a long time.

These events are part of what holds the family together; the joint celebrating of the good times.

And in school communities, it is important to mark specific things as well. That is why we have the birthday celebrations in school, as a community we are celebrating each and every one of our personal milestones. . .

That was why we celebrated the school’s official opening the other week – and from here on in, the first Friday after half term will be a celebration event in the school calendar. We will meet, formally, as a community to celebrate what the past year has held for us and look forward to the coming year.

And traditions are important to communities too. I don’t know about you, but in my family, there was, for example, always a present left under the tree to be opened on Boxing Day (because my parents didn’t want all the excitement to be over on the one day!). And, of course, it’s always important to leave a carrot for Rudolf on Christmas eve ….

The formality of a community’s traditions are part of what helps to define the community. Those who take part in the tradition are a stronger part of that community. And so in a way, Founders’ Day will become a tradition here at Sandymoor. Something that helps us understand who we are as a community.

And today we start another tradition. Student leadership roles. These are posts people have applied for and some people have been disappointed by not getting the post they wanted. We have selected a team of student leaders who will have the opportunity to have a real impact on Sandymoor school, taking responsibility for clear and specific parts of how the school works as well as having an input into how the school grows and develops.

Before I announce the post holders, however, I do want to stress the responsibility that these people will have. Each person I announce now will have to promise to try their hardest to lead by example, to hold the school and the reputation of the school.

It is a huge honour to be given the responsibility, but with that honour comes the serious business. Each and every one of these people will be given specific jobs to perform and they will have to show us that they can do this.

But without any further rambling, I am pleased to appoint the following:

Head Girl:                            Rebecca Edwards

Deputy Head Girl:            Jamie To

Head Boy:                          James Laff

Deputy                               Jack Kirkbride

Form Captains:                 William Webb (Yr07)
                                            Alfie Rowland (Yr08)

House Captains:               Tyler Willcott (Darwin)
                                            Rowan Hobson (Einstein)

Prefects:                            Annie Hilton     
                                            Eleanor Watson
                                            Sophie Betteridge
                                            Georgia Coakley
                                            Aaron Davies
                                            Chantelle Stewart
                                            Sydney Cato
                                            George Stoddart
                                            Daniel Fenelon
                                            Sean Poutney
                                            Connor Whitmore

Charity Prefects:              Nicole Smith & Callum Thornton

Sports Prefects:               TJ Robertson & Rebecca Fenelon

Arts Prefect:                     Jessica Rooney

School Newspaper:        Chris Harrop

Well done to every one of them! I will be meeting with the Head Boy & Girl to discuss the specific roles for the prefects next week, and the Head boy / girl & deputies, form & house captains will form the school council as well.

Another Sandymoor tradition has begun.

Friday assembly - National Anti-Bullying week

This week has been National Anti-Bullying Week. In fact, the whole month of November has been Anti-Bullying month.

 

In the student survey most of you completed, 60% of you said you have never been bullied here at School. And while that is a high number, it does mean that 40% of you have experienced bullying here. And that saddens me. What is interesting is that 91% of you say that you have never bullied someone. So either it's a very small number of you who are bullying the rest, or there is a difference of opinion about bullying. I think it is the latter; you have different opinions about what bullying is.

 

So, simply put, bullying is any behaviour that is intended to cause distress or harm. It can be physical, or mental. It can be subtle, or full on. It can be online, or whispers in the corner.

 

It is not disagreeing with someone else and having an argument or falling out over something.

 

Bullying is usually about power. It is when someone feels that they can make themselves feel better by making someone else feel worse.

 

When you have an argument with someone, or fall out over something, you can say nasty things, or even be physical towards them. This is not bullying. It is not good, and people get hurt when they fall out, but there is still the chance and willingness to put it right.

 

The thing about bullying is that it is one person having power over someone else. In the extreme, it is a bully physically threatening the victim & causing harm. Persistent, real, physical harm.

 

But it's also the more subtle control. Making someone feel small, or making them doubt themselves. Making their successes feel like nothing.

 

Or there's the bullying by excluding. Making someone feel like no-one wants to play with them or be with them.

 

You've all had many talks from different people about bullying, and yet it still goes on. A significant number of you have said that you feel like you are being bullied. And so it is going on.

 

There's three things I want to say about bullying. One thing aimed at anyone who has been bullied and two things to everyone.

 

To anyone who feels bullied:

It is hard to imagine it, but it can and will stop. You can make it stop. First of all, in the short term, a piece of advice:- No-one can make you feel small, inferior, without you letting them have that control over you. It is you and who you are, and you can choose how to respond.

Now, you may well say to yourself; what does he know? He's the head teacher - no-one bullies him. I know more than you realise. I was bullied at school, by a significant group of other students. I do know how you feel.

Also, you can take control. Don't lash out and fight the bully, because that will only get you into trouble as well. I know about that too - I did lash out once & got into a lot of trouble because of it.

Instead, tell someone. It will not make things worse. The bully wants you to believe that, so they can go on bullying you! Instead, tell someone. An adult.

 

In the same survey you took, a quarter of you said that you wouldn't speak to anyone if you were bullied. And I can appreciate that, but if you don't do something about it, nothing will change. And that is a horrible place to be, mentally.

 

Here in school, you can talk to any adult you trust and feel will listen. In an ideal world, you would tell your form tutor, Mrs Simpson if you are in year 8, or Ms Mooney if you are in year 7, but if they are not around, or you would rather talk to someone else, that's absolutely fine! We are also creating an email address, so you can report the fact that you are being bullied when you feel safe to do so, without seeming to go to talk to an adult. And you can come and talk to me at any time too.

 

To everyone else:

First of all, you all have the potential to be a bully. Anyone can find someone weaker than themselves & use that person to make them self feel better. But how sad is it to rely on putting someone else down to make yourself feel better?! Do you really value yourself so little that you have to make someone else feel bad in order to feel ok yourself?

 

We've had a few instances this week of behaviour that falls below what I expect of you and that saddens me. It's not always been bullying, but aggressive, hurtful behaviour is never acceptable. And it's not just the physical that saddens me either - there has been a number of occasions where some of you have really upset others by what you've said, or how you've behaved.

 

Sometimes it can be hard, because you get frustrated with someone else, but that's what it's all about - being tolerant and understanding that some people see things differently to you. It is important to be humble enough to accept someone else for who they are. Even when (no, especially when) they are annoying you with how they are.

 

If you want to be 'big' or impress others, do it by showing how tolerant and accepting you can be of others. That's the really impressive thing.

 

And finally, to all of you, we are a community. That means we all accept responsibility for everyone else. Not one of you can look me in the eye and say that the bullying is nothing to do with you. If any of you allow someone else to hurt another member of the community, you are no better than the bully yourself. That may sound harsh, but it is true. We all need to look out for each other.

 

Founders day speech 2012

Founders day was an amazing success! Thank you to everyone who turned out at 3pm to see Graham Evans, MP perform the official opening ceremony and unveil a commemorative plaque.

The dining hall has full to bursting to hear the Chair of Governor's report & the Headteacher's report! Then everyone enjoyed the tour of the school, the amazing travelling zoo and finally the fireworks. Sandymoor school is well and truly open...

The Headteacher's report is reproduced below:

They say in politics that you judge a government by the first 100 days. Well, interestingly, counting back 100 days and we get to the 1st August! So what has happened since then?

Well, by the 1st August, it was the summer holidays. I had already visited over 30 potential parents in their homes, attended numerous meetings and events, and was looking forward to spending the summer getting ready to open the school. 

The site was still an empty field, although it did have temporary security fencing around it (which had been up since early July and the Summer Fair. I don't think I had ever been more excited by fencing than seeing the fencing that surrounded our site...

But all our staff had been appointed and everything was still on schedule. Although the weather was not kind, things were still progressing. During the summer, we had training days with all the staff and further planning meetings. Dave Guest from the BBC did some filming in preparation for their 'features' on the school. 

And then on the 21st August, the buildings arrived on site. With just two weeks to go, it was all hands on deck & at times the building site looked like something from Challenge Anica, with up to 60 workmen on the site at some points!

Monday, 3rd September and we open! I can now confess to being incredibly nervous that morning, after a completely sleepless night, standing at the school gate, waiting for our first students to arrive. The first student walking towards the school, in the Sandymoor uniform .... what an amazing sight!!

And it's been non-stop since then. We opened with no mains electricity (running on generators), water from a temporary supply and mobile phones our only communications. With 19 students when we started, we are now at 37, with a maximum capacity of 45 this year. Our intake is truly comprehensive, with a significantly greater percentage of Free School Meal students and students with special educational needs than Halton's average. 

On our open events, we had over 150 different families come and visit the school and we have high expectations of being full for September 2013. Sandymoor School is most definitely going from strength to strength!

One good milestone to see, just in the last couple of days, is work beginning on Wharford Lane, where the site for the new school is. To quote from the building company's brief:

"To enable the delivery of Sandymoor Free School".

This first Founders' day has been a true celebration of an enormous amount of hard work and determination by a lot of people. We would not be where we are today without a group of five ordinary people, like you and me. Like your parents. They decided to say that they wanted to make a difference & start a school here, in Sandymoor. Because they wanted to provide more choice for the people in this part of Runcorn. 

And I am so excited to be leading such an inspirational team of people in making a difference. It has been an incredibly tough journey for every member of staff here, and I want to publicly thank them for all the hard work they have put in to helping me make the vision a reality. They all inspire me. Thank you.

It is about you, however. This is all about you. Our students. Everything about us, and all the planning, long nights and heart-aches, it's all about you. 

This is all about giving you the best possible opportunity we can give to help you become the very best you can be. That is what education should always be about and it's a shame that it sometimes isn't, because politics or personal ambition gets in the way. But I promise you here and now that here, at Sandymoor, that is what it is all about. You. And helping you become the very best you can be.

First Founders' Day Assembly

It has been a long time since my last post, but things have been a little busy recently! Anyhow, like buses, you wait for ages, then two turn up in short succession ....

Today, 9th November, 2012, Sandymoor School celebrates it's opening with it's first Founders' Day. There's lots of exciting things going on during the day and the official opening is at 3pm, with speeches, food, drink & fireworks.

And there is a lot to celebrate. Two posts today, the first being the Assembly I gave this morning to the school. I will follow this later with my official speech for the opening ceremony.


Today is a special day. Why? Why not!

But today we celebrate the founding of the school. Today we celebrate what we have here and what we have achieved.

 

Why today? Again, I say why not! We chose today for a lot of reasons, none of them, in themselves, special. Today is the first Friday after 1/2 term. It was the date a VIP said they could make. That's about it.

 

It's a birthday for some people. In fact, around the world, for quite a lot of people! Apart from Jess, here, it's the birthday of a hero of mine: Carl Sagan. He actually died in 1996, but if he was still alive today, he would be celebrating his 78th birthday today. Carl Sagan was sort of the Brian Cox of my youth. When I was your age, he had written a book which was turned into a TV series called Cosmos & it blew my mind away! It was one of the things that made me want to go into Science. He recalls a similar experience. To quote from him:

 

I went to the librarian and asked for a book about stars ...And the answer was stunning. It was that the Sun was a star but really close. The stars were suns, but so far away they were just little points of light ...The scale of the universe suddenly opened up to me. It was a kind of religious experience. There was a magnificence to it, a grandeur, a scale which has never left me. Never ever left me.

 

For all his life, Science was a passion, that excited him and inspired him to do his best.

 

The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counter-intuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But or preferences (our wants) do not change or determine what is true.

 

But back to today, here, and now. Today is a celebration of what we have achieved. What we have done, together. And it's no small thing.

 

18 months ago, a group of ordinary people decided to have a go. They had a desire to do something big, something grand, something special. They didn't think that at the time (& probably don't to this day), but that is what they did. A group of five ordinary people, like you and me. Like your parents. They decided to say that they wanted to make a difference & start a school here, in Sandymoor. Because they wanted to provide more choice for the people in this part of Runcorn.

 

Now, starting a school is not a simple task! They had to pass a huge number of tests set by government, to ensure that the school is fit for purpose. And that, in itself, is good, because we don't want anyone opening up a school.

 

After all, you are the future of this country. Of this planet! And your experience in school will shape how you go on into adulthood.

 

And so these parents, just like your parents, with busy lives, things to do, jobs, kids, and everything else, took on another task. Founding Sandymoor School.

 

Countless meetings long into the night, sometimes overnight, many long trecks to Sheffield, Leeds and London to meet with officials, and here we now are.

 

I've said this before, but it is worth saying it again. These five ordinary people, through determination and persistence, have achieved something extra-ordinary. And as an inspiration for a school, I could not wish for better. It proves that any of you could, in fact should aim to, go on and do something extra-ordinary!

 

But we have also had to turn the dream, the idea, into reality. I know a lot of you were looking at this site during August and wondering how the school would be ready! But as you know, it was. We were running off generators to start with, with water in a temporary supply (in fact that is only being sorted today), and only mobile phones, but we opened.

 

And to me that also tells us something; it's not about fancy buildings or things like that, but people who make a difference.

 

And I am so excited to be leading such an inspirational team of people in making a difference. It has been an incredibly tough journey for every member of staff here, and I want to publicly thank them for all the hard work they have put in to helping me make the vision a reality. They all inspire me. Thank you.

 

It is about you, however. This is all about you. Our students. Everything about us, and all the planning, long nights and heart-aches, it's all about you.

 

This is all about giving you the best possible opportunity we can give to help you become the very best you can be. That is what education should always be about and it's a shame that it sometimes isn't, because politics or personal ambition gets in the way. But I promise you here and now that here, at Sandymoor, that is what it is all about. You. And helping you become the very best you can be.

 

And now I am going to apuse and read a poem. One of my favorites, by a poet called Louise MacNeice and it is called 'Prayer Before Birth'.

 

I am not yet born; O hear me.

Let not the bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the

club-footed ghoul come near me.




I am not yet born, console me.

I fear that the human race may with tall walls wall me,

with strong drugs dope me, with wise lies lure me,

on black racks rack me, in blood-baths roll me.




I am not yet born; provide me

With water to dandle me, grass to grow for me, trees to talk

to me, sky to sing to me, birds and a white light

in the back of my mind to guide me.




I am not yet born; forgive me

For the sins that in me the world shall commit, my words

when they speak me, my thoughts when they think me,

my treason engendered by traitors beyond me,

my life when they murder by means of my

hands, my death when they live me.




I am not yet born; rehearse me

In the parts I must play and the cues I must take when

old men lecture me, bureaucrats hector me, mountains

frown at me, lovers laugh at me, the white

waves call me to folly and the desert calls

me to doom and the beggar refuses

my gift and my children curse me.




I am not yet born; O hear me,

Let not the man who is beast or who thinks he is God

come near me.




I am not yet born; O fill me

With strength against those who would freeze my

humanity, would dragoon me into a lethal automaton,

would make me a cog in a machine, a thing with

one face, a thing, and against all those

who would dissipate my entirety, would

blow me like thistledown hither and

thither or hither and thither

like water held in the

hands would spill me.




Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me.

Otherwise kill me.

 

A prayer, or a cry out, for us to do everything we can to make this world a safe place, a good place, for all children.

 

Which leads me to another reason why today is special. Or at least Sunday. Because Sunday is the 11th November. The 11th of the 11th. In most of the world also known as Remembrance Sunday. The day where we remember those people who have lost their lives in conflicts around the world from the first world war up to today and soldiers losing their lives in Afghanistan. It's not about glorifying war, but remembering those people who paid the ultimate sacrifice for just what that poem by Louis MacNeice is all about - trying to keep the man who is beast or who thinks he is god come near innocent children.

 

And so I would like to end with a traditional act or remembrance. I am going to say a short poem and then I would appreciate it if we could then hold a minute's silence in honour of everyone who has died in conflict or war:

 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

(Silence)

Thank you. Now, let's have fun today!

First assembly

Well, here we are and welcome to everyone! Sandymoor school is celebrating its first ever first day of term and we are all new boys and girls. So that means that a whole section of the usual ‘start of the school year’ assembly has gone out of the window, but get used to that, because we do ‘do’ things differently here. That is one of the reasons why we are all here, because we want to do things differently. Better. Our way.

But we all have a past and it has had a hand in shaping who we are now. There is no denying that, even though a lot of people do. But we should celebrate our pasts, acknowledge then for what they are and learn from them. Move on from them. There is certainly no point in worrying about what we did in the past; there’s even a bit in the Bible that says we shouldn’t waste time worrying about the past (Who of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to your life? – Matthew 6:27, if you want to look it up!)

One of my favourite poems is about making decisions and living by them. It’s called the Road not taken, by Robert Frost. It tells about the feeling of being made to choose between two routes and the emotions of choosing which one. But it’s not about choosing paths, it’s more a metaphor about choices we make in life.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

and sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveller, long I stood

and looked down one as far as I could

to where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

and having perhaps the better claim

because it was grassy and wanted wear;

though as for that, the passing there

had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

in leaves no feet had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --

I took the one less travelled by,

and that has made all the difference.

Choose the route you want, rather than the ‘popular’ one. Don’t go with the crowd, but what feels right for you.

Reflect, however, and learn? Yes. That’s what History is all about – understanding the past so we can see what went wrong and learn from it.

What about my past? Well, I’ve been very public since getting this job, so there’s probably not a lot you don’t know about me. But, in a nutshell, covering stuff that’s not so well known – I went to a rural secondary school, but didn’t like it, mainly because the teachers didn’t seem to care about me. I was middle of the road in terms of grades, so not one of the high flyers, but not one of the who needed the ‘special’ attention either. So I was left to find my own way. And I did, going to college to do my A Levels, and getting an unconditional offer to study Physics at Imperial College, in London. Not bad, considering I was the first in my family to go to university too.

One thing I learnt from it, however, was, when I became a teacher, the determination that I would never do that; never let any student think they didn’t matter because they were doing ‘OK’. And now as Sandymoor’s head, I can promise you that I will never give up on any of you.

And although this is Sandymoor’s first day too, it also has a past. 16 months ago, 5 ordinary people, just like your mums and dads, aunties and uncles, decided that Sandymoor needed a school and, using a new piece of government law, went about doing so. Over that time, they have worked through countless long nights, sat in endless meetings and jumped through un-numbered hurdles to get to this point. In doing all that, they proved themselves to be anything but ordinary and at the same time proved that anyone can be extra-ordinary if they want to be.

Every one of you has the potential to be extra-ordinary and I see it as my duty to help you find that extra-ordinary spark inside you.

And not giving up is crucial. If we gave up whenever things got a bit tough, or changed our mind for the easier path all the time, we would not be in a good place now.

It is, I think, important that Sandymoor school has opened its doors in the year the Olympic and Para-Olympic games came to GB. These athletes have so much to teach all of us, in every way. Dedication, determination, regardless of their ‘past’, they have done everything necessary to be the very best they can be. And compete in the races & competitions, celebrating another’s victory as enthusiastically as their own win.

They all have pasts, in a lot of ways no different to yours or mine. In some cases, significantly more trying than ours. Mo Farah, for example, or Victoria Pendleton. Or any of the medal winners, both in the Olympics and Para-Olympics, still continuing.

But I want to finish by focussing on the South African sprinter, Oscar Pistorius. Before he was a year old, he had to have both his legs amputated below the knees. And yet by the age of 11, the age some of you are, he was playing Rugby, Water polo and Tennis for his school and competing in his region in Water polo and Tennis. Don’t ever say you can’t do something, until you’ve worked and worked and worked at trying to do it first.

When he was a baby, his mother wrote him a letter that he was not to open until he was an adult. In his autobiography, he quotes from that letter:

“The real loser is never the person who crosses the finishing line last,” she wrote. “The real loser is the person who sits on the side, the person who does not even try to compete.”

I have never sat on the side, the people who founded Sandymoor school have never sat on the side, the teachers who will teach you have never sat on the side. I expect each and every one of you to try your hardest, to aim to be the very best you can be and to never sit on the side.

How Sandymoor is different part 4 - Community Engagement

'No man is an Island'

Parental Involvement

Parents/Guardians are an essential element in the success of any young person and at Sandymoor we want to work in partnership with every family.

In the term before joining Sandymoor, we like to do a home visit to the family home. One of the school tutors will arrange to visit, to discuss the specific nature of Sandymoor and answer any questions you may have, as well as start the process of building the relationship betweeen the school and home.

During the school year, the students' Individual Development Plans are available, securely, online for parents to read, giving them information about their child's progress at any time through the school year. This replaces the traditional 'school report' sent home at the end of the year, often when intervention can be too late.

At regular points through the school year, there are opportunities for parents/guardians to come into the school for an 'IDP review'. Throughout an IDP review week, there are a number of opportunities for parents to book to come into school, where they will meet with teachers as appropriate to discuss progress to date.

Local Community

As part of the Community Engagement lessons, strong links with local community groups are forged. Students develop the skills of project work through delivering a service to a local group, working together to ensure it is of the highest quality and then delivering the product. This could be a 'befriending' service to a local handicapped or elderly support group, or something more tangible, but it will be developed by the students, working with the group.

International Community

We are living in a global village, with modern technology shrinking the world. To enable Sandymoor students to become leaders in this village, we have links with groups around the world and students mirror the project model locally on a global stage. Working with an group providing education, for example, in Africa, there is lots Sandymoor students can learn from them whilst providing support to young people the other side of the world.

How Sandymoor is different part 3 - Pastoral Support

With the emphasis on the individual child, Pastoral Support is also an essential aspect of Sandymoor. Each student has three adults specifically associated with them as part of the pastoral structure; an Academic Tutor, a Personal Tutor and a Business and Enterprise Mentor.

Academic Tutor

The Academic Tutor is the person who the student will see each day, primarily for morning and afternoon registration, but also to ensure that work is all up to date. The academic tutor monitors the academic progress of their tutees against the baselines identified at the beginning of the year. Whenever a student falls below their progress targets, the academic tutor will investigate the reason and update the IDP with agreed actions to bring the student back on track.

Personal Tutor

The Personal Tutor will have less regular contact with their tutees, but will meet them as a group a number of times a week as part of the timetabled curriculum. The Personal Tutor is responsible for monitoring the student's progress in the areas of 'skills for learning', ensuring that every student is developing the skills necessary for them to take ownership of their own learning. Again, where there are concerns, the Academic Tutor will investigate and update the IDP with agreed actions.

The personal tutor groups are arranged vertically, with students of all age groups working together. This provides opportunities for younger students to aspire to the successes of the older, and the older students to gain self esteem by supporting the younger.

Business and Enterprise Mentor

This person is a successful member of the local community, whether a nurse, business leader, office worker or pilot. These are volunteers who we have recruited to work alongside us, so that every student has someone outside of school to work with in building an understanding of the modern workplace. 'Work experience' traditionally is reserved for much later in a student's school career and is often condensed into a single week, where it has limited impact. At Sandymoor, we bring the workplace into the school, and from year 7, so that the students get a real understanding of the skills required to be successful beyond school.

Pastoral support is also about helping every student see themselves more clearly and this can best be learnt by being a mentor to other people. Through strong links with local primary schools, Sandymoor students get opportunities to work with younger children, helping them with as necessary, whether in reading or writing, or spending time with someone who needs a friend.